Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall

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СКАЧАТЬ was drowning his sorrows. If only life were that easy. Unfortunately, getting lost in the bottle didn’t fix anything and reality was always waiting for you on the other side.

      Noah glanced over the menu and quickly chose the loaded garbage burger. Anything that combined a burger with bacon, onion rings and barbecue sauce was for him. Sign him up. The messier the better.

      “Sorry about that,” Gray said as he came back. He nodded toward the menu. “Decide what you want?”

      Noah placed his order and pulled his phone from his jacket pocket. He’d apparently had it on vibrate and had missed some texts from Lucy. Worried something was wrong, he opened the messages. Clearly there was no need to worry because his daughter was having a blast.

      One picture had Emma wearing a huge apron tied in knots around her waist and neck. She was holding her hands up, palms out to show all the dough she’d been mixing. He scrolled down to see another, this time a selfie with Emma and Lucy, wide smiles across their faces.

      His heart flipped in that second. There were two wounded souls bonding and living in the moment. They were virtual strangers, yet they appeared to be having the time of their lives. And Noah couldn’t deny that attraction he’d initially had for Lucy grew even more. Something was happening here—nothing he was ready to put a label on quite yet, but definitely something more than just friendship.

      How could that be? He wasn’t ready for more…was he?

      Noah scrolled on to some action shots of Emma kneading the dough and forming it in the bread pans, then the last photo of her holding up a bag of chocolate chips. Obviously cookies were next. There were many things Noah could do with Emma, but baking was definitely not his area of expertise.

      The music in the bar switched from fast-paced to something slow and sultry. Noah took a drink of his soda and glanced around. The woman Gray had been eyeing earlier now danced with one guy, her arms draped lazily around his neck. Noah figured in this small town, he’d hear the gossip soon enough about that pretty blonde. Funny how her short skirt and plaid shirt tied at the waist did nothing for him, but the headstrong dispatcher who dressed on the conservative side did more than he should allow.

      A waitress came with his burger and fries and set the plate next to his drink. “Can I get you anything else?”

      “This will be fine. Thanks.”

      He sent off a text to Lucy informing her he’d be back within the hour. Maybe he’d get to sample the baked goods.

      The commotion behind him caught Noah’s attention. He hadn’t even tasted his burger yet before he was off his stool. Gray was standing between the blonde and the guy she’d been dancing with. The blonde didn’t look happy, neither did Gray, and the other guy was yelling something about Gray minding his own business.

      Noah quickly crossed the scarred floor. “Problem?”

      Gray kept his grip on the guy’s shirt. “Just taking out the garbage.”

      “I can handle myself,” the lady argued.

      The guy in the strangle hold gripped Gray’s wrists. “She shouldn’t dress like that.”

      Gray’s face literally turned red as he reared back with a closed fist. Noah jumped in just in time, but managed to take the brunt of that fist on his jaw. He shoved the other guy out of the way, someone screamed, and Noah held both of his arms out. Keeping these two guys from fighting was key, not the fact his jaw was throbbing.

      “Damn, man. You all right?” Gray asked.

      Noah shot him a glance. “Maybe you need to go in the back and cool off. I’ll take care of things here.”

      Gray glared at the other guy.

      “Now, Gallagher,” Noah demanded.

      Gray turned to the woman and she merely shook her head and went back to her table of friends. Now that Noah was close, he recognized her as one of Lucy’s friends from the meeting that first night.

      Whatever the story was, he was sure he’d hear it because he was going to go have a detailed get-to-know-you meeting with Gray Gallagher very shortly.

      Once Gray left them, Noah turned to the other guy. “What happened?”

      “He tried to punch me.”

      Noah wasn’t in the mood. He had a burger waiting on him and he highly doubted Gray would’ve just sabotaged his business and threatened a patron for no reason. Yes, a woman was a valid motivation for a man to get fired up over, but Noah figured he would’ve heard about issues with Gallagher’s if a bar fight was a normal occurrence.

      “What did you do to her?” Noah asked, thumbing over his shoulder toward Lucy’s friend.

      Of course the guy said nothing, but kept his eyes level with Noah in an arrogant expression.

      “Now would be a good time for you to go.”

      The guy snorted. “And who the hell are you?”

      “Officer Spencer, Stonerock PD.” He waited a beat. “Any more questions?”

      The guy glanced to where Lucy’s friend sat, then back to Noah. “She’s not worth it.”

      “She’s worth more, so get the hell out of here.”

      Muttering a string of curses, the guy headed out of the bar.

      Once he’d left, Noah crossed to the table of ladies. “Everything all right here?”

      Lucy’s friend stared up at him with wide brown eyes. She flashed him a smile that no doubt had many men bowing to her commands. He felt nothing.

      “I’m fine.” She extended her hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Kate McCoy.”

      Noah shook her hand. “Noah Spencer.”

      “I’ve heard about you from Lucy.”

      Fantastic. Just what he wanted to be part of. Girl gossip.

      “I’m Tara Bailey.” Noah shifted his attention to the raven-haired beauty across the booth. He recognized her from the meeting, too. “I figured Lucy was with you since we invited her out tonight and she turned us down. She never turns us down.”

      They figured she was with him? Just what did that mean? No way was he about to tell them she was with his daughter. That would only add more fodder to the rumor mill. With him being new to town, he was trying like hell to stay off the radar. Plus, being an officer of the law, he prided himself on privacy. Clearly he was failing on both counts.

      “I’m just here for the burgers,” he replied, ready to be done here. “Have a good evening, ladies.”

      As he headed back to his vacated stool, he wondered if he should get his food to go so he could get back to Lucy and Emma. Then he noticed Gray standing on the other side of the counter.

      “Sorry about that.” The bartender gestured toward Noah’s jaw. “You going to arrest me for clocking you?”

      Noah СКАЧАТЬ