Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (8 page)

The article went on to say that there had been two explosions reported by neighbors, one of which Connor assumed was the gunshot. This explained why Gina was so frightened at the firework display the night before. All of this was so overwhelming to him he could only imagine what Gina felt. With his elbows on his desk, he buried his face in his hands.

Now not only did he feel guilty for putting her through that, he felt really guilty for dragging her away from her child on New Year’s Eve and taking that time away from the woman who was babysitting. A knock at the door sounded, interrupting his little pity party. The person on the other side of the door burst in without a word of entry from him.

Angela, his sister, appeared in the doorway. “What’s wrong, Connor? I got here as soon as I could.”

Manners made him rise to his feet. Gesturing to the chair across from his desk furthest from the door, he called out the door, “Lyndee, can I see you in here?”

“Sure,” the little blonde said as she came into the office. He pointed to the chair that Angela had left open and then closed the door. Going back to his own seat, he sat.

“Angela, you know that Jared and I have been pursuing Gina, the waitress at the diner,” he said, waiting for her response. When she nodded her head with a concerned look on her face, he went on. “She tried to leave town this morning and we found her out on the highway, her car broken down.”

“I don’t understand,” Angela said. “You guys looked so happy last night.”

“Gina thought if her past was to become public, we would send her to prison instead of wanting to be with her.”

Both women stared at him as if he had lost his mind. He knew what they thought, someone as innocent looking as Gina couldn’t hurt anyone. She wouldn’t intentionally.

“What I am going to tell you stays in this room. I don’t even want you telling your guys until it all comes out. Gina is very fragile right now. She has had to be strong and she has been alone in her journey for the past year and a half. She needs love and understanding, not judgment.”

Both women spoke in unison. “Of course we’ll stand beside her!”

Swiping his hand down his face in frustration, he looked between the two and saw their concern. Steeling himself, he said, “She has a child.”

Both women squealed in delight, and Lyndee spoke up. “She never said anything.”

“I can’t go into all the details, but she was hiding out here from something that happened in her past. She got scared when Jared and I started talking about a future together and she took off this morning. She’s at the house right now with Jared. I think to convince we are serious about her one of us will need to be with her at all times. We also need to take care of some medical needs for the baby.”

Lyndee looked at him with concern written on her face and he knew she got the gist that something was wrong with him. Angela still looked confused and spoke it. “What do you mean you’d send her to prison? Is she a criminal? I don’t want you hanging around her if she is—”

Not letting her finish, he held up his hand. He was pleased that she was finally showing compassion for someone beside herself. It had been a long journey to get her to the frame of mind she was in now and he had to admit that Lawrence and Wolf had a big hand in her change. Lyndee’s presence was included in that change.

“Ang, it’s okay. We’ll handle all of that. She’s not a criminal. She was in an abusive relationship and something happened that will be questioned when it is discovered where she is. As for Nathan, there was an incident when he was born and the doctor had to perform an amputation on part of his leg. Lyndee, can you get together with Doc Anderson and find out how we can start the process of getting him fitted for a prosthetic? I don’t want Gina to know what we are doing, but Jared and I intend to raise that baby as our own and we want him to have all the advantages of every little boy. She has only had the money to live basically. I don’t want her to think she’s a charity case.”

Lyndee nodded her agreement. “I’ll get on it right away. Does she need anything?”

A chuckle emanated from his throat. “Yes. She doesn’t even have a crib for him. I have a list of things we need to get, and so, Ang, I thought if you weren’t doing anything this afternoon, you could accompany me to Kalispell to clean out the stores.”

Smiling gently, she said, “Sure, bro, I’d be happy to help out. You have diaper and clothing sizes? I hope you have good credit, because this is going to get expensive.”

The three laughed, easing the air from the information he had dropped on them. Lyndee left the room, going to do what was requested of her. Connor could see the men watching her with interest as she silently went over to Trey, gave him a kiss, grabbed her coat, and walked out the front door. Trey’s gaze moved to Connor, a scowl on his face causing Connor to laugh out loud.

Angela stood, purse in hand, and waited impatiently at the open door. “Let’s go! I can’t wait!”

Standing, Connor shut down his computer and grabbed the papers he had printed before folding them and putting them in his pocket. He let Angela grab his hand and practically pull him out the door of his office. In the outer office, she stopped to kiss Lawrence good-bye and then they were out the door.

* * * *

Six hours later, Connor and Angela stepped into the diner, exhausted from their shopping excursion. Even though the dinner rush was over, there were still quite a few tables occupied. Holiday travelers were still on the road and the ski resorts in the area were over flowing. Polson was still active with skiers who had come off the slopes several hours ago and looking for a bite to eat before hitting their hotels.

Tanya greeted them at the door with menus in hand and a smile on her face. “Hey, guys. How are you two doing this evening?”

Connor was taken aback by the change in the woman since his conversation with her earlier in the day. Confidence seemed to reign and she looked them both in the eye. “Did you want a booth or a table?”

“Can we get a booth, please?” Connor replied and then followed Tanya to the far booth in the back corner, escorting Angela in front of him.

The booth was curved, a bit big for just the two of them, but Connor was pleased she sat them there. Moving around to the middle section, he took the menu from Tanya though he already knew what he wanted. “Can you have Glen come out here, please? I need to speak with him.”

The waitress held her smile but Connor could tell she was chomping at the bit to ask why. He had to commend her when she responded happily, “Sure. No problem. What can I get you to drink?”

Angela had sat at one of the ends and was looking at the menu. “I’ll have some hot chocolate, please.”

“Coffee for me,” Connor said, spreading his arms out on the back of the booth.

“I’ll be right back.”

As Tanya walked away, Connor took the opportunity to look around at some of the patrons. Mostly skiers or snowboarders in their parkas and ski wear congregated in small groups at various tables throughout the room. A local family sat at a nearby table, the kids begging their parents for dessert and dad telling them no, while a lone man sat in the booth next to them, his back to them. The gray hoodie the man wore was worn, a few holes here and there, and with it being warm in the building Connor felt it was odd that the hood was drawn up over the man’s head. He was slouching over the table as if he was trying not to be noticed, but to a law enforcement officer, it sent off warning bells.

Tanya arrived back at their table with their beverages. Setting the mugs in front of each of them, she said, “I spoke with Glen. He said he would be out in a minute. Did you want to order now?”

Looking over at his sister, he cocked his brow questionably.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ll have the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes.”

“Soup or salad?” Tanya asked.

“Salad, please, with ranch dressing.”

“I’ll have the ten-ounce steak, medium,” Connor said. “Baked potato with the works and I’ll have the salad with blue cheese dressing.”

“All right. We’ll have that out for you shortly.” Turning, she went over to the next table. “Can I get you anything else, sir?”

The man shook his head negatively before answering in a gravelly voice, “No. I’m done here.”

Tanya left his ticket on the table and the man picked it up, examining it closely. Connor had an overwhelming urge to chuckle at the man trying to read the ticket until he noticed the scars on the man’s hand. It appeared he had been in a bad accident. Guilt flooded him that he would be so callous. Glancing at his sister who was now texting on her phone, he recalled not long ago it would have been her having those thoughts. How quickly the circumstances had changed.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Glen walk out of the kitchen area and lumber over to their table. Taking his eyes from the lone man in the hoodie, he extended his hand in greeting. “Hey, Glen. How are you this evening?”

Glen shook it, with a begrudging attitude. “I’d be a helluva lot happier if I had my waitress back, Sheriff.”

Connor cleared his throat nervously as Glen sat down in the booth. “We found Gina this morning trying to leave town. She is at my place now. There are some personal things she needs to take care of that she has been neglecting since she arrived here, so it may be a week or two before she is able to come back, and that will only be under restrictions that fit mine and Jared’s schedules.”

The large man bristled a bit in his seat. “Isn’t that for Gina to tell me?”

Connor tried to maintain his temper. Leaning toward the owner of the diner, he lowered his voice. “Look, Glen. Gina has been on the run for a long time. I think you already know that. There are things she needs to take care of, but she has to be the one to reveal her secrets to you. I don’t mind her working, but there are extenuating circumstances so she may not be able to come back.”

The glint of anger resided in Glen’s eyes causing Angela to flinch next to Connor. Instinctively he covered her pale hand with his on the table. “You have to understand there is a whole different side of her than what you have seen. Jared and I were totally shocked at what we found, but we will do everything in our power to see she remains safe. I will have her come in tomorrow to speak with you. She may even know someone who is looking for a job.”

“All right, Sheriff, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt right now. I know I can’t control what she does, but I do care about her and I want to make sure she is safe and well taken care of.”

Tanya chose that moment to approach the table with the two salads. Glen had stopped talking, which Connor found interesting. The blonde waitress set the bowls before the patrons before glancing at her boss and then scurrying away. Man, everyone is afraid of him, Connor thought to himself with a bit of amusement.

Glen had the decency to blush with his next statement. “I know Tanya was jealous of Gina because she always got along with everyone and she got great tips. She’s been smug all day since I told her that Gina wasn’t coming in.”

“She has a lot of growing up to do,” Connor offered his opinion as Angela began to eat her salad. “Once she does that, I’m sure she’ll be almost to the same place Gina is now maturity-wise. Now, as for Gina, Jared and I are both going to take care of her.”

The sheriff’s eyes were stormy gray as he looked at Glen challengingly, expecting an argument. He was shocked when Glen nodded his head. “Well, you better take very good care of her, or you’ll answer to me.”

Glen’s mouth twitched under the white mustache and Connor swore the man was trying to maintain a straight face. As he thought about it, he didn’t think he had ever seen the man smile before, but the way Glen was trying to protect Gina revealed that he did have a soft spot in his heart for at least someone.

“We will,” Connor said more softly than he had wanted. Whenever he thought about her, his body and soul seemed at ease, as if she was the trigger to calm his nerves. At least, when she wasn’t causing the tension like she had been the last couple of days.

“I need to get back to the kitchen,” Glen said, rising to his feet, “but you better heed my words, Connor Lawson. Take care of her.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. Connor nodded his head in understanding as he walked back to his beloved kitchen. As the man retreated, a horrible thought crossed the sheriff’s mind about what a cook can do to a person’s food that they don’t like.
Naw. Glen wouldn’t do that to me…would he?
Connor hadn’t realized he had chuckled aloud until Angela responded with a “Huh?”

Blushing, he glanced around the room, checking to see if anyone else had noticed. The family at the table was leaving while the skiers and snowboarders were still eating, reminiscing about the antics on the slopes earlier in the day. The man in the gray hoodie was sitting back against his seat as if he were listening to the conversation that had just taken place, causing Connor to go on full alert. With all the troubles that had befallen Polson in the past few months, he had become more cautious of outsiders that looked out of place.

Taking his notepad out of his jacket pocket along with a pen, he wrote a quick note and when Tanya brought their food out, he passed it to her. After she set their respective plates down in front of them, she picked up the note and read it.

* * * *