Page 81 of Falling for Brody

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While she'd toldBrody she could wait until the end of their shift to go to the police station and get the envelope, he wasn't about to let her wait all night and into the morning to get it.

She didn't even ask him to wait in the car when she went inside.

And he certainly didn't offer to stay outside.

He walked beside her, not holding her hand, but close enough that when they walked, his hand brushed against hers every so often.

Simon, the Chief of Police in Fallport, greeted them as they walked into the building. "Brody! Good to see you."

Brody shook his hand even though he knew the man almost as well as Gabriel did.

Simon had already met Rhea and treated her with caution. "Rhea? How are you doing?"

Her gaze lowered to the envelope that he held in his left hand. "I'm... okay, but curious."

Simon smiled and held out the envelope. "We haven't looked inside. We don't think there's anything dangerous in the envelope."

Rhea nodded and swallowed hard. "Thanks, Chief."

"Simon, please."

She nodded again. "Simon. Thank you."

He gestured across the room. "Do you want to use my office?"

She shook her head and felt horrible. "Sorry," she offered, "I'm a little... off."

Brody stepped closer and pulled her into his arms, trapping the envelope between them. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he kissed her on the crown of her head. "It's okay, Rhea. It's going to be okay."

They'd heard from Gabriel that the kid came to Fallport to serve her with papers.

She couldn't think of anything that she'd be served with that would be a good thing.

Still, it didn't seem that Brody was about to let her put any distance between them.

She was glad. She didn't want to face this alone, but...

"Brody?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"I need a little room to breathe."

He lowered his arms but kept them wrapped around her body. "Do you want me to step back?"

She met his gaze and shook her head.

She wanted his comfort. Or maybe his strength.

Even though she was plenty strong on her own, she liked the feel of his arms around her.

Lifting the envelope, she unwound the string and opened the flap. With a deep indrawn breath, she pulled out the papers inside.

She knew it would be a lot of legal jargon that she wasn't going to be able to understand, but she could get the gist of the papers and the legal filing.

With her heart sinking in her chest, she barely resisted the urge to tear the papers in half.

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