Julia smiled. She guessed that was what it was really all about, bottom line. And she knew that together with her two men, a happy ever after was definitely in their future.
Jordan and Peter strolled over to visit for awhile, and Julia tried not to giggle at the way both men’s gazes were drawn to Tracy when she came out of the kitchen to put food on the buffet bar.
Peter looked back at Julia once Tracy returned to the kitchen. “Oh, I had a conversation with one of the prosecutors assigned to Miguel Ramos’s case.” Peter’s smile widened. “I thought you might like to know they consider the case they’re building to be the tightest one they’ve had in years. The man will never see the outside of a prison again.”
“Good,” Dev said. “It’s the very least that criminal deserves.”
“I agree.” Jordan’s voice held an edge that Julia had rarely heard from him. Then she remembered that Ramos had put a contract out on Peter, which had very nearly resulted in that man’s death.
“That is good news,” Julia said. She figured everyone in town would sleep better knowing they didn’t have to worry about that man anymore.
The door to the restaurant opened, and she turned her head to see who’d arrived. Adam and Jake Kendall came in, Jake carrying Ginny’s son, Benny, on his shoulders. Benny’s giggles made everyone smile.
No question about it, the entire town had adopted Ginny and Benny Rose.
Julia looked over and watched as Ginny looked up, her smile blossoming at the sight of her son and his companions. And then that smile froze in place. She looked from Adam to Jake, worry crinkling her brow.
Jake lifted the boy down, and he immediately ran over to his mother. “Hi, Mom. I got a ride!”
Ginny looked down at the small boy. Julia knew she wasn’t the only one who realized her smile was forced.
Something was very wrong.
“So I see, Benny Rose. Did you thank Jake for that ride?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She closed her eyes briefly as she hugged him, and then set him at arm’s length. “Tracy made a special little pie, just for you.”
“She did? Really?”
“Yes, really. Why don’t you go on into the kitchen and see her?”
“You betcha!” Benny took three steps toward the kitchen.
Ginny cleared her throat loudly and Benny stopped. He turned, and gave his mother a grin that made Julia think he must have been taking lessons in charm from most of the men of Lusty.
“I mean, yes, ma’am.”
“Be sure to thank Tracy for that pie.”
“I will.”
Ginny waited until the kitchen door swung closed behind her son. Then she turned to face Lusty’s sheriff and his brother, Jake.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
Adam went over to her and took her hands in his. He looked at her, and when she met his gaze, he said, “You know that you’re safe here, don’t you? That Jake and I will do anything and everything in the world to keep you safe?”
“Adam, you’re scaring me.”
Adam looked over at Jake, who came to stand next to them. Morgan and Henry, as well as Jordan and Peter took a few steps closer to her, too. They might not know what was going on—none of them did—but the Kendall brothers looked as if they intended to champion Ginny Rose against the devil himself.
“I’m sorry for it, Ginny,” Adam said. “More sorry than I have words to say. But you need to know what’s happened.”
“I need to know what?”
Adam brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. Then he lowered them, but held on to her.
“Deke Walters escaped custody about a half hour ago.”
“What?”
Julia had no idea who Deke Walters was, but she didn’t need to. Ginny Rose had turned sheet white, and a look of terror twisted her mouth into a frightened “O.”
Walters must be really bad news.
“Oh my God! How could this happen? Where…where did this happen?”
“We don’t have all the details yet. He was in Abilene when he got away from the police.”
“He’ll come here. Adam, you know he’ll come here. He threatened to kill Benny, to kill me, when you charged him.”
“I know, baby. But he’s not going to do that. We’re not going to let him do that. We’re going to do everything we can to keep you both safe. Do you trust us? Do you trust Jake and me?”
“Yes. Yes, of course I trust you.”
Julia reached for the hands of her men, feeling just that much better when each of them laced their fingers with hers.
She let her gaze roam the room and saw that every man present, Benedict and Kendall and Jessop alike, was of one accord. Every single one of them would do whatever it took to keep Ginny and her son safe. They’d truly become a part of Lusty, and Lusty took care of her own.
Then Julia looked at the women and knew something else, as well. They, too, would stand with the young waitress, and keep her safe. She was one of them.
But they saw more when they looked at Ginny Rose, when they looked into her eyes and read the fear mixed with determination that had descended upon her like a cloak.
They saw her faith, most certainly, but they also saw and recognized the soul-deep knowledge that sometimes, faith and trust and standing tall simply wasn’t enough.
THE END
WWW.MORGANASHBURY.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Ashbury writing as Cara Covington
Morgan has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons, and write.
Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.
Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too.
Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing: writing full time.
Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.
Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.
Morgan lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a mysterious cat, a dog that has no dignity, and her husband of thirty-nine years, David.
Also by Cara Covington
Ménage Everlasting: The Lusty, Texas Collection:
Love Under Two Benedicts
Ménage Everlasting: The Lusty, Texas Collection:
Love Under Two Wildcatters
Ménage Everlasting: The Lusty, Texas Collection:
Love Under Two Honchos
Ménage Everlasting: The Lusty, Texas Collection:
Love Under Two Flyboys
Ménage Everlasting: The Lusty, Texas Collection:
Love Under Two Strong Men
For all other titles, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/cara-covington
www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
en Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Navy SEALs [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 23
