Hard as Stone(109)
The room was quiet as Harmony met Jacob’s eyes for a long, electrically charged moment before she finally nodded slightly. Releasing the breath he held, Jake tipped his head down to brush his lips against Heaven’s temple one last time. “Momma and I will be there shortly, Princess. Be good for us now, alright?”
Heaven nodded before Jake shifted the little girl into Cain’s strong arms.
“Cain,” Harmony called worriedly as Faith joined her husband at the door. She bit her lip uncertainly as she stared at her daughter. Her baby had been through so much already. She didn’t need to witness her mother having a showdown with the only father figure she’d had in her young life, but still, she was reluctant to allow her out of sight.
“I’ll guard her with my life, Harmony,” Cain vowed, meeting Harmony’s eyes with a seriousness that she knew she could trust. “I’m armed and alert.”
“And I’ve got deputies following them home,” Zeke added, moving toward Honor.
Surprised to hear his voice, Harmony turned toward the sheriff. She’d never noticed him rejoining the group. “Did you find him?” she asked quickly.
“No, he’s in the wind,” he said quietly. “We will catch him, Harmony. I’ve got roadblocks up at every major exchange, and we’ve contacted the hospital in case he tries to have his wound looked at.”
“He won’t. I don’t think I did more than slice him,” Harmony muttered, running a hand down her face.
Clearing her throat as she took a half step toward Patience away from Zeke, Honor looked around the room. “I suggest everyone meet back at the house in an hour. I’ll help Patience and Abel close up the front of the café. I think it goes without saying that we’ll be closed tonight,” she pronounced, exchanging a look with her sisters.
“You’re going home, too,” Zeke interrupted, his attention focused on Honor. “Patience and Abel are capable of turning out the lights.”
“I’ll take her home, Honor. Don’t worry,” Abel assured the youngest sister, ignoring Patience’s eye roll.
“I’ve got deputies on everybody and I’ve called in some reinforcements. Zach and Slade will be at the house in a couple of hours,” Zeke informed the group in a deep voice.
“Who?” Jacob questioned, propping one hand on his hip as he stared at the Sheriff.
It was Harmony that answered the question. “Zach is Zachariah Monroe, Zeke’s brother. People around here call him Ice. He’s a retired Green Beret. Slade is Slade Carter and he’s one of our cousins. He owns a construction business in town, but he’s a former Navy Seal.” Directing a worried look at the Sheriff, she whispered, “You think we’ll need their help?”
“I think it’s all hands on deck when you girls are involved, and I think the men here would all agree that we’re all done taking chances. That bastard got to you and Honor right underneath our noses. That shit is not happening again,” Zeke replied harshly. Turning to Jake, he added, “They’re both good men that know how to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. It’s done.”
Jake simply nodded as he watched Harmony cross the room to her daughter and press a kiss against the child’s cheek.
“I’ll see you at home, baby,” she whispered, brushing Heavens hair behind her ear.
“We’ll be there,” Faith said, squeezing Harmony’s hand before she followed Cain and Heaven out the door.
“That new waitress y’all hired got rid of all the customers earlier when all hell broke loose. I sent her home after that. I didn’t figure you’d want everyone to know what was going on. There’s still some cleaning up to do. Patience and I will start tackling that,” Abel offered, capturing Patience’s wrist and tugging her toward the door.
Patience was reluctant, but she went with him, giving each of her sisters a brief, but tight hug on the way out. That left Honor, Zeke, Harmony and Jake standing in the kitchen staring at each other...or rather, Zeke staring at Honor and Jake staring at Harmony. Honor and Harmony mostly kept their eyes on each other rather than look at the men.
Finally shifting his eyes from Harmony to Honor, Jake silently noted that each woman looked shell-shocked. Too much drama in too short a time had taken a heavy toll on them both. The truth was they both looked like they could drop anytime. “Honor,” he said quietly, “I’d like to speak to Harmony alone.”
“He’s right, Honor.” Zeke supported the other man with a nod. “They need to talk privately. We should go, honey.”