Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (9 page)

Acting as if nothing was wrong, she shook her head and then headed to the next table. Reaching for the ticket along with the twenty dollar bill that sat upon it, she looked at the man. “I hope you have been enjoying your visit here in Polson.”

The hoodie moved as he nodded his head. “Yes. It’s a nice town, I guess,” he responded in his gravelly voice.

“Are you here for a long stay or just passing through?” Tanya asked, thrusting her hip out to one side and putting her best flirtatious face and voice into the questions.

“I’m just passing through,” he said, his temper starting to rise. “Now, can I just get my change so I can leave?”

To cover up the shock of seeing his face for the first time since he had arrived, she stuck her lower lip out into a pout. It had been a hell of a day for the young waitress since Connor had informed her earlier in the day he had no intention of being interested in her and now this guy wasn’t taking the bait. At least now she had seen his face and it wasn’t a total loss.

“Yes, sir, I’ll be right back with your change,” she said, turning around and heading to the register.

Anger bubbled within her, heating her body. She knew she could be a brat sometimes but this was getting ridiculous. If she couldn’t get a man who was as damaged as this guy was, perhaps Connor was right. Maybe she did need to change. Heading back to the booth, she laid the receipt down along with the change that was due the man.

“Thank you, sir, and we hope you’ll come again,” she said trying to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

Turning on her heel, she glanced at Connor and caught Angela’s eye. Tanya knew what she needed to do. Putting her hands out in a “wait” gesture, she headed back to the counter, leaned against it, and watched the room.

The mysterious man got up slowly and limped through the dining room toward the door. With one last glance her way, he pulled his hoodie tighter around his head, pushed on the door, and out he went into the cold, dark night. Tanya continued to watch him as he walked down the sidewalk and then got into a midsize pickup. Driving away, he headed east toward the highway.

Once she saw he was gone, she made her way over to the table he had just vacated. “What a jerk,” she said more to herself than anyone else.

“No tip?” Connor asked.

“Nope. And I was as nice as possible,” she answered.

“Sometimes you just want to strangle people,” Angela said sweetly, a tone Tanya had never heard from the woman, “but you just have to suck it up and take things as they come. We can’t always control what happens around us or to us, but accept it as a learning tool.”

Tanya saw the surprised look on Connor’s face at the comment as she herself tried to act nonchalant. “Thank you, Angela. I appreciate that. Sometimes we forget that others may be having their own difficulties.”

Angela smiled sweetly as she dug her fork into the creamy mound of mashed potatoes covered in country gravy.

“Did he have that hoodie on the whole time he was eating?” Connor asked, motioning for her to sit down.

Fearfully she glanced back at the kitchen to see if Glen was watching, as he would pitch a hissy fit if he saw her sit at a table with a customer. Not seeing him, she sat gingerly on the edge of the booth bench, smoothing down the wrinkles in her dress and apron.

“Yes. I thought that was strange, but you know how it is with tourists. They all have their quirks.” She shrugged her shoulders in indifference then winced. “When he got irritated with me, he finally looked up at me and that’s when I noticed the scars on his face. He actually looked scary.”

“Wish I had gotten some other information on him. I don’t like characters hanging around that don’t fit in around here,” Connor said pulling out a business card from his front shirt pocket. “Here’s my card with my cell number on it. If he comes back in let me know.”

“Sure thing,” Tanya said, taking the card and putting it in her apron pocket. Glancing once again at the kitchen opening, she turned back to Angela. “Is it possible to meet with you in the next couple of days?”

The forkful of golden chicken-fried steak with a bit of white gravy dripping off the side stopped in midair as Angela looked up at her. Her red eyebrow rose in inquisition before she spoke. “Sure. I know I am committed to something tomorrow, but I can meet with you the day after. Let me know when you are able to get away.”

In a humbling gesture of submission, Tanya blushed as she lowered her head and stood. “Thank you.”

* * * *

Connor watched her walk away before glancing at his sister next to him. Seeing the amused look on her face, he asked lowly, “What was that about?”

“I think she has finally decided to grow up.”

Cutting into his steak, he forked a piece and right before he stuffed it into his mouth, he had to tease his sister. “And she’s going to ask you for advice?”

Angela slapped his arm playfully and Connor tried to think about the last time they had been so carefree, though it had been so long that he couldn’t. He caught Tanya watching them and a slight smile came to her lips. Yes, perhaps the little hellion would grow up, though he would miss the small high-speed chases she led him on occasionally.

Gina moved restlessly in the bed, tossing and turning as if trying to get away from something or someone. Jared had been woken by a slap to his cheek by the back side of her hand. Lying there for a moment trying to figure out what was going on, he finally sat up slowly, turning toward the woman next to him.

The covers had been kicked away baring her luscious body to his sleepy gaze but it was the youngster lying precariously close to the edge of the bed that brought him fully awake. Rising to his knees he reached over Gina and pulled Nathan up into his arms, cuddling him close to his chest. The little one never woke and Jared had to wonder if either one of them ever got a good night’s sleep sleeping in the same bed, especially for how active Gina was.

Covering the sleeping woman again with the blankets, he moved a bit further away from Gina. Lying back down Jared laid Nathan on his torso, cradling the boy in his arms, and proceeded to lie there and think as the two slept on.

He had always wanted kids. It had been a running argument between him and his wife after they got married. She wanted to wait a few years so the two of them could enjoy each other, which he never understood since they were high school sweethearts and had been together for about four years already. Feeling the need to serve his country just like his father had, he enlisted six months after they had tied the knot. She had been so upset with him she refused to talk to him for a week, and after he was deployed to Afghanistan, she moved up here to Montana to be closer to her mother.

After his second deployment, he had been stationed in North Carolina but she insisted she wanted to stay in Kalispell as her mother had fallen ill. Their relationship had been strained after that so when his enlistment was up, he made his way to Montana to be with her. She was his life even though she never accepted his willingness to serve.

A few months after he had come home she came to him with a home pregnancy test, tears in her eyes. When he took it out of her shaking hand, confusion overwhelmed him when he saw the plus sign. This is what he had wanted, but apparently she didn’t.

After moving in with them, he thought his wife’s odd behavior was because of her mother’s illness, but after he asked how far along she was, he knew the reason. It had only been two months since his arrival in Montana, but she had slipped and told him she was nearly four months pregnant.

Devastation ruled his life for a week before he was able to speak to his tearful wife. He knew that deployments could ruin relationships and apparently his was no different.

Once Jared had settled down that hot July evening, they sat down and talked. She had explained she had gone out one night after taking care of her mother the whole day through her long chemo session and just needed to let go. After having a few too many drinks with some friends, she remembered leaving with a man who was a friend of a friend. He was going to take her home since she wasn’t fit to drive and they ended up having sex in his pickup. She never saw him after that night.

Promising Jared she would never do anything that stupid again, he held her as she cried and he promised to raise the child as his own. It still broke his heart that she cheated on him but he vowed to work through it. The next month, she and her mother were driving back from a doctor’s appointment one evening and were hit head-on by a drunk driver.

Her mother was killed upon impact while his wife hung on for a few hours until Jared was able to arrive at her side. The baby was already gone by that time and her own time was short. A massive head injury along with major damage elsewhere in her body had the doctors giving her extra pain killers, so she was groggy as he spoke to her. The only words he let her utter were “I love you so much” and after that he wouldn’t let her speak. He knew just by the looks of her and the worried looks coming from the hospital staff she wasn’t going to last long so he just wanted to be with her.

Pulling a chair close to her bed, he sat, holding her hand in his. After a while, he laid his head on her chest, trying to hold back his tears. He knew when she took her last breath, her chest rising high as she tried to pull in that one last breath before it sank down, never to rise again.

It was then he let go of his emotions, crying for a while before the nurses came in to remove the electrodes that registered on the machines that she was gone. They finally had to escort him out of the room, and as he left he felt as if his whole life was over.

He had been on automatic since then, working and then spending his hours either helping at the local youth center or just being alone. When he had first seen Gina at the diner all those months ago, feelings he thought he had buried along with his wife and child began to surface. He was happy again. When Connor told him he was interested in her also, he thought he was going to lose out again on happiness, but when he suggested they share her, he was content with that.

Now, lying here next to his woman and holding Nathan, his heart was open and accepting of their love. He wanted to provide for them and to protect them, unconditionally. Heaven and hell would be moved to keep them safe and Connor also. He knew the dynamic of this family was going to be a new experience for him, but Connor was now his family also. He had gained a woman, a child, and a brother that he would love forever. They were his family and he would cherish them all.

* * * *

Gina woke slowly, feeling as if she had been in a boxing match, the muscles in her arms and legs aching. The same dream she had dreamt for the past year and a half seemed to invade her psyche every time she wandered into slumber, causing her and Nathan many sleepless nights. Worst was when she would wake and both of them would have bruises because of her tossing and turning.

Panic ensued when she looked to her left and found Nathan wasn’t where he had been when she fell asleep. Sitting up quickly, she had to fight the dizziness that overwhelmed her senses for a moment but stopped when a gentle yet masculine hand on her arm stopped her. Looking in the direction it came from, she found Nathan lying on the bare, tanned, chiseled chest of Jared who was looking up at her with a smile on his lips. Pressing a finger to his lips, he indicated for her to remain silent and then used his eyes to glance down at her son, still asleep.

Shyly, Gina looked down at the disheveled mess of blankets that she had kicked off of her and embarrassment enveloped her as she glanced back at Jared. She had to wonder what he thought of her sleeping pattern. Pulling them back up, she tried to hide her near nakedness from him but he stopped the material before it reached her breasts. Blushing, she looked away.

“Look at me, Gina,” he whispered in his commanding voice. When she didn’t respond right away, he pulled on her arm causing her to nearly plop back down onto the bed. Instead of lying down at his request, she continued to look down at the dark blue blanket over the lighter blue sheet, trying to avoid looking at him. Yes, she believed their intentions were genuine but she was still embarrassed by her body and her lack of sexual experience. She still believed at some point they would not want her any more.

“Gina!” he whispered a bit more harshly. “Lie down next to me and leave the blanket where it is. I enjoy seeing your body.”

Not wanting to make him mad, she leaned over on her elbow, not lying down completely, but propped up a bit on her side looking at him. Noticing a smile on his lips at her action, she had to blush again. She wasn’t sure she would ever get used to the smoldering looks they threw in her direction or their kind words.

“You didn’t sleep well?” It was more a rhetorical question but she still shook her head in response. “Is this how you sleep all the time?”

Again she nodded, her eyes moving to her sleeping son, a slight smile on her lips as a warm feeling spread through her that Jared didn’t seem to mind the youngster sleeping on him. In fact, he seemed quite at ease about the whole situation of having them in bed with him.

Trying to be brave, she moved her left hand to his right forearm. She felt the muscles there lying just beneath the tanned skin. Brown hair lay thick on his arm but tapered off as they got closer to his biceps where there was hardly any short hair at all. She hated men with hairy shoulders and backs. At least on Jared she hadn’t noticed he had that. Connor had not revealed his body to her yet so she hoped his body was like Jared’s. She knew her mouth watered at seeing them dressed in their uniforms and even when they wore street clothes, so should it matter what slight imperfections they had out of them? Chastising inwardly, she leaned over and laid a kiss on the bulging bicep next to her in a silent apology.