Falling for Her Bodyguard--A Clean Romance

by Amy Vastine

“Mom.” Kelly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, hoping to stop the headache her mother was giving her.

  “It would be nice if you would at least consider it.”

  Not happening. Kelly had no intention of leaving Nashville. Not because of a stalker. Not because of her mother. Not for anything. But if she wanted to survive this phone call, she would have to lie.

  “I’ll think about it, but don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Thank you for being somewhat reasonable. I believe that if you really weigh your options, you’ll see that things could be a lot less complicated if you came back to Knoxville.”

  Kelly wrapped things up with her mom and once she hung up, she glared at Uncle Hal.

  “What?” he asked, playing so innocent. “She loves you.”

  Her words came out heated. “This obsessed fan, stalker, whatever you want to call him is not going to ruin my life. I am not moving back to Knoxville. I will not let him keep me from doing my job. I will not be dependent on a bodyguard the rest of my life.”

  “You’re more like your mother than you want to admit,” Uncle Hal said with a laugh.

  “How so?”

  “She thinks all her problems can be solved by her and her alone.”

  “Exactly, she wants to control me and I just want to control myself. That’s not the same thing.”

  “I understand wanting to be independent, but be accepting of help when it’s given. I know Walsh can be a little standoffish, but he’s a good cop. I trust him to keep you safe. Don’t fight me on this.”

  Her issue wasn’t with Donovan. It was the idea that no one trusted her to look after herself in the long run. “I’m fine with the help while you’re investigating. I don’t want to be guarded my whole life. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Then take a self-defense course. Be empowered, Kell Bell. But understand your mom and I simply don’t want anything to happen to you. We aren’t trying to ruin your life.”

  Kelly couldn’t argue with that. She knew their actions and words came from a place of love and concern. Be empowered. Maybe that was the part that had been missing. She would have to change that.

  * * *

  DONOVAN NEEDED TO be at the police station by eight thirty, which meant that he needed the meeting with Graham’s school counselor this morning to go quickly. Donovan wasn’t a fan of counselors any more than Graham was, but he needed to step up so Graham would, too.

  “I don’t understand why we need to talk to Mrs. Mitchell. This is a waste of our time,” Graham complained.

  “We’re here so you can assure Mrs. Mitchell that you plan to be a perfect angel for the rest of the school year. That is what we agreed to last night, wasn’t it?”

  Graham huffed instead of answering. Donovan would take that as a yes. If Graham wanted to go to that concert, there would be no more ditching class and no more graffiti.

  A woman entered the main office. “Mr. Walsh?”

  Donovan stood and shook her hand as she introduced herself.

  “Thank you for meeting with us,” he said.

  If Mrs. Mitchell had on jeans and a T-shirt, Donovan was pretty sure she could be easily mistaken for a student. She couldn’t have been very far into her twenties. She led them back to her office and took a seat behind her desk.

  “I really appreciate you coming in, Mr. Walsh. I know we haven’t really spoken since Graham’s mom...”

  “Died,” Graham finished for her when she paused. “My mom died. My dad died, too. That was a couple years ago, though, so maybe that’s not as important.”

  Donovan put his hand on Graham’s knee and gave it a squeeze. “Come on. Don’t.”

  “You’ve been through a lot in the last couple years and it can’t be easy,” Mrs. Mitchell said. “I want you to know that we all understand how hard it’s been for you and we want to help.”

  “Can you make people come back from the dead?”

  This was not how Donovan wanted this to go. “She’s saying the school would like to help you deal with it. They don’t want you to deal with it by ditching class and drawing on the walls. Two things that aren’t going to happen anymore, right?”

  “I will not get into any more trouble, Mrs. Mitchell. I promise.” Graham could not have sounded less sincere.

  “I’m glad to hear that, Graham, but I want you to know that if there’s anything you want to talk about or if there is anything I can do to help make things less stressful for you, I want to be able to help.”

  “Can you get me out of math?”

  Donovan was exasperated. “You have less than a month left. You’re not dropping a class now.”

  “Is there something going on in math that I could help you resolve?” Mrs. Mitchell asked.

  Graham sank in his seat. “Doubt it.”

  “Maybe I could try,” she said.

  Graham said nothing. Donovan couldn’t stand the silence. “Graham has agreed to behave himself the rest of the school year. I think the summer will be good for him. I’m going to have him work part-time for a friend of mine. I think he’ll come back next year a new man.”

  Mrs. Mitchell smiled sympathetically as if she felt bad for him for believing that was a possibility. “That’s good, but I want Graham to remember that we’re here if he needs us. I’m an excellent listener and if he needs to talk about anything, I’m here.”

  “He’s got it. Right, Graham?”

  “Sure. Can I go to class now? I don’t want to be late to first period.”

  That was music to Donovan’s ears. He wanted to be on time. He was going to behave himself. Everything would be fine.

  Mrs. Mitchell wrote him a pass and sent him off. Donovan got up to leave, but before he could thank her for her time, she asked him to give her another minute.

  “I am really worried about him, Mr. Walsh. I’m wondering if he’s opened up to you at all.”

  “He doesn’t tell me a lot. I do think that with some time, he’ll be fine. Right now, we’re all just trying to figure things out and find our new normal.”

  Mrs. Mitchell nodded. “I’m sure you are. Have you thought about having him talk to someone else? Maybe a grief counselor? I have some great references for some local counselors.” She pulled out a piece of paper with a bunch of names and phone numbers on it.

  “I don’t think Graham is going to talk to a counselor.”

  “I’m going to give this to you in case you change your mind,” she said, sliding the paper in his direction.

  It was clear she wasn’t taking no for an answer and Donovan needed to get out of there before she tried convincing him to get some counseling, as well. He took the referral list and thanked her for her time.

  From one problem to the next. He headed for the station and prayed today wouldn’t be as chaotic as yesterday. He hoped Kelly could have a normal day with no distractions or threats. He’d only known her one day and he already felt protective.

  Donovan had driven this way to work since he started on the force. Today was the first day he noticed the billboard for K104 with Kelly’s face smiling back at him. Her crystal-blue eyes were mesmerizing. Distractingly so. He slammed on the brakes, almost hitting the car that had come to a stop in front of him.

  His heart felt like it stopped and then pounded like he had run the fifty-yard dash. One day. Not even twenty-four hours yet. He needed to get his head on straight. This was a short-term assignment while his case was under review with IA. Maybe he’d be done even sooner, if they found Kelly’s stalker. He needed to maintain boundaries. No more dinner with the family. No answering personal questions. No more being Avery’s new best friend.

  “Walsh! Get in here,” Captain said as soon as Donovan set foot in the office. He was five minutes early. No reason to be in trouble already.

  “Sir.”

  There was Kelly live and in
person. She sat across from her uncle with her legs crossed and her foot bouncing up and down like an overactive kid who needed to get up and run around.

  “Kelly and I were talking last night. She wants to learn some self-defense. I was thinking you could show her a couple things to make her feel more comfortable when she’s on her own. She’s only on the radio a couple hours. After that, he could give you some lessons. Right, Kel?”

  “This may come as a surprise, but I do have responsibilities when I’m not on the air. I have to plan for the next day’s show. I have station meetings to attend. I’m part of the station’s road crew and go on location around town.”

  “No road crew while we’re hunting down your stalker,” Captain Bonner said, echoing Donovan’s sentiments from yesterday.

  “I can’t not go, Uncle Hal. It’s part of my job. I have to be at the farmers market every Friday and there are some concerts I have to make an appearance at over the next couple weeks.”

  “It’s more difficult to keep you safe when you’re out in public. Plus, I can’t ask Walsh to work all day. He has a family to get home to.”

  “Then I’ll take care of myself.”

  “I’ll do it,” Donovan said at the same time.

  “You could work evenings? What about Graham and Avery?” Captain had been very understanding when Jessica’s condition worsened and Donovan had to take off time to be there for her. His compassion extended to the children, especially after she died.

  “It’s not forever and it’s only a couple of nights. I can work something out.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’ll have people from the station with me. Lyle will be there or sometimes Trish goes out on those things.”

  “Lyle? The guy with you yesterday?” Donovan didn’t trust that guy to protect himself. “I can come to a couple concerts.”

  Captain Bonner agreed. “I’m more comfortable with Walsh sticking with you if he can make it work.”

  Kelly got to her feet. “Once again, I don’t really have a say, do I?”

  “All I’m asking you to do is to accept some help,” Captain said to her. “We talked about this.”

  “Fine. I’m accepting help. Don’t expect me to be happy about it.” She started for the door. “Come on, Detective. If I can get to work early, you won’t have to stay so late.”

  She said nothing else even when they got inside his truck.

  “Remember how scared you were yesterday when you found that note?” he asked, starting the engine. “Imagine how scared you’ll be when this guy shows his face. Fear can be paralyzing.”

  Her long dark hair was down today and made the perfect curtain for her face as she stared out the window. So much for those boundaries he was going to set with her. Instead of keeping her at arm’s length, he had attached her to his hip. And she was more upset about it than he was.

  “I saw your billboard on the way to the station this morning,” he said, hoping she’d look his way. “I never noticed it before, but now that I know who you are, I saw it right away. I didn’t realize you were famous.”

  She adjusted the air-conditioning vent on her side. Why was he suddenly unable to stand the quiet?

  “Avery woke up extra early this morning so she could get a French braid.”

  That got her attention. “I bet she looks extra adorable today.”

  “It’s difficult to make that child not adorable.”

  That earned him a tiny laugh and put a smile on her face. “You’re going to be in big trouble when she gets to be Graham’s age.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “I’m sorry for being in my head. I’m trying to figure out if my family is being unreasonable or if I’m being stubborn. Do you think I’m in danger? That this person would hurt me?”

  It was a question he wasn’t sure he could answer. He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t want to lie to her, either. “Any time someone is delusional, believes things that aren’t real, it’s hard to predict what they’ll do. Do unstable people do dangerous things? Sometimes. Other times, they’re harmless. We don’t know how unstable this guy is, so it’s probably best to assume he is capable of anything just to be safe.”

  Kelly took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For helping to keep me safe. And for giving it to me straight instead of trying to scare me into doing what my uncle wants me to do.”

  One day. Donovan had known Kelly for all of one day, and yet he knew in his bones that nothing would stop him from keeping her safe.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “IF YOU WERE to plan the perfect date, where would you go and what would you do?” Kelly asked her best friend.

  “That would be a fun question for tomorrow’s show,” Nancy said, jotting it down on her notepad. The two of them were working in Kelly’s office after she got off-air.

  “I’m not brainstorming, I’m legit asking you,” Kelly said. “Where would you go and what would you do? Like for real, don’t say a cafe in Paris and kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower.”

  Nancy twisted her lips. “I have no idea. Where would you go?”

  “It doesn’t matter where I would go. It matters where you want to go. There has to be somewhere you love in the city—a restaurant or a romantic spot you’ve always wanted to go with someone special.”

  Nancy set down her notebook. “Why are you asking me? Are you planning something for my birthday? Because if you are, I do not want it to be a surprise. I hate surprises.”

  “I am not planning a surprise party.” Getting some intel for Lyle was proving to be more difficult that she thought it would be. “I am asking you where you’d go on a date. Why would I ask you that if I was planning a party? I’d ask you where you’d like to party.”

  “Well, it would be a pretty terrible way to plan a surprise party if you straight up asked me where I would want to have a party. Duh. Then I would know for sure that you were throwing me a party.”

  Time for a different tactic. “Remember when you told me you really liked Lyle’s new haircut?”

  Nancy narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Yeah.”

  “Were you telling me you liked it because you were pointing out a coworker got a haircut or because you thought the haircut made Lyle look nice?”

  Nancy snorted. “What are you talking about?”

  “Okay, I’m really bad at this.” She was abandoning this plan to get secret information. “I don’t know how to get information without being straightforward.”

  “What information?”

  “Lyle has a massive crush on you and wants to know if he has any chance in the world or if he should learn to repress his feelings and move on.”

  Nancy was stunned silent.

  “I know you’ve been working hard to get over Harrison. You guys broke up a good two months ago. I, for one, am hoping you are truly over him and his crooked eyebrow.”

  “He did not have a crooked eyebrow!” she said, snapping out of it.

  Her ex-boyfriend absolutely had a crooked eyebrow. It was so crooked, it was extremely distracting every time Kelly had to talk to him. She so badly wanted to reach up and smooth that thing out or take some tweezers and shape it up.

  “Do you or do you not think you could give Lyle a chance to sweep you off your feet?”

  Nancy took a moment to think about it. “We work together. That could be a major disaster for both of us if we were to start a relationship and not see it all the way through. I don’t think I could work here if Harrison worked here.”

  “I get that. But this is Lyle. He not only has a cute haircut but his eyebrows are perfectly symmetrical.”

  “Harrison did not have a crooked eyebrow. Stop saying that!”

  Kelly leaned back in her chair and giggled. It was too easy to rile her
up. “Okay, seriously. Think about it and let me know. I am not going to tell Lyle to go for it unless I know you’re going to say yes.”

  “You sound more worried about Lyle getting his feelings hurt than you are about me having to quit my job if I go out with Lyle and we break up.”

  “Well, let’s be honest. If one of you is going to break the heart of the other, my money is on you doing the breaking.”

  Nancy folded her arms across her chest. “Maybe you should go out with him if you’re so concerned about his feelings.”

  Kelly did not have those kind of feelings about Lyle. She liked Lyle as a friend, not as anything more. “Maybe because he only has eyes for you and I am looking for someone a bit more...”

  “Like that gorgeous hunk you’re calling a bodyguard? Remember when I told you my bodyguard fantasy? I forgot to mention I wanted them all to look like that guy.”

  They were not going to talk about Donovan. “Leave my bodyguard out of this.”

  Nancy grinned. “Oh, look who’s all defensive now. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that he was good-looking.”

  She wasn’t blind. Kelly was fully aware of how good-looking Donovan was. Looks were not the only thing that made a person attractive, however. Other things like kindness, compassion and a sense of humor were equally important.

  “Are you telling me you’d rather date my bodyguard than Lyle?” she asked, turning the tables.

  “I didn’t say that!” Nancy wagged a finger at her. “I see what you’re trying to do. If you don’t want to talk about your hot bodyguard, we don’t have to.”

  Kelly did not want to talk about Donovan. Or how cute it was that he braided Avery’s hair this morning. Or how impressive it was that he could cook. Or how flattering it was that he noticed her billboard. He was a cop. A detective. She had grown up the daughter of police officers and had no intention of being the wife of one, which made dating one pointless.

  “What am I telling Lyle?” Kelly asked, trying to steer this conversation back on course.

  Nancy wasn’t quick to answer. She chewed on her thumbnail for a few seconds. “He’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I could see myself falling for someone like him.”