by Eileen Green
Augusta was absorbing all the information the guys were giving her. Fear was coursing through her veins at the idea of what she was going to face in there, but she knew she had to be strong for Margo and Siobhan.
Hunter leaned down and captured her lips with his and gave her a passionate kiss. Warmth filled her from it. By the time Trent gave her an equally sinful kiss, she had calmed a bit.
They released her, and she took a deep breath. Stepping over to the door of the bakery, she tried to open it and found it locked. Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, she looked inside.
Josh was sitting at a table with Margo and a black-haired woman sitting on either side of him. A handgun sat on the table directly in front of him, his hand resting behind it.
When she knocked on the glass door, he thrust his head toward Siobhan and then toward the door. With slight attitude, the woman got up, stomped over, and unlocked the door. After Augusta slipped in, Siobhan locked the door behind her and went back to the seat she had vacated.
“Well, hello, honey,” Josh said, sarcasm dripping heavily. “It’s so good to see you.”
Augusta was looking over Margo and Siobhan, making sure she didn’t see any injuries. When she didn’t see any, she began to circle around the tables toward the display. She made a wide berth of Josh, giving him the dirtiest look she could manage.
“Josh,” she said with disgust.
He followed her actions with a turn of his head as he rested his hand on the gun. Anger filled her again when he commented, “I see you’ve managed to gain more weight, there, Gussy. You’re never going to get another guy like that.”
A sound of disgust came from Siobhan who crossed her arms across her chest. “Like I said before, jerk, You have no room to talk.”
Josh lashed out with his left hand and slapped the Irish woman across the face. Siobhan let out a growl as she turned to look back at the devil at the table, a sneer marring her features.
“You just don’t know when to shut up, do you?” Josh asked Siobhan.
“Not when someone’s being a prick,” the woman replied. When Josh lifted his hand again, she didn’t flinch.
Augusta noticed that Margo hadn’t looked up at her since Augusta had stepped foot in the door. Worried that she was mad at her, Augusta inquired, “Margo, are you all right?”
Her friend and employee looked up at her slowly, and all Augusta saw was fear. Margo nodded.
“She got a bit mouthy earlier, so I told her if she spoke one more time, I was going to shoot her.” Josh chuckled at his own words. “Of course, I told the same thing to this one, but she needs to have an off button installed.” Josh had indicated Siobhan with a nod of his head.
“That’s because you don’t matter to me one way or the other. You’re a fecking prick who thinks he’s something, but you’re not!”
Siobhan’s words were full of venom, and Augusta feared she was going to talk herself into a grave. Augusta hadn’t met the woman but had seen her at Gina’s party before, so she didn’t know why the woman was putting herself at risk in this situation.
Josh raised his hand again but didn’t strike. Siobhan held her chin up in defiance.
Augusta stopped moving when she saw feet in the doorway to the kitchen, but they belonged to someone laying down. She couldn’t make out who it was.
Had Josh really shot someone?
Anger began to bubble up within Augusta. “What have you done, Josh?” she demanded, trying to keep her voice even.
“Oh, that’s nobody.” He didn’t seem too troubled about it. In fact, he sat taller and had a smile on his face. “Now, come over and have a seat. I have some papers for you to sign.”
Tentatively she moved toward the table and then sat across from the man she no longer knew at all. Well, actually, it seemed as if she didn’t know him at all.
“Is he alive?” she asked sadly.
“Yeah. It’ll take a bit for him to die.” A shrug and uncaring comment. That’s what Josh had been reduced to.
Keeping her hands under the table was the only way she could avoid Josh seeing how badly her hands were shaking.
Josh pulled some papers out of his shirt pocket and unfolded them. He slid them across the table to Augusta along with a pen. “The top paper is you saying you are selling me the bakery for one dollar,” he said with a smirk as he slapped a dollar bill down on the table. “The second paper is an insurance form listing me as your beneficiary.”
A chill chased her disbelief through her body. He was literally sitting across from her talking about not only swindling her, but basically killing her for her money. How had he turned so callous?
Movement in the kitchen told her that help had arrived. Hunter’s handsome face popped in the doorway briefly before he bent down out of her sight. He was probably checking for a pulse on the man in the doorway. However, she didn’t know how much longer she had to continue this charade.
Taking a chance, she smiled as she looked at the papers he had passed to her. The bill of sale he had offered was written in his own handwriting, something her lawyer would know better than to accept.
The insurance paper was a copy of a policy that she had a year ago. It had been made up right before her father had sat her down and told her he was sick. He then had proceeded to process the changing of hands of his assets and funds. Anything from a year prior was obsolete, and no one would accept it.
“So, let me get this straight.” Augusta pushed the papers back toward him. “You’re going to pay me one dollar for the bakery, with a dollar that you most likely stole from me last night.”
The look of shock on his face was amusing. Had he really thought he had gotten away with not being seen?
She continued. “And, you want me to sign an insurance policy over to you so you can kill me for my money? An obsolete policy at that?”
Josh’s face turned red from his anger as sweat beaded on his brow. If she had been close enough, she was certain she would feel the heat.
He sprang to his feet, knocking his chair over behind him. “You fucking bitch!” he spat, waving his gun about.
Now she knew what the guys had meant by not getting Josh riled up.
He pulled Margo to her feet, a shriek escaping her as she tried to pull her shoulders in as if making herself small. “You just screwed up majorly, Gussy! Say good-bye to Margo!”
Before he could point the gun at Margo’s head, which he seemed to be going for, Augusta was on her feet. However, it was Siobhan who responded first. From her seated position, she had latched onto Josh’s arm that had the gun, and she was pulling on him.
Trying to steady himself with his other arm, he was shaking poor Margo roughly.
Upon seeing how brave Siobhan was, Augusta knew she had to help. She reached over and grasped hold of Margo’s hand and pulled on her. It took a couple of yanks for Josh to release the woman.
The gun clattered onto the table as Siobhan continued to hold on to Josh. Instead of going for the gun, even as she heard running feet, Augusta launched herself at her evil ex-husband and knocked him over onto his back on the floor.
She landed on top of him. Siobhan was still holding on to his arm, but she was now sprawled on the floor.
Straddling Josh’s now large belly, Augusta began lashing out with her fists blindly. She could hear flesh hitting flesh, but she had no idea where she was striking him. Also, she didn’t know how long she had attacked him before arms wrapped around her from behind, and she was picked up and held against a hard, strong body.
“Shh,” she vaguely heard Trent’s voice, yet she continued to flail.
She also heard Josh’s voice. “Get that bitch off me! She’s trying to kill me!”
“Come on, precious. Calm down. We’ve got him.” Trent’s voice was finally penetrating her fury.
“Auggie, are you all right?” she heard Margo ask, concern and fear still in her voice.
Augusta turned her head and looked to her left where Margo’s face came
into view. She looked fine. There were no bruises or cuts. Thank God.
“Sweetie,” Margo said before looking at Trent. “Bring her over here away from this mess.”
Trent carried Augusta over to the large table she used to look over cake designs and take orders. He sat her down in one of the chairs and then sat next to her. Margo sat on the other side of her.
Looking at her friend, Augusta tried to smile. “I’m so sorry, Margo. I can’t believe that Josh was capable of this.”
Augusta’s voice began to shake as did her body. Before she knew it, Margo became a wavering mass through her tears. It was hard to wrap her head around what had taken place, with not just her ex but with Margo and Siobhan. How had all this come about?
“How’s she doing?” asked a kind male voice behind her. An older man with gray hair stepped around into her view and knelt between her and Margo. “Hi, Augusta. I’m Doctor Anderson. I love your muffins.” Augusta smiled at the compliment. “You’ve got some blood on you. Is it yours?”
The man was looking at the right side of her face. Raising her hand, she swiped at her cheek and came away with blood. She looked at it in disbelief. She didn’t hurt anywhere.
“I don’t think so,” she said.
She turned her head and looked over at Josh who was sitting on the floor, his hands behind him, most likely in handcuffs. Blood was splattered on his face, his nose bleeding. It surprised her that she had done that to him.
“Where’s Siobhan?” she asked as she turned toward Trent. “Is she all right?”
“Brian has a hold on her, and I don’t think he’s going to let her go for a little bit,” Doc Anderson said lightly. “Just like I’m sure your men will be holding you tight once they take that bastard over there in.”
Arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind, and Augusta could smell Hunter’s body wash. Both her men didn’t overwhelm their bodies with cologne or aftershave, but their soaps were individual to each of them.
“I’m so glad you’re all right, darlin’. When you started hitting him, I worried about the gun going off. I love you,” he said near her ear.
“I love you too,” she said, her voice cracking. “I love you both so much.”
Chapter Thirteen
The fallout from the incident at the bakery had the shop closed for two weeks. It was cut-and-dried on the shooting and the hostage taking, but Augusta was having issues dealing with the event.
Logically, she knew she couldn’t be held responsible for Josh’s actions. If she had given him the money, he would have come back for more. However, knowing that she had put the lives of two innocent people at risk bothered her.
She had worried that the person whom Josh had shot was a customer, but then her guys had informed her that he was one of the mob men who had come looking for Josh. That being the case, it made her feel better. Guilt wasn’t something that was going to hang over her head for every customer that entered the bakery.
Repairs had been finished on both her house and the shop. The security systems had been upgraded as well.
Hunter and Trent had been wonderful in the aftermath. They held her and didn’t want her out of their sight. In fact, by the third day, Augusta felt stifled. When they had told her that they needed to go into the office to do some paperwork, she was thankful.
She made a couple of phone calls and asked if the guys could drop her by the Tipsy Tavern. The two tried to debate who was going to keep an eye on her, but she insisted she would be fine and that they both needed to do their jobs.
Standing at the doors in front of the Tavern, she took a deep breath and then walked in. She looked around and found the people she had called and then made her way over to them.
Siobhan was the one who spotted her first. The Irish woman was up and rushing toward her, her arms out. She grasped Augusta in a hug and held tight.
“I’m so happy ya called,” she gushed. “Are Hunter and Trent hovering as much as my guys are?”
Augusta returned the hug, happy that Siobhan was receptive toward her. Margo hadn’t taken any of her calls since the ordeal, and Augusta was certain the woman blamed her for everything.
The two separated, and Siobhan resumed her seat and patted the back of the empty chair beside her. Margo sat on the other side of Siobhan, across from Augusta, and Penny sat between where she would sit and Margo.
Instead of going over to the seat, she first went around the table to Margo. “I’m so sorry, Margo. I never would have put you in danger if I…” A sob stopped her. “If I had known Josh was going to…”
Before she could say another word, Margo jumped to her feet and threw her arms around Augusta. “It’s not your fault, Auggie. I’m sorry I’ve avoided you. I didn’t want you to be constantly reminded of what he had done. Please don’t cry.”
Trying to restrain herself, Augusta willed herself to shut down the tears before she turned into a mess. “Are you still going to work for me?” she asked as she pulled away from Margo.
“Of course,” her friend replied. “It’s been a fun ride so far, and add some dashes of excitement like the other day, I think we’ll make a good run of it.”
The two laughed as Margo sat back down. Augusta moved to her seat, and a large margarita was waiting for her. She realized that the other three women had the same drinks, a nearly empty pitcher sitting in the middle of the table.
Augusta had one more bit of business to conduct before she would be able to have some fun. She turned to Penny who looked a bit shell-shocked. “I will certainly understand if you don’t want to come to work for me.”
The kind blonde reached out and patted her hand on Augusta’s. “Everyone has people from their past that could possibly come back to bite them in the butt. Yours seems to be in a lot of trouble with the law, and I suspect he won’t be seeing the outside of a prison for a long time. I am happy to come and work for you. That is, if the day care issue was still on the table,” Penny said happily.
“Of course, it is. In fact, I have to go see my lawyer later this afternoon to finalize the paperwork. However, I am going to remain closed for another week and a half. I’ve realized that I have put so much of myself into the bakery and need a rest, as does Margo. You both will be paid though,” Augusta explained. “I believe between the three of us, we can work on the schedule and come up with some better hours and conditions for us. Also, I’m changing out the flooring in the shop. Knowing that that mobster bled on the current one, I can’t stand the idea of having to walk over that spot all day.”
“I don’t blame you,” Margo chuckled.
“Have they found the other guy?” Siobhan asked before taking a sip of the powerful drink.
Nodding, Augusta answered happily. “He broke down on his way back to Helena, and the cop who stopped to help him remembered seeing the wanted poster on him. He’s sitting in jail here, along with his friend now that he’s out of the hospital, and Josh of course. I’m so thankful that no one got seriously hurt.”
“Okay, enough of that. Let’s eat, drink, and have some fun!” Siobhan announced as she raised her glass.
Three more glasses rose also, and the woman all agreed, “Here! Here!”
As she drank the bitter flavor of the tequila along with the tartness of the strawberries, Augusta thought that she had a new lease on life with her two men, and the friendship of the three women in front of her.
* * * *
Life had finally settled down for the trio. Augusta’s Cakery had its grand reopening two weeks ago, the floor replaced along with some of the larger pieces of equipment. She had decided that if the floor was being redone, she might as well change out some of the older ovens and mixers with new ones.
Penny was working out well, and between her, Penny, and Augusta working full-time and Crystal coming in on the weekends, everyone was allotted decent hours and time off. Also, the day care scholarship was in place, and a couple of other women had stepped forward to take advantage of it.
Hunter w
as pleased with Augusta and how she had come out of the mess Josh had made of her life. She had gained new friends and a new outlook on life. Seeing Margo and Siobhan in the hands of her ex had frightened her and reminded her that life was unpredictable.
She had decided that even though they were engaged, she wasn’t going to rush into marriage again. They were content to be able to continue to show her their love, and they assured her they would wait for whenever she was ready.
“Damn! This water is freezing!” she said, her teeth chattering.
His attention was pulled from his reverie and onto his woman. He and Trent had managed to get her away from the bakery on a Friday around noon. She wouldn’t have to be back to work until Monday morning.
Now, it was late afternoon, and the shadows were shifting on the Flathead River. He was in the middle of the river, the water up to his thighs.
Snowmelt was still occurring up in the high mountains which fed the river. Even the battery-operated socks he wore did little to warm his feet. However, he had done this a dozen times before and was sort of used to it. For a newcomer like Augusta, this probably felt like a punishment.
Augusta was making her way back to the small island in the river where they had shared a picnic lunch after they had rowed down in his inflatable boat. Once on the shore, she plopped herself down on the gravelly ground and pulled her arms out of the suspender-style top that kept the wading boots from falling.
“Can you give me about ten more minutes, darlin’?” he asked, knowing he needed to get her home and in front of a fire. This was going to have to be a hobby he would have to do without her.
“Sure,” she responded cheerfully. “I just didn’t think it was going to be this cold.”
He gave her a big sexy smile. “I promise I’ll make it up to you when we get you home.”
A smile played at her lips. “We’ll have to hurry. Hillary said she’ll hit town around seven.”
Yeah, he had forgotten that. His daughter was coming for the weekend.
Throwing his line out a couple more times, he felt the tug on the line and knew he had hooked something. If he landed this one, there would be enough fish for dinner Sunday night as they were going to ride up into Glacier in the morning to do some hiking. They would spend the night in one of the hotels up there and spend the weekend as a family.