Dirty Cops Next Door

by Summer Cooper

“I’ve heard that, too.”

  “I’m going back to school,” Cara said suddenly. “I am, Craig. This is it. Thanks for… well, for Darren.”

  “You’re going back to school.” He started to laugh. “Cara, you’re never finishing that degree. And whatever this bastard is telling you—”

  He never saw the punch coming. Perry, it happened, could move faster than Cara could even see. There was a blur, and then Craig was crumpled on the ground, and a few men in suits by the elevators laughed and clapped. Perry gave them a sheepish nod before sitting back down.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, and she saw a gleam of humor in his eyes. “But I’m a little bored with that speech.”

  Cara laughed, she couldn’t help herself. The giggle welled up and she laughed until she was crying, hunched over the folder and wiping at her eyes, holding it so tight that the edges crinkled. When he tried to take it, she hung on.

  “Nuh-h. This is mine.”

  “So you’re going to do it?” He asked her, and there was a smile on his face.

  “Yeah.” She felt like she was at the top of a rollercoaster and she smiled, feeling reckless. “I’m going to do it. I’m going back to school.”

  “I’m glad.” He stood up to leave, and looked down at her. “I wish you all the luck in the world, Cara.”

  “Wait.” Her voice stopped him, but he didn’t turn. “Would you, uh…would you have dinner with me?”

  She couldn’t see his smile, but she could feel it.

  “How about my place?” His voice was very deep. It warmed her down to her bones. “Come over after work. We’ll have dinner ready for you.”

  “We?”

  “Your son,” he said with dignity, “has to learn how to cook. It’s very popular with the ladies.” He smiled. “I’ll see you at eight.”

  6

  “Mom, it’s 8:30.”

  “I’ll go in a minute.”

  “You’re going to be late.”

  “Crap.” Cara flipped the textbook shut and hopped over to the closet. Darren had been hounding her all night about this date, hovering in the doorway every few minutes to say she should start getting ready. “Why are you still up?”

  “Why aren’t you at the restaurant yet?” Darren asked her with a grin. He laughed when she threw him a dirty look. “I’ll go to bed when you leave.”

  “Promise?” Cara called.

  “I promise. Get ready!”

  She kicked off her flannel pants and threw them into the hamper. Her tank top followed suit, and she pulled a new dress out of the closet. It had taken three extra shifts at the lab to buy it, and she wasn’t even a little bit sorry; the dress hugged all the places it should hug, with a neckline that was the perfect mix of classy and sexy, and the purple set off her eyes and her hair to perfection.

  She applied her makeup hastily, sighing as she had to rub the eyeliner out and start again, but at last she nodded in satisfaction. Her hair…well, her hair was never going to be well-behaved, but it shone nicely enough. And if she was a little pale after a few weeks in the lab, well, she knew her smile more than made up for it. She slipped on her heels and poked her head into Darren’s bedroom.

  “Sleep, mister.”

  “Five more minutes.”

  “If you don’t sleep, you shouldn’t go out on the river tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll sleep!” He grabbed his toothbrush and ran past her.

  “I love you,” Cara called.

  A muffled, toothpaste-filled call was her response, and she smiled as she grabbed her purse and headed out, calling a hasty goodbye to their landlady. A brief sprint to the curb—tricky in her heels—and she was in a cab, checking her watch every few seconds. She hopped out of the cab and into the restaurant, and she skidded to a halt at the bar.

  “I’m sorry I’m—”

  “Five minutes early?” Perry asked her, grinning. He held out a glass of champagne.

  “There’s no need to mock me,” Cara said as she took her seat.

  “On the contrary, I find your habitual earliness endearing.” His grin spread. “And, finally. I finally arrived somewhere before you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”

  “Mr. Hammond?” A waiter held out his hand. ”Your table is ready.”

  “Thank you, Jake,” Perry told him easily. As they walked, he slipped his arm around Cara’s waist. “You look lovely, by the way.”

  “And you look very handsome.” Cara smiled up at him, and leaned in for a kiss. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him watching her. “What?”

  “Life in the lab suits you,” he said decisively. “You’re practically glowing.”

  “That’s the radium.” Cara held his gaze until she saw a flicker of uncertainty. “Just kidding.”

  “Mmm.” He studied the menu. “Or, I’m going to die of radiation poisoning one of these days.”

  “Very unlikely, I’ll have you know. So how’s business?” She took a sip of water, and smiled at him.

  “Same old, same old. Have a lot of money. How’s science? Other than the radium.”

  “Same old. Made some robots. Actually,” she said, warming to the theme, “I made some cybernetic implants as well. You know, there’s an interesting theory about using implants within the spinal column to… now what?”

  “You should have some champagne.” Perry was smiling at her. He reached out to take her hand.

  “Okay.” Cara lifted her glass and held it out to him. “To… oh, my God. Oh, my God. Perry. Oh, my God.”

  The ring glittered, little bubbles rising in amongst the three tiny sapphires. Cara held the glass, shaking, tears coming to her eyes.

  “Cara Ford.” Perry’s voice seemed to be coming from very far away. “Will you marry me?”

  “Oh, my God,” Cara whispered again. She seemed to have forgotten how to say anything else. She nodded, hand pressed over her mouth, and wiped away a tear as he dumped the champagne unceremoniously into his water glass, holding the ring out for her. “It fits…it fits perfectly. How did you know?”

  “Darren helped.”

  “Darren knew?”

  “Of course.” Perry smiled at her.

  “I have three years before I finish my PhD,” Cara whispered at him. It had to be a mistake. Perry Hammond had enough money to tempt a princess.

  “We’ll make it work. After all, I’m told I have enough money to fly back and forth between New York and Boston.” He sobered when she looked over at him. “I wanted to wait, I just…I couldn’t. I’ll move to Boston if you want. I’ll wait for you in New York if you want. But Cara, I have loved you since the moment you almost poured coffee on me in that diner. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Or I with you,” Cara whispered.

  The End

  Part II

  Sweet Love

  Romantic Comedy

  About the Book

  Annie May Rogers comes to England to spend the summer with her grandmother and to discover the land of her birth. Thanks to her grandmother, what she finds is a boy from her past, now a grown man, who broke her heart as a little girl. Annie May doesn’t know, at first, that Daniel is the frog prince of her past, the boy who made her cry, but she soon finds out and it becomes their own private joke. Falling in love has never been so easy for Annie May or Daniel but betrayal soon mars her trip, and her entire world.

  Who is the mysterious Piper Sandbrook? What role does she have in Daniel’s life? Fearing that she has only been a joke to Daniel, Annie May breaks off all contact with him, fearing that her prince has turned back into a frog. Or maybe he was never a prince at all?

  Circumstances change, and questions must be answered. Can Annie May forgive disloyalty and did Daniel really betray Annie May at all? Will Piper admit her role in it all and can Daniel and Annie save each other when push comes to shove? Most important of all, was Annie May’s grandmother wrong to choose Daniel for her granddaughter or was it the smartest decision she’s ever
made? Is Daniel the frog or the prince that Annie May has always dreamed of?

  1

  Pushing her luggage through the door of the inn, Annie May Rogers called out to her Nanna, letting her know she had arrived. Clomping up the stairs she wondered what her summer in Derbyshire was going to produce. After a long flight over the Atlantic from America, a stop in Germany, and one more flight that finally landed her in Manchester; Annie May was exhausted. The train trip and cab ride to the inn didn’t help ease any of her exhaustion either, though it was wonderful to see her homeland again.

  Annie grew up in America, but her parents were English. They’d moved her and her brothers to America when she was a baby and though there had been week-long trips, she’d never really stayed longer than a week at a time. She had come over for the summer to take a break after completing her university degree in information technology and wanted a break from computers and homework before looking for a job and settling down back in America. She wanted pubs, friends, laughter, and some time with her Nanna. She knew her grandmother would be busy serving behind the bar, so she took herself up the stairs and found a room that was empty.

  Looking out of her bedroom window, she knew she was at least going to enjoy the scenery, as usual. The rolling hills outside were beautiful enough that even the clumsiest of photographers couldn’t help but get a breath-taking picture of them. Yes, this was going to be one special summer, she thought.

  Changing out of her travel clothes she put on a flowing sapphire skirt and peach coloured blouse. The colours complimented her curly light red hair and blue eyes, and she was satisfied with how she looked as she walked away from the mirror. As satisfied as she could be anyway. At one inch below six feet she was tall, and not in the slim Barbie kind of way. But she had a nice bosom, a well-shaped bottom, and though her feet were large, the skirt she wore hid that part. She wasn’t going to win any beauty contests, she thought, but she wasn’t going to scare the children away, at least.

  Walking back down the stairs, she heard a male voice telling her grandmother about the problems he was having at his business. His computer network didn’t work, and the only person in the village qualified to fix the problem couldn’t come to his office for another two weeks. She slowed as she walked in, dreading what she knew was about to happen.

  “Don’t do it, Nanna, don’t do it,” she whispered quietly to herself as she walked in. Before she could get a word out, Nanna did it!

  “Oh, Annie May, you’ve come down, good, come here and give me a hug. I’m ever so pleased you’ve come! It’s going to be great having you all summer! Oh, here, I want you to meet this young man. I think he can do with some of your knowledge, duck.” Ruby Rogers pulled Annie May to her own large frame, enveloping the girl in sweet maternal love. Annie May cuddled her grandmother, loving the security she felt when she was in her Nanna’s arms. Ruby was a large lady with white hair down to her waist. A no-nonsense but loving woman, she was one of Annie May’s most favourite people in the world. Nanna pushed Annie away, looking her granddaughter up and down.

  “You are filling out nicely Annie May. Here now, this is Daniel Chamberlain. He operates a local non-profit that helps troubled teens. He’s having some problems with his interwebs or something. I was just about to suggest you could help him out with that. What do you think?” Ruby had a totally innocent look on her face, but Annie May could see from the gleam in her eye that she knew what she was doing. She squinted at her grandmother but laughed as she turned to the fellow.

  Annie May was hoping she could get out of it, when she quickly changed her mind. The man had to be a poet; he had the dark curly hair, the kind of amazingly dreamy hazel eyes that made women swoon, and a mouth meant for whispering the poems he’d written into his lady-love’s ear. Be still my heart, she thought as she placed her left hand over her heart.

  “Hi, I’m Annie May Rogers,” she said as she held out her hand, her voice suddenly becoming a soft, smoky sound.

  “Enchanted,” he replied, taking her hand to brush a kiss across her knuckles.

  Oh yes, a poet and a Romeo, I’d best keep my eye on this one then, she thought. Still, her heart did flutter at having her hand kissed instead of receiving the expected handshake, and she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She was also certain she had the world’s goofiest smile on her face as she just watched him in silence. He’d never give her the time of day if he didn’t need his network repaired, she figured. He was the kind meant for little blonde housewives with delicate feet and tiny waists, she thought.

  Daniel had an endearingly crooked smile on his face as he took in the sight of her. She was glad she’d decided to change her clothes before coming down, now. At least she wasn’t grubby and her hair had been brushed. He was very tall himself, and seemed to appreciate the sight of a woman he didn’t have to look down to. His smile deepened into a grin, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He must be pulling my leg, she thought to herself.

  Nanna seemed to have noticed something was going on because she pulled Annie May to her side, and smiled at her, giving Annie May a wink. Oh this wasn’t going to be easy to get out of. She did want to get to know the handsome man a little better though, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, spending some time with him?

  “Would you like a drink, Annie May?” Her grandmother asked.

  “Just a spritzer Nanna, nothing too strong, please. I’m such a lightweight in that department that even that little bit of alcohol may have me sleeping before long. That was one long flight,” Annie May replied, sitting by the man. “What seems to be the problem with your network then?” She looked back at Daniel, tilting her head to the side.

  They discussed the network problem for a while, then moved on to what time she should come in the next day to work on it. She enjoyed listening to him talk, how expressive his face was, and that he, like her, talked with his hands. He politely declined anything to eat when Annie May’s Nan offered it, but she ordered vegetarian lasagne before going back to her conversation.

  “I guess I’ll see you in the morning then? Oh, how do I get to your office?” She asked as she finished her spritzer.

  “It’s just down the road there; you’ll see it once you get into the main part of the village. There’s a big sign in the window with the name of the place so you should be able to find it straight away. I’ll leave you to your food, and I hope you spend an enjoyable evening with your Nan. She’s a wonderful woman and has helped me often with things we needed at the office. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” He reached out, touching her hand briefly before walking away with a smile. A Casanova then, but a sensible one, she thought. Very good.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Daniel, good night.” She gave him a smile as he left, looking forward to her meal, a bath, and a night of sleep.

  “That Daniel’s fancying you, I do believe, Annie May. And if I’m not mistaken, you’ve taken a fancy to him as well.” Nan said as she placed Annie May’s food in front of her. “Now you eat this and get to bed; I have a feeling you need some sleep but will be up bright and early,” the older lady said as she drifted back to the bar to fill a customer’s glass.

  Annie May looked down at her food, hiding a smile as she did. Yes, I probably will be up early, she thought. That Daniel sure has a beautiful smile.

  The next morning she walked down the village, feeling a chill in the air despite the season. She took some snaps with her mobile to send to her friends back home, loving the architecture of the old stone crofts. She quickly found Daniel’s office and walked in through the door, smiling as she heard a chime.

  “Is that you Annie May? I’m back here, in the office on the right.” She heard Daniel call from somewhere in the back of the building. Wandering back she saw several rooms, and walls filled with pamphlets, posters telling teens how to be positive and get ahead of the game, and leaflets everywhere. She finally found Daniel and stopped, looking at him with a smile on her face.

  His curly hair was sticking
up all over his head, making her fingers itch to smooth it down, and a look of desperate confusion marred his features. What is he doing, sitting there staring at a computer screen? She wondered.

  “What has you looking so put out this morning then, Daniel?” Annie May asked him walking into the room to sit in the chair he indicated to, beside him. Looking at the screen she saw he had the software open for the network but no connection showed.

  “I thought I’d give it one more go, try one more time to see if I could resolve the problem on my own. It is a bit lowering to have someone come in and repair it for me. But I’m glad you’re here because I can’t make heads nor tail of any of it.” A sheepish smile spread across his face as he spoke and she noticed that his smile was just as adorable as it had been the night before.

  “Let me have a look. Hopefully it’ll be something simple, it usually is with these things.” She zoned out for a bit, clicking through tabs, checking lines, making sure cables were plugged in. A cup of tea appeared at her elbow at some point, with packets of sugar and cream, and she drank it without even realizing it as she tracked the problem down to a cable that had been put into the wrong port. Clicking back through the tabs she saw the network was operating properly now, and closed out of the software, finally coming back to reality.

  “You’re good at what you do, Annie May!” Daniel said, pleased that she’d sorted the problem so quickly.

  “Oh dear, I zoned out and drank tea, didn’t I? I never drink that stuff; it makes me so hyper!” She could feel it starting already and reminded herself not to talk too fast. Looking at Daniel, she searched for something else to say.

  “I’ll have to remember that. So you’re all done then?” He asked.

  “Um, yeah, so the network should work now, without any problems. If you have any more issues with it just give me a ring at Nan’s. I haven’t sorted a mobile out here yet, but I plan to this week.” Oh that sounded so desperate and leading, she thought. Please call me! Trying not to roll her eyes at herself, she went to gather her handbag and jacket but Daniel stopped her. As if he’d be interested in seeing her again now she’d sorted his problem out, she berated herself.