Jardin's Gamble (Haven, Texas 9)

She’d even found a job. She couldn’t use any of her former references, so it was just a job cleaning some houses and businesses. Her boss, Marcy, was getting on in years and needed some help. The pay wasn’t a lot, but the owner of the motel was giving her a cheap, weekly rate and she was on the lookout for a small rental.

The people there were unusual. And Maddox was right, polyamorous relationships were very normal. And there was even a BDSM club, Saxon’s. Which most of the population of Haven seemed to be members of. It was crazy how open everyone was. And friendly. But it wasn’t home.

As she hurried down the street towards the diner, a strange feeling came over her. She paused and looked around. It felt like someone was watching her.

She shook it off. There was no way Silvers could have found her. They’d taken every precaution.

Don’t bother trying to run or hide. I will find you. And it won’t end well for you.

Panic flooded her and she fought hard to take a breath. Maybe she should grab the boys and run again. But she didn’t know that Silvers had found her. And she couldn’t help but feel safe here. Maddox had been telling the truth when he’d told her the men of Haven were protective of women. She’d seen signs of it all over the place.

She was just being paranoid. She had a new burner phone, she’d left her old one at the mall where she and the boys had changed clothes. She hadn’t used any of her cards. And Marcy was paying her under the table.

She’d been worried about enrolling the boys in school, but after talking to the school they’d promised that no one would be able to track the boys down. They’d also told her to go speak to the sheriff if she was in trouble.

It was inevitable that she’d need a chat with the sheriff. Especially from what Maddox had told her about Haven. But she’d avoid it for as long as possible.

She pushed the door of the diner with a yawn. She was so tired. She was trying to keep her spending down so she could afford a down payment on a rental, so she’d just been eating breakfast and dinner. And she was feeling more than a bit light-headed.

Coffee. She needed coffee. Which she could have gotten at the motel, however Marcy suggested she ask the diner owner about her apartment upstairs.

She slid onto a stool at the counter, next to two women who were chatting away with each other.

“Flick, I don’t think you should ask West to marry you,” the woman closest to her said. She had long strawberry-blonde hair and a fairly large baby bump

“Why not? It’s the twenty-first century. Women can ask men to marry them,” the other woman replied. Her dark hair lay in loose waves down her back.

“Yes, but not Malone men,” the first woman hissed back. “They’re cavemen. They haven’t come out of the dark ages. You ask West to marry you and he’ll likely spank your ass.”

She stiffened? These women knew the Malones? And it sounded like at least one of them was involved with one of Maddox’s brothers.

Holy. Shit.

> Maybe she should just slip off the stool and slink away. But there was no use hiding if she was going to live here. And it wasn’t like they knew who she was.

“What can I get ya?” the waitress stepped up to her, chewing gum. Her name tag said Doris.

“Coffee, please,” she said quietly.

Both women had stopped talking beside her.

Doris grunted and poured her a cup of coffee. “You’ll also have pie.”

“Oh, no, thank you.”

“You want pie. You need pie. I’ll get you pie.”

She gaped after the weird waitress in shock. What the hell?

“You get used to her,” the dark-haired woman leaned around the other one to say to her with a smile. “Doris is . . . well . . .”

“Different,” the strawberry-blonde haired woman supplied. She smiled at Thea. “Hi, I’m Mia.”

Holy. Shit. Maddox had talked about Mia. She was married to his brother, Alec, who spanked her when she broke the rules.

Thea really wished she didn’t know that. She could feel her cheeks getting red.

“And I’m Flick,” the other woman said cheerfully while Mia studied her closely.