Texas Cowboy's Protection - - (i read a book .txt) 📗
- Author: -
- Performer: -
Book online «Texas Cowboy's Protection - - (i read a book .txt) 📗». Author -
Mother’s hand went over her heart and she paled.
“You’re shaking.” Isaac caught her by the arm to shop her from swaying. He helped her to the sofa.
“Let me get you some tea, mother.”
“I’m fine.” Mother’s color started returning as she took in a few deep breaths. “Tell me what happened.”
Gina had already recounted her story to Griff. Her head ached and all she really wanted to do was curl up on the sofa and take a nap before Everly woke. “Would it be okay if we discussed it later? I’m talked out.”
“Yes. I guess so.” To Gina, the details were no longer important. The fact that she’d survived and was home did the trick for her.
“I can put a pot of water on.” Isaac was sweet to offer.
“You’ve already done too much.”
Mother turned to Isaac. “I’m here now. You don’t have to stay any longer if there’s somewhere you need to be.”
The spot on the left shoulder blade, Gina’s stress spot, twitched. Pain shot down her back and up her neck. “It’s fine with me if he wants to be here.”
“Of course, it is. I was only suggesting he could go if he had to.” The indignation in her mother’s voice poked the already angry muscle.
Isaac looked to Gina. She appreciated his deferring to her more than he could know. “Do you want to stay?”
He nodded and the look on his face said he would dig his heels in for her if necessary. He stood there, arms across a broad chest and feet in an athletic stance. He’d always been good looking and athletic. Seeing him now, how he’d filled out, his confidence, rocketed him into a whole new stratosphere of attractive. It didn’t hurt that he was clearly ripped under that t-shirt. Knowing his personality, his intelligence, his sense of humor made her figure that most women threw themselves at him. God help her, he stirred something deep inside her. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
A little voice told her she should’ve felt that way about her husband. She’d loved Des. Always would. Granted, it had never been that all-consuming, fireworks kind of love. It was comfortable. It was friends who’d known each other their entire lives. It was a deep sense of caring. And he’d needed her.
Gina turned to her mother. “We’ve been catching up and it’s been nice to have a friend here in Gunner.”
Mother stared at a spot on the carpet at the mention of a friend. Her expression dropped, and her body stilled. Gina didn’t need to be a mind reader to know her mother was thinking about Brittany. “It’s terrible to think what happened. And next door.”
The town of Gunner didn’t see violent crime. Gina heard about it on the news regularly living in a major city but this was a shock for a small town. She felt it more, too, probably because it hit so close to home.
“It’s still so hard to believe.” Gina took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa.
Isaac followed suit, reclaiming his spot on the loveseat.
“Such a shame. So much loss.” Mother exhaled. “Why is it bad news always seems to come in threes?”
Gina didn’t feel the need to point out Des had died a year-and-a-half ago. Her father and Brittany were three months apart. Besides, her mother’s question was rhetorical.
Everly stirred. Gina hopped to her feet to check on her daughter. The sudden movement caused blood to rush from her head and she almost lost her balance. Hand on the armrest, she steadied herself.
Isaac was at her side in the next beat. The man could move like a panther. His hand on her arm guided her toward the kitchen. “I can check on her if you want.”
“She’s had so much change lately. Waking up to a stranger might throw her off.” She appreciated his offer and wasn’t sure if Everly would mind or if it was Gina who would be thrown for a loop.
The shock of seeing her daughter in a man’s arms would tip her over on a day that had already thrown enough at her. She’d never seen Everly being held by a man. Her father had doted on his granddaughter, but he was from a generation of men who didn’t carry around their grandchildren, change diapers or otherwise handle hands-on childcare.
He’d been the same with Gina when she was little, or so she’d been told. Even so, there was never a day that went by where she questioned whether her father loved her or Everly.
Peeking in on her daughter, seeing her comfortable and sleeping warmed Gina’s heart. A tear escaped. She was being overly emotional and that was okay. As her mother had so kindly said, it had been a day.
Gina didn’t have to turn to know Isaac stood behind her. She felt his presence. One step in the wrong direction and she’d be back-to-chest with him. His warm and spicy scent filled her with every breath she took. What should have been strange struck her as the most normal thing ever. She chalked it up to their history and pushed it from her thoughts.
“Beautiful kid.” His voice was so low she almost didn’t hear him.
Pride ballooned inside Gina. She couldn’t agree more. Everly was the best of her and Des.
Knowing her daughter was blissfully asleep and unaware of the day’s events, Gina turned to go back into the living room. She stopped herself before she ran into Isaac’s chest. She looked up and their eyes locked.
In that split-second before he looked away, it was the most intimate moment of her life.
“How’s the baby?” Worry lines scored Mother’s face the second she got a look at Gina.
Damn. Gina thought she was covering the effects of being too close to Isaac. She’d have to work harder next time. Or, better yet, keep her distance. It was increasingly clear to her being in close proximity would only lead to more heartbreak. Gina had had enough of that to fill a lifetime.
“She’s good. Still asleep. She must’ve had a busy morning or a late nap. I forgot to ask Mrs. Weber what time she put Everly down.”
Isaac moved into the kitchen. The click of the gas stovetop being lit made her realize he put on water for tea. Did he need a minute? She could sure as heck use one.
“It’s not safe for you here at the lake. You and the baby can move in with me. It’ll be easy since you’re not unpacked yet.” Mother was overreacting. Gina certainly understood and even appreciated the concern.
“We’ll be fine here, Mom. We just need to give it a little time.”
“How safe can it be?” Concerned green eyes blinked up at Gina.
“I’ll take precautions.” She hated to point out this could happen in any neighborhood or the fact that Dallas was one of the most dangerous cities in America.
“What did Griffin say about it? About poor Brittany?” More tears streamed. Gina was having a tough time holding it together. Seeing her mother cry wasn’t helping.
“He and his deputies will get to the bottom of why it happened and who did it.”
“Is it true? Did he…?” Mother made eyes at Gina.
She wasn’t sure what her mother was fishing for or how much she already knew thanks to Gunner’s tightknit community. She didn’t want to provide details that could haunt her mother. It was best to see what her mother had already found out. “What?”
“Strangle her?”
Gina nodded, fighting back tears.
“Does that mean he knew her?”
“Griff thinks so.”
“That shouldn’t make me feel safer for you.” Mother took out a tissue and blotted tears.
Gina understood her mother’s thinking. If he knew Brittany personally he was only a threat to Brittany.
“Did you know her friends?” Gina asked.
“Brittany didn’t have many according to her mother.” She’d been a handful in high school but had never been over-the-top like some kids could be. It also explained why mother had tried to hook her up with Gina. “She kept to herself mostly.”
“But she reached out to me after you told her I was moving back.”
Mother nodded. “I’m not sure I thanked you for setting up lunch with her. Her mother approached me about getting the two of you together. Thought you might be a good influence on Brittany.”
“Was she in some kind of trouble?”
“None that her mother mentioned to me.” Mother put her hands on her knees. “She thought Brittany spent too much time alone and then she popped up pregnant. She never named the father. According to her mother, she never saw a man around.”
Griff would surely check Brittany’s phone. If she’d been spending time with someone, his identity was about to be revealed. A thought hit her hard and fast. Based on the fact Isaac stopped what he was doing
Comments (0)