“Go to hell!”
“Hit a nerve did I?” Sam asked.
“Sam is right—Brock, you really need to re-consider this arrangement. It’s not too late.” Luke offered.
“Are you two done? If so, there is the door—if not, I’m out of here.” Brock stated.
“Fine, we’ll leave, but you are making a huge mistake. We only want what is best for you—this isn’t it.” Sam said waving his arms.
Brock grabbed a bottle of beer out of the refrigerator and plopped down in his favorite recliner picking up the TV remote as he started flipping through the channels. Was he making a mistake? Friends with benefits sounded so appealing five days ago. Did he want to pursue a relationship with Holly? The answer was a resounding yes, but that wasn’t an option with Holly. She had been adamant that she wasn’t ready for another relationship. What the hell did he just get himself into? All of a sudden, friends with benefits didn’t sound so appealing anymore.
CHAPTER NINE
Holly arrived at work on Monday morning bright and early and apprehensive as to how the dynamic would be between herself and Brock. It didn’t take long to find out as he entered the office in a really foul mood. “Cavanaugh.”
“Detective McClellan.”
“What did you come up with on Friday—you never called me.” He stated.
“I’m sorry, I thought...”
“That’s your problem Cavanaugh, you think and you don’t act.”
“What the hell crawled up your ass?” She snarled back at him.
Staring at the whiteboard he asked again. “What did you come up with?”
Holly grabbed the files and walked out the door slamming it. “Figure it out yourself asshole.”
Brock closed his eyes and just stood there. “Fuck!” When he did open his eyes, he picked up the dry erase marker and threw it across the room. Next he picked up the eraser and was about to throw it too when Brooke said, “What did the marker and eraser do to you?”
Brock spun around to find that Luke, Sam and Brooke were standing in the doorway of his office. “What the hell do you all want?” He yelled.
“I for one, wanted to meet this Holly that has you all tied up in knots.” Sam said.
“She ain’t here.”
“That is pretty obvious.” Luke stated.
“Are you okay?” Brooke asked.
“I’m just dandy. Is there something I can help you all with? I am pretty busy here.”
Laughing, “Yeah we can see that! I think you have a few more markers to throw yet.” Sam offered.
Brock glared at him. “Ha ha very funny, now was there something the three of you needed?”
“Yes.” Brooke interjected. “I wanted to see if you were busy tonight.”
“No, I’m not. Did you need help with the baby’s room or something?”
“Good! I wanted to have you and Holly over for supper, and Luke and Sam wanted to meet her.”
“Oh hell no!” Brock clipped back at her.
Brooke was shocked at Brock’s response. “You just said you weren’t busy. Now, I don’t see why you can’t come over for supper. I expect you to be there at six o’clock—no excuses.”
“Fine.” He sulked, “I don’t know if you will be able to get Holly there though.”
Sam and Luke looked at each other before Sam said “What the hell did you do now?”
“What makes you think I did anything? Maybe this time it wasn’t me!” Brock said pointing to his chest.
“Oh, I can pretty damn well guarantee that it was you.” Luke stated.
“What makes you jump to that conclusion?” Brock asked.
“I’m not the detective in the family, but even I can see that Holly is nowhere around, and you were in the process of trashing your office. That bro, is all the evidence I need to know that you did something to cause her to not be here.” Luke explained.
“It’s none of your business, but I can see you’re not going to just let it go, so here it is. I wasn’t in the best of moods when I got here, and I may have been a little short with her, so she up and left. Are you happy now?”
“I’m really sorry Brock.” Brooke said as she touched him on the arm. “I still want you to come over tonight. You’ll still come—won’t you?”
Giving in to Brooke’s soothing tone, “How can I tell you no. What’s on the menu and what can I bring?”
“Fantastic! We are grilling out—burgers and brats, so if you want to bring some beer that would be great.” Brooke quickly added.
“I’ll be there, but you need to get those two out of here right now.” He said pointing to Sam and Luke.
On the way out, Brooke spotted Holly walking towards the bathroom, so she told Sam and Luke to wait for her in the car while she used the bathroom. “All I do anymore is go to the bathroom.” She said aloud.
Holly came out of the bathroom stall and was shocked to see Brooke standing there. “Brooke? Right?”
“Yes, Holly. I was waiting to speak with you.”
“Me? Why?”
“I enjoyed meeting you last week and I wanted to get to know you better. Would you like that?”
“Sure. I enjoyed meeting you as well, and I have to say that was the best peach cobbler I have ever eaten!”
“I am really happy to hear that Brock shared it with you.”
Laughing, “He didn’t exactly share it with me.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to explain that one.”
“It was nothing really. Was there something in particular that you needed to speak to me about? Holly asked.
“Like I said, I really liked you after meeting you last week and I do want to get to know you better, so I wanted to invite you over for supper tonight. Luke and I are grilling out and he also wanted to meet you.”
“I would love to come over for a cook out. I would also love to meet one of Detective McClellan’s brothers to see if they all have such glowing personalities.” Holly responded.
“That you will also have to explain to me later too—for now I need to get going. Here is our address. The grill will be hot at six.” She said handing a piece of paper to Holly.
“Can I bring something?” Holly offered.
“Sure, we are grilling hamburgers and brats. Bring something that will go with them.”
“Thank you Brooke, I will be there around six.”
Holly avoided Brock for the remainder of the day. There was no way she was going to be subjected to his foul mood and the way he had treated her earlier. She was actually looking forward to getting a glimpse of his brothers. Surely they weren’t as moody as Brock was.
She hurried home and threw together a pasta salad to take with her using her grandmother’s recipe. It was always a favorite at cookouts. It was a pretty balmy evening, so she put on a pair of shorts and a tank top foregoing the bra. Charlie kept winding himself through her legs and purring trying to get some attention. “Shoo, go lay down—I don’t have time tonight to pet you.” fell on deaf ears as Charlie continued to rub her ankles. “You are going to trip me. Now stop that!”
Brock was on his way over to Luke’s when his phone rang. “Detective McClellan.”
“Brock McClellan?”
“Yes. Who’s calling?”
“This is Taylor at the Wellcare Immediate Clinic.”
“Oh, hello.”
“I am calling you with your test results. Everything came back negative.”
“Thank you for calling.”
“Would you like to pick up your test results or would you prefer I mail them?”
“I am heading that way right now, I will pick them up.”
“Okay, we will see you shortly then.”
Holly arrived at Luke and Brooke’s house a little ahead of time. Before she could knock on the door, Brooke opened it and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad you are here!”
“Thanks. I’m a bit early, I hope that isn’t a problem.”
“No, are you kidding me
? Come on in. Luke is in the backyard firing up the grill and Sam will be here shortly.”
“Oh, I didn’t know I would get to meet Sam too.”
“Is that a problem?” Brooke asked.
“No, not at all. I was looking forward to meeting Luke, so this is an even better surprise.”
“I do love surprises!” Brooke said as she could hardly contain the smile. “Come on, I will introduce you to Luke.”
Holly followed Brooke through the house and out the back patio door. “Luke! Look who’s here—it’s Holly. She is the detective that I told you I met last week.”
Luke wiped his hands on the front of his pants before extending a hand to Holly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My wife has told me so much about you.”
Holly automatically shook the offered hand, and was shocked as she was yanked in close for a hug. “Oh my! I sure didn’t expect that! I am pleased to meet you too.”
“We McClellan men are known for our affections.”
Holly must have looked confused as Luke continued. “Well most of the time we are.”
“Hey!” Sam shouted, “Where is everyone?”
“Out in the back at the grill.” Luke shouted back. “Now you get to meet the last of the McClellan men.”
“I am looking forward to it!” Holly responded.
“I grabbed you a beer Luke. Oh, hello—and who would this gorgeous woman be?” Sam asked pointing his beer towards Holly.
Holly stepped forward and extended her hand to Sam. “Hello, I’m Detect…sorry, habit of the job, I’m Holly Cavanaugh, and I assume you are Sam?”
“You really are a detective.” As he winked and picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you. You are being too kind.”
“What can I get you to drink? Do you drink beer?”
“Yes, a beer would be great.”
“I’ll be right back—you have a seat over there.” Sam said pointing to the patio set.
“Should I be helping Brooke in the house with something?” She asked Luke.
“No, she is just getting plates, napkins, and silverware. She will be out here shortly. Well, speak of the devil—here she comes now.”
“Are you talking about me again?”
Luke came up behind Brooke and kissed her on the neck as he took the plates from her hand. “Let me help.”
He set the plates down on the table and wrapped his arms around Brooke and began to rub her belly. Holly felt as though she was intruding on their special moment and wondering what that type of love felt like. “When are you due?” Holly asked.
“October 22nd.” Brooke responded.
“You look really great—do you know if you will be having a boy or a girl?” Holly asked.
“No, we want it to be a surprise. The only thing we hope for is that it is healthy. We plan to have several more. Don’t we Luke?”
“As many as you want, beautiful.” Luke responded.
Sam noticed that Holly was a bit uncomfortable about Luke and Brooke’s display of affection and piped in. “Don’t they just make you want to puke?”
Holly grinned at his comment and was about to reply when Brock walked into the backyard. “Doesn’t what make you want to puke?”
She spun around about the time Brock spotted her and she could tell that he was as shocked to see her as she was to see him. “I didn’t know you were going to be here—I wouldn’t have come.” Holly commented.
Brooke grabbed Holly’s hand. “Don’t be silly. Here—sit back down. Luke, would you help me grab the meat for the grill?”
“Sure—Sam, would you like to grab us another beer?”
“Yeah, I’ll get that right now.” Sam replied.
“Wow—if that wasn’t obvious of my family to make sure they gave us some time alone.” Brock mused.
“I should leave.” Holly said as she stood up.
Brock was at a loss for words as his eyes drank her in from top to bottom lingering on her long legs and where her short shorts came across her thighs.
“Is there something wrong Brock?”
“Nnno…You’re stunning.”
Holly felt the tears welling up in her eyes and tried her best to force them down. “Don’t.” She whispered shaking her head as a tear let go.
Brock instinctively reached up and wiped it away. “I’m sorry. I was a jerk this morning. I had a lot on my mind and I took it out on you. That was a mistake.”
Holly barely recognized his voice—it was so tender and sincere. She choked back a sob as Brock took a step towards her and pulled her into an embrace. “I’m so sorry.” He repeated.
“Are we interrupting?” Luke asked.
“No.” Holly said as she pushed herself away from Brock and wiped her eyes.
Brock pleaded with Holly. “Stay—please?”
She nodded. “Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom.”
“I’ll show you where it is.” Brooke offered.
Luke and Sam both glared at Brock as Sam spoke. “You need to fix this. Whatever you have done—you need to fix this.”
“I know.” Brock said as he slumped into a chair.
“Are you going to move forward with that asinine plan of yours?” Luke asked.
“Hell if I know—I think we kind of need to talk first before I can answer that question.”
Holly emerged from the bathroom to find Brooke waiting for her. “I’m so sorry—I should leave. I don’t want to cause any problems. I really liked meeting Luke and Sam and they seem like really nice guys. Can you just tell them that I wasn’t feeling well?”
“Absolutely not! I thought you had more backbone than that. I don’t have a clue what is going on here, but what you two need is an intervention.”
“Can we talk somewhere more private? I don’t want someone walking in on what I’m going to tell you.”
“Sure, let’s go to the bedroom.”
Once the door to the bedroom was closed, Holly sat on the bed and looked up at Brooke. “Have you heard the expression friends with benefits?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Brock and I…”
“No! You’re not saying that the two of you are friends with benefits—are you?”
“Yes and no. We agreed to it on Friday, but we haven’t ‘benefited’ yet. I thought everything was fine when he had left work on Friday, but then when he came in today, he was in a foul mood and started to treat me like shit, so I avoided him the rest of the day. I mean if he was having second thoughts about the arrangement after giving it some thought this past weekend, all he had to do was tell me. Hell, the thought of it today scares the crap out of me.”
“I am speechless. That is so not Brock. Last I knew he wanted to find a permanent relationship. He has seen what Luke and I have together, and he wants it too. What were you thinking agreeing to that kind of arrangement?”
“I guess I wasn’t. Maybe this is an omen and we really do need to keep a work only relationship.”
“Oh honey, from the way he was looking at you earlier, he wants more than a work only relationship.”
There was a knock on the door. “Brooke? Are you in there?” Luke asked.
“Yes, Holly and I will be out shortly.”
“Good because supper is ready.”
“We will be right there.” Brooke repeated.
Holly jumped off the bed and went to the door and opened it. “Luke it was really nice to meet you, but I think I need to leave.”
“Let me at least walk you out.” He offered.
Luke grabbed a hold of Holly’s hand and without her knowledge turned to wink at Brooke. When he got downstairs, instead of heading out the front door, he turned to go out to the patio.
“Luke? You said you were walking me out.”
“I am. Just not ‘out’ the door you thought. I am taking you out on the patio where you will sit down and eat supper with us. My brother can be a real jerk at times, but I can assure you th
at he can also be a really great guy if given the opportunity. “
“Here she is.” Luke announced. “Now we can start eating!”
During supper, Brock couldn’t take his eyes off of Holly for fear that if he did, she wouldn’t be there. He sensed that she was jumpy and ready to bolt if given the opportunity. Somehow he needed to talk to her alone.
Holly stood and thanked Brooke for the invitation to supper and let Luke and Sam know that she enjoyed meeting them, but it was late and she needed to get home. Brock jumped up, “I’ll walk you out.”
“I really don’t think that is necessary.” Holly stated.
“It may not be necessary, but I would like to walk you out.” He pushed.
“Thank you.”
Brooke, Luke and Sam all hugged Holly and let her know she was welcome anytime, before Brock proceeded to walk her out to her car. Holly reached for her car door “Thank you for walking me out. I will see you tomorrow.”
Brock held the door shut. “Holly, we need to talk.”
“I don’t think so, I got the message loud and clear.”
“No! You didn’t. I mean obviously I was a jerk this morning, and from that you could jump to a conclusion, but that would be the wrong one.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“I’m not very good at this. I made a decision this weekend.” He continued.
“Yeah, you had a great way of telling me about it this morning.”
“NO! Let me finish. After having some time to think about the agreement we made the other day, I realized that as good as it sounded on Friday, it isn’t me or what I want.”
“Great—that was all you had to say this morning.” Holly said as she reached for the door handle.
“I’m not finished. The reason that I can’t live with that agreement anymore is because I want more. I want the whole full blown relationship. I want to hold you all night after making love to you. I want to wake up in the morning and know that you are next to me. I want to share parts of my life with you, just like I want to learn more about your family and life. I want to give us a chance at whatever life deals out.”
Holly looked Brock in the eyes. “Impossible.”
Seal It With A Kiss (McClellan Trilogy) Page 7