Chapter 21
Nina
Icouldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me as I crossed the street to Grannie’s. Damn, Smith. Damn Steel and his scary friend. Their visits— interrogations—robbed me of my peace, my sleep, and now my sense of safety.
My concealer couldn’t hide the bags under my eyes, but I had to put on a cheerful face so I could serve coffee to the early risers. Normally, I loved my job and chatting with our customers, but today wasn’t a normal day.
Beth greeted me as I crossed the dining room. The kitschy old style saloon decor no longer felt fun or welcoming. The dark wood tables and worn leather stools felt like omens of dark things to come.
“Morning, Beth,” I forced my customer service smile on my face.
Stupid Austin and his rugged good looks and emotionless personality. No, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d shown concern when I spilled my coffee, so he was capable of having emotions.
When I walked behind the bar to prep for opening, Beth hugged me. Her hand rubbing my back offered the kind of motherly support I didn’t know I needed. I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back my tears.
“How about I run the register today? You stay back here and make drinks,” Beth suggested.
I nodded so my voice wouldn’t crack and give away how close I was to losing my shit.
To take my mind off the shitshow that was my life, I asked Beth about Chase, and she happily shared. Hearing about Chase and his first year baseball adventures never failed to make me smile.
Mary and John stopped by during my morning break to check on me. When they asked me to talk in Mary’s office, I thought for sure I was in trouble because of all the craziness and potential danger I’d brought to Grannie’s.
I wondered if they checked on Austin. Their emotionless nephew wouldn’t need anyone checking on him.
“Nina, I know you’re probably confused, but I want you to know, the boys and I are looking into what happened to your birth and foster parents,” John said from his chair in Mary’s office.
I choked out my gratitude.
“We’re here if you want to talk,” Mary added. It felt good to have her Mama Bear energy directed at me.
“Thank you. Have you found anything?”
It’d been less than twenty-four hours, so I didn’t expect a yes.
“Not yet, but we’re looking. I’ll call Austin today and get as much info as I can.”
“I don’t understand why an insurance company is looking for me after twenty-six years.”
A lawyer might, if I would inherit a fortune. Yeah right. But why an insurance investigator?
It wasn’t like I’d filed a false claim. How could I? I didn’t even know their names.
Not until yesterday.
“It’s not that simple,” John answered. “And as soon as I can, I’ll fill you in.”
As soon as he can? What does he know that he’s not telling me?
“Am I in trouble?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Am I in danger?”
John’s pause as he looked at Mary was all the answer I needed.
“Maybe, but I don’t know enough to elaborate.”
Tears threatened to spill again as I clutched my hands in my lap. I’d lived my whole life without knowing a single thing about my parents, and the first time I learned anything—which was next to nothing—I learned I might be in danger because of them.
“Who are they?” I muttered, more to myself than to the Sheppards.
“Your parents?” Mary asked.
Stress made me want to be snarky, but I bit my tongue. They were trying to help me and didn’t deserve my stress induced rudeness.
“I literally know nothing about them. How can I be in danger because of them?” I asked.
“I wish I had answers,” John said. “For now, we’ll monitor Grannie’s for any more suspicious visitors.”
Monitor Grannie’s? More people might come looking for me? What if they found me? What if they went to my house?
“Is my grandmother in danger?”
“I’ve asked Weatherford PD to do extra drive-bys.”
John’s answer made my anxiety worse, not better.
“If you see anything, or notice anyone new hanging around, or acting odd, let me know.”
Weatherford’s a tourist town; there are always unfamiliar faces in Grannie’s.
Mary’s phone buzzed. She read the text, then handed her phone to John.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, handing it back to Mary.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s someone asking about you at the counter,” Mary answered.
My breath caught in my throat. Are they after me?
Mary pulled up the security feeds on her computer, and we watched as John greeted the two people standing at the end of the counter.
He shook their hands with a smile and talked to them for a minute before they left.
I sucked in a gulp of air as the door shut behind them.
“Who were they?” The guys reminded me of Mary’s nephew. Only more menacing. Their smiles looked fake, even on camera, and they never stopped looking around.
“I don’t know.”
When John returned to the office, I repeated the question.
“I don’t know, but they’re not who they claim to be.” He tapped his phone screen before putting it to his ear. “Jamie, I need you to pull up the Grannie’s feed and have Doug run facial recognition on the two guys who just left.”
After a brief pause, he said, “Thanks, have Jay send someone to Grannie’s.”
“Nina, for now, I don’t want you leaving without an escort.”
Mary paid me well, but I couldn’t afford SSI’s rates. “I can’t afford—”
“Don’t worry about the cost; you’re family, and we protect our own,” Mary said.
This time, my tears were from gratitude.
I’m family? More than anything, I wanted that to be true. Not because they wouldn’t charge me for protecting me, but because I’d always wanted a big, crazy family.
“Thank you. Can I still work?” I couldn’t afford to lose hours; Nana depended on me to help with the bills.
“Yes.” John glanced at his phone. “But not until Matt gets here. He’ll stay with you today. We’ll figure out our next steps before your shift is over.”
Overnight I’d gone from being a nobody, a boring working college student, to needing a bodyguard.
What the fuck were my birth parents involved in?