To Protect the Heart of a Brazen Woman [Brazen Sisters 6] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rita Sawyer

  “Dude, what the fuck?” Bill chuckled and shook his head. “We can sit at your place and watch TV. One of your guys can take the message and call us.”

  Jake knew better than to think it would be that easy. “Then it’ll be a game of phone tag and messages. I want this over as soon as possible.”

  Clint came in carrying a big white box. He put it on the table and flipped the lid open. Jake held back while Tom and Bill each reached for one of the huge cinnamon rolls inside.

  “You went to the lodge?” Jake hadn’t meant for it to sound like an accusation, but it did.

  “No. They were delivered, with this.” Clint held out a white envelope with Jake scrawled across the front.

  Jake snatched it out of his hand. Damn, it wasn’t from Bobbie. It was Samantha’s writing, which made sense since it came with food. He tore it open, greedily hoping there was some word about Bobbie inside.

  Hey, Stranger,

  Know you couldn’t be there last night, but I wanted you to know before word gets out. We’re having twins.

  Hope we see you soon,

  Sam

  Jake stared at the note. Sam and Trent were having twins. A smile curved his lips, but once the “holy shit” moment passed it turned into a frown. He latched onto the anger and pushed away the hurt that came with it. How the hell did they know he couldn’t make it to dinner? No one had even asked him.

  Sure, they all knew he was dealing with the fallout from Patrice and still doing his job, but still, they could have asked. Jake wondered if his not being included had been some form of punishment. Were they trying to keep him from seeing Bobbie? Come to think of it, she was usually the one to issue his invitations. Had it been her decision not to invite him? Did she think he would’ve turned her down? Maybe he could’ve snuck away for a little while. Damn it. He groaned. If that was true why hadn’t he gone to see her already?

  “Problems?” Clint took a seat at the table and reached for a pastry, but his eyes were on Jake.

  He shook his head. “Samantha is expecting twins.”

  “Ex-girlfriend?” Bill asked.

  Tom slugged him in the shoulder. “No, stupid, Sam is one of the older Brazen sisters.”

  “Hey, then that should be good news. Why do you look so pissed?” Bill’s smile grated on Jake’s nerves.

  Fred, who had just entered the room with a tray of coffees, laughed. Jake gave him a look that instantly shut him up. He wasn’t about to tell them why he was angry.

  “Does this have anything to do with the celebration up at the lodge last night?” Clint was too damn astute.

  As for Clint being there, it all made perfect sense to Jake, since he had a thing for one of the girls who worked up at the lodge.

  “I heard it got pretty loud,” Fred volunteered as he slipped out of the room.

  Clint nodded. “He’s right. I stopped up there for dinner last night. The whole family was there and the guys were congratulating Sam. Trent was boasting a bit.”

  Jake just bet he was. Fuck! He should have been there. This was a big moment in his friends’ lives and he’d missed it. Jake would bet everything he had that Bobbie had already known before they announced it. His little vixen always knew everyone’s secrets. She kept them, too, never letting on to anyone that she knew. Except for with him, she used to tell him everything.

  “So you’re mad because you missed the party, huh?” Bill hit the nail on the head.

  “No.” He grabbed onto the next thought that popped into his head and blurted it out. “I was just thinking their house was going to be real crowded soon. It’s a big place, but Sam and Trent have Bobbie, Georgie, and Stephanie living with them. Add two babies to the mix and that’s a lot of people.”

  “Maybe Georgie will get married before the babies come, and she and Stephanie will move in with Tyler?” Clint was right. That was not only possible, but probable, too.

  What he really wanted was for Bobbie to move in with him. It wasn’t like the decision hadn’t hit him until that very moment. He’d been considering it and a lot of other changes he was ready to make when it came to him and Bobbie. After living with her short term it only made him realize how much he wanted to make it a permanent arrangement. Of course, he knew it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. There were a lot of things they needed to work out first.

  * * * *

  Bobbie had already taken all the classes she wanted. Now she was finishing up what was required to get her degree. Web Design and Statistics had been easy compared to what she was doing now. She forced everything from her mind and tried to listen to the professor. This course had been recommended by a few of her friends. The professor was a pill, but she needed two more English credits, and his were the only classes available this term. So she’d chosen Composition and Creative Writing.

  The professor droned on about the syllabus and how they’d be learning about the importance in the author’s use of prose. Then he started on what he expected from each of them. Bobbie wondered if anyone else thought this was all a load of crap.

  Bobbie loved to read. In fact, she’d already read all the required books for this class, some more than once. The love of reading was something their parents had managed to instill in all of the Brazen girls from a very young age. The thing was, Bobbie didn’t think she was going to enjoy ripping apart someone’s work and looking for hidden meanings in every other word. The way she looked at it, a person either understood and liked the book, or they didn’t.

  If an author found it necessary to use obscure metaphors, he or she must have wanted to make the reader think, but that’s where Bobbie came to the crux. Much like beauty lay in the eye of the beholder, Bobbie chose to believe authors wanted readers to come to their own conclusions, not have those ideas dictated to them.

  Still, this class was filled with her friends, and she was willing to put aside her preconceived notions and give it a chance. If nothing else, she’d get to reread some of her favorite books, and just maybe she could gain a new perspective.

  The light buzz noise barely reached her ears, but she felt the slight vibration against her leg. Under normal circumstances, she would’ve obeyed the “no cell phone” rule, but Jessie was still a little freaked out so she’d promised to keep it on. She eased it out of her pocket and looked at the display. The words Private Caller lit up the screen

  The professor cleared his throat and she looked up. “Ms. Brazen, either put it away, or step out into the hall.”

  Bobbie knew from his reputation he expected her to put it away and give him her undivided attention. She probably should have done it, too. Instead, she picked up her bag and books, got to her feet, and walked out. She knew she was taking a chance on alienating him and having to work twice as hard to get good grades, but right now she truthfully didn’t care.

  She pressed the little green Connect button. “Hello.”

  “Bobbie, thank God. This is Frank.” She’d spent the summer working for him at the B&B, so she would have known it was him by the sound of his voice without him telling her.

  There was something in his tone she didn’t like. It wasn’t panic, but it was damn close. The entire six weeks she’d spent in New Hampshire, Frank had never sounded anything but calm. Not even when one of the guests forgot to open the flue and filled their room with smoke, setting off the fire detectors. He’d handled it with amazing composure, never once raising his voice. There was no doubt something was going on.

  She just hoped it wasn’t serious. “Frank, what’s wrong?”

  “Bethany was in a car accident.” Bethany, as in his wife and her sister Georgie’s friend.

  She gasped. “Oh my God. Is she okay?”

  “She has a broken leg and she dislocated her shoulder, but the doctors say she’ll be fine.” His heavy sigh was probably relief, but Bobbie thought there might be more to it.

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. Between trying to run the B&B and being at the ho
spital, I’m a mess. I don’t know how to do half the stuff she does here. Her sister came to help, but we’re lost without Beth at the helm. We are trying to run things the way she does, but the place is in a shambles. We’ve even double booked a few rooms, and lost a few reservations. I know you just got home and I hate to ask, but is there any way you can come down for a few weeks, just until we get a handle on things? You’re the only one who could possibly run things as efficiently as Beth does.” Frank’s fast talking gave Bobbie the feeling he was afraid she was going to turn him down.

  Beth and Frank may have started off as Georgie’s friends, but now they were Bobbie’s, too, and she never turned down a friend in need. “I’ll tell my sisters what’s going on and leave this afternoon.”

  “Darling, you are a lifesaver.”

  “Give Beth my best. I’ll see you tonight.”

  Bobbie ended the call then instantly dialed Jake’s cell number. She’d left town once without saying good-bye and it had driven them both crazy. It wasn’t a mistake she wanted to make twice. He didn’t answer, so she left him a voice mail asking him to call her back as soon as possible. Bobbie thought—very briefly—about returning to class, but she had more important things to do if she was going to leave in a few hours.

  Not wanting to tell Georgie about Beth’s accident over the phone, she called her and asked her to meet her at the lodge. Then she called Jessie and filled her in on what was happening. Bobbie drove to the lodge, not surprised to find her sisters’ cars already there when she arrived, all of them. She found them holed up in the conference room waiting for her.

  “Jessie’s says you’re going out of town again,” Joey said as Bobbie entered the room.

  “Only for a week or two.” Bobbie took a seat next to Georgie. “Beth’s been in an accident. She’s okay, but Frank called to ask me to come down and help until she’s on her feet enough to oversee things.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Georgie offered instantly.

  “I know you want to, but Stephanie starts school this week and she needs you here. Between me, Frank, and Beth’s sister, Molly, we’ll handle this.”

  “You’re right. I can’t let her down,” Georgie agreed. “Just promise that if you need help you’ll call me.”

  “I will.” She nodded and squeezed Georgie’s hand. “I need to be there by tonight.”

  Her sisters launched into action, and in less than an hour she was ready to head out. Joey had gone to the bank and given Bobbie’s account an infusion. Frankie had taken the Jeep to fill the tank and check the oil, while Bobbie and Georgie went to the house to pack her bags. Jessie scheduled someone to cover her shifts.

  Sam had put together a huge care package for Bobbie to bring down to the B&B. Mostly frozen stuff Bobbie could just toss in the oven. She even made a batch of her blue-ribbon-winning blueberry muffin mix. All Bobbie had to do was add milk, eggs, and two cups of the huge carton of blueberries Sam included in the basket.

  Bobbie had called or emailed her teachers and explained she had a family emergency and would be out of town for a few weeks. They were all very understanding, even the professor she’d walked out on today. They’d agreed to let her turn in her assignments by e-mail and take any tests she missed when she returned.

  The only thing stopping her from leaving was Jake. She’d called him at least a dozen times and left about half as many messages. As a last resort she even called the station, only to be told he was in a meeting and couldn’t be disturbed. Bobbie figured that was why he hadn’t answered his phone or gotten back to her. She debated waiting for him to call her back, but she really needed to get on the road. So she wrote him a note explaining everything, and that she would call him when she got there. Georgie promised she’d give it to him. Then, for the second time, she left home without saying good-bye, but this time at least she’d tried to.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jake picked up the receiver and put it back down, which finally ended the conference call. “This is why I chose being a small-town sheriff over government work.”

  “Yeah, the paperwork sucks, but I love the travel.” Bill stood and rolled his shoulders.

  “At least it’s over for now. And Jake can get back to wooing his girl.” Tom smiled and winked at him.

  “Funny.” Jake laughed with them, but Tom was right.

  He had no more excuses not to go see her. The guys were leaving in the morning, and things around the station were back to normal. Fred knocked on the door and Jake waved him in. He handed him a slip of paper. Bobbie had called. There was no message, just that she called. He was going to have to teach Fred how to take a proper message.

  Damn it, he could’ve excused himself for a few minutes to see what she wanted. “How long ago?”

  “About three hours ago? And her sister dropped this off for you.” Fred held out a small white envelope.

  Jake reached for it as he got to his feet. Tom had stood and was lifting the pot of coffee from the tray in the middle of the table. Their arms collided just enough for Tom to jostle the pot, causing coffee to slosh over the side. The envelope slid through Jake’s finger. Bill reached out to catch it, but he just ended up knocking Fred’s hand, since he was trying to catch it, too, and they both missed it. The envelope landed in the small puddles on the table.

  He snatched it up. Even though it had only been in it for just a few seconds, the brown liquid had already seeped through the envelope. The coffee dripped from the corners as he tried to open it without tearing the wet flimsy paper. He got the paper out and instantly recognized Bobbie’s writing, but all he could make out was his name, leaving, good-bye, call him later, and her name scrawled across the bottom.

  Jake let go of the paper and it fluttered to the floor. He ignored it and headed for the door. Tom made the mistake of stepping in front of him. Though they were more or less the same size, Jake pinned the other man against the wall. It only took him a few seconds to realize Tom wasn’t fighting him. Clint and Bill had silently moved into position on either side of Jake.

  Tom held up his hands. “Dude, I was just going to say you might want to take a few minutes before you storm out of here.”

  Jake took a step away and turned his back on all of them. Tom was right. He needed some time to calm down before he faced Bobbie. Maybe he was just stalling, because he wasn’t ready to confront himself just yet.

  “I want Bobbie in here now. If you can’t find her, bring me one of her sisters.” Jake heard Clint and Fred flee the room.

  “Why don’t we get the hell out of here?” Bill grabbed Tom’s arm and dragged him toward the door.

  * * * *

  As expected, Bobbie’s cell phone service had been spotty on the ride down. When she did catch a few bars she checked to see if she had any missed calls or messages. Nothing yet, which wasn’t surprising since she’d told Jake she would call him. She yawned as she drove down the long driveway of the B&B. It was well after midnight and she’d had a really long day.

  Right now, all she wanted to do was find a bed and get some sleep. Jake probably wasn’t waiting up for her call, but she knew someone who was. She tugged her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed her sister.

  “I was starting to worry,” Jessie whispered instead of saying hello.

  “Sorry, but I got stuck in traffic.” Bobbie wasn’t happy about it, either. “I actually just pulled up to the house.”

  “As long as you’re okay.”

  “I am,” Bobbie assured her.

  “Okay, then get some sleep and call me back in the morning.”

  Bobbie hung up and she closed her eyes as she leaned back against her seat. Her door opened and large hands reached in and pulled her out. She was swung up into an embrace and twirled around.

  “Damn, it’s good to see you.” Frank lowered her to the ground, and before she got to steady herself, Molly was crushing her in a hug just as strong.

  “We were getting worried.” Molly let her go and moved to the back of the car w
here Frank was waiting to unload all of Bobbie’s stuff.

  Bobbie leaned back into the Jeep and grabbed her keys and bag. She walked over and handed Frank the keys. He unlocked and swung open the back door. Molly reached in and grabbed Bobbie’s duffle bag. Frank hefted the heavy tote Sam had packed into the air and headed for the huge Victorian house.

  Bobbie closed the door, but instead of following them she leaned against the car and stared at the house. This was a true Victorian mansion three times the size of Jake’s place. Jake’s place was a more modern house, but they had a lot of the same qualities. The high slanted roofs, the big porches, and the asymmetrical facades. They were really quite beautiful, and she could see why Jake had decided to add the details to his house.

  She was really glad the blaze Patrice had set hadn’t reached the house. It was bad enough he lost his garage and truck, but losing his beautiful home would have been much harder to get over.

  Bobbie’s movements were a bit stiff for being in the car for so long, and her body protested as she climbed the porch steps.

  Frank met her at the door. “After that long ride, I’m guessing you’re ready to drop.”

  “I’ll catch a few hours after we unload that tote.” She wasn’t about to take a chance on letting anything defrost.

  “Okay, but let’s get it done and get you to bed. I’m going to need you bright and early in the morning.”

  “I haven’t forgotten how early you start here.” In about five or six hours, she’d be helping him and Molly get breakfast started.

  They went inside and found Molly sitting at the counter. She looked as tired as Bobbie felt. The three of them worked together to unpack the food and get it stored away.

  Molly was thrilled to see all the frozen meals. “Did your sister know that neither of us are much of a cook?”

  “No.” Bobbie laughed and shook her head. “She was just trying to make things easier on us. It’s Sam’s way.”

  “Well, I love her for it. I’ve burnt so much food in the past few days it’s a crying shame.”