Page 28 of Buck (Diver Downeast #2)

Buck decided he’d bring Tex to the meeting at the police department.

The man and his wife were currently enjoying the last couple days of their vacation, but Buck didn’t feel bad for elbowing in on Tex’s off time.

Tex had covertly told Spencer that he was climbing the walls.

Not being plugged in to his vast network of contacts’ problems and mysteries was driving him crazy, and he couldn’t wait to get back to his bank of computers.

As Buck figured, once he’d given Tex a very brief outline of Bobbie’s woes with her brothers, Tex had jumped at the chance to be a fly on the wall at the OPD meeting, and he vowed that with Bobbie’s permission, he’d most certainly peel back all the layers of her sketchy siblings.

Buck hadn’t yet asked Bobbie if it would be okay for Tex to do that deep dive, but he wasn’t worried. He didn’t think she’d have a problem with it.

Just in case, though, he and Tex decided to wait for Bobbie in the parking lot outside the police station to give her a heads up.

“Is Bobbie the girl you’re going to marry?” Tex asked with his ubiquitous, low-key inquisitive drawl as they stood, leaning against Buck’s van, enjoying the mid-summer heat.

Buck laughed. That question hadn’t been far from his mind since he’d laid eyes on Bobbie again.

He wasn’t going to play coy. “I hope so. If I had my way, I’d do it tomorrow.

But when you hear all the details of what happened fifteen years ago, you’ll understand why that isn’t going to happen.

Things went sideways between us, and Bobbie needs more time to make sure I’m the real deal now. ”

“Ah.” Tex nodded sagely. “That makes sense. And in my experience, what you’re describing is the kind of relationship worth fighting for; the rare one that has been battered by severe storms but has survived them.

The couples I know who’ve weathered those gales have always come out stronger on the other end. ”

It sounded like Tex was speaking from experience with a wisdom that had been hard earned, but he didn’t offer details, so Buck didn’t pry.

“Here she comes.” Buck’s whole demeanor lightened as Bobbie pulled into the lot, driving one of her company’s delivery vehicles.

“Hey. That’s the woman who catered Spencer’s wedding,” Tex pointed out astutely.

Buck had been purposely light on details regarding Bobbie so as not to influence Tex’s opinion one way or another. He should have ditched his reservedness. The genius next to him would absolutely have mentally catalogued everyone who had been at last weekend’s celebration.

“Does anything get by you?” Buck asked with a chuckle.

“I don’t like to think so, but my wife and daughter would say differently,” Tex quipped. “I’m not quite as astute as I like to think I am, especially on the home front.”

“You sound like my Dad,” Buck laughed.

His parents had been married for almost fifty years, and it was an ongoing joke as to who was really in charge of things in their family.

Buck and Tex both took a few steps toward Bobbie’s vehicle as she got out and approached.

“Bobbie,” Buck greeted happily. She looked stunning, as always.

Her long dark hair had been swept back with a barrette, and the pretty flowered sundress she wore, showed off her exquisite figure to perfection.

Buck dared lean down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, getting rewarded by a slight blush of color rising up her cheeks.

“Hey, Buck,” she addressed him shyly, then looked around and blinked. “I see you’ve brought a friend, but not our puppies?”

Buck laughed. “Yeah. I thought Tex would be a lot more useful with what we’re doing here than two wet-behind-the-ears dogs.

And then, of course, there’s Sheila. Once she got her eyes on the pups this morning when I stopped by my parents’ house, it was all over.

She pretty much declared that they needed to go to camp with her and my mother today to meet all the kids.

Who was I to deny her? Besides, neither one of our little buggers is house trained yet, so having them outside all day at the lake will make life a whole lot easier for everybody. ”

“Oh.” Bobbie’s eyes grew round. “I hadn’t even thought about house-training. Did they keep you up all night? Did they make any messes in your apartment?”

“No, and yes,” Buck answered with humor.

“Once I got them into their crates, they settled right down and didn’t make any mistakes, but I made a huge one this morning.

I let Cooper out first, then went to open Reyghan’s crate, and while I was busy, Cooper got busy, too.

On the kitchen floor, thank God. Not on the wall-to-wall, so at least it was easy to clean up. ”

Bobbie snorted and grinned. “Reyghan was a good girl, though?”

“Yup. She waited until we were all outside.”

“I’m glad.” Bobbie’s eyes grew curious as she turned and focused on Tex. “I think I’ve seen you before. At Spencer and Tabitha’s wedding, right? You were the one with the cowboy hat.”

“Well, Ma’am…”

Buck could swear that Tex was exaggerating his aw-shucks twang.

“…there were a few of us with cowboy hats, but yes. I was the good looking one sporting that head-gear.”

Mason’s friends from Texas who had attended and wore western garb would probably disagree, but Bobbie looked more than satisfied at Tex’s assertion as she laughed.

“Well, it’s nice to see you again. Are you here for business of your own?”

Now was the time for Buck to fill her in.

“Actually, Tex is an expert at digging into things that people aren’t keen to share, and I thought it might be prudent to ask for his help looking into your brothers. But only if you’re comfortable with that, since they haven’t been a problem lately,” he quickly added.

A troubled scowl swept across her face before it was quickly wiped clear.

“What?” Buck asked.

He was so in tune to Bobbie’s moods; he just knew that something had happened to cause that momentary glitch to her smile.

“Well, Drew and Jeff might have been waiting for me yesterday when you dropped me off.”

“Might have been?” Buck snarled, feeling his ire swell.

“Okay. They were waiting for me.”

“What did they have to say, Ma’am?” Tex questioned, equally as gruff; being drawn in immediately.

“Please. Call me Bobbie,” she demurred, clearly attempting to find her footing.

“They… They were unhappy that I had been out with you, Buck, and… Well, they threatened that if I saw you again, they’d somehow sabotage me with my landlord so I’d have to go back and live with them again, which…

No thank you.” She shivered, distastefully.

“If that wasn’t enough, they said they’d make sure things ‘got ugly’ for you and your new business. ”

Buck growled. “They better watch?—”

He stopped short when he caught a glimpse of the bruises on Bobbie’s arm and chin.

They were definitely finger imprints.

“Did one of those assholes touch you?” he growled, his hand lifting of its own accord to gently caress the ugly marks.

“Drew,” Bobbie sighed, her eyes dropping to the pavement. “But it’s not too bad. I was able to pull away before he really hurt me.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Bobbie?” His voice was rough, but clearly she heard the concern in it.

Bobbie huffed. “Okay. Fine. He also yanked my hair, and my scalp still hurts.”

Buck was ready to go find the pricks immediately, but was stopped from running off when, with a hand on his shoulder, Tex shook his head.

“Might I suggest, Ma’…uh, Bobbie,” Tex offered, “that while we’re at the police station, you file a restraining order against your brothers?

The police can document your bruises today, so a judge will grant your petition.

” The look on Tex’s face was equally as enraged as Buck’s, but he was controlling his tone, which Buck knew he wasn’t able to do.

Bobbie bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. Won’t that make them even angrier? Won’t they target me even more if I sic the authorities on them?”

Buck gave a growl. “I’ll keep you safe. And if they dare try anything, they’ll find themselves in a world of hurt.”

Tex took a more diplomatic approach. “Paperwork is easy. Just think about it, okay? They’ll be breaking the law if they go into your apartment or your business, or even if they approach you on the street. It might make your life easier, knowing they’ll do jail time if they bother you again.”

“Speaking of jail time.” Bobbie squared her shoulders. “Let’s go talk to Chief Ildavorg and get the whole story of what they did fifteen years ago. Maybe we can find some charges from back then that will still stick, today.”

Buck had a different thought. “Or perhaps Tex will find out that the pair are currently doing something that’s not so above-board, and that will be new ammunition to see them incarcerated,” he suggested.

Buck wouldn’t hold out hope that any petty crimes would be punished sufficiently, because a lot of small-time criminals—of which the pair no doubt were—recieved a fine and a slap on the wrist these days.

Huh. Maybe the restraining order would be a good thing to put in place.

They’d talk about that with Mason and the chief.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Buck put a hand on Bobbie’s slim waist, and it felt right. Perfect. He tamped down a groan. If he was lucky, he’d get to spend the rest of his life touching her like this.

Once inside the station, the person manning the desk greeted them, and having been told to expect them, the group was immediately led back to Chief Ildavorg’s office.

Mason and the chief were already there, and both stood up to shake hands.

“Bobbie. Buck,” the chief greeted. “It’s good of you to come. And this is…?” He took in Tex’s measure, and obviously liked what he saw, because his welcoming smile didn’t falter.

“John Keegan,” Tex stuck out his hand to first the chief, then Mason. “But they call me Tex. Hello again, Mase,” he acknowledged.

“Hey, Tex,” Mason acknowledged.