Ethan: A Kelly Family Novella

By Lashell Collins

Officer Ethan Kelly is a nice guy. That’s what all the girls say, right before they toss him aside for one of those bad boys. But when he meets rookie officer, Heather Moss, Ethan is determined to show her that a nice guy knows how to treat a real woman.

But Heather isn’t interested. Or at least, she doesn’t want to be. She swore off men a long time ago, and focusing on her career leaves zero room for romance. Even with someone as sweet and sexy as Ethan. But when she saves his life on a robbery call, Heather realizes that he might just be the man to save her from herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lashell Collins
• Release date: Apr 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310113826

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

Ethan

A Kelly Family Novella

By Lashell Collins

Copyright © 2014 Lashell Collins

Smashwords Edition

Ethan

Book One 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.

Say what you want to about Ethan Kelly, but he was nobody’s pushover. Although he knew there were some who would disagree with that statement - who would say that he only joined the Eastwood Police Department to please his father, whether he was truly suited to the job or not. And while he would be the first one to admit that he had done a lot of things to try and please Mike Kelly over the years, his choice of profession was not one of them. Granted, he had grown up idolizing his police officer father and wanting to be just like him. But what little boy didn’t want to be like his dad?

He smirked at that thought as he pulled the cruiser onto Brant Way because he knew what little boy didn’t. His older brother, Storm. And where Storm always seemed to go out of his way to disobey their father, Ethan had spent most of his life going out of his way to earn the man’s praises. But it never made much difference. Storm was the favorite, and Ethan had learned to live with it.

But gaining Mike Kelly’s favor had very little to do with why had chosen to become a cop. The truth, besides the fact that it was obviously in his blood, was that he simply loved Eastwood. And more importantly, he loved helping people. It’s just who he was. Helpful and eager to please, that was Ethan Kelly to a T. And there were a few young women in Eastwood who would be more than happy to attest to that fact. Not that Ethan was a lady’s man or anything, but he did okay for himself. Usually anyway.

Okay, so maybe his luck with women wasn’t really all that great. He rolled his eyes as he wondered yet again why it was that girls always had such a love for those brooding bad boy types. As long as he lived, he would never be able to figure that one out. In his mind, bad boys were usually the jerks. The hell-raisers. The ones who knew next to nothing about how to really treat a woman because they were too wrapped up in their own silly drama - typically drama of their own making, because bad boys had a way of courting trouble. They were the ones who invariably ended up in the back of his cruiser getting a chauffeured ride to jail. And yet … girls loved them. The nice girls, the gorgeous ones anyway, never seemed to be interested in a nice guy like Ethan. They always wanted the darker, more exciting walk on the wild side.

Take Storm, for example. When they were teenagers, Storm was the classic bad boy archetype, and in many ways he still was. Just a bad boy with a badge. But Ethan had lost count of how many potential girlfriends he had lost to Storm over the years. Actually he knew exactly how many, and he remembered their names. Those ladies had been the cause of many a battle at the Kelly family home back then.

He smiled to himself at that thought as he drove around Eastwood Park, patrolling his normal beat and keeping his eyes peeled for any kind of suspicious activity. Eastwood, Ohio was your typical Midwestern city. Not exactly a bustling metropolis, but not a rural dustbowl either. Oh sure, they had their fair share of corn and soybean fields on the outskirts of the town. But with roughly 57,000 residents, the city was large enough to keep the Eastwood Police Department occupied, and usually there was never a dull moment.

"Car 231, proceed to 4211 Omarton Avenue to assist 233. Neighbors complained about a strange smell coming from one of the apartments."

The call came over the radio of the cruiser right on cue, as if the dispatcher had somehow been tapped into his thoughts. 231 acknowledged, Ethan replied.

He made a right turn and pointed the car north, heading for his next call. And he tried to push all thoughts of his father and his brother from his mind as he drove. He wasn’t sure why it still bothered him so much after all these years, but it did. All of his life, he had gone out of his way to please Mike Kelly. To gain his father’s approval and step out of his brother’s shadow. But no matter what he did - whether it was earning straight A’s in math or making the varsity football team in high school - it didn’t make any difference. Because whatever the accomplishment, Storm had already achieved it first,