Stumbling Into Forever (Stumbling Through Life Book 2)

by Molly O'Hare

  Whenever she looked his way now, he’d have his lopsided grin fully on display.

  Her life had morphed into something she’d never thought she’d be privileged to. Ben, her dad, their animals. All of it. This type of fulfillment was never in the cards for her, but now that she had it, she couldn’t help but fantasize about the one thing she knew would make her heart feel one hundred percent full.

  I want a baby.

  The sucker punch feeling she had earlier in the day returned with a new force. She knew she couldn’t wait another moment. It was do or die.

  Unfortunately, the second Holly opened her mouth Ben’s phone rang.

  Dang it!

  “This is Ben.”

  Within seconds Holly watched as Ben’s face paled. All thoughts of their future disappeared as a gut-wrenching feeling of wrong swept through her.

  Oh no!

  Ben’s face contorted as he continued with the call. “Are you serious, is everything all right? How about the animals?” Ben asked.

  Holly was nearly in a full-blown panic. She shot out of her seat knocking her chair onto the floor behind her.

  Ben jumped from his seat and started heading to the front door. “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Ben said before shoving the phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

  “What’s going on?” Holly asked running after him.

  “Yeah, son, is everything okay?”

  Ben turned back to them, an expression of panic on his face which caused Holly’s stomach to sink. She’d never seen this type of dread on Ben before, not even when they were dealing with his psychotic mother.

  “Someone broke into the clinic.”

  Chapter Four

  When the clinic appeared in Ben’s sights, he realized it was surrounded by police cars causing his stomach to completely churn.

  Oh god.

  As he heard dogs barking in the background a new wave of dread washed through him.

  At least let the animals be okay. The other stuff I can deal with, just please let them be okay.

  He pulled into the parking lot and jumped out of the car. From the corner of his eye, he saw Holly was right behind him.

  He spotted an officer standing outside of the building. He instantly took off in a run. “Can you tell me what’s going on?” he asked. Since the officer didn’t immediately say anything Ben added, “Can you tell me if a Detective William Bower is here? He’s a friend of mine.”

  The officer nonchalantly turned toward Ben. “And you might be?”

  “I’m Benjamin Richman I own this clinic.” All the officer did was nod in return.

  Jesus fucking Christ. What do I do?

  By the look of this guy, this was clearly someone you did not want to piss off. He had a certain presence about him. Maybe it was the muscles upon muscles, or maybe it was his hardened face? He wasn’t quite sure. One thing he did know was he should probably go and ask someone else. However, the second he took a step away from the officer in search of someone else he heard Holly.

  “That’s all you’ve got, a freaking nod?” Holly stomped towards them. “You tell us exactly what’s going on you big lug. And right now!”

  The officer’s right brow shot to the sky. “And you might be?”

  “Are those the only words you know how to say?” Holly spat. “You’d think to be an officer of the law you’d have better communication skills. You tell my husband right now what the hell is going on or I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” The officer turned his body fully in Holly’s direction before crossing his arms over his chest.

  Fucking A!

  Ben grabbed onto Holly pulling her to his side and away from the officer that looked like he was about to break something in half, and he was pretty sure that something in half was going to be Holly. Or, you know, he might’ve been constipated. Either way, he wasn’t taking a chance. “Let’s try not to piss off Officer…” Ben looked at the officer’s badge. “Jones. I don’t want to have to bail you out of jail while trying to deal with all of this.”

  Holly jumped out of Ben’s arms, disbelief written all over her face. “Bail me out of jail?”

  Ben didn’t know if it was his adrenaline or what not, but the audacity on Holly’s face nearly sent him into hysterics.

  He bit back his reaction as he took a deep breath. Not the time nor the place.

  Leave it to Holly to find a way to calm him and bring him back to reality. And right now, while she practically had her dukes up ready for battle - a battle she would not win against a two hundred plus pound man that would snap her in two - she grounded him. “Relax, Cujo. Let me take care of this.”

  “You wanna see Cujo, I’ll show you Cujo.” Holly narrowed her eyes at him as her nostrils flared causing him to hold his hands in surrender.

  Ben turned back to Officer Jones. “I apologize. We both are a little riled up. Let’s start over. Would you be willing to give us some information or at least point me in the direction of someone that can?”

  Officer Jones gave him the once over before nodding.

  “Is that all this guy can do?” Holly growled as she pointed her finger at the officer. Ben darted his eyes to her in warning. Do not get us killed, or arrested.

  “What?” Holly arched her brow.

  Please give me strength. Any strength. I would take anything at this moment. The universe must’ve answered him since Officer Jones started walking toward the front door of the clinic. Ben looked back at Holly who shrugged.

  Following his cue, they walked behind the officer. When they made it inside of the clinic his gut twisted into a knot.

  It was a disaster.

  Chairs from the waiting room where thrown all around, there was glass from the smashed in window everywhere. It was horrifying.

  “Bower, the owner’s here.”

  As soon as Ben saw his old friend, relief washed through him. Will turned to face him, a sad expression marring his features. “Ben.”

  “Will.” Ben reached out to shake his hand.

  “I know we said we wanted to catch up soon but this was not what I had in mind,” Will remarked as he scratched his chin. He then turned to Holly. “You must be Ben’s wife. Ben mentioned he was getting married the last time we talked.”

  “Yes.” Ben pulled Holly to his side. “This is Holly. You never got to officially meet her.”

  “It was my fault,” Will remarked. “You know when my little girl got sick it took all my time.” Will sheepishly looked away. He didn’t have to though. Once Will’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer he and his wife had spent all their time with her. The day of Ben and Holly’s wedding Will and his wife Martha were taking their girl in for treatment. There was no fault in that.

  “How is she doing?” Ben asked, hoping for the best.

  “Better.” Will’s face lit. “She’s in full remission now. The day we got the last results was by far the happiest day of my life.” A smile spread across the detective’s face. “You know, Ben, I’m sure Martha would love to see you, maybe one day we can have you and your little lady over for dinner one night.”

  “We’d like that,” Ben answered.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you.” Will placed his hand in front of Holly’s. “I do wish it was under better circumstances, though.”

  “You and me both.” Holly took his outreached hand and shook it.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Ben asked, while he looked around the room again.

  “To be honest, we don’t know much. The station got the call when the alarm went off. When officers first arrived on scene, they noticed the window smashed in. Since veterinarian clinics often get broken into because of the controlled substances they carry, the arriving officers called it in right away.”

  A cold sweat broke out on the back of Ben’s neck. “This was a robbery?”

  “It doesn't look that way.” Detective Bower scratched his chin again. “From our initial search of the premises, we didn’t find any locked cab
inets tampered with. Nor did we find any evidence of a robbery. It doesn't seem to appear as any money is missing. Although, you will need to confirm that for us.”

  “So, someone just did this to do it?” Holly asked. “Oh god, what about all the animals in the back?” Holly pushed herself through the officer’s as she finagled her way to the back of the clinic where the boarded animals were along with the ones recovering from recent surgeries were.

  “Mrs. Richman this is an active crime scene. You can’t go anywhere,” Will yelled after her.

  Holly clearly didn’t care if it was an active investigation or not. She ignored his words as she tore through the clinic.

  Ben took off after her. He had the same concerns she did. Especially, since he could still hear the dogs barking.

  Ben heard Will mumble something under his breath before he followed after them.

  Once they all made into the back, Ben saw Holly crouched in front of one of the cages that housed a dog who had recently gone through surgery.

  “Grace.” Ben started walking towards her.

  “I know. I know, I just needed to make sure none of them were hurt. Okay?” Quickly she jumped from where she was to the next cage checking on one of their dog’s that was being boarded.

  Ben watched as she bounced from cage to cage confirming all the animals were unharmed.

  God, he loved her. At this moment his heart soared for his wife. All she cared about were making sure the animals were safe. Ben followed suit checking on his patients as he went.

  “Grace? I thought you said her name was Holly,” Will questioned.

  As if on cue, Holly pushed over a step stool to check on a cat in one of the top cages. In her frantic movements, she missed her footing and started tumbling over.

  Ben was at her side in an instant. He caught her in his arms just as he’d done time and time again.

  He turned back to Will, with Holly cradled in his arms. “Grace is short for her gracefulness.”

  Will looked at them quizzically, but nodded with a smirk.

  “Ben, the cameras!” Holly exclaimed as she jumped out of his arms and ran toward his office.

  “You have surveillance cameras set up in this establishment?” Will asked.

  “We do.” Ben followed behind Holly as she made her way into his office.

  “I’ll have to ask if you could please provide us with a copy of the footage so we can conduct our investigation.”

  “Of course, Will, anything you need.”

  “I can’t remember what program it is.” Holly was bent over the back of Ben’s office chair typing away at his computer. Any other time he would have laughed at her Holliness.

  Instead, Ben strolled behind her before picking her up into the air and moving her out of his way. “Let me get it open and we’ll hand it over to the detective. Right now, we’re only in their way.”

  “I’m never in the way.” Holly placed her hand over her heart like she’d been shot.

  Holly then darted her eyes to Will whose brow was cocked.

  “Okay, fine.” She threw her hands up before storming out of the office leaving a concerned Ben behind. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

  Hell, Ben loved her but he was one hundred percent going to remind her of this the next time she complained about Waffles and his dramatics.

  Ben did his best to control his emotions.

  He couldn’t blame her. Hell, if he wasn’t as in control as he was, he’d be acting the same way Holly was. Ben turned back to the detective. “Man, Will, it’s great to see you again but this is definitely not the way I wanted to reconnect.” he rubbed his forehead. “Something like this has never happened to either of us. Why would anyone want to break in here, Will?” Ben shook his head still in disbelief. How and why did this happen? “Whatever you need from us we can provide, you know that.”

  “It’s understandable, Ben.” He nodded. “This isn’t something anyone is prepared for. I’m just glad I was working tonight.” He jutted his chin out to the computer. “I’ll have my men take it from here, okay?”

  “Thank you.”

  “I know it’s going to be a long night getting everything back in order. How about you come to the station tomorrow morning and we can fill out all the paperwork then? Since this was an establishment that housed controlled substances, the reports are a tad more tedious. There’s no need in you having to deal with it tonight, though.”

  “I appreciate that, Will. I’ll be there first thing.” Ben looked around his office. Nothing seemed to be out of place, but he’ll do a more thorough check once he was allowed to clean up. “Do you have any idea why you think the clinic was targeted?”

  Will shook his head before crossing his arms. “At this point, I don’t. I can speculate, but that won’t do either of us any good. The next step is for my guys to review the footage and go from there. Hopefully, by the time you come into the station, we’ll have more information for you.”

  “Thank you.” Ben sighed still trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

  “Do you have any plywood that we can board the window up with?”

  Ben hadn’t thought of that. Maybe at home sure, but here, no. He wouldn’t have anything.

  “I’m gonna call a friend to see if he’ll be able to bring some by.” He pulled out his phone.

  Will uncrossed his arms with a nod. “I’m going to step outside while you make the call. I want to inform my team about the footage. Try not to touch anything on your way out, at least until the crime scene analysts are done.”

  “Can I take care of the animals?”

  “If they can wait another hour or so I’d leave them in the cages. If anyone of them needs attention by all means, though. Once my team is done you’re free to do whatever it is you need to do.”

  This was freaking wonderful. Ben’s head started to pound as he watched Will stand in front of his office door.

  First things first.

  Ben quickly called John.

  “The only reason you should be calling me right now is ‘cause you broke a tooth and are bleeding so much out of your mouth it looks like you got into a cage fight—”

  “Did anyone ever tell you, you’re charming?”

  “All the time. What’s got you calling me this late at night? Wait, did Holly try to cook?”

  Ben sighed as he rubbed his hand on his forehead trying to ward off his headache. “No, the house isn’t on fire.” He had to chuckle. It was their favorite joke between the two of them now. Holly didn’t like it, but hell, it gave them a good laugh. He took a deep breath. “If only it were that easy. John, someone broke into the clinic tonight.”

  “Holy shit. You’re kidding?”

  Ben started to hear John rustling around. “I wish I was.”

  Ben closed his eyes trying to take a calming breath. “I need your help, can you do me a favor? I don’t know if you’d have any at your house, but we need some plywood to board up the smashed front window until I can get a hold of the insurance company and figure out what we need to do. If you don’t have any can you swing by my house, I’ve got some in the garage?” Ben thought back to the large window up front. “Grab a few pieces?”

  “Of course, man. I’m on my way.”

  “Thanks.” Ben placed his phone in his back pocket before making his way out to the lobby of the clinic.

  That’s when he saw Holly standing in the middle of the room in handcuffs with Officer Jones holding onto one of her arms.

  The second Holly spotted him, her eyes widened. “It’s not what it looks like!”

  Chapter Five

  By the time everything at the clinic was back in order and there was a board over the broken window, it was well into the morning. Ben wasn’t quite surprised at how long it took, he was just thankful it was done.

  Ben scratched his head as he tried to make sense of the events that had transpired. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the clinic being broken into, especially since nothing end
ed up missing. All the medicines were accounted for, and even their petty cash was still there.

  So then why would someone break in? It made no sense.

  He looked around the room and spotted John moving one of the tables to its proper place. He’d never been more thankful for John than he was right now. Without even a question, John arrived at the clinic and got to work. With John’s help, right now, everything was looking back to normal, minus the window.

  Ben moved his attention toward the back room. While he and John worked on the cleanup, Holly stayed in the back making sure the animals were okay. That was a task on its own. The animals had no idea what was going on and to them, the world was ending. Holly definitely had her hands full. And, when you throw in all the loud noises from him and John, and it was a recipe for disaster.

  There was one thing that Ben knew for certain, though. He knew Holly had it covered. Her love for animals outweighed everything. There was no doubt in his mind Holly was able to take charge of the back while he and John did what they needed to do.

  Although… Ben smiled. There was one mishap with a cocker spaniel that wanted out of the cage somewhere between one and two in the morning.

  Holly might have had it handled, but there was never a moment something didn’t go awry.

  Thankfully, John was quick to grab the escaped convict as he came bouncing from the back room with a crazed Holly chasing after him.

  Ben didn’t know what was more entertaining: the dog purposely running back and forth in front of Holly taunting her, or Holly tripping on everything while cursing as she chased him?

  It had definitely been a night.

  “Thanks for helping,” Ben announced. “I owe you.”

  “Damn right you do.” John looked at him from over his shoulder as he moved the last chair in the waiting room into its proper place. “Are you going to call the insurance company and then get someone out here to fix the window?” he asked.

  “That’s the plan.” Ben looked at his watch. It was six-forty-five. “They won’t open for another hour, though,” he answered.