Detective Partners (28 page)

"Gorilla," he said. "What about you?"

"Zebra."
She squeezed his hand. "Thank you for bringing me. I need this."

Galen raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her soft skin. "We both need this and you're welcome."

"Just so you know," Nicole said, turning her attention to the elephants. "I won't go
any where
near the snakes. You're on your own."

"I'll let you in on a secret," he told her. "I'm afraid of snakes. Actually I have a fear of all reptiles."

"Your secret is safe with me," she assured him. "What else are you afraid of?"

"I can't give everything away at once," Galen said as they moved on to look at another animal. "I'll reveal more of my fears later on."

"I can live with that," Nicole said. "So what else do you have planned for us?"

Galen grinned. "You'll see."

She rolled her eyes. "It's going to be a long day."

"Impatient little thing, aren't you?" he said, smirking.

"Only with you, honey," Nicole sighed.
"Only with you."

Five hours later, Galen pulled into a parking space, put the car in park, and turned off the ignition. He released his seatbelt and grasped the door handle. "Stay here, sweetheart," he said to Nicole. "I called ahead and ordered our lunch. I'm just going to run in and get it. I'll be right back." He got out and made his way toward the entrance. Opening the door, he entered the small deli.
"Hey, Neil."

The man behind the counter glanced up and smiled. "Hey man. How's it going?"

"All right."
Galen approached the counter, taking his wallet out of his back pocket.

"Put your money away," Neil said. "You know it's no good here."

"Are you ever going to let me pay for anything?" Galen queried.

"You saved my sister's life," Neil stated. "That's earned you the privilege of eating here for free for the rest of your life. Let me get your food."

While Neil disappeared into the back, Galen slipped fifteen dollars into the tip jar that was next to the cash register. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him," he murmured as he returned the wallet to his pocket.

Neil came back just then with a plastic bag. He slid it across the counter. "
Take care
man."

"Thanks, you too."
Galen took the bag, left the shop, and headed to the car. He slipped behind the wheel and passed Nicole the bag. "Next stop the park. I thought we'd find a bench under a shade tree and eat our lunch."

"That sounds nice," she said. "I'd ask what you have planned for after lunch, but why bother. You're not giving anything away."

Grinning, he fastened his seat belt and started the car.
"All right.
I'll give you a little hint. After lunch, I'm taking you some place that's dark. No questions, please. I've given you all you're getting."

"I've given you all you're getting," Nicole mimicked.

Galen chuckled softly.
"Like I said before.
You're an impatient little thing."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm just not good with surprises. I haven't had too many of them.
The good kind anyway."
She touched his cheek. "I promise I'll be good from here on out."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I'm sure you will," she said dryly.

Galen found the perfect place for them to sit. It was on a bench near one of the parks many fountains. There was the right amount of shade to keep the sun from beating down on them and burning them. They sat down and Nicole unpacked their lunch. In the bag, there was
two
thick ham and
swiss
on rye sandwiches, two bags of potato chips and two bottles of cold water.

"I'm going to have to buy you dinner," Nicole said, unscrewing the cap on the bottle of water. "You've been paying for everything."

"Lunch was free." Galen
unwrapped
his sandwich. "The owner, Neil, refuses to let me pay for anything. Ever since I saved his sister's life he insists that I eat for free." He winked at her. "What he doesn't know is that I sneak money into his tip jar. It helps him out and I don't feel as though I'm a free loader."

Nicole took a drink of water and then started to
unwrap
her sandwich. "How did you save his sister's life?"

He chewed and swallowed a bite of sandwich. "I performed CPR on her while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. She was in a car accident. Thankfully, I wasn't too far from the scene and was able to get there quickly. It was a miracle she survived the accident. Neil thinks I'm a hero. I don't think of myself as one. I was just doing my job. Just doing what any
good
Samaritan would do."

"You saved a woman's life." She stared at him. "In my book that makes you a hero. Why did you want to be a police officer?" Waiting for his answer, she took a bite of her sandwich.

Galen crunched on a potato chip while he gave her question some serious thought. "I guess the reason I wanted to be a police officer was because my Dad was one. It just felt natural for me to follow in his footsteps. He was never in Homicide though. I went into it because I needed something to challenge me. Why did a sweet little thing like you want to be a cop?"

"Believe it or not, but my first career wasn't in law enforcement." Nicole sipped her water. "It was in human services. I was a social worker." She gazed at the pot of pink and white flowers beside the bench. "I wanted to help
childre
to be a voice for them. I was naïve, Galen. I couldn't help them anymore than I could help myself. I gave it a year and then I walked away. Law enforcement seemed like the next step to take. I figured I could help put away the bad people. Make the world a safer place for children."

"You gave being a social worker a try, honey," he said softly. "That's more than most people would do. I hope you weren't hard on yourself for walking away."

"I was at first, but as time went by I realized I had done the right thing." She opened her bag of chips. "Being a police officer is what I'm meant to do."

"I'm glad you gave up being a social worker," Galen said. "If you hadn't we might never have met."

Nicole brushed a crumb of bread from his shirt. "I think we would've met regardless of what job I was doing."

He leaned in close and kissed her. "I was going to take you to see a movie, but I have a better idea. Why don't we save the movie for another time and just take a leisurely stroll through the park?"

"I like the way you think." She pressed her forehead to his. "Wherever you go I'll follow."

Nicole stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. Quickly, she dried herself off and rushed into the bedroom. She took panties and a matching bra out of the top dresser drawer, put them on, and moved to the bed, where earlier she had placed jeans and a pale green blouse. Putting on the clothes, she went back into the bathroom to apply a touch of makeup and to blow dry and brush her hair.

Once Nicole was finished getting ready she went to the kitchen to see about the lasagna she made for dinner. She slipped her hands into a pair of mitts and opened the oven door. A tantalizing aroma made her mouth water and her stomach growl. She checked the corners of the lasagna to make sure they weren't burning. Satisfied with what she saw she closed the door and pulled off the mitts.

Dinner was almost done, the table was set, she was ready and Galen was due to arrive any minute. She leaned against the counter and took a deep calming breath. Ever since Galen had dropped her off, a few hours ago, she had
ran
herself ragged putting together dinner and herself.
She wanted everything to be perfect. It was her first time cooking for him. In addition, it was her way of thanking him for their beautiful day together.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Her heart skipping a beat, Nicole headed to the door. She unlocked and opened it. Her eyes traveled over Galen, who looked as though he had recently taken a shower too, and came to rest on the small black and white dog that was sitting at his feet. The dog looked up at her with big brown eyes. She melted. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing? Does he or she have a name?"

"It's a he and not yet," Galen said. "Is it all right if I bring him in? If you don't want him-"

"Of course, he can come in." Nicole took the leash from him. "You can come in too."

"Gee, thanks," he said wryly.

She laughed and kissed him. "Close the door." She knelt down in front of the dog and unhooked the leash from his collar. "Okay, sweetie, my home is your home." She scratched him behind the ears. "Run free."

"You're going to wish you didn't say that," Galen said. "He likes shoes. If you have a favorite pair I suggest you put them away."

"My shoes are safely in the closet." Nicole straightened up and dropped the leash on the table. "Are you hungry, Mr. Maxwell?"

"I'm starved," he answered. "Something smells delicious."

"That's the lasagna," she told him. "It should be done. Come with me. Is your friend allowed treats? I keep some around for the neighbor's dog. He comes over to see me every now and then."

"He can have a treat."

In the kitchen, Nicole pulled out a drawer, took a bone shaped treat out of a plastic bag, and offered it to the dog. He latched onto it with his teeth, turned around, and ran from the room. "Let me wash my hands and then I'll take the dinner out of the oven."

"I'll take it out for you," Galen volunteered.

"Be careful and don't burn yourself," she cautioned him, moving to the sink to wash her hands.

"You sound like my Mom," Galen said, seizing the oven mitts off the counter, "which isn't a bad thing."

"I didn't think so."

They sat down at the table, a few minutes later. Both had a plate of lasagna and salad in their hand. While she cut into her pasta with a knife and a fork, Nicole asked Galen where he got the dog.

"I found him in the grocery store parking lot the other night," he explained, picking up his fork. "He looked hungry and lost. I felt so sorry for him. I couldn't leave him there so I took him home with me. I know with our job it's going to be difficult to keep him, but I'll figure something out."

"Have a doggy door installed," she said. "That way he can let himself in and out. It will mean less accidents and you won't have to worry about him being cooped up inside all day."

"I'll look into that."

Nicole started to say something when the dog ran into the kitchen. In his mouth, he had a pink lacy bra. Her face turning red with embarrassment, she looked at Galen with an arched eyebrow. "What are you teaching your dog, Maxwell?"

Laughing, Galen said, "What can I say? He has a mind of his own."

Shaking her head, she slid out of her chair and crossed the room to the dog. She bent down and snatched the bra out of his mouth. "Stay out of my room, you little pervert."