Texas Cowboy's Protection by - (top 5 ebook reader .txt) đ
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âNo one knew who the babyâs father was?â This was news to Gina. But then she hadnât kept up with Brittany.
âBrittany never even told her mother.â
âIs there a laptop here?â Isaac turned the stove off.
Gina retrieved it and set it up at the dinette table.
âYou have a social media account?â Isaac took a seat after fixing another cup of coffee for himself.
âYes.â She blinked at him. âYou donât?â
âDidnât seem important where Iâve been.â He had a point. She couldnât argue there wouldnât be much need or time for online surfing where heâd just come from.
âI thought everyone did these days.â
âCall me old school.â His devastating smirk nearly leveled her a second time. It was dangerous to look at Isaac when he had a twinkle in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. His lips, his granite-made jawline and his pale blue eyes were things she had no business focusing on.
Her danger radar went on full tilt with him sitting next to her at the table. Again, she had to remind herself to take a deep breath and keep her bearings.
He pulled up Brittanyâs social media account using Ginaâs log-in credentials. He scrolled through her posts, searching for pictures of her. There werenât many.
âThatâs odd.â
Isaac was already nodding his head.
âMom, how old is Brittanyâs baby?â
âLet me see. She must be three or four months old by now.â
âThereâs not one post made in the past six months. The few before that mention nothing about a pregnancy. Thereâs no birth announcement. No newborn pics.â Brittanyâs profile pic had a filter that made it nearly impossible to recognize her.
âIâm not big on using this, but her page strikes me as off.â Isaac leaned back and folded his arms.
âSame here. I mean, itâs not that hard to set privacy controls if you donât want strangers seeing your posts.â
âIt was too much to hope weâd see a picture of your attacker.â Wouldnât that be nice, Gina thought. To wrap the case up by going onto Brittanyâs social media page and identifying the jerk.
After having a little time to digest what had happened this morning, Gina wondered why he didnât kill her right then and there. Why take her to another site when he couldâve strangled her the way he had Brittany?
âThat settles it. Iâm staying here.â Mother turned to Isaac. âI brought a bag just in case. Would you mindââ
âYou have the restaurant to think about.â Gina appreciated the gesture. Her mother didnât do well sleeping away from home and to be honest wouldnât be much help in an emergency. Gina already had Everly to think about. She wouldnât be able to handle a baby and a senior if they needed to get out of the house fast.
âYou are more important than food. We wonât open tomorrow.â
âMom, you canât afford to close down the restaurant for a day. Besides, Griff will most likely catch the guy by the time we go to bed tonight.â It was wishful thinking. âEven if he doesnât, thereâs no way the person would come back here. He has to realize at least his partial description is out there and that law enforcement will be watching my house anyway.â
Gina gave her mother a hug. She could feel her bones and figured she hadnât been taking care of herself. Her mother was the one who needed âmotheringâ. Gina was used to taking care of herself. âIâm shaken up. But Iâll be fine.â
âI already offered to stay overnight,â Isaac interjected. âIâm not due home for a couple of days, so no one will miss me there. I donât need a lot of sleep, so Iâll keep watch over your daughter and granddaughter until we can get a security system installed here.â
Ginaâs mother exhaled. âThis place could use an alarm. The windows are so old. I thought Gina and Everly would be more comfortable living with me, but this seemed to suit my daughter better.â
âYou look tired, Mom. Are you okay?â Her mother had dark circles cradling her eyes. Her skin was starting to hang off her bones. Gina made the right call in coming home to help out with the restaurant. The stress of losing her husband combined with taking on full responsibility for the restaurant seemed to be taking a toll.
âYes, dear. You donât need to concern yourself with me. Between being worried about you and taking care of the breakfast and lunch rush, Iâm beat.â
Gina hugged her well-intentioned mother. âGo home. Put on a pot of tea. Put your feet up. Mr. Marley is probably upset he hasnât seen you all day.â The woman lived for her sweet cat. âGet to bed early and get a good nightâs sleep. Everything will look brighter in the morning.â
âCan I get a peek at my granddaughter first?â
âOf course, you can do anything you want.â
Ginaâs mother perked up a little bit as she made a show of tip-toeing through the living room and toward Everlyâs room off the kitchen. When her mother was out of earshot, she said, âThank you for backing me up with her. She means well.â
âMy offer stands. Iâd like to stay overnight on the couch. Make sure you feel safe with someone here to keep watch.â
âThank you, Isaac. If youâre sure it wonât be any trouble or keep you from anything more importantââ
âI wasnât kidding. Iâm not due home for a couple of days. I caught an earlier flight than expected.â Isaac had made the offer out of duty to Des. At least, thatâs the excuse he tried to sell himself. In truth, he couldnât deny how damn good it was to see Gina again. It felt better than he wanted to admit. Sheâd stirred his heart in a manner that heâd thought was long-since dead inside him. He chalked it up to unrequited love and their history.
Whatever the reason, sheâd awakened a protective instinct that had been long dormant. Thatâs as far as he would allow himself to go. He couldnât let it be more than that drawing him toward her, making him want to stick around.
Those other feelings heâd had a long time ago needed to stay stuffed down deep. And yet, a part of him wondered if him and Gina were being given a second chance at something that had been cut short in its prime more than a decade and a half ago.
All he knew for certain was that he hadnât felt anything close to this in more years than he cared to count.
Ginaâs daughter cried. The sound nearly broke his heart. There were a rare few times in Isaacâs life he felt helpless. This ranked up there.
Gina, on the other hand, hopped into action. She disappeared into the little girlâs room in a heartbeat. When she came out, she had the still-sleepy little girl in her arms.
He expected the sight of Gina holding her daughter close to her chest to throw him for a loop. After all, this was Gina. His last memories of her were high school. Instead, seeing her hold her daughter was the most natural-looking image. Apparently, Gina was meant to be a mother.
âIs she hungry?â Ginaâs mother asked.
âHow about cookies and milk?â Gina said quietly to her daughter.
The little girl nodded. Those big tears rolling down chubby cheeks caused his heart to squeeze. Isaac had never seen himself as the family type. Granted, heâd grown up in a big family. He loved his brothers. They were close. With seven strong-minded men, there were bound to be disagreements. His brothers didnât see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues. No one questioned their love for each other. That, was a given with the Quinn brothers.
âIâll help.â Ginaâs mother was to her feet in a snap. It was the fastest heâd seen her move.
Everly held her arms out when her grandmother got close.
A moment of relief seemed to wash over Gina as she handed her daughter over. She joined Isaac in the living room. As she neared, he could see the toll the day had taken on her.
âHowâs your head?â
She blanched, looking shocked by question.
âItâs not a trick,â he teased. âIâm asking how youâre doing.â
A ghost of a smile played with the corners of Ginaâs mouth. âGuess Iâm not used to anyone asking about me.â She gave him the most honest look. âMy head hurts. My ankles are screaming. I think I could curl up on the couch and nap.â She glanced back at her mother and daughter in the kitchen. âBut she needs me.â
âBetween the two of us, we can handle the little munchkin.â
Gina shot him a look of doubt.
He chuckled. âOkay, I canât. But your mom is doing all right and Iâm here for backup. Itâs safe for you to lie down here where you can keep an eye on us, and rest.â
âI have dinner to think about.â She bit back a yawn.
It was his turn to shoot a look.
She put her hands up,
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