Love Under Two Kendalls Part 19

"Kelsey, no one can hold a candle to you when it comes to getting suppliers to see the sweet light of reason." Tracy looked over her shoulder and sent a wink Ginny's way. "I swear, you can make a grown man cringe."

"Likely has, too," Ginny said. "As I do believe I've seen that look a time or two on her husbands' faces."

Kelsey laughed. "What can I say? It's a G.o.d-given talent. I say if you've got it, use it."

"It must be exactly that," Tracy said. "I copied your example and tried it out on my men. I thought they were both going to pee themselves, they laughed so hard."

Another woman might have been upset at her own failure to put fear in the hearts of her men, but Tracy had such a good sense of humor. Not to mention the fact that her men were both a couple of big, strapping strong men, while Tracy was what one could call "diminutive."

Ginny smiled over at her friend as she loaded a couple of salads onto her tray. Then she went over to the soup pot and ladled two bowls of the savory beef vegetable. "I wouldn't go worrying about your apparent failure, any, Tracy. You've got both Jordan and Peter so smitten, they near to eat out of your hand as it is."

Tracy laughed. "You mean, kind of like the way you have Adam and Jake at the moment?"

"Oh, I don't know about that." Ginny felt her face color, but could see no help for it. Her relations.h.i.+p with those two Kendalls was still fairly new. "I do believe Adam has no qualms about yelling at me when he's a mind to. If you recall our little, um, intervention at the clinic a few weeks back, he did just that. I'm amazed the entire town didn't hear him. I do believe my ears are still ringing."

"That was fun, wasn't it?" Tracy went back to forming pastries on her tray. "Scary, yes, but fun."

"You two had all the excitement while all I got to do was distract Steven..." Kelsey stopped and showed a healthy blush of her own. "Come to think of it, that was a lot of fun, and pretty exciting, too."

Ginny chuckled, even as she picked up her tray and headed back out into the dining room. She delivered the soup and salads to Warren and Ed Jessop, who sat at one of the smaller tables in the back and were having a bit of a heated discussion about tourniquets, of all things. The door opened, and when she looked up, she shook her head.

"My, we got busy all of a sudden."

Since she'd gone into the kitchen, several new customers had come into l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes. Bernice Benedict-Kelsey's mother-in-law-and her daughter Susan sat at a table beside one that held Samantha Kendall and Tamara Jones, soon-to-be Kendall. Anna Jessop, Warren and Ed's mom who was also the curator of the museum, sat with Tracy's mother and Anna's cousin, Heather Jessop. Ginny smiled when she realized the family connections were becoming a lot clearer to her than they had been just weeks before.

Now Grandma Kate had just walked in, and she gave Ginny a big smile. "It looks like a party in here, doesn't it?"

"Yes ma'am, I was just thinking that very thing. I was wondering what was happening that y'all arrived for lunch just now."

"Maybe it's kismet," Kate Benedict said. The door opened again, and Julia Benedict and her mother Abigail came in, and Ginny could only shake her head. Something was up, no doubt about it.

"Ah, there you are." Kate beamed a smile to her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. "We'll just sit us down right here," she said as she picked a table by the window. "Now don't you fuss, Ginny. We can see you're the only waitress on today. Just take your time, sweetheart."

Ginny knew there was no arguing with the women of l.u.s.ty, Texas. She thought they were either there to celebrate her return to work or-more likely-there to keep an eye on her until her s.h.i.+ft ended and either Jake or Adam came by to fetch her.

She swallowed back the tears that caught in her throat. If she ever doubted that these amazing women accepted her completely, she doubted no more. Their caring and generosity truly humbled her.

From the first moment that Kelsey, Matt, and Adam had brought her back to l.u.s.ty, she'd never been treated with anything but kindness and warmth and welcome.

She'd never felt so blessed in all her life.

It didn't take her long to make the rounds and take drink orders. She handed out menus, and then set to getting everyone's thirsts seen to, first.

She had to go into the kitchen to make the pot of Darjeeling tea that Kate Benedict seemed to enjoy, lately, at this time of day.

Of course, once she began to brew the tea, Kelsey and Tracy knew Kate was in the house. But they were both surprised when she told them who all else had arrived, too.

"Maybe we'll get a ladies club going here," Kelsey said.

"I bet that if you mentioned the idea, it'd take hold, straight off," Ginny said.

"These scones can sit a bit. Let me give you a hand, Ginny." Tracy whipped off her ap.r.o.n and grabbed an extra order pad.

"If everyone's eating, you better come back with those orders and help me, too, Miss Sous-chef," Kelsey called out.

Ginny didn't think it odd that Kelsey then picked up a pad and followed them out to the dining room.

Since she carried the tray of tea for Kate, Ginny headed there. The sound of feminine chatter had a soothing quality to it. She glanced over at the paramedics, but they didn't seem to notice the increased crowd-or even that their own mother was there.

She supposed that those who grew up here were used to seeing family at every turn. For someone who'd grown up mostly alone, that idea seemed not only remarkable, but wonderful.

Outside the windows, the sun shone down with a particular brightness. Ginny took just a moment to appreciate the day, and found herself wondering whose old yellow Toyota sat parked in front of the pharmacy across the street.

"Are you ready to order?" She pulled her pad and pen out of her pocket, and froze as a movement, only half seen, chilled her to her bones.

The car wasn't empty. It seemed as if someone had hunkered down to sleep, which was very odd...

She knew the shape of that head, that furtive hunch, that darting look. Fear seared her, and for one brief moment she wanted to run away and hide.

And then fear evaporated under an explosion of white-hot rage.

Jake had called him a bully and a coward, and in that instant she knew his words for gospel. There that coward, that bully sat, hiding, lying in wait, for her, or for anyone he deemed smaller and weaker, because he didn't have the b.a.l.l.s to face anyone his own gender or size.

Suddenly aware of the silence around her, she turned and looked at the varying degrees of curiosity and pride on the faces around her. She didn't understand, at first.

"He likely doesn't have the b.a.l.l.s to man up," Kate agreed.

Oh my G.o.d! Did I really say all that out loud?

In the next instant Kate confirmed that she had. "Your mind wandered, sweetheart, and you were talking out loud. But please, continue." And she gave her a huge grin. "You're sounding very fierce."

These women, these wonderful, loving women, didn't realize that a stinking, dirty piece of humanity lay in wait just across the street.

Her fury grew and swirled until it became a righteous anger so huge, she knew it had to be a gift from above. She was done being afraid. She was done being a victim. And she was, by G.o.d, done with Deke Walters.

"If you'll excuse me. I have some trash to deal with."

Ginny didn't stop, and she didn't look back. She simply set down her pad and pen, slipped off her ap.r.o.n, and headed outside and made a beeline for that parked Toyota.

Chapter 19.

Jake recalled once, when he'd been about six years old, Morgan-a bossy ten at the time-had gotten mad at him when he hadn't followed his orders in some game or other. In retaliation Morgan pushed him into down into a mud puddle.

Without raising his voice or making any kind of threat, his brother Adam-a much older seven-stepped forward and looked Morgan in the eye.

Their eldest brother had apologized, helped Jake up, and snuck him into the house to get cleaned up before their mother found out.

He hadn't seen another display of that powerful aura of Adam's, until today.

Jerry Stone had tried to hold his own, but clearly the little s.h.i.+t was completely outcla.s.sed. He sat in a chair in the small motel room, sweat covering his brow and looking as if he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

"So, let's recap, shall we?" Adam said, sounding calm and reasonable. "You're about to be charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive escaped from a county facility; a.s.sault with intent, since your buddy wailed on his guards; a.s.sault with intent on Margaret Morrison-that charge being laid by the Wildwood Crest police-aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice to cross state lines; and providing false identification doc.u.mentation to a suspect for the purposes of said suspect obtaining an airline ticket."

Jake looked at his brother. "I'll bet we could get the feds to cop to a terrorism charge on that last one."

Adam's grin looked positively Machiavellian. "You're right, we could. You're a lawyer, Jake. Any idea what kind of time we're looking at for Mr. Stone, here?"

"Add in the terrorism charge, and it could be decades."

"Decades. That's what I thought. How does that sound to you, Stone?"

"You gotta be f.u.c.king s.h.i.+tting me. You don't have squat. I didn't know Deke had escaped custody. I was an innocent dupe."

"Actually, we do have evidence. You visited him in lockup and were scheduled to testify at his trial. So much for being a dupe. Then, you dropped Walters off at the bus depot, where he got on the express bus for the airport. Don't deny it. We have that on a security video."

"s.h.i.+t."

Jake had thought that Jerry Stone couldn't look any worse, but he'd been wrong.

"Look." Stone fidgeted and then straightened in his chair. "I've got some info for you. I know where Walters is, and I'm willing to deal."

"Really? Maybe I don't believe you. Maybe I think that was just a line you used in your p.i.s.s-poor attempt to try and extort money from the duly-appointed Magistrate of l.u.s.ty, Texas."

"Magistrate? I didn't talk to no magistrate. You're full of it."

Jake grinned. "Yeah, actually, you did. Mother's been the magistrate for the last five years."

"And before that, in the courtroom?" Adam shook his head. "She had the reputation of being a real shark-one that'd eat fish bait like you without batting an eyelash."

"Oh, s.h.i.+t."

Jake wondered if Stone had any other curse words in his repertoire. The little p.r.i.c.k looked even worse now.

"Look, you gotta help me. I'll tell you where Deke is, and"-he seemed to brace himself-"you really don't have a moment to lose if you value that b.i.t.c.h, Ginny Rose. But I want a deal."

Jake felt it, the sense that Stone wasn't bluffing this time. And then it hit him that with him, Adam, and Matt here, no one was left in l.u.s.ty on duty, on alert. Well, s.h.i.+t.

"Best I can do"-Adam drawled the words as if he had all the time and not a care in the world-"is to promise to talk to the prosecutor about cutting you a deal. That's the only offer you're going to get. Take it or leave it."

Stone looked at Adam, then at Jake. Jake kept his features blank, but it felt as if time ground to a halt while the miserable worm considered his options.

"Okay. Okay. He's there, right there in your town, right now. He plans to stake out the restaurant where that b.i.t.c.h works, and grab her when she comes off her s.h.i.+ft. But he looked...I don't know, he looked kind of cold. Who knows what he'll do? I've seen him lose it before, and it ain't pretty. You better get back there."

Adam took one step toward Stone, and the man cringed. "Did you give him a gun?"

"A gun? h.e.l.l, no. I'm not that stupid."

But there was no guarantee, Jake knew, that Walters didn't have a gun anyway.

Adam shot a pointed look at Jake then turned and headed out the door. Matt, who'd been standing just outside, had obviously overheard the entire exchange because he was already racing to his cruiser, likely going to try to radio for backup.

As they left the motel room the state boys entered, ready to arrest the sleaze ball.

"Are you actually going to speak to the prosecutor about a deal for that little p.i.s.sant?" Jake hustled around and got into the pa.s.senger side of Adam's cruiser.

"I keep my word, so of course I am. I'm going to speak to the prosecutor and tell him that I'm against any deal he might want to make with that bottom-feeding sc.u.mbag."

Jake grinned. "I should have known better. Forgive me for doubting you."

"Get calling. Morgan, Jordan, Peter-anyone you can think of. See who's in town and can get over to the restaurant, fast. As long as Ginny stays inside, she's probably safe. I hope."

Adam started the car, threw the s.h.i.+fter into gear, and peeled out of the parking lot.

"We're only thirty minutes away," Jake said as he pulled out his cell phone and began to hit speed dial numbers.

"Thirty? f.u.c.k, Jake, we'll be there in ten."

Righteous anger carried Ginny Rose out the door of l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes. She didn't stop to consider, or think, or even take a breath. Playing in her memory was the fear she'd somehow let Deke Walters breed in her, fear so huge she'd abandoned her baby boy to strangers to protect him, to give him a new life as she prepared to face her own death.

How well she recalled that day! That night Deke had gotten drunk and taken his belt to her with an anger and a vileness she'd never felt before.

She'd managed to get away from him, to run though fields and pastures, not sure if he would catch her, not sure if she would survive. And then she'd somehow managed to come here, to this town, to this haven.

My G.o.d! If I hadn't left Benny here that night, Deke would have killed him then.

Ginny knew that was true down to her soul. Her vision turned red, the color of fury, the color of blood. Ginny approached the car and had a split-second view of dark hair as the b.a.s.t.a.r.d scrunched down further, trying to hide from sight-as a coward would hide. Red-hot rage gave a strength to her arms she'd never felt before. She reached out for the car door handle, grasped it, and gave a mighty yank.

Deke spilled out of the car, clearly caught off guard. Ginny guessed the last thing he ever expected was for his old doormat, Ginny Rose, to come after him.

He recovered quickly as he fell to the ground, turning that fall into a roll as he got his feet under him, ending in a crouch.

He glared at her, meanness in his eyes, his mouth curling up in a snarl. "I'll teach you your place, b.i.t.c.h," he said as he began to rise from his crouch.

Ginny knew one moment of satisfaction when his stare waivered, when she read confusion in his expression as she refused to tremble in fear before him. And then she stepped forward fast, her small hand clenched into a fist, and punched him hard, right in his face.

Walters screamed, both hands covering his nose as he reeled back slightly from the shock. "You b.i.t.c.h! You broke my f.u.c.king nose!" Still, even dripping blood, he stepped toward her, clearly not deterred.

So she kicked him hard, square between his legs. Deke Walters went down, one hand flailing out as he tried to break his fall, just managing not to crack his head on the street. He curled into a ball, clearly unsure what needed his hands the most-his nose or his gonads.

"How do you like that, you son of a b.i.t.c.h? I hate you! I hate you for what you did to me! I hate you for what you did to my aunt!"