Anita's Triple Temptation [Men of Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (9 page)

Standing, Lyndee turned to the boys. “Hey, guys. Why don’t you help me get your mommy back to her room while the men here talk for a bit?”

As if noticing the new arrivals for the first time, since their noses were embedded in the game on Mrs. Massey’s phone, the boys flew from their seats and threw themselves around Lyndee’s legs, hugging her. She laughed at their enthusiasm before moving around behind the wheelchair. Releasing the brake, the fed began to push Anita.

Mrs. Massey stood and stopped her. “I’m sorry, but if you have help, I need to get to work.”

Anita felt defeated at her words. She felt as if she were being deserted by her mother, but she did know she couldn’t afford to miss work anymore than Anita could. Anita glanced at her three men who were now talking to Lyndee’s three men.

All six men looked up. James, Kevin, and Dave gave the same loving look to Anita as Storm, Trey, and Austin gave Lyndee. She had seen that look from the Goodall brothers and Austin at the New Year’s Eve get-together and even then she was envious of Lyndee. She had hoped she would have someone who loved her enough to treat her with love and respect. Now, she believed she may have found it with three rough and tumble cowboys, though the dynamics of the relationship frightened her.

Dave nodded at the two women as Lyndee rolled her toward her room. Mrs. Massey hugged each of the boys and retrieved her phone before stepping into the elevator. The boys followed behind Lyndee and Anita.

A bit of a smile tipped the corners of Anita’s lips as she moved along the hallway. Before she lost sight of her three men, they had each given her a sexy wink, causing her girly parts to flutter. Her body knew the men were hers but it was her mind that was in a constant turmoil of where it belonged. She knew she couldn’t jump in with feet first just because her body reacted to them.

The six men waited until the two ladies had disappeared down the hall along with the boys before they headed to the furthest corner of the lobby. Four chairs were occupied by Storm, Austin, James, and Kevin. Trey leaned up against the wall while Dave, with hands clasped behind his back, stood looking out the window at the snowy morning outside.

“I talked to the guys from the Lazy R last night,” Trey began. He was dressed in his uniform though he was out of his jurisdiction. “Danny called to let us know what had happened.”

Rubbing his hand down the scruff on his face, Storm broke in. “He told Trey that it was Virgil who hit Anita. Is that true?”

Dave remained quiet, just staring out the window, his anger brewing. James and Kevin nodded their heads before answering in unison. “Yup.”

“Any reason why he would do it?” Trey asked, shaking his head in disgust, still trying to wrap his head around why any man would hurt someone as innocent as Anita. Of course, they should all be used to it by now with all the violence that had come down on their area since his soon-to-be wife had arrived in town with amnesia and the Russian mob after her.

“Virgil has been sniffing around Anita for a while, apparently,” Dave said with disgust while watching his breath fog up a spot on the window. “She told us he propositioned her about a month ago right after he told her there was no insurance money.”

“What?” Storm exclaimed, jumping to his feet. “How is that possible?”

Dave stood fast at the window, not wanting to turn toward the others. He didn’t want the others to see the tears that shimmered in his peridot-green eyes. He hated that they were there discussing Anita who should rightfully be at home being the housewife she deserved to be.

The ache in his stomach wouldn’t go away. At first he thought it was because they had missed supper the night before combined with the anguish of worrying about Anita. Now, he knew it was because of his love for her and the agony of seeing her hurt. He knew James and Kevin were in the same condition, but they were more forthcoming with their feelings.

Watching the reflections in the window, Dave saw Storm begin to pace, his hand running through his blond tresses in frustration.

Kevin crossed his ankle across the opposite knee. “Anita just told us right before you came in that Virgil came to her right after New Year’s and told her that since it was negligence on Craig’s part, there wouldn’t be any insurance money.”

Storm stopped in front of his brother, Trey, who was still leaning against the wall, arms crossing his chest. “Is there any way you can get the reports on the accident? This doesn’t make any sense. Up until then, everything seemed like she was going to be getting the money.”

Silence descended upon the small group as everyone sank into their thoughts. They remained in that state for several minutes before Trey angrily pushed himself away from the wall. Running his hand along the brim of his black Stetson, he moved over to Dave’s side. Placing his hand on Dave’s shoulder, he said, “We are going to get to the bottom of this, buddy. Just stick by Anita’s side. Give her your support and love and let us figure out what’s going on. All right?”

Dave knew what the man was trying to say to him. Don’t fly off the handle and go after Virgil. It was pretty much what his partners had tried to get him to understand last night when he stood face-to-face with the man in the emergency room.

As much as he wanted to kill the man at that moment, he knew Trey was right. It was ironic that he was the oldest of all of them and yet, it was the younger men that were giving advice. He knew he had to listen to them. It was the right thing to do to protect Anita.

Nodding, he continued to watch the snow fall outside. People in the parking lot were scurrying to get to their cars or into the hospital itself, going on with their lives. He had to do the same. Keeping his voice low, he practically pleaded, “Do what you need to do to get that bastard. I want him behind bars. He walked out of here last night with his lawyer as if nothing happened.”

“I promise to do what I can, Dave. The only problem we have is that we don’t have jurisdiction here in Kalispell. But, I’ll check into the accident and the reports.”

Trey patted him one more time on the shoulder before turning around. “I’ll be getting to work now. I’ll be in touch with you guys. Give Anita my best,” he said before he headed for the elevator.

Dave watched his reflection as the doors of the elevator slid open. The deputy sheriff began to step in the vertically moving car but stopped to let out its passenger, Doc Anderson. After greeting the man, Trey stepped into the elevator and waited while the doors slowly slid closed, taking him down to his destined task.

Pulling himself together, Dave turned around and watched the distinguished Doctor make his way over to them. Dressed in a dark blue suit over a dull yellow dress shirt, he had foregone the tie. Being the shortest man in the lobby, Doc Anderson held up his five-foot-eleven-inch frame well. Coming to a stop in front of Dave, he shook the man’s hand.

“Doctor, thank you for coming,” Relief rang in Dave’s voice as he greeted him. “Were you able to find anything out from the ophthalmologist?”

Doc Anderson motioned for Dave to sit. Sitting next to James while Kevin was across from them, the doctor sat next to Kevin after shaking hands with him and James. “I just spoke with the ophthalmologist. He said everything looked good with her left eye. There is no lasting damage to the eye, though there is a slight scratch which, once the swelling goes down, there will be a red, almost bloody mark for a while. Otherwise, there is no damage to her eyesight at all.

“As for the other damage done, I will need to check it out for myself. I will check her chart first before going in to see her. From what I understand, there should be no lasting issues, at least physically. I know Anita has been through quite a bit in the past few months and now with this, she needs a lot of mental support. I expect you men to help her out in that aspect. Keep her mind off of what is going on. Don’t let her stress over handling the kids or the day-to-day chores. Give her a vacation from life if you can.”

“She’ll be moving in with us,” Dave said adamantly. “It’ll be a tight fit in the trailer but we’ll make it work.”

Storm, who was now leaning against the wall where Trey had been, spoke up. “The house is nearly finished. It’s insulated. The appliances are in. Just some minor wall work needs to be done. You can move her in there immediately as far as I’m concerned. This way, too, you can situate the bedrooms as you see fit.”

Dave, James, and Kevin all looked up at one of their bosses, astonished. Dave was unaware of the work that had been going on since the house was situated away from the main area of the ranch where the ranch house and barns were. He had thought that they would have to wait another six months or more for their house since they gave their original house to Running Wolf, Lawrence, and Angela. Also, he thought they would be closer to the main house, but privacy was welcome.

“Thank you,” they all said in unison.

Standing, Doc Anderson said, “I’ll go check on your lady. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Turning, he made his way across the lobby and down the hallway to Anita’s room.

Dave let out a long breath though relief was long from coming the way he saw it. They were going to have a fight ahead of them with Virgil, he felt, as he knew the man wasn’t going to give up on Anita for whatever reason he had.

Storm broke into his private thoughts. “Once you get Anita and the boys on the ranch they’ll be safe. There’s plenty of security there.”

“Thanks,” Kevin said, rising to his feet. “We’ll get her key and start getting her stuff packed for the move.

James followed his lead and stood. Placing his hand on Dave’s shoulder he offered, “You stay with her. We’ll be back later.”

Dave nodded, knowing his voice would break if he spoke. As the head of this odd family, he had to show the others he could be strong. He watched as the two walked toward Anita’s room. They were his family and he was proud to call them that.

“I know you well enough, Dave,” Austin spoke for the first time since their arrival. “Don’t do anything rash. Virgil has been a sleazebag since he arrived. From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t do anything like his father did. He doesn’t treat his employees well. There has to be someone that is willing to part with some information. Talk to Anita about people Craig may have been close to at work. Get to Virgil the smart way. Not with force.”

Nodding, Dave knew his boss was right, though the urge to pound Virgil into the ground was strong. “Thank you for the advice, Austin. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, buddy. No problem.”

Storm pushed himself away from the wall with the foot that had been propped against it as he saw Lyndee make her way across the lobby. When she stopped in front of him, he gathered her in his arms, hugging her close before he bent to kiss her. His shoulder-length blond hair fell forward, hiding the lip-lock, but from Lyndee’s body language, Dave knew it had to have been a good kiss. He glanced at Austin to gauge his reaction and found the man’s eyes glistening with desire.

Dave watched the interaction between them and knew they were going to have to have a serious discussion with their employers on the more serious side of a ménage relationship. Having a fling with a woman was one thing, but having a relationship where they were talking marriage was something else. They needed to find out how to handle the ins and outs of day-to-day life, especially since they would be living with Anita once she was out of the hospital. The one factor that Storm, Trey, and Austin didn’t have to worry about at the moment was kids. How were they supposed to work a relationship with kids in the house?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his name called a couple of times by Lyndee. Coming out of his thoughts, he looked over at the petite woman. She was now turned toward him though still leaning against Storm with her back against his front and his arms wrapped around her waist.

Shaking his head, he finally focused upon her iris-colored eyes. He couldn’t remember ever meeting someone with such an eye color before. When he first met her, he had thought she wore colored contacts but found out differently. She was a beautiful, compassionate woman and he had been more than happy to help save her when Philip and the Russians came to the ranch to kill her. And truth be told, he would be happy to do it again, just like he would expect any of his fellow ranch hands to help if something like that ever happened to Anita.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed that his mind was wandering.

“No apologies necessary,” Lyndee said sweetly. “I wanted to let you know that we’ll take the boys home with us so you don’t have to worry about them.”

“Thank you, Lyndee. I appreciate it,” Dave said quietly in his usual demeanor. Then he knew it wasn’t just the boss lady he had to thank. Storm and Austin had set aside their work on the ranch to be here to support the three of them and Anita, and now, they would have to watch over three small children when they weren’t used to having them around. “Thanks, guys. I really want to thank you for pulling together for all of us. You are the best bosses. Your parents would be proud of you.”

The shake of his head contradicted the smile on Storm’s face above Lyndee’s head. “No thanks needed, buddy. You are family and now, so are Anita and those boys.”

The older man actually felt himself blush at the kind words. Giving a quick nod of his head, he knew one word wasn’t enough, but then it was all that needed to be said. “Thanks.”