Jessica's Cowboy Daddy - Melinda Barron Page 0,32
Except that wasn’t really the best explanation. Holt set up shop in a corner table with his laptop, typing away faster than Jessica would have thought possible. Every once in a while he’d stop and look at his phone, and she imagined he was answering a text from Hawk to see how things were going.
Hawk had to be on patrol, but there was no way he wasn’t checking in on what was happening here. Natalie and Lizbeth had been concerned when Aurora had started working behind the counter, so worried they asked Jessica to come to the back room.
“Are we being canned?” Lizbeth asked. “You’re training your future sister-in-law to do our jobs?”
“Not at all,” Jessica said. “I lost a bet, that’s all.”
“A bet?” Natalie looked confused.
Oh good heavens this was becoming a royal pain in the butt. If Hawk was so concerned about Grant showing up here she needed to tell her workers to be careful. They deserved to know the truth.
“Yeah…” Jessica stopped talking and took a deep breath. “There was no bet. You should know what is happening. My ex’s mother came here a week ago Monday and accused me of stealing the family ring, which I didn’t. Now she’s been found dead. Hawk thinks my ex killed her and wants to blame it on me. Holt and Aurora are here to babysit me.”
Her two workers, both ladies in their early twenties, glanced at each other.
“Should we be worried?” Lizbeth asked.
“No,” Jessica said. “Listen, Hawk is just being overprotective. Things will be fine.” She thought about it for a few minutes. “But if some guy comes in asking about me, tell him I’m on vacation or something.”
“Are Holt and Aurora going to be here all week?” Natalie asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Jessica said. “Like I said, Hawk is being overprotective, and if he spends all day here, people will think he’s not doing his job.”
“I wish I had someone who loved me that much,” Lizbeth said.
“Well there are four Coleman brothers without a significant other,” Jessica said. “Take your pick.”
“Only three from what I hear,” Natalie said. “Rumor around town is Mercy and Kyle are, well, tight.”
Jessica didn’t know that. She’d have to speak to Hawk about keeping her up to date on the gossip surrounding his brothers. Mercy was the den mother of the cabins where the abused women stayed before she had to quit because of a cancer diagnosis. Aurora had taken her place, then fallen in love with Holt. Now Becky had the job, and it looked like she was “getting tight” with Nate Willis, the Texas Ranger.
“Better hurry up, Lizbeth, before all the Coleman men are taken,” Jessica said.
Lizbeth laughed.
“Good thing I already have someone like that, since I’m married.” Natalie poked her friend in the side. “On a more serious note, we’ve got your back, Jessica. Do you have a picture of the jerk so we know who to look for?”
“Not on me,” Jessica said. “I deleted them all. I’ll see if I can find something online and get back with you.”
Jessica went back into the main part of the bakery and stopped in her tracks. The retirees were there for the first time since they’d spread gossip about her all over town. They already had coffee and donuts, and she was so tempted to go over and clear the table and tell them to get the hell out.
“We missed you,” Frank called out. He got up from his chair and came toward her.
“I can’t say the same thing,” she responded.
As Frank neared her though, she saw he had a yellow rose in his hand. He presented it to her and said, “We’re sorry.”
“Not us,” Marty said. “Steve and I weren’t here when these guys went off the rails. Dumbasses.”
At first she wasn’t sure she wanted to take it, then decided she should. She took the wrapped flower from him and said, “You still talking about me?”
“The whole town is,” Steve said. “Sorry.”
“Well, then be helpful.” She told them the story of Grant and his mother, and of his mother being found. “If you see someone strange hanging around the bakery make your gossip work for the good and tell us.”
“You got a picture of this guy?” Frank asked.
“No.” She glanced over to where Holt sat. He was watching the proceeding with obvious interest. He hit a few keys on his laptop, then got up and walked over to where Jessica stood. She looked at Grant’s picture. It was obviously an engagement