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Mel really wanted to go see Brie, but she felt she had to stay at the clinic while Mike interviewed her patient. David had been napping in the reception area in his playpen and she heard him start to rouse. Before long he sent up an alarm and she had to go pick him up, change him, cuddle him quiet. Over an hour passed before Mike walked Sophie out of the kitchen. He had a hand on her back, solicitously escorting her, thanking her in soft tones for helping him so much.
By the moony eyes Sophie turned up to Mike’s face, not only had he won her over, she adored him. Trusted him completely.
When Sophie had gone, Mike looked at Mel and gave her a somber nod.
“We have a bad one on the loose, don’t we?” she asked.
He nodded. “Or ones. Now I have names. Now I can talk to some other youngsters, one of whom I suspect is one of your other girls—because the name didn’t come from you.”
“What’ll you do?”
“Interview. Right away. And I’m going to have to round up some support for Sophie—she’s going to need to talk to a professional.”
“Family Planning might help with that. And the county has a sexual assault response team.”
He shook his head almost sadly. “When I took this job, this is the last thing I expected to be up against.”
“Brie is barely here,” Mel said sympathetically.
“She’ll understand, Mel. In fact, I’m going to have to talk to her about this.”
“I never tell Jack….”
He gave a nod. “I’ll ask her to be sensitive to that, but after what Brie’s been through, I have to be up front about this. She’s been lied to—things have been withheld from her. I can’t keep something like this back from her. It’s real important. We’ve barely begun….”
Mel held up a hand. “You know what you can and can’t do—and you know we can’t have these teenagers exposed.” He nodded. “I want to see her. Brie. When can I see her?” she asked, jostling David.
“I think as soon as ten minutes. Give me a head start?”
“Sure. At least.”
Something wonderful happened to Mike’s heart when his hand touched the door to his RV, just knowing she was there. Everything about that felt right. When he stepped inside, there she was, waiting. Brie had tidied up the place, put away their clothes and made up the bed. She was sitting at the small table with a tablet in front of her, writing, and looked up at him with those soft, glowing eyes.
He couldn’t help himself—the first thing he did was go to her, lean down and kiss her. “What are you doing?” he asked, sitting opposite her.
“Writing my resignation to the prosecutor’s office,” she said. “And making a list. I’m going to start looking for an office. If I’m going to stay here, I’m going to work. And I’m going to stay here.”
“An office?”
“Uh-huh. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m a lawyer. I can’t work out of this space because I’ll need my things. My computer, books, et cetera.”
“I love hearing this. Are we sure we want to make Virgin River home?”
“I can do it, although I don’t think I’m going to find an office in this little town. In fact, who knows where I’ll find work? I might have to commute to one of the larger towns, or maybe I’ll be taking whatever work there is in some of these small towns. But, Mike—do you want to leave Virgin River? Because I think you know—I’ll go anywhere with you.”
He reached for her hands and held them. “I love it here. The best part of my life has come to me here. I have a suggestion. Instead of looking for an office, think about looking for a house. One large enough for an office at home, or one with the space to build on. You could work out of our home.”
“You think?”
“If we’re going to go with nature, something tells me the need for more space will present itself before long. How do you feel about that?”
She smiled at him. “Like going forward with you.”
“Am I getting ahead of you?” he asked her. “This is quick. Your brother, your father, your sisters—they’re going to point out how fast we’re moving. People are going to say we’re crazy.”
“I don’t care,” she said, shaking her head. “I haven’t felt this good in well over a year. I’m due a little crazy happiness. When do you think we’ll come down to earth?”
“Sooner than you think. I have some work I have to do. Police work. It’s going to tie me up a little bit, but it’s very important.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
“I want to talk to you about it, but it’s very sensitive. It could be upsetting.”
“Okay. I’m good with sensitive. And I’ll try to look upsetting in the face.”
“Mel doesn’t share things like this with anyone, even Jack. She hopes I might help investigate. I told her I was going to talk to you for a lot of reasons, but you’ll have to be discreet with your brother. No question—he can be completely trusted, but this is an arrangement they have and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Mel has had some young patients she suspects have encountered a date raper. From what she describes, I believe she’s right. I finally have some names—I’m going to do some interviews. See if I can get a fix on what’s happened and who this could be. Then I’m going to get him. Or them.”
Brie couldn’t help it—a shudder of revulsion passed through her. God, she hated to think of anyone going through what she had. Mike gave her a moment to gather herself and finally she just shook her head, saddened to hear it. “How awful. Have you ever worked sexual assault? Are you up to speed on this?”
“I haven’t worked a sexual assault unit, but I’ve worked with some of those detectives on cases that cross over, and have a little experience from that. And I’ve worked with a lot of kids, which gives me an advantage in this situation. I can get started without your help, but I’m sure I’ll be asking for your advice. Can you deal with that?”
“I can try. I happen to know a lot about this—and not just from personal experience. I’ve prepped a lot of rape victims for trial.”
“I was hoping you’d be willing to help. I’m going to go talk to some people,” Mike said. “Mel is dying to see you.”
“She’s at Doc’s?”
“By now she might be right outside.” He opened the door and saw her standing near the back door of the bar, bouncing David in her arms to keep him happy, giving them whatever time and space they needed. He gestured for her to come ahead. But Brie got up from the table and went to greet her. She opened her arms to Mel and the baby and they embraced as sisters would.
Mel slipped David onto the seat beside her at the small kitchen table while Brie got them each a soda. “How does it feel to be in my kitchen?” Brie asked Mel.
Mel smiled. “Took you long enough.”
“I had to think it through….”
“You look beautiful,” Mel said. “There is no doubt in your eyes.”
“Do you think they talk? The men?”
“Not the way we do. Mike won’t talk to Jack about you, I’m sure of that. Jack has been a real idiot about you and Mike.”
“He’s over that now,” Brie said. “Someone brought us breakfast and left it outside, and I suspect it was Jack.”
“Well, good. It’s time he came around. I’d apologize for your brother’s stubbornness, but you’ve known him longer than I have.” She laughed. “Someone should have warned me he can be such an interfering pest. And bossy? Lord.” She tilted her head. “One look at you makes it clear this is the right thing for you. For both of you. Mike is wearing some kind of halo.”
“He should. He’s an angel. I’ve never been treated with such kindness and tenderness. Never. He spent months talking me through the dark days without a hint that he expected more from me. How many men do you know who are willing to invest themselves like that, when there might not be anything in it for them?”
“Mike’s a good man,” Mel said. “He wouldn’t put a woman he cared about in a difficult position.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to respond to a man again, Mel. You can’t imagine how nervous I was.”
Mel simply waited quietly; if Brie wanted to be more specific she could. When a moment passed and Brie hadn’t said any more, Mel said, “I’m just so grateful you finally worked it out, and that it brought you back to us.”
Brie looked upward for a second, shaking her head, still in wonder. It was at times like this that she would miss her sisters most, but with Mel here she had the female connection she needed. That secret talk that women shared. “I had a lot to think about, to consider, but in the end, I’m here because of something that came up in Sacramento.”
Mel lifted her brows. “Anything you can talk about?”
“I haven’t had a chance to tell Jack yet—but Mike knows everything. The reason I came suddenly and without calling ahead is because Brad came to see me. Jerome Powell was found in Florida and the ADA is working on extradition to bring him back for trial.”
Mel reached out and covered her hand. “God, Brie,” she said in a breath. “How are you doing?”
“I’m going to testify against him. Of course. But I’m staying right here until that happens.”
“Oh, baby. You know we’ll all be there for you.”
“It was bizarre—that I should get this news from Brad. He came to the house to tell me. But before he told me about Powell, he asked for another chance, to see if we could rekindle some of what we had. He’s no longer with Christine.”
“Whew,” Mel said, sitting back in shock. “How do you feel about that?”
A slow smile spread on Brie’s lips. “I showed him the door and then packed immediately. I’m done with that part of my life.” Then the smile vanished as she said, “The other part, the trial, that’s going to take a little longer. Be a little harder. Who am I kidding? A lot harder.”
The very first occasion Mike had to present his business card officially came at Valley High School in the guidance counselor’s office. Mrs. Bradford was a cautious and serious woman and, while cordial, she wasn’t about to turn any of her students over to this man without being sure. He invited her to have him checked out with the sheriff’s office if she questioned his authenticity. And he told her a little bit about how he came to be the new town constable, showing her the badge Hope had given him. He’d been to the high school before, talking to the principal and some of the teachers, but just on a get-to-know-you basis, never as part of an investigation. He explained that, in his capacity, he wouldn’t be making arrests of any kind, but that his interviews might help solve a problem.
He assured Mrs. Bradford that the students he wanted to speak with were in absolutely no trouble, but without even realizing it, might have information that could help him. “Think of it as something like a witness to an accident—someone might have information that can help resolve an issue, without even being aware of it.”
Mrs. Bradford disappeared for about twenty minutes, and when she came back she was ready to have a few students called to her office to speak with Mike. He assumed she had called the sheriff.
Mike talked to a couple of girls who provided him with the names of teens they had seen at parties. Within an hour, Brenda Carpenter was delivered to the counselor’s office and they were left alone together. He knew Brenda’s parents, but in the months he’d been in Virgin River, he hadn’t met her. He showed his badge again.
