Marine's Mission - Rebecca Deel Page 0,46
guests.” After grabbing his laptop, Owen followed her to the living room and settled on Gigi’s loveseat.
Over the next hour, Gigi checked out each guest except for Moser. While he worked, Owen listened to Gigi’s interaction with her guests. She had a knack for making each guest feel like a friend. No wonder her B & B was popular. She made her home a welcoming haven, catering to individual preferences as much as possible.
As the last guest left, Gigi’s cleaning crew arrived, a mother and daughter team.
“How are you, Owen?” Miriam Quinn asked. Her salt-and-pepper hair glowed in the shaft of sunlight streaming through the living room’s picture window. “We’ve missed seeing you and your brothers around the county.”
“We took training classes that required us to stay on site. We’re glad to be back on duty. I haven’t seen your brother yet. Is Clive getting around all right?”
She beamed. “The physical therapist says he’s doing great with the new knee. Clive is careful to do everything the doctors tell him and is determined to return to work next month.”
“I hope it works out for him.” Owen’s attention shifted to her daughter. “Good to see you, Addie. How’s school?”
“I love it.” Addie grinned. “I’m making straight A’s.”
Pleased, Owen smiled. “Congratulations. When you earn your medical degree, will you hold a spot for me on your client list?”
The college freshman blushed. “Yes, sir. I’ll reserve room for you and your brothers.”
“We’d appreciate that. We get more than our fair share of bumps and bruises on the job.”
Miriam wrapped an arm around Addie. “We better get moving, honey. You have classes this afternoon.”
“Okay. Glad you’re back, Owen.” Addie hurried after her mother.
Owen smiled. Straight A’s. Good to know the scholarship he and his brothers had funded for Addie was a good investment. Miriam’s husband and son had been killed last year when a drunk driver hit their family car head on. Since Miriam struggled to put food on the table, paying for Addie’s college tuition would have been beyond her means on the salary she earned cleaning various buildings around town.
When Owen and his brothers became aware of Miriam and Addie’s financial situation, they’d come up with the plan to make college possible for Addie. That girl was sharp and determined to be a doctor. As long as she maintained good grades, the Montgomery brothers would pay her college tuition anonymously.
His text signal chimed. Owen checked his phone, frowning when he saw the message to call Brent Maddox. What was up with that?
“Everything okay?” Gigi asked.
“I don’t know. I need to call Fortress. Hopefully, they have more information on our situation.” Not likely, though. If Maddox knew something, he could have sent a text or an email. Why the order to call as soon as possible?
“The library’s empty, and no one is in the house except Mr. Moser. His son is picking him up in ten minutes. I can lock the front door.”
Owen closed the lid of his laptop. “Stay inside, G. I shouldn’t be long. Levi and Elliot will watch the back door.” He’d send them a text to stay alert until he resumed watch duty.
Gigi’s eyes twinkled. “There goes my plan to sneak off and buy a new outfit for tonight’s date so you aren’t tempted to look at another woman while we eat.”
He snorted. “First, no other woman holds a candle to you. I don’t notice other women except to assess them as safety threats. Second, you always look great no matter what you wear. However, if you want to buy something new, I’ll take you to town.” Owen winked at her. “This would be my first opportunity to act like your besotted boyfriend.”
The woman of his dreams sighed. “You know how to tug at my heart strings, Owen.”
He brushed his mouth over hers. “If you trust me with your heart, I’ll take good care of it.”
Gigi cupped his cheek. “I’ll take care of yours, too.” She shooed him toward the library. “I’ll lock the front door and go upstairs with the Quinns.”
Owen strode to the book-filled room and closed the door. After sitting at the desk with his laptop, he called his Fortress boss. “It’s Owen Montgomery, sir.”
“Can you talk?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go to PSI.”
He blinked. What was going on? “Sir?” If he was ordered to go back through a portion of that brutal training, he wouldn’t comply when danger circled the woman he adored.
“Be in the conference room in two hours, and bring Jackson with you.”
Oh, man. Not good. “My