Regan O'Reilly, PI Comes Home: Regan O'Reilly, #3

By Margaret Lake

August, 1942 - Fresh from the successful completion of an undercover assignment, Regan is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Before returning home, she goes to Washington to offer her investigative skills to the Army.

Now all Regan has to do is avoid Mark Harris who is still actively pursuing her and ignore the call of her own heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jobree Publishing
• Release date: Jan 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781498952637

Margaret Lake

Margaret Lake was born in New Jersey, but moved to Florida in her early teens and has lived there ever since. Reading has been her favorite activity since she was ten years old. Even after purchasing a Kindle, she still had seven large bookcases filled with paper books. It took years for her to part with the majority of them. Her other passion is history, especially English History, dating from when she first read "Katherine" by Anya Seton. When the inspiration came to write her first novel, she naturally gravitated to the Wars of the Roses because of that book. Her favorite author is Susan Howatch, her favorite book is "Outlander" and her favorite series is Harry Potter. She led a Harry Potter book club at the elementary school and helped with the chess club at both the elementary and high schools. Margaret rescued a nine-year old Jack Russell Terrier named Angelo who passed at the age of 15 on December 3, 2017. Now she has Mikey, a teeny-tiny two year old chihuahua mix (actually 50% chihuahua, 25% miniature poodle, 12.5% maltese and 12.5% terrier according to his DNA), adopted from the Humane Society on March 7, 2018. Mikey has gone a long way toward filling the empty space in her heart left by the loss of Angelo.

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DESCRIPTION

August, 1942 - Fresh from the successful completion of an undercover assignment, Regan is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Before returning home, she goes to Washington to offer her investigative skills to the Army.

Now all Regan has to do is avoid Mark Harris who is still actively pursuing her and ignore the call of her own heart.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Description

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Contact

Copyright

Chapter One

July, 1942

––––––––

Regan had left D.C. feeling pretty good about her meeting with General Carson. He'd been very impressed with her experience as a freelance private investigator and particularly the last assignment involving undercover work. That little job had ended with the breakup of a Black Market operation.

Now she was on her way home after a too-short visit with her family in Boston. As sorry as she was to leave them, she needed to get back to her life in Hartford. She needed to get in touch with Eddie McIntyre and Todd Evans, two of the insurance adjusters she worked with. She should probably get in touch with Chief O'Mara, too. Sometimes he had jobs for her. She needed to get back in the swing of things.

For now, she was on call with the army, but General Carson assured her that wouldn't be the case for long. As things heated up on the war front, so things would heat up on the home front. There were always those ready to profit from others’ misfortunes.

But the person she would call when she got home was Mabel Graham, Eddie McIntyre's sister. She'd stayed with Mabel during her last case, and they'd become fast friends.

Regan also wanted to ask Mabel about Wilma Van, the girl who'd ended up staying with them after she'd been beaten and assaulted. Regan still shuddered when she thought about what Wilma looked like hours after that beating.

As upsetting as that was, a lot of good had come of it. Not only had the three women gotten as close as sisters, but Wilma had given Eddie McIntyre the evidence he needed to put the police on the track of the thieves.

In fact, Regan would have been extremely pleased with the way her life was going right now if it hadn't been for one little snag. Make that two little snags. Mark Harris and his irresistible son, Patrick. Three little snags if you counted their adorable dog, Mitzi, that Regan had rescued from a dognapper. Puppy dog eyes. All three of them had those puppy dog eyes. That was okay for Mitzi, of course, but it was upsetting in the two Harris men. When Mark and Patrick turned the full force of those puppy eyes on her, she was a goner and she knew it.

That was one of the reasons Regan would not be getting in touch with the Harrises. A feeble excuse, she knew, but if she admitted her real reason, then she would have to remember the very flammable kisses she'd shared with Mark. And it wasn't just the kisses.

It was scrambled eggs and toast and Crazy Eights with Patrick. It was Mark's love and care of his little boy.  It wasn't the 6'2" of muscle mass topped by thick, sandy blond hair, although that certainly added to the attraction. It was the deep down goodness of the man.

Of course, there was one other reason. One that Regan didn't want to think about. One that didn't jibe with the kind of man she knew deep down that he was. The last time she'd seen Mark, he'd been with a peppy little blond temptress. Laughing with her, in fact, over drinks in a very swanky lounge.

Regan was good for strawberry ice cream and rescuing dogs and little boys, but she obviously wasn't good enough to ask out on a real date.

Maybe she shouldn't have given away those nice clothes she'd worn on her undercover assignment. She should have kept them to wear around town where she might run into Mark, and he could see what he was missing.

Regan risked a glance in the rear view mirror to see hair dark as midnight, eyes bluer than the deep blue sea, and a flawless, top cream complexion. She was fairly attractive herself, even if she had to be the one to say it.

For the final time, she hoped, Regan put Mark Harris out of her mind. She had her career as a private investigator, and a whole new career awaited her with the army. An endless vista of possibilities stretched ahead as far as her mind could reach. Not one of those possibilities included a trip down the aisle and a lifetime as the little woman.

When Regan pulled into the parking lot behind her apartment building, she was feeling more at peace. Her decision had been made ... for the umpteenth time ... and she was going to stick to it come heaven, hell or high water.

For now, she looked forward to a hot bath, a light supper and an evening reading a good book curled up on her own comfortable sofa. An early night and she'd be ready to reopen her office over the Woolworth's store in the morning.

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Regan stopped at the Woolworth's counter for breakfast and had her Thermos filled with coffee before going upstairs. She opened the door to her office and stood for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of being home. The truth was, her office was more home than her apartment.

She opened the window to air out the room and took another moment to appreciate the view. It had been a balmy spring day when Mark Harris had walked into her office, and she'd been doing much the same thing before he arrived. Now, the flowers in the park were in full bloom, and children freed from school for the summer were throwing balls, jumping rope and drawing hopscotch squares on the sidewalks.

Reluctantly, Regan tore herself away from the window and sat at her desk, pouring out her second coffee of the day. She pulled the phone toward her and dialed the number for her answering service. Martha picked up on the second ring and Regan sighed happily at the sound of Martha's friendly voice.

Martha, it's Regan. Just wanted to let you know that I'm back in my office.

Did you enjoy your vacation? Martha asked.

Yes, I had a wonderful visit with my family.

And everyone is well?

They're all fine. My youngest brother, Jimmy, just joined the force. Everyone is so proud of him. Except for me and Mom, Regan thought. I could see that she's just as scared we'll lose him, too, although he's not as reckless as Bobby was. Neither of them had ever gotten over Bobby being shot down by an armed robber.

Well, that's just lovely, Martha replied. Shall I answer your calls today?

No, I'll be in my office for a while. I'll call you if I have to go out.

Oh, that nice Mark Harris called several times and he asked that you call him as soon as you get in. Do you want his number?

Thanks, Martha. I have it, Regan sighed. She supposed she'd better call him or he'd probably just make a pest of himself. The time for hints was gone. She needed let him know in no uncertain terms what she wanted out of her life.

First, though, she'd call Chief O'Mara, Todd Evans, and Eddie McIntyre. She needed to build her business back up, although she'd received a generous payment from Provident and a very healthy bonus from Magnum's. It was more than enough to ensure she didn't have to work at all for a couple of months but she was anxious to get back to doing what she loved best.

The call to Chief O'Mara was more of a courtesy but ended up netting her a job regarding a complaint that was a civil matter and not a job for the police.

She called Eddie