Gina's Private Police Force [Men of Montana 3] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) (30 page)

After that, they checked the garage, the attached and the unattached one, along with the gardening shed past the unattached garage. Nothing seemed out of place in any of them. It had become a question of why this man only concerned himself with a bit of food and the pickup when there were so many valuables available throughout the house. Was the man so intent on getting revenge? And, who was he? Gina’s husband’s body had been identified, or had it not been him at all?

Climbing back into the Tahoe, Connor started the engine. Turning to Jared he asked, “Do you think Wilson would mind if Adam stakes out inside the house? I would hate for the man to freeze to death or die of carbon monoxide poisoning as he sat in his truck trying to stay warm.”

“I’m sure it’ll be hard getting ahold of Wilson with him being out on maneuvers,” Jared said thoughtfully. “I’ll take full responsibility with him should anything happen.”

“Good,” Connor said, starting the engine and putting the vehicle into gear. Slowly, they made their way down the decline of the driveway. Once on blacktop, Jared called Trey to let him know what was going on and then got directions on where Wilson’s black truck had been dumped. It was only a few miles from the house, so the scarred man must have been on foot after he left it, leaving Jared to wonder if there might have been another vehicle at Wilson’s at some point that the man was using.

God, none of this made any sense.

* * * *

The day passed with slight boredom for Gina. After she fixed breakfast, she called Trey in to get some for himself and Lawrence. Cleaning the kitchen, she realized that she never made it to the store the other day to get groceries. Looking through the freezer in the kitchen and garage, she found they didn’t have anything to fix for dinner. She had to wonder what happened to the shopping list she had made. Perhaps it was in her purse.

Searching throughout the house, she couldn’t find the old purse anywhere. She would have to remember to ask the guys when they got home.

Going into the room where Nathan was staying, she looked around at the belongings that remained of Angela’s life growing up in this house. She had to wonder what it was like to have a sibling. Being an only child she had been lonely. Perhaps that was why she jumped into the marriage with Frank so quickly.

Sitting on the bed she looked around the room. It was spacious but if it was going to be her son’s room, there would need to be some changes made. Remembering Connor’s words about changing the décor, she became encouraged, though she felt guilty about going through Angela’s room.

Grabbing the cell phone Jared left for her, she found Angela’s number and hit send. When the phone was picked up on the other end, she hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should be calling. Then she heard Angela’s voice. “Gina, is everything all right?”

“Oh, Angela…yes, I’m okay. First off, how’s Nathan?”

“He’s fine, sweetie. He asks about you, but he is fine.”

“Great. I really appreciate you watching him for us. Hopefully this won’t take too much longer,” Gina responded thinking about the situation. Then, spotting the Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw posters scattered on the walls around the room, she remembered why she was calling. “Um, Angela…um…”

“Gina, are you sure you are all right?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m nervous about asking you a question.”

“Sweetie, you are going to be family. There is nothing you should be nervous about. Just ask away.”

Swallowing hard, Gina ran her free hand through her hair. “Okay. Connor told me I could redecorate and I was going to start with the room where Nathan was going to be sleeping. It’s your old room.”

“Fantastic!” Angela responded with glee. “I’ll help you. I’ll come over tomorrow to help pack up my stuff and then we can go through catalogs to find the right things for Nathan’s room. Will that be all right?”

“Sure,” Gina said, a smile spreading on her face. “I look forward to the planning. I appreciate your help, but are you sure you won’t be upset with me redecorating? I mean, this is your house, too.”

“Of course not. It is your house now. You are welcome to change anything.”

“Thank you, Angela. But I won’t do anything drastic. And I’ll consult you before doing anything just in case something is sentimental to you.”

“You are so sweet, Gina. I’m going to enjoy being your sister-in-law. We are going to get along just fine.”

“Me, too,” Gina said with a tear in her eye. She was ecstatic about having a wonderful family. Everyone was welcoming her and Nathan with open arms and open hearts. It touched her so much that her heart ached. “Thank you very much, Angela.” Taking a chance she blurted, “Love you, Angela.”

“Love you, too, sweetie,” Angela responded. “I’ll come over first thing in the morning.”

“Give Nathan a kiss for me, and tell him I love him, please.”

“I will,” Angela promised. “I will.”

“Thanks, Angela. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Pressing end on the phone, Gina’s heart ached a bit from being separated from her son. Except for working, she hadn’t been away from him. Never taking time for herself, she had always put him first. Now, she was having a bit a separation anxiety.

Wallowing a bit in her thoughts, she finally pulled herself together and thought about dinner again. Dialing a number, she pressed send and waited. A woman’s voice came on the line. “Polson Diner.”

“Hey, Tanya, it’s Gina. How are you doing?” Politeness was always important to Gina, though she knew that Tanya had a problem with her. She never knew why, but she figured it had something to do with Connor, for when he started paying attention to her was when the girl started giving her attitude.

“I’m doing really good, Gina,” she answered. Then what followed shocked Gina. “We miss you here. Everyone does. Even Glen seems lost without you here.”

“I miss you guys, too.”

“So,” Tanya asked, “what can I help you with? Did you need to speak with the old buzzard?”

“Um, no thanks. I can’t leave the house here and we don’t have anything here for me to cook. I was wondering if I could get three specials for pick-up?”

“Sure. Is everything all right out there?” Tanya asked, genuinely concerned.

“Yeah. There is some psycho out there wanting to hurt me, so I’m under house arrest.”

“I heard about that. The man had been in here several times before we realized he was looking to hurt you. I hope they catch him soon. He was a scary looking guy. All scarred up.”

“You saw him?” Gina asked, confusion lacing her voice.

“Yes. I thought he was just a tourist the first couple of times until Connor took an interest in him. He had scars all over his face and even his hands. It was like he was in an accident or a fire.”

Thoughts began to skit through Gina’s brain at the seemingly innocent comment. The face that was in the rearview mirror was scarred. The face in her dreams was scarred. It was as if the past was coming back to haunt her. He blamed her for the fire even though he was the one who tried to kill her. Oh, God, he was a ghost coming after her.

“Gina? Gina?” she heard through the phone. “Gina, are you all right?”

Through her shock, she had to find her voice, “Ye…yes. I’m sorry. I just…I’m scared.”

“Oh, Gina,” Tanya said softly. “I’ll bring your meals out to you.”

“Tanya, what the hell are you doing? You can’t leave me here without a waitress!” Glen’s voice came through the phone.

“Glen, Gina needs us. We have to go.”

It seemed that Glen had a soft spot in his heart for Gina that she hadn’t seen before. It seemed that Gina was more loved here in this town than she ever thought. Connor and Jared were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to caring for her and Nathan. Gina had found a home for them without really trying. Since she had arrived, everyone showered her with love and attention, but she had been hiding out for so long she hadn’t seen it. Isolation had taken its toll on her emotions and perspective.

Now she was seeing the bigger picture of what her life was really like here in Montana. There were friends she had made that she hadn’t realized she was getting close to. Then there was the family that was beginning to surround her with unconditional love that she hadn’t had since she left her parent’s home.

Her heart seemed to swell with what she realized was love for her new life. She was protected, cherished, and loved by everyone. Everyone wanted to make sure her and her son were comfortable and happy. How was she ever going to repay them?

Finally pulling herself together, she sniffled a moment before speaking. “No, Tanya. You guys don’t need to come out here. I appreciate the offer, but Glen’s right. He can’t close up for me. I’ll send one of the guys in for the meals. I’ll be in town to visit soon.”

“All right,” Tanya said sadly. “Take it easy and be careful.”

“I will.”

When the call disconnected, Gina set about texting Connor about the dinners. He responded right away saying they would pick them up before they came home. Sitting on the bed for a while longer, she had a chance to examine where her life was going and she found she liked the direction so far.

* * * *

Connor and Jared arrived home around four o’clock. They came stomping in through the mudroom instead of the front door, which led to the kitchen. It was there they found Gina as she sat at the island looking at the screen of a laptop. She was so engrossed with what she was looking at she hadn’t heard them enter, even with all the noise they made.

Approaching her from behind, Jared came up on her right side, setting the large bag of food containers on the counter with a thump. That caught her attention and she jumped at the action. Connor had come up on the left side and his gentle hand on her shoulder helped ground her somewhat. Ear buds were in both ears as she was listening to music from the laptop while she shopped online, which explained why she hadn’t heard them.

“Geez, you scared the crap out of me,” she whispered as her heart thumped in her chest wildly. Turning toward Jared first, she leaned up and let her lips meet with his in greeting. Then, pulling away from him, she turned to Connor and gave him the same reception.

Both men grinned at her openness as it pleased them to see she was becoming more relaxed with them. To get a greeting like that meant she had some kind of a breakthrough today. They had to wonder what had caused it, but for now, they would accept it graciously.

Reaching up, Connor removed the ear buds from her ears. The music could be heard faintly from them so he put one up to his ear to listen. Hearing Sugarland’s “Stand Back Up,” he smiled. Placing the ear buds down on the counter, he took her hands in his.

”Didn’t figure you for a country western music person,” he teased as his callused thumb rubbed the skin between her thumbs and forefingers.

Shrugging, she tried to hide her smile. “Well, you know. A girl can only listen to so much Bon Jovi and Elton John.”

Hands came around her waist as Jared stepped in closer to her backside. “No, please! Say it isn’t so! Elton John?”

Pulling one of her hands from Connor’s, she lifted it up and let it curl around to the back of Jared’s head. She pulled it forward until his chin rested on her shoulder. With a bit of sadness, she grinned at Connor and winked. “Yes. I like pop music, but I am beginning to like country, too.”

Turning her head Gina licked the line of Jared’s mouth. Leaning in closer to kiss her, Jared tightened his embrace on her abdomen. Connor reached up and let his hands cover both of her breasts as she and Jared kissed passionately. He watched with fascination as his deputy and Gina shared a lover’s bond as old as time.

Their tongues were visibly intertwining around each other’s as their lips occasionally closed to feast upon the other’s. Moans came from both of them, but more from Gina’s as Connor caressed her breasts. Ragged breaths came from Gina and Jared as their passion spiked higher with each passing moment. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of watching them together.

Yes, he was a voyeur. He loved going to the club and watching his friends play. He enjoyed watching the sex acts that went on in various areas of the club. For Connor, watching was nearly as fun as the act itself, but now that he had his own woman, he knew he would be one of those to put on a show for the other voyeurs in the club, as long as Gina would let him play with her there. But that was a subject to be approached at a later time since she was just getting used to them.

The hand that Connor was holding tried to pull from his so he released it, thinking she was going to turn to use it on Jared. He was surprised when it reached up and found the column of his neck and pulled it down toward her. Turning her head, she met his lips with hers as Jared’s mouth moved to the back of her neck and laid light kisses beneath the curtain of her hair.

Connor savored Gina’s kiss as her tongue swept across the seam of his lips as if requesting permission to enter. Granting it, he opened his mouth and let her enter of her own free will. The organ moved past his teeth and leisurely ran across his tongue, playing there for a few moments. Letting her lead the expedition of love, he waited for her to proceed.

Gina’s tongue moved over his own and then moved under it as if it were memorizing every inch of his mouth. Then she moved it up where it swept on the roof of his mouth before returning to his tongue. There the two appendages danced together as her lips slanted against his over and over as if she couldn’t get enough of him. His cock was hard and aching within his slacks and that was just from them kissing. She hadn’t even touched him elsewhere.