Frankie: A Kelly Family Novella

By Lashell Collins

Frankie Kelly has fought her whole life to prove that she is just as capable as all the men in her testosterone-driven family. And now her hard work and dedication to the police K-9 program is finally beginning to pay off. But when her secret, sexy romance with her sergeant culminates in a marriage proposal, Frankie is thrown for a loop wondering if she’s ready to go public with their clandestine relationship.

John Myles is sure of two things in life - one, that he is dedicated to the K-9 program he leads at the police department. And two, that he loves Frankie Kelly more than life itself. But when she hesitates to accept his proposal, John is rattled. Especially when the job gets in the way, forcing him to send her and her K-9 partner out into the dark night in search of a dangerous murder suspect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lashell Collins
• Release date: Apr 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310782237

Lashell Collins

Lashell Collins spent the last twenty years of her life working in Veterinary Hospitals and Garden Centers. But whether she was surrounded by the adorable puppies and kittens she helped to care for, or by the beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs, she constantly pursued her favorite pastime – reading romance novels and imagining herself as the heroine in each and every one of them!After losing a few people who were important in her life, she began writing in her grief and found it to be very cathartic. She started several stories in various genres, but none of them seemed to click for her, and they remained unfinished. Finally, a light bulb went on over her head! Since she really enjoyed reading romance novels, perhaps she would enjoy writing them too! Her first attempt was an epic love story, chronicling the rise and fall of a major rock star. It was full of sex, scandal and intrigue. And it was complete and utter crap. She closed her laptop and hung her head in shame.Then one day, after she had finished rereading one of her favorite romance novels for about the hundredth time, she opened up her laptop and tried again. And she hasn’t stopped writing since! All of Lashell’s stories are full of heart and romance, with smart dialogue and spicy sex scenes. She still loves writing about sexy rock stars. But she also loves writing about hot cops and hunky business men as well!When she’s not writing, Lashell enjoys reading, shopping, eating Chinese food, and riding on the back of her husband’s Harley-Davidson. She loves watching General Hospital and Grimm. She is a huge music fan and is completely obsessed with Slash. Lashell is a member of the Romance Writers of America. Drop her a line; she loves to hear from readers.

Book preview

Frankie

A Kelly Family Novella

By Lashell Collins

Copyright © 2014 Lashell Collins

Smashwords Edition

Frankie

Book Three of the Kelly Family Series

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author. This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers (under age 18).

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this eBook may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Dedication

For Gary, for believing in me.

Thanks

I'd like to thank the following people for their support:

Gary: for the laughter and the support. And for being a wonderful technical consultant on all things police related.

Mom: for everything. Always.

Willa: for all you do. Your friendship and assistance are invaluable to me.

Erika: for helping to plant a seed and spark a dream.

Ann: for the beautiful covers.

Jason and Marina: for the formatting.

All of you: for taking the time to read my stories. I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 1.

It was true that the sneaking around did make all the sex that much hotter. Especially when they got busy at the station in the women’s locker room. She asked him once why there, and he told her that there was a lot less traffic in the woman’s locker room since there weren’t nearly as many females on the Eastwood PD as there were men - which did make sense. But what Frankie Kelly really wanted was to be able to let the world know how she felt about John Myles. As much as she had tried to fight it in the beginning, she was completely and hopelessly in love with him. And she wanted the world to know it.

Most of all, she wanted to be able to let her father know. And really, how she had managed to keep it from him for this long was a total mystery to her, because Lord knew that her siblings usually couldn’t be counted on to keep anything under wraps for too long – though, the four of them had gotten really good at presenting a united front against their tyrannical father over the years.

She hated thinking of him in that way. Tyrannical. Her father had always been her hero, and in many ways, he still was. But as she got older, Frankie slowly came to understand why her brothers, Storm and Ethan, always seemed to have such animosity toward him, and she understood that their father was often the cause of the friction between the two young men. More importantly, Storm and Ethan had begun to understand that too, and their relationship had improved by leaps and bounds once they figured it out. But as young boys, they had competed constantly for their father’s approval, and Mike Kelly sometimes appeared to take delight in pitting his sons against one another in the contest for his attention.

When they were growing up, Francine - as Mike insisted on calling his oldest daughter - was devoutly, and unapologetically, daddy’s little girl. Even after her younger sister Marina came along and stole the spotlight. Back then, Frankie didn’t realize that her dad was emotionally unavailable, or that he was a master at withholding his affection. She just knew that her daddy was big and strong and that he protected people. That was his job. Like superman. He even had a cool superhero uniform and everything. And she knew at a very young age that when she grew up, she wanted to wear that superhero uniform and be just like him. Only it never dawned on her that her father wouldn’t be proud to have her wear that uniform too.

She sighed as she tried to push that thought from her mind and just concentrate on the incredibly decadent foot massage that John was giving her. She loved these quiet, sexy times with him when they could both just shut out the world and be together, with no crises brewing, no Eastwood Police Department business to take his attention, no disembodied dispatchers chirping at her over the radio. When they could turn off the world of bad guys and police work and just make love. She lived for these times, even if they did come at odd hours of the day. She always wished they could last forever.

Mmm, I love you, she murmured, running a wet hand through her dark blonde hair as she gazed up at him with hooded eyelids. This was heaven. It had to be. Seated in a tub full of bubbles and surrounded by candlelight with soft R&B playing on the radio in the background. As always, John knew how to set the perfect scene.

He smiled at her as he gently pressed his thumbs into the ball of her left foot. You’re only saying that because I’m massaging your feet, he said.

And because you fed me an amazing breakfast, she added.

And the sex had nothing to do with it, I suppose? he asked, still smiling at her.

Frankie shrugged her shoulders. Oh, yeah. I guess the sex was okay too, she answered playfully.

Are you kidding me? he said, lowering her foot and looking at her with a mock hurt expression. Just okay? Come on now! That was some of my best work back there! You are not going to find moves like that anywhere else, let me tell you!

Frankie giggled at his sales pitch and lifted her foot to his brown, chiseled chest, tapping him impatiently with her wet toes until he took up the massage again.

He took her wet foot in his hands and brought it to his lips, kissing