Once a Cop

by Lisa Childs

  “Officer Meyers was just doing her job,” Holden said.

  Around another bite of his turkey sandwich, Todd mumbled, “Her job sucks.”

  “Her job is to make the streets safer for you, and she takes that responsibility very seriously.” Remembering her grappling with that drug dealer in the alley, he flinched. “It’s a tough job. And you have to be a tough person to want to do it.”

  Todd laughed. “Hey, the rev’s got a crush on the hot chick cop.”

  Skylar’s eyes rounded with horror. “No, no, he can’t. He doesn’t…”

  Holden hoped it was only a crush. Then it would be easy to get over. She’d be easy to get over. He shook his head. “Not at all.”

  “What about that chick, Rev?” Todd asked with a soft whistle. He gestured toward one of the volunteers, a familiar-looking blonde. Joelly Standish.

  As if she’d felt their attention, she lifted her head and waved.

  Color flooded Todd’s thin face. “You know her?”

  Holden nodded. “Yes. And I’m going to go say hello. Excuse me.”

  “Oh, the rev’s a player,” Todd teased, and then yelped when Skylar punched his arm. Holden left them squabbling as he walked off to join Joelly.

  He had the sudden urge to revert to high-school tactics and ask her best friend what Robbie had said about him. If the two women were as close as Kayla had claimed, did they share everything? Had Robbie told her about their kisses? About the fire that burned between them anytime they were together?

  Instead, he said, “I thought it was just the school open house that I recognized you from, but you’ve been here before, haven’t you? You volunteer.”

  “Not as much as I should,” Joelly admitted ruefully. “It’s been a while.”

  “Because you stay busy helping Roberta with Kayla?”

  “Robbie takes care of her daughter by herself, but I do help her when I can,” Joelly said. “I work nights, so I sleep most of the day away.” She pushed a hand through her tousled hair. “Obviously I didn’t sleep much today.”

  “A gentleman would assure you that you look well rested,” he said, but he had noted the dark circles beneath her eyes.

  She chuckled. “You’re a minister—you’re not supposed to lie.”

  “Actually I didn’t finish at the seminary. I’m only a counselor,” he corrected her. “The pastor of St. Mike’s called me the youth minister, and then the kids started calling me Reverend there. It just stuck.”

  “You earned the title. You really care about these kids,” she said, pressing a fist against her mouth as she yawned. “Sorry…”

  “You work nights.”

  “Shh, don’t tell anyone,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I’d hate to ruin the public’s image of me being an all-night party girl.”

  “Why?” He gestured at her casual clothes. “I don’t understand why you dress differently for the Citizens’ Police Academy.”

  “I started dressing like that when I was about the age of most of these kids,” she said, “to irritate my father. Then I kind of got myself trapped in that image because it’s what people expected of the princess of Lakewood.”

  “People can change,” he encouraged her.

  Sadness flashed in her eyes. “Sometimes other people won’t let them.”

  “You’re old enough not to care what other people think,” he pointed out.

  “You obviously haven’t met my father.”

  “As a matter of fact, I have.” And he would again at the mayor’s ball.

  “Then you know there’s no age limit on caring what other people think of you.”

  “Does anyone at the Lakewood PD know that you and Roberta are friends?” he asked. He couldn’t recall them interacting in class.

  “Please don’t tell anyone,” she implored. “I don’t want my reputation to affect how her fellow officers regard Robbie.”

  “You’re not exactly their favorite person,” he said, gently. “But it’s not personal. It’s just because of the position your dad has taken about hiring more police.”

  “Yeah, I know, but sometimes it feels personal,” she admitted. He saw a flash of hurt on her face.

  “I have a personal question,” he said.

  She sighed, but acquiesced. “Ask away.”

  “You said you didn’t spend as much time here as you should,” he recalled. “Why should you spend time here?”

  “I just…I know where these kids are coming from,” she said.

  “You were a runaway like Robbie?”

  Surprise widened her eyes. “She told you?”

  “Yes.”

  “She doesn’t like to talk about it.” Joelly sighed again. “Neither do I. There wasn’t a place like this…back then.” She smiled with satisfaction as she glanced around the shelter. “You’ve done a good thing here, Reverend Thomas.”

  The high-pitched beeping of the metal detectors drew their attention to the man who’d just walked through the door. He wore a Lakewood PD uniform and a German shepherd walked at his side. Despite their wariness of police officers, the kids swarmed him. No doubt because of the dog.

  Joelly stammered, “I—I have to go now.”

  Holden barely managed to say goodbye before she grabbed her tray and headed into the kitchen. Was it just coincidence that it was in the opposite direction from Sergeant Ethan Brewer?

  “She sure didn’t stick around long,” Sergeant Brewer commented with a nod toward the swinging doors, as Holden joined him and his K9 partner.

  “Who?”

  “Joelly Standish,” he said. “That was her, right, in that disguise?”

  “Disguise?” Holden echoed.

  “The baggy jeans and sweater.”

  “You know, I think that might be how she really dresses,” Holden said. The short skirts and tight shirts were the true disguise. He could commiserate with Joelly on the subject of complicated family dynamics. While his mother had resented his relationship with his half sister, his father had resented his decision to become a youth minister, rather than following him into the family business. But he’d had no interest in running marina franchises along the Lake Michigan coast.

  The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t know what to believe about the princess, except that my sisters are probably right. I need a low-maintenance woman.” He sighed. “And I don’t think they get much higher-maintenance than Joelly Standish. It’d be crazy to even think about her…like that.”

  “Crazy,” Holden agreed, but he was really thinking about himself and Roberta Meyers. And he had to stop thinking about her, about kissing her, touching her—

  “Yeah,” Ethan said, albeit with a trace of disappointment. “It’s better to stick with someone you have something in common with. Bullet—uh, Sergeant Terlecki—mentioned that you’re dating Meredith Wallingford?” He whistled in appreciation, and the sound immediately caused his dog, who was being petted, to lift his head and perk up his ears. Some silent communication passed between the partners, then the German shepherd relaxed and went back to soaking up the kids’ attention. “She’s gorgeous.”

  Maybe it was because Holden had known Meredith for so long that he hadn’t realized how attractive she’d become. “Yes, she is,” he concurred with a sense of bemusement.

  Ethan nodded. “She’s perfect for you, too. She can help you out with the shelter. She really understands what you’re trying to do.” He glanced toward the kitchen door through which Joelly had disappeared a short time before. “People don’t get that writing checks isn’t enough.”

  Holden could have corrected the sergeant’s misconception about Joelly, but he didn’t want to betray her confidence. Instead, he said, “I’m sure you’ll meet someone special,” even as he suspected the officer already had.

  Brewer sighed. “It’s not always easy finding someone who can handle being with a cop.”

  “Really?” So he wasn’t the only one who’d found it a problem.

  “Yeah, it’s long hours a
nd not the greatest pay.”

  “What about the danger?”

  Ethan laughed. “There are some who find that exciting, like that college girl in the CPA.” He sighed. “Then there are others who wouldn’t even consider dating a cop because of it.”

  Like Holden.

  “Whoa,” Ethan said with a laugh. “Sorry for getting all Dear Abby on you. I just came by to check out the shelter. The chief mentioned you were making some changes. The metal detector and the interns are great ideas.”

  “They weren’t mine.” Holden sighed. “But they were necessary. Too bad the metal detectors can’t detect narcotics. If only there was some way to check for drugs without frisking every kid as he comes through the doors. I’ve already been told this place is getting to be like juvie. And that was never my intention.”

  “Yeah, I know you had the best intentions.” Ethan pointed toward his dog. “Jaws and I can help you out from time to time. He’ll pick up on anyone carrying something they shouldn’t have.”

  “Thank you,” Holden said, “for everything.” Not only had the sergeant helped him find a solution to the problem that bothered him most, but he’d also given him perspective on Meredith.

  After Ethan and Jaws left, Holden slipped into his office to make a call. “Meredith,” he said the moment she picked up, “I’m sure. You’re the one I want to take to the mayor’s ball.”

  If only she was the woman he wanted.

  “PLEASE, MOM, can’t Holly come over tonight? Brenda can watch us both. Her uncle is never around, and she gets lonely in that big, old house all alone.” Kayla stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching Robbie apply mascara to her lashes.

  Usually she didn’t bother with much makeup, unless she was working undercover, but tonight was the mayor’s ball. In addition to the makeup, she wore one of Joelly’s old gowns. Fortunately they were the same size, so the silvery blue silk fit well.

  “Holly isn’t all alone,” Robbie said, careful to keep her sympathy for Holden’s orphaned niece from her face. She was pretty certain Kayla was manipulating her, just as she had last weekend with her “nightmare.”

  When Robbie had had time to think clearly, she’d realized that Kayla’s face couldn’t have been that dry, her voice that clear, unless she’d been faking her hysterical phone call.

  “She has Mrs. Crayden, and she seems very nice, very grandmotherly.”

  Her daughter’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  Of course Kayla had no experience with grandmothers, Joelly’s socialite mother being the closest thing to one that Kayla had ever known. Mrs. Standish, despite the years Robbie had lived with her, had always kept her distance emotionally and physically, not just from Robbie but from Joelly, too.

  “I’m sure she gives Holly a lot of attention and affection,” Robbie explained.

  Kayla shook her head. “No. She’s really just their housekeeper. And besides, she’s old.”

  “Kayla!” Robbie admonished her daughter. “She’s not old.” She was probably only in her early fifties, at the most.

  Her daughter eyed her dubiously. “Well, she’s not fun like you are.”

  “Sucking up will get you nowhere,” Robbie insisted. “And anyway, I will be out with Aunt JoJo, so Holly won’t be able to have fun with me.” While she didn’t want to damage her daughter’s friendship with Holly, Robbie didn’t want to get any more attached to the child herself. Holden didn’t think she’d be good for his niece. Or himself.

  “You look like a princess, Mommy.” Kayla continued to pour on the charm. “I wish…”

  “It’s a grown-up party,” Robbie explained, “otherwise I’d take you.”

  “Since I can’t go, let me have Holly come over. Her uncle can drop her off.”

  And see Robbie all dressed up? Was that her daughter’s plan? Robbie shook her head, disappointed in herself. She had grown far too cynical if she suspected her own daughter’s motives. “I’ve paid Brenda to babysit just you.”

  “We’ll play together, so it’ll be easier for her than watching just me.” Kayla’s rosebud lips pulled into a pout. “I really wanna hang out with Holly.”

  “You hang out with Holly at school every day,” Robbie reminded her. “You’ll have to wait until next weekend.” She shook her head. “No, I’m working next weekend. The weekend after that.”

  Kayla complained, “You’re always working.”

  “I just had a few days off, remember?”

  “Probably just because you got hurt.” The nine-year-old grimaced, and pain dimmed the brightness of her blue eyes. “Again.”

  Robbie’s breath caught. Was Holden right? Did her job cause her daughter anxiety? “Don’t you like my job?”

  Kayla shrugged. “I don’t like you working nights. I only see you for a couple of hours when I get out of school. And it really sucks when you work weekends.”

  “So it’s my shift you don’t like?”

  The girl shrugged again.

  “You’re okay with my job, though? It doesn’t bother you?” Or give her nightmares as Holden had implied?

  “No.” Kayla smiled. Even though disappointed that she hadn’t gotten her way, she wasn’t a sulker. “Kids think I’m really cool when I say my mom’s a cop.”

  Robbie pulled her daughter close for a hug. “I think you’re cool, too, but because you’re you. Not because of what your mom does for a living.”

  “Holly likes me for me, too,” Kayla added. “She’s my best friend.”

  “Just your friend,” she said, “not your sister like you two have been telling the rest of the class.” The teacher’s phone call had enlightened Robbie about the two friends’ matchmaking scheme.

  Kayla’s face flushed. “Mrs. Groom called?”

  Robbie nodded, her eyes narrowed as she met her daughter’s gaze. “What’s that all about?”

  “It’s just a joke,” Kayla insisted. “Mrs. Groom has no sense of humor.”

  “Okay, just so you know…”

  “Of course I know we’re not sisters.”

  “And you’re not going to be sisters.” Robbie wasn’t good enough to be Holden’s wife or Holly’s mother.

  WITH SASSY CURLED UP on her lap, Kayla sat cross-legged on the zebra rug on Aunt JoJo’s wood floor. Her fingers trembling with nerves, she stroked the dog’s fur as she carried out her and Holly’s Plan B. “Mom’s busy getting ready, too, so she asked if you could call Mr. Thomas for her, about dropping Holly off to spend the night tonight.”

  Her heart pounded as she watched Aunt JoJo slide her feet into super-high heels. Her aunt hated wearing shoes. She and Mom would be leaving soon. And then Uncle Holden wouldn’t have a chance to see Mom dressed up like a movie star.

  “She did?” Joelly asked, and she did that thing where just one eyebrow formed an arch.

  Kayla had tried it before in the mirror, but she couldn’t raise just one; both went up and wrinkled her forehead. “Yeah. She’s gotta finish her makeup, so she wondered if you could do it for her.”

  “I know what you’re up to, kiddo,” Aunt JoJo said, and now her caramel-colored eyes went all squinty as she stared at Kayla.

  She shifted her butt on the rug, which wrinkled on the hardwood floor. Sassy jumped off her lap. Mom had that look, too—the one Aunt Jo was giving her—and it always made her squirm until she confessed all. But this was too important for her to chicken out now. She was going to prove to those kids at school that she and Holly weren’t lying. They really were sisters—or would be soon.

  She fluttered her lashes and pretended she had no idea what her aunt was talking about. “I’m not up to anything.”

  “Yes, you are, sweetie,” Aunt JoJo said with a knowing smile. “You’re trying to set up your mom with your friend’s uncle.”

  “N-n-no…” Kayla stammered, her nerves running wild. Every time she lied she got caught; no wonder she didn’t try it much.

  “Actually I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all.” Joe
lly sighed and shook her head. “But your mom does.”

  “Holly’s uncle is really nice, though.” Mr. Thomas would be a great dad. He’d been so nice when she spent the night, telling her to make herself at home and making sure she had everything she needed. But she hadn’t had the guts to tell him what she really needed, what she had needed for nine years—a dad.

  “Yes, he is nice. But that doesn’t mean he and your mom would get along.”

  “They do argue sometimes,” Kayla admitted, “except when they’re kissing.”

  “Kissing?” Aunt Jo asked, her eyes wide with shock and then delight. “Kissing? Really?”

  Kayla nodded again. “I saw it myself in our apartment. And when I spent the night at Holly’s, we got Mom to come over—”

  “But I dropped you off—” Joelly’s forehead frowned “—and picked you up from Holly’s.”

  Kayla’s face got hot as she confessed, “I called her in the middle of the night pretending I had a nightmare.”

  Aunt JoJo laughed. “They kissed that night, too?”

  “I don’t know, but they went into his bedroom for a while. We were gonna listen at the door, but the floor’s so squeaky we were afraid we’d get caught.”

  “Oh, someone’s been holding out on me.” Joelly laughed again. “Call your friend. You’ll find out that her uncle is also going to the ball tonight.” Her eyes twinkled. “I made sure he got an invitation.”

  Kayla’s mouth fell open in shock. “You’re trying to get them together, too.”

  “Yes.” Then she mumbled, so low that Kayla could barely catch her words, “At least one of us deserves to get the good guy.”

  Again Kayla’s mouth fell open in shock, and then dread. “Do you like Mr. Thomas, too?” She didn’t want him for an uncle; she wanted him for a dad.

  Joelly shook her head. “No, but I think he’s nice.”

  “I wish Mom thought so.”

  “She thinks something of him, since she’s been kissing him,” Joelly said.

  Kayla’s heart warmed with hope. “Yes, she does…” Maybe she loved him.

  Chapter Ten

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” a feminine voice said. When Holden turned to the woman the first thing he noticed was the turmoil in her eyes, the love and regret.