Molly's Cop (2 page)

"Hiya, Michael!" she greeted him the second he walked in the door and Michael realized she'd been watching for him.

He smiled and said, "Hi, Aunt Jenny! How are you tonight?" He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek she turned up.

"Why, I'm fine, sugar. How was your shift?"

"Nothing major," he stated, and then he spotted Molly Henderson, and she was giving him a hateful look. He leaned down and whispered, "Don't put me over on that side tonight, Aunt Jenny. I just had to go on a call involving that redhead over there and she is not happy with me."

"Why, she's a sweet little thing!" Jenny said in surprise. "What was wrong?"

"You know I can't tell you about that," he gently scolded, and then followed her to the other side of the restaurant from Molly Henderson.

"Do you want your usual, sugar?" Jenny asked with a smile.

"Yes, please," he replied.

"It'll be right out. Now you just relax. If that little girl starts trouble, I'll finish it!" she declared, ready to protect the nephew that was a foot taller than her and outweighed her by a good eighty pounds.

"Okay, Aunt Jenny," he answered, grinning ear to ear, thinking that his brothers would get a huge kick out of the idea of Aunt Jenny protecting him! He could feel Molly Henderson's green eyes boring a hole through him, but he had been in situations of this sort before and he chose to ignore the young female in the hopes she would behave herself.

Jenny walked over to Molly's table with the coffee pot in her hand, "Would you like more coffee, dear?" she asked kindly, sensing Molly's distress.

"Yes, please," she answered with a smile for the older woman. "Thank you so much."

"Are you sure you don't want a steak burger, dear?"

"I can't afford one," she answered truthfully, the words slipping out because her mind was on the handsome cop.

"Why didn't you say so, hon? We can't have you hungry. You just let Aunt Jenny take care of you."

She was off before Molly could stop her, and Molly felt her face burn in embarrassment. It was all that damn cop's fault! Molly jumped to her feet, her temper flaring out of control as she picked up her glass of ice water and rounded the block of booths between her and her prey.

Michael sensed 'danger' and turned just as Molly rounded the back booths with her water glass in hand. He knew immediately what she intended... After all, he had five sisters, and it wasn't the first time a female wanted to drown him! He wasn't having it, however, and he was on his feet, and had the glass out of her hand before she could throw the contents at him. "You have a choice, Miss Henderson. You can sit your butt down right here and behave yourself, or I will forget I am off duty and haul you in and you can spend the night in jail."

"You wouldn't do that!" she cried out in dismay. "I would lose my job!"

"Then I suggest you sit down and stop acting like a bratty child in need of a good spanking." Her green eyes filled with shock at his words. He read in that instant that she knew he was capable of turning her over his knee and doing just that if she provoked him, and he was provoked enough for one evening. "Well?" he demanded, well aware that Aunt Jenny was bearing down on them.

"I'll sit. Let me go," she whispered, suddenly aware that they were being stared at. If word of this got back to the stuffy law firm she worked for she would be fired. If she were fired, Gram wouldn't get the care she needed! Her face paled. "Please, I am sorry!"

"Michael, you let go of this child right now," Jenny scolded. "She's hungry," she added, as if that explained everything.

Michael couldn't resist the urge to chuckle. "Aunt Jenny, you would solve all the world's problems with food, wouldn't you?" he teased.

"It couldn't hurt anything, now could it?" she retorted. She placed Molly's handbag in the booth and urged her to sit down.

Molly had no choice. Of course, her server just had to be related to the cop! Could this day possibly get any worse?

"Don't cry, Miss Henderson," Michael said softly when he realized she was doing her best not to burst into tears. "Why don't you let me call someone to help you?" he asked in a gentle tone of voice.

"There is no one," she informed him. "My only living relative is in a nursing home. I don't have many friends here, and none who can help me. They all have their own problems."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What about a motel room until you can find another place to live?"

"That would be nice if I had more than two dollars to my name. You threw me out on the street... I have nowhere to go!" She saw the guilt in his eyes. "You could have tossed Natalie out. She could go to her parents' house and stay."

"Is the lease in her name?"

"Yes."

"Do you owe her rent?"

"Yes, I do, but I don't get paid until the fifteenth. I planned to pay her then."

"Did she agree to that?" he asked.

"Yes, she did. I explained that to her when I moved in. I get paid twice a month, on the fifteenth and the thirtieth. She said that was no problem."

"Why didn't you pay her on the thirtieth?" Michael knew he was being nosy, but there was something about this young woman that tugged on his heart.

"I had another commitment that comes first. Natalie knows about that, too!"

"Car payment?Credit cards?"

"No. I don't own a car because I can't afford one! I take care of my Gramma," she added. "She is my responsibility. She raised me and took care of me, and now it is my turn to take care of her."

"Here you go," Jenny broke into their too serious conversation as she sat large platters of food in front of them. She also brought milk shakes for them both and winked at Molly. "Now don't you fret; Michael is buying." She giggled and then walked away.

"I did not order this," Molly said helplessly. "I told her I couldn't afford food...!"

"Aunt Molly thinks that food will save the world. Go ahead and eat, Molly. I'm buying," he said with a smile.

"Only because she is forcing you to buy!" Her pride was rearing its ugly head.

"Molly, eat your meal right now or I swear by all I hold sacred I am going to turn you over my knee right here and right now and give you the spanking I've wanted to give you since you answered the door earlier tonight."

"You can't do that!"

"I can do that. I am bigger than you, and I am stronger. I assure you it might not be the smartest thing to do under the circumstances, but I am out of patience. Now, do I need to spank you before I can eat my dinner, or are you going to be smart and eat?" He heard her stomach rumble then. "Good grief, Red, you are hungry. Stow the pride and eat, please?" He felt terrible for putting her in such a predicament. She was basically homeless right now and it was his fault for not making sure she had somewhere she could go.

Molly wanted to cry, but she was hungry, and the hunger won out. Her food supply ran out two days ago... and she was starving. "Thank you, Officer. I will pay you back on the fifteenth, I promise."

"This is my treat, Molly. Please don't insult me by refusing a simple meal. This isn't some fancy restaurant... and I can afford to feed a guest."

"Thank you," she whispered, remembering the manners Gram taught her. She then attacked the French fries with gusto.

Michael quickly realized that Molly Henderson hadn't eaten for a while. She wasn't just hungry; she'd been starving herself to have money to pay for her grandmother's care. He tried to put himself in her shoes, but couldn't. He had a huge family, siblings, in-laws, nieces and nephews, not to mention all of his aunts and uncles and cousins and their families. Michael was rich in family. It was hard to imagine being all alone in the world. He was startled to realize he wanted, no needed, to help little Molly. He did not try to talk to her while they ate their meal. She cleaned her plate, and sipped her milkshake to the very bottom of the large glass.

"That was really good," she told him with a contented smile.

"I know; it's one reason I come here so often after work, or during work, depending on the shift."

"You also come here to check on your Aunt," Molly said, startling him.

"Don't tell her that, or she'll come undone all over me," he whispered as Jenny headed toward their table.

"Did you two get enough to eat?" she asked with a big smile.

"I sure did, Aunt Jenny," he answered.

"Me, too. It was really good, and I thank you for taking care of me," Molly said emotionally.

"It was my pleasure, dear. I hope you two got things straightened out?" she asked.

"I was over-reacting, and I am sorry for that," Molly said contritely.

"I am sure Michael knows that, dear. Now, you be a gentleman and see this child home, young man," Jenny ordered in the same tone she used when he was much younger and she wanted to be obeyed.

"I will take care of Molly, Aunt Jenny, I promise." He leaned down to kiss her again, and then handed her the invoice and money to cover it. "Keep the tip this time, Aunt Jenny!" he ordered sternly.

"It goes into the jar for our cause of the moment... You know that, Michael." She winked and then giggled.

Michael took Molly's arm and led her outside. She tried to pull free when he tried to put her into his car. "Get in, Molly."

"No! You are a stranger, and I don't get into cars with strangers, and I won't pay for dinner the way you seem to think I will!"

"Those words have earned you a bona fide spanking, little girl!"

Chapter Two

"You wouldn't dare spank me, Michael O'Keefe!" Molly Henderson sputtered angrily, unable to believe the man thought she would actually permit him to put a hand to her backside as if she were a child...! Why, she had never been spanked in her entire lifetime, even when she was a child and drove her Gramma crazy with her penchant for causing trouble!

"I would dare," Michael stated with conviction. "Now, you can either get into the car and let me take you somewhere you will be safe, or I am going to give you that spanking here and now, and then take you somewhere safe."

Molly realized she really had no choice. He was so large there was no way on earth she could break the hold he had on her. If he harmed her in any way, he had to know she would report him and file charges. She did her best to clamp down on her temper, vowing she would do her level best to mark him so he could not claim she was lying about him later!

"Well?" he asked sharply, fully prepared to pick her up and put her over the hood of the car and set her sweet ass on fire.

"You are bigger than me," she said, defiance oozing from every pore of her body. "I'll have to get into the car, but if you try anything, I swear you will regret it."

"I am a cop; I am not going to rape you, Molly." He truly wanted to shake her, but he put her in the car instead, promising himself that he was going to thoroughly enjoy spanking the seat of her worn jeans until she was begging him to stop. He walked to the other side, half expecting her to jump out and take off running the moment his back was turned, and just as he reached his car door, she did exactly that. Michael swore under his breath and gave chase.

Molly gave it everything she had. She ran track in high school and college, and it only took her a second to vault over the fence between the parking lot and the park next door. Molly knew the park well because she spent a lot of her lunch hours there, enjoying the outdoors and eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She certainly didn't want her coworkers to know that she couldn't afford to join them for lunch. She knew exactly where she would hide from the man, and she headed there, hoping to lose him as she ran, jumping over obstacles in her way.

Michael was in good shape. He worked out every day, and he ran, even when the weather was lousy. His stamina had saved his butt more than one time, and he was able to keep up with the bad guys when they ran. Little Molly Henderson was fast... for a female... but he was faster. He instinctively knew where she was heading, and he held back, giving her a chance to reach the shelter. Once there, she would have nowhere to go.

Molly reached the shelter and she wrenched on the doorknob of the small kitchen area. The restrooms were down the short hallway just inside the door to the left, and there was a large door to the right that lifted off of a counter where food could be sold when there was an event at the park, or that people could use when they rented the facilities for a family get-together, or another function. Molly sat at the tables to eat her lunch when the weather was nasty. She tried the door again, and then swore when she realized it was locked! It was never locked when she was at the park during the day! She glanced over her shoulder and found Michael standing an arm's length away, his hands on his hips.

"This is the perfect place for that spanking, little girl," he said quietly, reaching for her. The redhead turned into a spitting wildcat as she kicked and fought to get free, but he was used to handling men who were tough. It was a simple matter to lift her off her feet and carry her a few steps to one of the picnic tables. Michael sat on the wooden bench and flipped her over his knees. "You've probably needed this for a long time, Molly Henderson," he scolded, raising his hand and bringing it down on the seat of her worn jeans.

"Ohhhh!You bastard!" Molly was incensed.

"I am not a bastard. I am the fourth of eleven kids, and not a one of us is a bastard." He brought his hand down again and then again. "I am a police officer; I do not lure females into my car so that I can drive them somewhere and abuse them." He continued to set her jeans on fire while she kicked and screamed and cursed and did everything in her power to escape him. "This spanking is not going to stop until you settle down and start apologizing for being a hellcat!"

"I'll never apologize to you!" Molly angrily declared, her stubborn pride giving her a false feeling of courage.

"Never is a very long time," he reminded her, spanking even harder and lower on her backside!

"Ow, that is not my butt!" she hollered loudly.

"I know, and I guarantee that spanking you on your sit spots is going to make you miserable every time you try to sit down tomorrow."