“I’ll see. Thanks for the offer.”
Holly called out for Chloe who reluctantly came into the living room with Megan following close behind.
“I thought I’d say goodbye, Holly,” Megan said. “Oh, I know I didn’t ask you, Dad, but I was wondering if you and Chloe wanted to come for Thanksgiving dinner?”
Holly felt herself blush. She looked at Brendan whose face was probably the same color as hers. “I think that would be a wonderful idea,” Brendan said. “Do you have plans?”
“Actually, it was just going to be me and Chloe. My folks are visiting my sister and her family,” she stammered.
“Great, then. We’re all set.” Meg clapped her hands together and left the room.
The little girls jumped up and down, thrilled to be spending their holiday together. Brendan and Holly both looked a bit stunned. “That’s the Irish in her. We like a big holiday.”
“So, is there going to be a large group?”
“A few hundred Irishmen, that’s all. No, I’m kidding. My folks still live on The Emerald Isle, and since their mum left . . . well, no, in other words. We were having a quiet Thanksgiving ourselves. Having you and Chloe here definitely fits in more with our idea of a holiday. It’ll be splendid.”
“I really appreciate it. With these cases and my family away, I didn’t make any plans. Normally I would’ve had something pulled together . . . And I don’t want to intrude . . .”
“Holly, hush. I’m glad Meg invited you. I would’ve invited you myself if I hadn’t thought you’d have something planned. But I know how work and life can get this time of year. All crazy. In other words, what I’m trying to say here is that we would love to have you.”
“What can I bring?” Holly asked, rather chagrined.
“How’s your apple pie?”
“I make a better cheesecake.”
“Beautiful. I like to serve dinner between three and four, but I hope you’ll come long before that. In fact, if you’d like to spend the day, well by all means come along. You can watch a master chef in action.”
“I should say,” Holly replied. “Your dinner tonight was delicious.”
“Indeed. Well, lovely ladies, it seems to be passing our bedtimes, Madeline, yours, and mine.”
“Good night, Brendan,” Chloe said.
As they said goodnight, Holly thought how amazing it was that the day could start on such a rotten note and end so perfectly.
Once in the car, Chloe asked, “Do you think my daddy would want you to be Brendan’s girlfriend?”
“Wow, Chloe, I don’t know. But don’t worry about it. Brendan and I are just friends.”
“Will you tell me about my daddy again? Can I see the pictures when we get home?”
“Oh, sweetie, it’s late, and we’re tired. Let’s go home, have a nice cup of peppermint tea, and climb in bed, okay?” Chloe nodded. “Good.” Holly reached over and smoothed down Chloe’s hair. They drove in silence for the five-minute trip, Holly lost in thought.
Chloe had just reiterated the same questions that Holly was struggling with. With the mere mention of Jack, memories and moments flooded her mind, and the evening she’d spent with Brendan went from perfect into a guilty blur. Ridiculous, she told herself. Jack was gone. She should move on. Once Chloe was asleep, no matter how tired she felt, Holly knew she’d have to type up an e-mail and send it to the one person who might be able to guide her through this situation. The one person who would have insight and advice.
Yes, she would write to him later on tonight or early in the morning with hopes of finding guidance on her issues with Brendan.
And maybe he would be able to guide her with her case, as well.
CHAPTER NINE
Brendan held the downward dog pose, reflecting on the evening and how so much had transpired in less than two hours. Meg had taken a liking to Holly, and that was unbelievable; that kid disliked all adults since her mother took off three years earlier, only to make an occasional appearance when she felt like it. And here Brendan once thought tradition dictated that it was men who had mid-life crises.
The yoga instructor on the home video told him to breathe deeply in difficult situations, and he contorted into positions that he never thought he could do until he started this practice. What a laugh—an Irish Catholic meditating, breathing, and contorting. Okay, at least he’d been baptized as a baby and gone through the requisite catechism as a child, but Brendan hadn’t been inside a Catholic church since Maddie was blessed. What would the priest say now? He took in a deep breath, but no amount of oxygen intake and release could clear his mind the way it should have. He was still very wound up and even confused.
Holly Jennings had that effect on him. She was the entire package—brains, beauty, a gentle being—and well, Brendan was a man. He had noticed, as he was sure that all men had, that Holly Jennings maintained one serious kick-ass body. Yes, sir, Holly was the real deal, and when Brendan first laid eyes on her at an open house down at the school, he’d had one of those moments. When he thought about it now, he referred to it as a spiritual thing. Light had shone above her glossy dark hair, and when those hazel eyes had met his . . . bam! He knew he’d looked into the eyes of his soul mate. That sounded ridiculous to him, such a damn cliché, but if there were any truth to that saying, then he’d found it in her. It was more than simple lust.
Funny that he now thought like that, because he never would have until recently. That soul mate stuff was pretty funky as far as he was concerned. Hell, his ex-wife left him for her supposed “soul mate.” Brendan had spent a couple of years lifting weights, taking St. John’s Wort at the pleading of his sister, and reading everything that Dr. Wayne Dyer ever wrote, another thing his sister insisted he do to get him over . . . What was her name now? Oh, yeah. Rebecca.
Well, Rebecca split for her soul mate, leaving behind her three-year-old and twelve-year old daughters. How could a mother ever leave her children behind? Was he such a poor husband that she’d give it all up? That thought alone made Brendan wonder about penis implants. Silly notion, but he’d met Rebecca’s soul mate at the gym, and not that Brendan looked at male counterparts’ parts, but Rebecca’s “soul mate” was hard not to notice. Like a body builder from a porno movie. How could a woman abandon her own children, only to have every other weekend visits, and actually prefer it that way? And how many times had she called to cancel those visits? It had been over a month since she’d seen the girls, and Brendan was about to take her back to court and pull out all the stops to take away all her rights. Each time she cancelled and he witnessed the faces of his children melt into sadness (and in Meg’s case, anger), the pain he felt was more horrible than a dagger in his back.
Rebecca had done a number on his family, and if he had his way, he would have her completely out of their lives. He wanted his daughters to be able to move on if their mother really didn’t care, and it was becoming very clear to him that this was the case. She was a self-centered bitch. It had taken him the last three years to heal. He’d even reverted back to his glory bachelor days for a few months, perhaps an attempt to prove that his penis was just fine.
There had been that night that the twenty-two-year-old cutie had approached him and a couple of his drinking buddies. She’d actually sidled up to him, and not the jerks he occasionally hung around with and called friends. Him! Damn if he hadn’t felt like the ultimate bachelor that night with that bodacious redhead next to him. What a night! He still remembered their screaming out loud!
But something about those getting-lucky, beer-drinking nights had left him cold and feeling exposed. They were indeed overrated, and far different than when he’d been in his early twenties. It hadn’t done for him what it supposedly did for other men.
Brendan was a Paul McCartney—a marrying kind of guy. He was as sentimental as his own dad and grandpa, both of them married for most of their lives.
About a month prior to meeting Holly, he’d finally come to terms with his ex’s desert
ion and her need for the whole soul mate thing. He would never have believed it possible that there was such a thing until the day that he had come face to face with Holly.
Swear to the heavens above, a white light had shimmered above her, and the sense of always having known her had settled over him. It had been the first day of second grade for both of their daughters at the Saint Francis School. Madeline had run up to him, “Daddy, Daddy, I made a friend, a good friend, my very best friend in the whole world.”
Maddie was the drama queen in his life, and Brendan cherished that in her. Shiny, wavy, strawberry-blonde curls spread down her back, complimenting her sparkling blue eyes. He always wondered about that tinge of red in her hair, until his mother reassured him that it was simply their Irish ancestry showing its bold side. He’d come to believe her as Maddie grew older and took on more of her father’s characteristics, including his horribly ugly toes—the two in the middle were much longer than the rest, big toe included. Brendan loved his children. Maddie was the light of his life, and Megan held that place in his heart that only an oldest daughter could hold. They’d had a tight bond from the time she entered the world, and until a few years ago, he thought nothing could come between that. Then her mother left, and Brendan knew that at some deep level Meg blamed him. Rough going for a bit was truly an understatement, and Brendan missed the camaraderie he and his eldest used to share. But maybe the tide was changing, and if so, he couldn’t help but feel that Holly could have something to do with it.
Holly appeared to complement his family like fine wine, and her Chloe fit right into it. Damn, he couldn’t believe he was thinking like this. He’d only had a couple of dinners with Holly, a few yoga classes, and some parent participation time at school. How could he, in his mind, already be walking down the aisle with her?
He knew how he could be thinking it. That day at the St. Francis School when he first met Holly was a life-changing day. When Maddie ran up to him all out of breath, flush from the excitement of her first day of school filled with friends and possibilities, he couldn’t help but love that little kid even more. With Maddie, it was always the glass half full. She’d certainly taught him a lot.
“So you had a good day, huh?” he’d asked.
“The best, Daddy. My teacher is very nice and funny. Except she kind of has a mustache.” She’d grimaced, then stuck out her tongue.
Brendan had forced himself to stifle a laugh. Maybe he would suggest to the room parent that the teacher’s holiday gift should be a gift certificate to a local day spa. With waxing in mind.
“But even better, I met my best friend in the whole wide world. She doesn’t have a daddy. He died. I told her my mommy left us, and we only see her sometimes.”
Brendan hadn’t known how to reply, but there had been no need to as his bubbly daughter had continued talking.
“Daddy, can she come over?”
“Oh, Maddie, I don’t know, I’ve got to get back over to the clinic this afternoon. I need to check on one of my patients, an old pup that’s had a hard time today.”
“Daddy, please. We can go with you. Come on, can she come over?”
“It’s the first day of school, and what’s her mum gonna say?”
“Guess you can ask her now.” He’d followed Maddie’s eyes as she looked up.
And that’s when the bright light came on. Brendan saw the most amazing woman he’d ever seen in his life. Her golden hazel eyes met his, and Brendan melted. Damn, she was beautiful. He could barely get out any words as she’d stuck out her soft but firm hand, shaking his. “Hi. I’m Holly Jennings. Looks like our girls have become fast friends.”
“It does.” Brendan hadn’t known what he was saying; all he could think about at that moment was getting her alone and finding out all about her. “Maddie and I would love to have your daughter over. She could stay for dinner, if you’d like.”
“I don’t know. We’ve still got a few school supplies to get this evening.”
Chloe had whined, “Oh, please, Mom. We can go tonight after you pick me up.”
Brendan had watched Holly’s face soften. Her daughter obviously had the same effect on her as his did on him.
“I guess. But dinner? I don’t think so. We really should get over to the store.”
“We’ll eat early. Maybe get a pizza or something. You can join us if you’d like,” Brendan had said. She made a slight face that he didn’t quite know how to read. Was it apprehension? Or a You gotta be kidding me look? He quickly tried to recover. “It might be easier for you. We could meet you over at Pepe’s. It’s in the same strip mall as Target where you can buy Chloe’s supplies.” God, he’d hoped he wasn’t sounding too pushy.
“Yeah, Mommy, that’s a great idea,” Chloe had said.
Holly had looked around, as if she’d find an excuse somewhere on the school grounds. By this time, Brendan figured she thought he was a loser.
“Fine. Sounds great.” Oh, God, she had agreed! “I’ll meet you guys at Pepe’s around six.”
“I hate to be a pain about it, but could we make it six-thirty? I’ve got a patient to check in on, and I need to give his family a call. My office is close by. I’m just going to stop in for a minute,” Brendan said.
“You’re a doctor?”
“My daddy is a vet,” Maddie had said with that perfect smile.
“Really?”
Had there been a hint of interest in Holly’s voice? “Actually, yes. I’ve got an older dog that had a cancerous growth and had some surgery this morning. I like to check in on my patients before the long evening stretch.”
“Sure. I can understand that.”
“So, do you have animals?”
“A cat.”
Chloe had interrupted, “He’s a really fat kitty and not too smart, my mom says. She also says that all he does is eat and sleep. And she says he doesn’t even catch mice.”
“Okay, well I’m going to head out now, before we get into a discussion about more of the cat’s negative traits.” She had laughed, a hearty, yet feminine laugh that Brendan liked.
“We’re going to the car, Daddy,” Madeline had said.
“Be right there,” he’d replied.
“Be good, Chloe,” Holly had instructed.
“So what do you do?” Brendan had assumed by the way that she was dressed (nice khaki slacks and a knit short-sleeved sweater almost the same color as her eyes) that she was a career woman.
“I’m a detective with SDPD. A criminalist, actually. We work with forensics and violent homicides.”
“Really?”
She’d nodded confidently.
“That is very impressive.”
“Not really.”
“Yes, it is.”
Holly had started to protest again, but the blaring of his car horn interrupted them. “Girls are getting impatient.”
“They seem to be.” He’d looked down at his watch. “Whoops, I’m late to pick up Megan at the high school.”
“You have another child, then?”
“Yes, a sophomore, and she’s not a happy girl when I’m behind, if you know what I mean. I’m sorry, gotta run. I’ll see you at six-thirty.”
“All right. Bye.”
She’d shown up at the pizza place on time, and their discussion—in between ordering children to use their napkins and not to say words like “fart” or “stupid”—had been lively and interesting, and Brendan couldn’t help feeling further attracted to Holly. He hadn’t felt like this in . . . well, he’d actually never felt like this right off the bat.
He’d thought about mustering up the courage to ask her out, have dinner alone with her. But the right moment never seemed to present itself. So, on parent night at school, he’d noticed that she had already signed up for some volunteer time. He’d put his name down for the same date and time. That had worked out rather nicely. However, he didn’t work up the courage to ask her out, so instead he encouraged her to take the yoga class that he’d been taking. That she a
greed to. Inroads made.
Now what?
Something about Holly sort of intimidated him. She still had that glow about her, and he felt as strongly about her now as he did the first time that he had laid eyes on her. Sometimes he got the sense that she felt it, too. But she had a concrete wall for a barrier, and she wasn’t about to let it down.
Even after finishing the yoga video and trying hard to think about nothing, he was unable to shake thoughts of Holly. He’d been through plenty of ups and downs in his life, and he knew right in the center of his heart that Holly Jennings was the one for him. And whether she knew it or not, he would have to take a leap of faith and get out his sledgehammer, because he was determined to bring down that concrete wall around her.
Even if his own heart got smashed in the process.
CHAPTER TEN
If there was one place where Holly did not like to hang out, it was the medical examiner’s office, even though Dr. Peter Lareby was a nice guy. He just worked in such a dismal atmosphere! Holly knew that many could say the same thing about her profession. But as far as she was concerned, she simply found and studied dead bodies and tied the links together to hunt down the monsters that destroyed human life on a daily basis. What Doc Lareby did to dead bodies on a daily basis made any contents in her stomach do one of those gymnastic-type twists. On the days that she knew she would be spending time in the freezing, sterile, small area the doc thrived in, she made certain she kept her food intake to a minimum.
“Hello, Detectives,” Dr. Lareby said as Holly and Chad came in the door. Across the room, little Sara McKay lay stretched out, hard, cold, and blue on top of a gurney. Her face and body almost didn’t seem real. More like a figure in a wax museum.
“Hey, Doc,” Holly replied. She tucked her hair back behind her ears and started twisting her pearl earring, a habit she fell into when she was anxious. Chad knew it, too. He’d mentioned it to her one day over coffee when Jack’s name came up, and she had started fiddling with the damn earring. So she consciously tried to avoid doing it. But down here, in this place of death, Holly found herself fighting off a panic attack.
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