“I don’t know,” Tank said, willing to believe anything was possible. Between bites, Bella continued singing softly in her angelic little voice. “Brian, considering Four Bit’s visit to Jessica yesterday, it’s a good bet he plans to act soon. There’s a chance he may show up at your place again, or he may know you’re in the area. If that’s the case, he’s likely to see you as just as much a target as Jessica and Bella are to him. I got the impression from talking to Hank that he’d prefer you stay in the area for the time being.”
Brian nodded as he accepted the plate Troy offered him. “Thank you. Sheriff Stinson told me the same thing. My boss wasn’t happy when I called in, but I got a little time off coming to me. I hate to be a bother to y’all.”
Tank said, “It’s not a problem for you to stay here. Chance and Clayton already gave the go-ahead.”
Brian wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it down next to his plate. “All right, if that’s what it takes. But I’m able-bodied, and I can earn my board and keep.”
“This ranch is a bigger place than you realize. There’s several cabins you can stay in that are remote enough you’d be safe.”
“Where will Jessica and Bella go? I’d rather stay nearby and help if I can.”
Tank said, “They’ll be under our protection until this situation is cleared up, same as you since you’re considered a witness.” He raised a hand to stop Jessica when she opened her mouth to object. “I didn’t say you couldn’t work.”
“Well then, how are you going to manage all this?”
“We know some guys.”
A beleaguered sigh and shake of her head were her only responses, but he knew he’d get an earful later when he revealed all they’d planned in order to keep her safe.
“I didn’t know there was a verse about shackles,” Troy said quietly.
Jessica looked from Tank to Troy, and then at Brian, who was studiously looking at his plate. “Neither did I.”
Another shiver rippled over Tank’s shoulders.
An hour later, with his girls fed and ready for the day, Tank loaded them up in his truck while Troy got their work day started, with Brian accompanying him. It increased Tank’s confidence in him that Brian had voiced the desire to work and not be a burden. He respected that. And he couldn’t deny how good it felt to consider Jessica and Bella as his girls.
While Bella had considered it a big adventure when he’d buckled her in the new car seat he’d bought for his vehicle so her mama wouldn’t have to keep moving the car seat back and forth, Jessica had squawked at being chauffeured to work.
She liked it even less when he and Troy had announced that they planned to do that for them every morning, taking Bella to daycare and her to work, until after the threat had been eradicated. She didn’t yet know all the other measures that were being put in place. A small part of him enjoyed ruffling her feathers just because it was great to see her pushing back, even on little things.
“I learned something about you when I was watching you sleep this morning,” he said as he gazed out at the two-lane road that led into Divine.
“Oh Lord, what? I snore, right? I know. It’s awful—”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“You, missy, are a little bed hog. You were stretched out about as far as you could be. And your snoring is kinda cute. You haven’t heard me when I get going yet.”
“Troy mentioned that you snore. I was surprised when I woke up. I usually sleep balled up, knees to chest, with the covers wrapped tight around me. To wake up stretched out like that was weird, but I feel well rested.”
“Troy said his sleep has improved since he bought that blanket.”
“It has a nice heftiness to it. I’ve always been the type who needs to sleep completely covered. That was one of the things I missed the most in captivity.”
“You had nothing to cover up with?”
“Nothing. It took a long time before I felt warm again after I was set free. I wish I’d known about blankets like that. I would’ve gotten one. But, yeah, it was weird waking up all stretched out like that.”
“I don’t mind if you hog the bed if I’m in it.”
“Shhh, you,” she whispered and then peeked back at Bella who was still singing to herself.
“Hey, Belly McBlooperhead,” Tank called as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
“What, Ooper-dooper McPooper-scooper?”
Jessica snickered. “See what you’ve started?”
“Nah, she likes it.”
“Oh, but I bet her caregivers have something to say about it.”
“That’s okay. Then they can tell me all about it when I check in on her at lunchtime.”
There was a pregnant pause while he waited for her to react, and when he couldn’t stand it anymore, he looked over at her. She was amused.
“You’re totally into all of this, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Tankie, you comin’ to see me for lunch? I don’t think you’ll fit at my table but okay!”
He grinned at Bella’s words and then nodded at Jessica. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“Wonder if Chance and Clayton would agree.”
“You can take it to the bank that they do agree with me. There’s not a man among our friends who doesn’t share that sentiment. Work gets done. Things can be replaced. People cannot. Period.”
“You’re so sure of that.”
“Because it’s true, and eventually you’ll understand...or you’ll just get used to it,” he added, just to watch her react.
She didn’t disappoint, mimicking him silently but then hiding a little grin. “You’re gonna get so sick of us it’s not even funny.”
From behind him, the backseat chorus chimed in, “I fly away, oh Dory!”
Never.
Chapter Seventeen
“This is ridiculous,” Jessica muttered as she accepted the bag from Cassie Cutter and motioned her to follow her through the doorway in the waiting room and back to her office. “Let me just grab my purse.”
“You’re not repaying me,” Cassie said, humor lacing her tone as Jessica turned back to her with a frown.
“I’m not accepting a lunch I didn’t pay for.”
“Oh, it’s paid for. Tank and Troy are doing such a great job of taking care of you and Bella. It’s about time you let them, too,” she added with a quirked eyebrow.
“They paid for this?”
“Yes they did, and for lunch every workday until they tell me otherwise. And I’m throwing in my scintillating company as a bonus.”
“Ha-ha. What’s in here?” she asked as she began unpacking the sack on the break room table. “It smells delicious.”
“We’re Ivan’s guinea pigs today. He wants to add a vegetarian lunch option.”
“Vegetarian?” Jessica said with a smile, trying to disguise her appetite’s underwhelmed reaction. “Well…it smells good?”
Cassie snorted and then burst into laughter. “Contain your enthusiasm there, girl! It’s baked, stuffed spaghetti squash. He let me try a bite before he packed us lunch and sent me across the parking lot with it. They’re still hot, so we should eat up. He also sent you pumpkin nut muffins.” The last words were spoken in a teasing tone because Ivan and Cassie knew how much she loved those muffins. They were good as breakfast, good as dessert, and because they weren’t overly sweet, they were even good as a bread side with most meals.
“Hot, hot, hot!” Cassie hissed as she jerked her hand out from under the bottom of the covered foil pan she’d set in front of Jessica. “Son of a biscuit-eater!”
Jessica giggled as her friend sucked her finger, and she said, “You sound like Ivan.”
Cassie stuck her tongue out at her. She handed her a plastic fork and then watched as she peeled back the foil edge and revealed the source of the mouthwatering aroma.
“That smells like heaven. What is it?” she asked as she lifted the toasted, buttery la
yer of crackled breadcrumbs, herbs, and spices. “This doesn’t smell vegetarian.”
“I know, right?” Cassie said, opening her own take-out dish, and then she scooped up a steaming bite, blew on it, and put it in her mouth. Her words were muffled by her ecstatic moan while she chewed.
“I didn’t quite catch that, Cass. Did you say Ivan is so getting laid tonight? Over food?”
“The man is a culinary god. I swear. Try it.”
Jessica’s opinion about her appetite going unappeased, even if her stomach was full—because vegetarian—changed when she took the first bite. Creamy, savory, decadent, chewy delight burst on her tongue. “Ohmahgawd. Holy cheeseballs, Batman!” She purposely made the bite last while Cassie laughed at her with a mouthful of food, taking out her phone and chuckling as she sent a text message.
“Whaterutellin’im?”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Cassie said with a giggle. “I told him we should consider making it a regular lunch special item. Yuuummm!” She scarfed up another bite, and they ate in gastronomical nirvana-induced quiet, interspersed with giggles from Cassie when her husband, the chef in residence at Divine Drip, replied to her.
A shiver of food-induced pleasure tingled down her spine, and Jessica said, “You know I love you, right, Cassie?”
“Of course. I brought you food. What is it?”
“Ivan elevates your coffee shop to a whole ’nother level.”
Her friend’s eyes widened, and she nodded. “I know, right? I’d let him change the name if he wanted to, but he said no. He wants it to stay just the way it is.”
Cassie had started out just serving a good, simple cup of coffee and a few baked goods to go. Then her mom decided she wanted to help her, so she started making tortillas, and when they added breakfast tacos, they were a huge hit. “Ivan says I’d already laid the groundwork by offering varying things for lunch specials, and he liked that about the place. After he quit Hermione, he started searching for local growers to provide fresh seasonal ingredients for a rotating menu.”
“I know…I hold him responsible for having to buy jeans a size larger.”
“Divine has been so receptive to the way we do things, with some customers wanting the morning basics of coffee and taco or apple fritter while others want a cool place to have lunch with friends. Now with him and the kids extending the operating hours—and thanks to the rebuild—we can offer an eclectic dining experience for date nights, right in the middle of Divine,” she said as she waved her hand around her head, indicating the shopping complex where Divine Optical, Divine Drip, Stigall’s, Clay Cook Jewelry, as well as several other businesses were all located.
“The best of all worlds.”
“Well, we’ll leave the steakhouse experience to O’Reilley’s, but yeah, that’s what we’re going for. He’s going to unveil a new signature dessert at the charity fundraiser dinner.”
“Oooh, dessert? What is it?”
“I’m not telling you. I want you to experience it for yourself.” Cassie’s excitement was palpable as she cackled and then snorted when Jessica swatted at her.
Cassie giggled and dodged her. “Keep it up, sister, and I won’t let you be one of the very first taste-testers.”
“No, you just want to have someone to tease between now and then. Sadist. Samson is rubbing off on you.”
“I never should’ve told you about that.”
“Uh! Like I couldn’t have guessed, with that steely gaze.”
“His eyes are blue—”
“That steely blue gaze. I nearly hid under our table at the Dancing Pony the last time he narrowed those eyes at you and gave you that quirky tilted-grin thing that he does. And then he firms that jaw and angles his head while he gazes at you like, ‘Mrs. Cutter, I’m about to paddle your bare bottom.’”
“Have you been reading Veronica’s or Grace’s books?” Cassie looked closely at her and then gasped. “Jessica, have you been thinking about sex? I can see it in your face, girl!”
“Uh…” Is it that obvious? Do I have sex-face?
“You got laid!”
“Hey, we were talking about steely-eyed authoritative Samson.”
Because thinking of the sexy tone Tank took with me when he ordered me to spread my legs this morning is creating havoc in my suddenly warm girly parts.
“Don’t change the freaking subject. You’re all squirmy and blushing! You’re thinking about Tank and Troy right now, aren’t you?”
“I’m pleading the fifth. Shhh, Gloria will hear you.”
Cassie reached out and patted her. “You don’t have to talk about it. I’m happy for you.”
“I don’t want to jinx it. Just give me time, okay?”
“Sure. I get it. Anyway, you were saying?”
“What was I saying? Oh! Having Ivan cater was a stroke of genius. And I bet the crowd is going to be huge.”
“Yep! He’s already sold three hundred dinner tickets and getting more printed. I was wondering, has Charity or Veronica asked you for help with the events? If they have, then it’s no biggie, but we could really use your help that night. Of course, that’s if you’ve got someone who could watch Bella?”
Jessica took another bite of her food as she nodded. She normally avoided big crowded events like that, but lately, she’d been feeling more up to it. And all of her friends were involved somehow, either on site or behind the scenes in the planning, like Grace, who was at home on partial bedrest because she was still not back to one hundred percent after having the flu.
“I’d offer to have Tamara babysit her, but she’s working with us that night. She and Joseph love working with Ivan. He listens to their ideas, and they like that a lot.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I think Charity was organizing a group babysitting camp at the Divine Creek Ranch for that whole weekend. With everyone coming and going, she thought it might help save headaches and time. I wonder…do you ever feel left out—ohmahgawdthisissogood!” she added, unable to help herself. The last bites were as good as the first ones.
Cassie giggled as she handed her a pumpkin nut muffin. “At the shop? Nah, I make coffee, do my baking and cake decorating, and it leaves me lots of time to spend writing songs and, of course, time with my Samson.”
“How’s Spanky McSpankerson doing these days?”
They shared a laugh and then Cassie said, “You sound like Bunny.”
“I don’t have those kinds of guts,” Jessica said, smiling as she thought of Bunny’s relationship with her husband, Joseph Hazelle, who had gained notoriety as the owner of Hazelle House, an exclusive club meeting a variety of tastes, including BDSM. Bunny was not only his wife but also a cheeky and willing submissive to his Dominance.
“I’m telling Samson that he has a new nickname, thanks to you. Spanky McSpankerson.” Snort.
“I ain’t skeered…not much, anyway,” Jessica replied, levity bubbling in her heart as she imagined the silver-haired fox in question reacting to her nicknaming him, not something she normally did. She always found him a little intimidating in the past.
“You are in a much better place, aren’t you? My heart kinda palpitated while I was talking to Tank when he came in the shop. He was talking to Ivan about keeping an eye on this place, and you, while you’re here—”
“Ivan, too? I spoke with Lily when I checked our mailbox this morning and she said he was talking to Clay, as well. It seems like overkill to me, but what do I know? Why were you palpitating?”
Cassie fanned herself. “Just the look he gets in his eyes when he talks about you, all shiny, you know. He’s very protective, and that’s so hot.”
“I won’t argue with that in theory, but he’s overdoing it. They’ll be sick of us before long. Do you know he’s taking lunch to Bella at daycare? Who does that?”
Cassie chuckled and shook her head. “He told Ivan about that guy, the scary one, and Ivan’s eyes were getting all glittery and his chest was puffing up like he wanted to kill, you know?”
“Tank told him what he wanted to do for Bella, and now Ivan is making lunch for her, as well as her whole class. The man doesn’t do anything halfway. He called the daycare, found out how many kids, any allergies or dietary requirements, and set the whole place up with lunch, including the teachers and workers. He even sent them a cake.”
“That’s too much!” Sheesh, whatever happened to peanut butter and jelly, milk, and an apple for lunch?
“I know! I wanted to know where our cake was!”
“You know what I mean! Tank can’t possibly afford to do something so extravagant.”
“Ivan covered it. He can write off the materials,” she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He let Tank pay for the cake. He picked everything up right before I came over here, and he’s delivering it all right now.” Her soft giggles turned into full-blown laughter. “Can you imagine Bella’s face when he shows up with all that? She’s going to be over the moon. The staff is going to think he’s a god.”
“They better not,” Jessica muttered.
Cassie blinked at her. “So it’s like that, is it? What about the double bachelor auction? I heard they were still participating. Do you have enough money to place a winning bid…with them sporting kilts? It’s going to be a bloodbath. That’s going to cost you a pretty penny.”
“I can’t. My budget’s too tight. All I can do is trust that whoever wins them understands the situation and has healthy boundaries.”
“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you that #gingerhotties is trending on Twitter right now.”
“Huh?”
“Yes. Another blogger with a huge following shared the story and the video their mom made.”
In her altruistic heart, she’d known that if they continued to draw that kind of media attention it would translate into more attention for the charity events. But there was a selfish part of her that wanted to withdraw with Tank and Troy from the public eye to spend some time figuring out where their relationship was going.
Operation Ginger Avenger Page 18