Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(18)

“That’s why you didn’t join the watercooler chat.” Courtney took another drink. “I always wondered. Everyone else was gossiping up a storm and there you were with the scoop. I thought you were being all stoic and NCIS we-don’t-talk-about-our-cases girl. You were protecting the man you loved. That’s really romantic.”

Courtney could go way out there. She was the very definition of overdrama at times. “I knew the admiral. I liked him and his family. I wasn’t going to gossip. But now I’m faced with the dilemma of working on a case where I have feelings for a person directly involved in the outcome.”

“It’s not an official thing, right? It’s off the books. You’ve done that before. You found Mrs. McCallahan’s granddaughter when she ran away. And you found George’s cat.”

Mrs. McCallahan lived in her building. She was a nice older lady raising her wild grandchild. It hadn’t been hard to find the girl and bring her home. As for the cat, it had been up a tree. No real investigative work there. She’d simply followed the meows.

“This feels different. I didn’t start the investigation, so I’m at a bit of a loss about where to begin. I’ve read the case file a hundred times. I’ve talked to the NCIS investigators.” She’d tried to avoid thinking about this all day, but she wanted to have something to tell Dax when she saw him on Friday. Something beyond “I read over the reports again.”

“You should do what we do in tech writing. Start at the beginning of the process and work your way through. You already know everything NCIS does, so start outside your group.”

“I have to talk to my uncle.” Her uncle had advised her against touching this case. He’d called her after some gossip rag had reported that Dax was in town and warned her away from it. He wasn’t going to be happy that she was diving in now.

“I think you do. Tell Beau hi for me. Now, let’s talk about potential double dates. You and Dax and me and whoever he has with him.”

Courtney chattered on, but Holland was already thinking about how to approach her uncle. It would not be a pleasant meeting.

But her friend was right. It was time to start over, at the beginning.





FOUR




Why are you doing this, honey? This case is closed and all you can possibly do now is kick up a mess of trouble. What did I teach you about a hornet’s nest?”

Holland had to give it to her uncle. Beau Kirk could likely make anyone feel as if they were twelve years old again. Even though she was a grown woman with a career and responsibilities, when her uncle looked at her, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly and that Cajun drawl deepening, she would almost swear she was sitting in his big office at the house along the bayou, hoping she didn’t get grounded.

After her mother had died, she’d lived with her aunt and uncle. She’d seen her dad when he came home on leave, but her aunt had been the steady influence in her life and her uncle the authority figure.

“You taught me not to kick one,” Holland replied. “I’m not trying to cause trouble, Uncle Beau. I’m simply trying to give a friend some peace of mind.”

Her uncle frowned, sitting back in his massive chair. He’d moved up the ranks of the NOLA PD and now occupied a large office and headed a division of men who handled some of the city’s worst cases. “You’re talking about the son, right? Daxton? Isn’t he some sort of war hero?”

Her uncle knew exactly who she was talking about, but she played along. “Yes, Captain Spencer is considered one of the Navy’s finest.”

“I’m sure he was on track to follow in his daddy’s footsteps.” Commander Beauregard Kirk was in his mid-fifties, but he was still a powerfully built man. He wasn’t one to slide into middle age gracefully. He still trained with his men on a daily basis. “I doubt he’ll make it past captain now.”

Holland frowned. Dax was meant for bigger and better things. He was certainly capable of them. The minute she’d met him, she’d known he would go far in the Navy. “What is that supposed to mean? He’s great at his job.”

“Oh, the Navy will certainly move him around and give him bigger ships, but they won’t want the Spencer name to ever again come anywhere near the rank of admiral. Too much bad press.” Uncle Beau shook his head. “That story took forever to die. The Spencer boy has to know his career in the Navy has an invisible wall he’ll never scale now.”

“He’s not pursuing this investigation because he wants a higher rank,” Holland tried to explain. “He’s doing this because he loved his father.”

Her uncle sat back, scanning the office. He left the blinds open as though he was watching and waiting for something to happen. “I’m sure he does. That’s the problem with parents and children, though. As a child, you tend to see your parents in the best possible light. It’s hard to understand that they’re human like the rest of us. Some people can’t handle it. I remember how disappointed I was when I realized my father was a drunk. Growing up, I always thought he was the life of the party. A truly happy man. Then I realized he was happy because he didn’t have to face a thing. Momma did all the work and it wore her out in the end. I had to face two facts: my father was an irresponsible asshole and my mother let herself become a doormat.”