Molly's Cop (20 page)

"What if something awful happens and I totally ruin the cake?" Bridget asked in concern.

"Bridget, I've seen the birthday cakes and holiday cakes you've made; you won't ruin the cake, but if you should, we will still love you. That is our promise."

"I'll do it!" she said excitedly. "I'm going to go and start looking at designs. You'll have to tell me what kind of cake you want, and the colors you want to use. I'm going to do my very best cake ever," she promised, then flew from the room to go and start looking on line for ideas.

"I hope she doesn't get so worried and nervous she can't function when the time comes," Mary fretted.

"She won't, Mary. It will be good experience for the girl. If she can do a wedding cake for family, then she will be able to handle working in a bakery with all the pressure she'll have there," Seamus said. "I think it good of you both to give Bridget a chance. What else are you going to need help with?"

Molly and Michael spoke up and asked for the help they needed.

* * *

"Are you sure you aren't upset that we can't spend tonight together, honey?" Michael asked as they ate an early dinner at his parents' home.

"I know you have to work, Michael. I will find something to do. Maybe go to a movie...?"

"No, that isn't a good idea. I want your word that you won't go anywhere tonight, Molly. Too many people drive under the influence, and I need to know that you are here at home, safe."

"You are being silly, Michael. I'm a grown woman, and if I want to go somewhere, I will."

"No, not tonight," Michael said firmly, not caring that his parents and little sister were in the kitchen, too. "You need to stay home where you'll be safe."

"I am not a child, Michael. I'm not going to be grounded for the night simply because you have to work," Molly told him, her temper showing.

"Do we need to discuss this privately?" he demanded just as his cell phone rang. "O'Keefe...?" Michael growled into the phone, listened for a few minutes and said, "I'm on my way." He turned to Molly and said, "I have to go right now, but I'll be checking in with you later, young lady, and you'd best be right here." With those final words he left, banging the door behind him.

"I hope you aren't going to listen to Michael!" Bridget declared, her eyes flashing. "He's acting just like a cop!"

"He is a cop, and you'd better not be giving advice to Molly, young lady. Michael wants to keep her safe." Seamus switched his gaze from his youngest daughter to Molly. "I suggest you do as Michael asks, Molly. It isn't much fun going out alone anyway, and Donna and Gene are coming over here for the evening. We'll set up a Monopoly game..."

Molly got to her feet and started to clear the table. She was going to do as she damn well pleased and Michael needed to learn right now that he couldn't control her. If she wanted to go out, she would! She'd managed on her own for a very long time before she met Michael, and she was perfectly capable of going to a movie on New Year's Eve if she wanted to!

Mary motioned with her eyes for Seamus to leave the kitchen. She knew only too well how Molly was feeling, and was positive she needed to speak to the young woman before she did something to earn Michael's wrath. If Seamus stayed in the kitchen trying to boss her around, Molly would be out the door before the evening was over. Hopefully she could calm Molly down.

"Mama, why is Michael acting all bossy with Molly?" Bridget asked. "I sure wouldn't permit my fiance to talk to me like that and tell me what I could and couldn't do!"

"Bridget, there are some things you simply don't know yet. Now, I know you find that hard to believe, but it is true," Mary said quietly.

"I just don't get it. Michael isn't normally such a butt about things."

"Your brother is not a butt," Mary scolded. "He can't help how he feels. I think you are old enough now to understand that Michael's job can be very unpleasant." Mary realized that Molly was listening, right along with Bridget. "His first year on the police force was not easy, and the first New Years he worked was brutal. He went on a call to a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light, hit a car, killing a husband and wife and their two children. He went from that to answer a call outside a club. Three men dragged an underage girl into the alley behind the club and raped her. Michael had to notify her parents, and he came home and cried."

"Molly wasn't planning to go clubbing," Bridget said, defending her future sister-in-law.

"No, and if Michael was thinking clearly he would realize that, but he loves Molly, and he fears for her safety. Each time one of you gets your driver's license and goes driving alone the first few times, he is afraid that he will get called to an accident and find one of you involved. Michael loves deeply, and he feels responsible for keeping all of us safe."

"It's the way Pop feels when I want to go out and he says there aren't enough in the group."

"Precisely. He wants you to be safe, and he knows that there is safety in numbers. Two girls walking from the mall to the car in the parking lot are an easier target than three, four, or five. Your Papa wants to keep you safe."

"Molly, are you going to stay home tonight?" Bridget asked curiously.

Molly looked at the teen and decided to be honest. "I haven't decided yet."

* * *

Michael heard the description of the car involved in a chase and listened even more intently when the license plate was read. It was Molly's car! He couldn't believe she was running away from the police! He listened in growing horror as he heard how fast the car was speeding as traffic violation after violation piled up. The final thing he heard was that the driver lost control and the vehicle flipped over three times before coming to rest on the driver's side. Michael raced to the scene, positive he would find Molly injured or dead.

He got as close as he could with his car, then ran the rest of the distance, looking for any sign of the woman he loved. The paramedics were already pulling the driver from the wreckage, and from the silent way they were going about it Michael knew it was too late. He also realized the deceased driver was not his Molly! He looked around, but there was no sign of her anywhere!

"Lieutenant, who are you looking for?" one officer asked.

"The woman who owns this car," he answered. "Molly Henderson."

"There was no one else in the car, sir," the uniform answered him and Michael didn't know whether to be relieved or scared out of his mind. He tried Molly's cell phone and it immediately went to voicemail. He called his parents' house and Seamus answered. "Pop, is Molly there?" he asked, and he heard his voice crack as he silently prayed. It seemed to take forever before his father returned and told him that Molly must have sneaked out while he and Mary were playing cards with their neighbors. Michael felt numb as he closed his cell phone. Where was Molly?

* * *

Molly didn't enjoy the movie at all. In fact, she couldn't concentrate on the highly publicized film, and it was all Michael's fault! She felt guilty for leaving the house after he told her not to, even though she was a grown woman and had every right to do as she pleased. She walked with a group of people toward the parking lot and was stunned to learn her car wasn't where she left it! She looked and looked, thinking she must have parked in a different spot, but after a while Molly came to the realization that her car was gone... stolen!

"Miss, are you all right?" Two young men stopped when they saw her crying. "Did someone hurt you?"

"My car is gone... Someone must have stolen it when I was inside watching a movie."

"Oh no!" He looked at his partner and then said, "I think we should look again and make sure before we call the police. Don't worry. David and I will stay with you so you're safe, and we'll give you a ride home if we can't find your car."

"Thank you." Molly sensed she was safe with them, and was grateful for their support, even though they were strangers. They spent more time looking and finally Molly said, "My pretty little car is gone!" She burst into tears and David and John comforted her, giving her a clean handkerchief.

"We need to call the police," John said quietly.

"I'll call my fiance," Molly said in a small voice. "He is a police officer." She took out her cell phone, and turned it on; she'd turned it off when she went inside the large theater because she didn't want it going off and disturbing others. Michael answered on the first ring.

"Molly? Where are you? Are you hurt?" She could hear the fear in his voice.

"I'm fine, but my car was stolen, Michael!" She started crying again. He asked her again where she was, and said he was on his way. She hung up and a few seconds later her cell started beeping from all the messages in her voice mail. She quickly played them while David and John waited with her for Michael to appear and heard Michael over and over again, begging her to call him. She felt less than an inch tall by the time he jumped out of his car and took her in his arms, hugging her tightly, and telling her how much he loved her.

Molly felt so safe in his arms and she knew he would make everything all right once again. Two more police cars arrived, and the officer who pulled her over the night of Michael's Christmas party got out of one of them and walked over. "Are you all right, Molly?" he asked hoarsely.

"Just shaken up," she answered.

"Did he take your car at gunpoint?"

"What?" Molly asked in confusion.

David tried to help her. "Officer, we were all attending the same feature inside, and when Molly came out and couldn't find her car, we offered to help her. She didn't see who took her car."

"He must have hotwired it, Trevor," Michael spoke up, keeping his arm around Molly's slender shoulders.

"You sure had us all worried, Molly," Trevor told her. "The Lieutenant thought you were in the car when it flipped over three times."

"What?" Molly looked at Michael in confusion.

"Your car was involved in a high speed chase, Molly. The kid who stole it lost control; he was killed... and your car was totaled. Thank God you weren't in that car."

"Lieutenant, you need to sign off the clock and take your girl on home," another officer spoke up. He was older than Michael, and could see the younger man shouldn't be going out on any more calls. "Things have slowed, and you've put in your shift. If we get swamped, we can always call you in."

"You're right, George. I feel like a limp noodle right now." The men respected him for admitting he was shaken. "Call me if you need me." The Officers left since there was nothing more they could do for Molly. Michael made his call, taking himself off the clock, and then he looked at John and David. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself; Michael O'Keefe." He offered his hand.

"I'm John Connors," John said as he shook hands.

"I'm David Winters," David offered, shaking hands, too. "We couldn't leave Molly here by herself when she was so upset."

"I appreciate that," Michael told them. "She means everything to me." He felt like crying he was so relieved. "And, I'm going to spank the everlasting daylights out of her for scaring me to death tonight!"

Chapter Fourteen

"Oh, Michael, I am so sorry!" Molly exclaimed, heartbroken. "I don't know why I had to be the brat tonight. I regretted leaving the house as soon as I got in my car, and I didn't enjoy the movie at all. I hope you know that I wouldn't have put you through any of that worry intentionally...? I beg your forgiveness." She buried her face against his chest.

"It isn't Molly's fault her car was stolen," David felt compelled to defend her, shocked that the big man was threatening to spank little Molly.

"No, it isn't. I hope you aren't really planning to punish her...?" John agreed with his partner.

"Michael asked me to stay home tonight because he was worried something could happen... I had to prove that I could do as I pleased, and I ended up scaring Michael. I should have stayed home and I'm so sorry I didn't." She was crying again.

"Shhh, now. You're safe, Molly. Thank God, you are safe." Michael was too relieved to be angry or upset. That would probably come later, but right now he just needed to hold Molly and reassure himself that she was truly all right. "Thank you both for staying with Molly when she was upset. I appreciate it so much."

"You're welcome, of course," David commented. "We'll be going home now. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, and thank you both so much!" Molly managed to tell them. "I think you're great people."

"We think you're great people, too," John said with a grin, and then he and David hurried across the parking lot to find their vehicle.

"Let's get you home, honey," Michael said, taking her hand and leading her to his car. He kissed her once more before putting her inside, and he fastened her seatbelt himself, gently testing the belt to make sure she was protected. Michael kissed her yet again, and she could feel him trembling. He rounded the car, got in behind the wheel, fastened his seatbelt, and then he folded his arms on the steering wheel and rested his forehead against them. "I was scared out of my mind, Molly," he admitted. "I listened as Ted called in that a car matching yours was trying to outrun his cruiser; then he called in your plate. I thought it was you, and I couldn't believe you would do that. The next thing I heard was that the driver lost control and flipped over three times. My God, Molly... I got there in time to see the medics pulling a body from the car. Thank God it wasn't you, but then I went crazy wondering where you were; if he'd hurt you in some way. Honey, that was over two hours ago. I had every available cop searching for you. Pop checked your room... I need to call and tell them you are safe." He immediately took out his cell and made the call. "Pop, Molly is fine. She went to a movie and shut her cell off; that's why she didn't answer my calls." He listened, tears in his eyes. "Yes, I'll tell her. I'm going to take her home with me, Pop. We'll come for the family thing, but I won't be bringing Molly home tonight. I can't let her out of my sight right now." He listened, and then smiled, before replying, "Yes, sir." He hung up.