The Rookie's Assignment

by Valerie Hansen

  His comment made Nick chuckle. “That’s a relief. I was figuring you all would eat me alive.”

  “Only if we thought you were being unfair to our baby sister or putting her in danger,” Douglas said, still smiling although not as broadly as before.

  “She’s really amazing,” Nick told him. “When I first saw her I had no idea.”

  “Her apparent naïveté may be Keira’s most valuable asset on the streets. Crooks will underestimate her. Her biggest problem is her self-confidence.”

  “She has plenty of that,” Nick said, pulling on a coat and following Douglas outside.

  “I know. I meant she has way too much trust in her own abilities. Someday that’s going to get her into trouble and there’s not a thing any of us can do to keep it from happening.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Nick climbed into the dark blue SUV in the driveway and slammed the door, continuing their conversation as soon as Douglas slid behind the wheel. “I think she’s getting more savvy. At least, that’s how it seems to me.”

  “Good. We had hoped that would be the result of assigning her to work with somebody she didn’t know.”

  Nick noticed the other man eyeing him while driving. “Glad to be of service.”

  “Yeah, well, try to keep her farther from trouble than you have so far. I’d just as soon she didn’t get hurt while you’re teaching her how to be a good cop.”

  Hurt? “Sometimes that kind of thing is inevitable,” Nick said quietly, contemplating what would happen once Keira learned of his undercover assignment. Hopefully, by that time, she’d be seasoned enough to realize that he’d just been following orders and that he, personally, had not intended to harm her or any other member of her family.

  They pulled to a stop in front of an immense white New England Colonial–style home.

  “Nice little place your father has here.”

  “We needed every inch of it when all six of us were growing up. Now it’s just Keira and Dad. He has a live-in housekeeper, too. Irene Mulrooney.”

  “I saw her at the memorial service with Charles and his kids. Older woman, gray hair?”

  “That’s her. Just don’t let her hear you call her ‘older,’” Douglas warned with a muted chuckle.

  “Noted.”

  “Irene’s a treasure. She likes to mother all of us, even now that we’re adults. After our mother passed away, it was Irene who held the family together. She’s a truly good woman.”

  “And a great cook, according to Keira,” Nick said. He got out, surprised that Douglas didn’t follow. “Aren’t you coming in?”

  “I have to go pick up someone else,” the captain said, coloring slightly and leaning across the front seat to speak to Nick. “I imagine my gabby sister has told you all about me and Merry O’Leary.”

  “She may have mentioned it.”

  “I’m sure she did. Just go on in. Keira’s waiting for you.”

  “Right. Thanks for the ride.”

  Steeling himself, Nick approached the front door, paused to stomp bits of clinging snow off his shoes and wiped the soles on a mat.

  Well, here goes nothing, he thought, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the coming ordeal. He’d rather face an armed criminal than spend the evening pretending to befriend unsuspecting folks who were welcoming him into their home as if he belonged.

  As far back as he could remember, Nick had always felt like an outsider, even when he was with people he’d known for years. Nothing had changed since then. He was still on the outside looking in and probably always would be. That wasn’t a condemnation; it was a simple fact.

  Long before this assignment, before he’d even entered the police academy, he’d failed to fit in. Perhaps that was one thing that made him a good cop. He hoped so.

  He also hoped he could pull off this charade and convince the Fitzgeralds he was just a regular guy. It was going to take an Academy Award performance to do so but he was up to it. If he could infiltrate a gang of crooked cops and bust their operation wide open, he could certainly manage to come off as a normal person.

  That thought made him smile in spite of his nervousness. Normal was not an adjective that had ever applied to him. Not as a child or youth, and certainly not at present.

  It was also not a condition to which he aspired, Nick assured himself. He was happy being the outsider. The misfit. The malcontent. Because while he stood apart from the complicated relationships of others, he could not possibly be hurt.

  A shrink would have a field day with that one, he mused, feeling cynical, but it’s the truth.

  Nick Delfino was one of those people who had never belonged. Not really. Not in his deepest heart. And those others who claimed kinship to anyone or anything were as foreign to him as if they’d just beamed to earth from an alien spaceship.

  He raised his arm, grabbed the brass knocker and let it fall.

  Keira had spent the time primping in the hall mirror since she’d heard her brother’s SUV pull up in front. She gave one last tug on the hem of her blue cashmere sweater and smoothed it over the hips of her jeans.

  When she heard Nick’s knock she already had her hand on the knob. She jerked open the door. There he stood, smiling and looking surprised by her instantaneous response.

  Keira was so delighted she immediately set aside any misgivings about his past in Boston and welcomed him. Fortunately, she retained enough self-control to temper her grin, shake his hand and use it to pull him inside. “I’m glad you decided to join us.” She peered past his broad shoulders. “Isn’t Douglas coming in?”

  “He said he was going to get someone else.”

  “Ah, of course. Merry and her little boy. Can I take your coat?” While he removed it she watched him scan the foyer.

  “This is quite a place.”

  “I’ve never lived anywhere else,” Keira said. “Every time I mention getting a home of my own, Dad looks so sad I back off. I suppose I’ll have to leave the nest someday. I just hate to think of him here in this big old house all by himself.”

  “I thought the housekeeper lived here, too.”

  “She does, but I’m the baby of the Fitzgerald kids.” Keira took Nick’s jacket and hung it in the hall closet. “Everybody else is gathering in the dining room. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the ones you don’t already know from work.”

  “From the sound of it, half the town must be here.”

  “Not quite. My aunt Vanessa and uncle Joe had to work. Fiona and her son, Sean, are here, though. And Douglas will want you to meet Merry and Tyler when they arrive. He’s definitely serious about her. Like I said before, Aunt Vanessa claims credit for that, although I think the real matchmaker was the good Lord.”

  She took Nick’s arm to urge him along when she noticed that his steps weren’t matching hers, then guided him down the wide hall, past the staircase leading to the second story and toward the formal dining room. Irene had set the table with a pristine white linen cloth, put out the company china and stemware, and had added a centerpiece of fresh-cut flowers.

  Conversation that had been loud and animated suddenly ceased. All eyes turned toward the doorway where Keira and Nick stood.

  Grinning broadly, Keira proudly announced, “For those of you who don’t already know, this is my new partner, Nick Delfino. He’s going to be joining us for dinner tonight.”

  When no one moved forward to shake Nick’s hand and welcome him, Keira was taken aback. Surely they couldn’t all share her father’s concern that Nick might be guilty of being involved with the fugitive Boston cop. Placing blame like that was so unfair. And, hopefully, totally wrong.

  Keira refused to accept the somber disposition of the group. “I’ve been telling Nick what a great family I have. Now show him or you’ll make me look bad.”

  Stately, gray-haired octogenarian Ian Fitzgerald was the first to smile and step forward to offer his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Nick. What do you think of our little town?”

  Nick shook the
still-spry elderly gentleman’s hand and mirrored his amiability. “What I’ve seen of it so far is very impressive, sir.”

  Glad to hear her grandfather chuckle as a result of Nick’s reply, Keira grinned and explained, “Granddad was chief of police before my father so he knows all about what’s been happening.”

  “In that case I suppose I should admit that being here has already shaved years off my life,” Nick added with a wry grin. “It’s certainly not dull.”

  Stepping forward to join them, her brother Ryan offered his hand. “Nick’s renting a condo from Douglas so we’d better humor him. Good to see you away from the office, Delfino.”

  “Likewise.”

  That exchange and handshake was enough to loosen up everyone else and the background conversation resumed.

  Keira took Nick’s arm and guided him through the room while making further introductions. “This is my sister, Fiona Cobb. And that darling six-year-old pushing the toy fire truck around under the table is her son, Sean.”

  Fiona grasped Nick’s hand and smiled. “Pleased to finally meet you, Nick. Keira’s told me a lot about you.”

  “All good, I hope.”

  While Keira held her breath, her sister giggled and replied, “For the most part. You’ll have to make time to visit my bookstore soon and we can talk more.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “He’ll probably end up trying to pump you for information about the murder,” Keira added aside. “I hope you won’t take offense. Nick can be kind of single-minded at times.”

  “No more than my Jimmy was,” Fiona said wistfully. “I wish you’d met him, Nick. He’d help you adjust to this crazy family of ours.”

  “Do I look maladjusted?” Nick quipped.

  That made Keira laugh aloud. “You look terrified, if you must know. I was afraid you were going to bolt and make a run for it when you first saw all of us in one place.”

  “And this isn’t all, as you well know,” Fiona added. “Just think of us as a winning football team and a pack of crazy cheerleaders.”

  “I’ll try. I can’t wait to see you form one of those cheerleader pyramids.” He smiled but was scanning the room. “This ceiling is almost high enough for one.”

  “Hey, it takes a big house to hold us all. You should see this place when everybody in the family shows up.”

  “I can hardly wait.”

  Nick’s expression reflected the opposite in spite of his obvious efforts to appear at ease. It amused Keira to see that his wangling of an invitation had backfired on him.

  Leaving Fiona, Keira made sure Nick shook hands with her brother Owen, whom he knew from the station, of course, and her uncle Mickey and his wife, Jenny, before directing him to where Charles was sitting on the floor, stacking wooden blocks so his twin two-year-olds could gleefully knock them down.

  The doctor got to his feet, smiled and offered his hand. “I see you made it, Nick. Have you gotten any word on the new DNA test yet?”

  Nick shook his head. “No. Sorry. The lab is always backed up. I’ve put in a call and asked to be notified immediately but so far I haven’t heard a thing.”

  “It could be months,” Keira chimed in. “I wish there was someway to expedite but they don’t consider this case a rush job.”

  Nick agreed. “Right. Because there’s no current threat.” He smiled at the other man and the children who were now clinging to him, one holding each of his legs below the knees as if they were mimicking old-time firemen about to slide down a brass pole.

  “I am glad of that,” Charles said with a somber nod. “I’d hate to see anyone else get hurt.” As he spoke he laid one hand on the silky black hair of each of his children. “I should have introduced you before. This is Aaron,” he said, “and his sister, Brianne.”

  To Keira’s delight, Nick bent and offered his hand to each of the children. Only Aaron accepted. Brianne hid her face against her father’s knee.

  “Nice policeman?” the boy asked.

  “I always try to be nice,” Nick replied.

  “That’s right,” Keira told the child. “Police officers like me and your uncles and your grandfather are the good guys. Remember?”

  When she glanced at Nick she could tell he was deep in thought because he’d gotten a faraway look in his eyes. Looping her arm through his, she steered him away from the crowd and down the hall toward the kitchen.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “I figure it’s time to give you a little break. I can tell the gang is starting to get to you.”

  “Am I that transparent?”

  “Most of the time, no. Tonight, yes. Don’t you have any extended family? Cousins, maybe? Anybody besides your parents?”

  “No, and I’m getting more and more thankful by the minute. I don’t mean to sound antisocial, Keira, but standing there while everybody sized me up and talked a blue streak was like being nibbled to death by a school of minnows. It wasn’t each individual nip that got to me—it was the cumulative effect.”

  “You need to relax more,” she said with a sigh, knowing the Lord was providing the perfect opening for the questions her father had wanted answered. “I can’t imagine why you’re so tense. Is there something you want to tell me?”

  “Like what?”

  The inquisitive scowl on Nick’s face made him seem even more attractive. Dangerous. Intriguing. That ridiculous reaction made her wonder if she was becoming unbalanced. Suppose her dad was right and this man was a criminal instead of one of the good guys? What then?

  She decided to answer Nick’s question with one of her own. “For instance, why are you so secretive about your past? I don’t care what you did or didn’t do while you were growing up. None of us is perfect. It’s the future and what you’ve made of yourself that matters.”

  “Humph. You think I was a juvenile delinquent?”

  “That would explain why you refuse to talk about yourself.” One hand came to rest on his arm and she felt solid muscles flinch through the softness of the sweater.

  “My record speaks for itself,” he said flatly.

  “Your record, at least the file Dad was sent, is a joke. It’s almost generic.”

  “Maybe that’s because my life is.”

  “I have trouble buying that,” Keira said, speaking gently and keeping hold of his forearm. “But I can wait. I don’t want you to feel pressured. You can tell me more when you’re ready.”

  He arched a brow. “What if I never am?”

  “Then that will be okay, too.” She momentarily tightened her grip before releasing him and smiling. “I know one thing after being your partner, even for such a short time. I know you’re a good man. That’s enough for me.”

  The intense emotion that flashed into his expression was gone in a heartbeat, leaving Keira more befuddled than ever.

  She wasn’t certain, but she could have sworn she’d glimpsed regret. And perhaps a tinge of guilt.

  That reaction made her wonder how Nick might be connected to the fugitive who had tried to kill them with that boulder. Was it possible that she had misjudged him?

  Her heart said no. Logic wasn’t so certain.

  ELEVEN

  Nick wasn’t prepared for the ultramodern kitchen Keira led him into. Judging by the style and age of the rest of the house, he’d expected a much more old-fashioned setup.

  Instead, he found track lighting, stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops and cabinets that appeared to be made of oak with stained-glass inserts decorating some of the doors.

  He arched his brows. “Wow. This is some layout.”

  “It’s not nearly as impressive as the cook,” Keira said. She gestured toward the woman who was standing with her back to them while mashing potatoes.

  “Irene!” Keira called. “Look who’s here.”

  The gray-haired housekeeper turned with a smile and wiped her fingers on her apron before offering to shake hands. “This must be Nick. Pleased to meet you. Any friend of Kei
ra’s is a friend of mine.”

  “Thanks.” Hiding his discomfiture he looked past her and changed the subject. “Something sure smells good.”

  “Yankee pot roast. My special recipe. The secret is the thyme,” Irene said, beaming. She winked at Keira. “I’m gonna like this one, girl.”

  Keira’s cheeks bloomed, much to Nick’s amusement. “Actually, we came out here to escape the crowd in the dining room for a few minutes. Nick’s not used to big families and I think we scare him.”

  “Ha! He doesn’t look like the kind who scares easily.” She turned to attend to the pot of potatoes. “Tell you what. I’ll just scrape these into a big bowl and you two can help me carry everything to the table. How’s that?”

  “Do I get a taste first?” Nick asked.

  Irene raised her brows at him. “There’ll be plenty for everybody after Aiden says grace.”

  Properly chastised, he apologized. “Sorry. I wasn’t raised by churchgoers.”

  “Well,” the cook gibed, “as long as you weren’t raised in the forest by wolves, as my mother used to say, you’ll do fine.” She handed him a large, heavy platter. “Put that right in the middle of the table, to one side of the centerpiece.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  As Nick left the kitchen, Keira leaned close and kissed Irene’s rosy cheek. “Thanks for letting us help. I want him to feel at home.”

  “He’s a strange one, he is,” Irene said. “Something’s eating at him. I can feel it.”

  “We think so, too, but we’re not sure what it is. Dad has some crazy notions but I don’t believe the problem can be all that serious. Not for a second.”

  “Then do like I’ve always told you and trust your heart. It knows what’s best.”

  “I was kind of hoping you’d be a bit more specific.” Keira accepted the bowl of steaming mashed potatoes and prepared to catch up with Nick in the dining room. “I just hope I can tell the difference between my heart and my brain this time, Irene. The longer I’m around Nick, the more confused I seem to be getting.”