Page 73 of Silver Linings
“Sounds like a beautiful life.”
“It’s been a tough one for sure. But there’s beauty even in the toughest of moments, if you know where to look.” Dolly waved at Sage as she sighed.
“You said some of your sons help run the ranch?”
“Yes. My oldest, Colton, is a deputy with the sheriff’s department. He still lives at the ranch, though. Poor guy had a tough night last night. Apparently, someone attacked a woman over at Davney’s. Never had such a thing happen here before, I swear.”
Lily swallowed thickly, her eyes drifting down to the table.
“Oh no. It wasn’t you, was it, dear?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Are you alright? That must have been awful to go through.”
“Luckily, my husband’s boss was there and able to handle the situation.”
“Lord.”
“Dolly, did your son say anything about the man? He’s someone from around here, right? Just a little off, but someone who wouldn’t really hurt me?”
“You didn’t know him, hon?”
“No.”
“Here I was thinking it was some domestic dispute. But no, Colton didn’t say anything other than he didn’t recognize the man. Must be someone just passing through. Lord, I hope if he’s released, he just moves on.”
Shivers ran down Lily’s spine. “Yeah, I hope so too.”
The bell at the counter chimed, and Jessie waved at her mom.
“I better be getting back to it. My daughter loves to tease me about taking up people’s time with my need to chit-chat. You just let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will. Thank you, Dolly.”
“Don’t be a stranger, sweetheart. You and Sage are now a part of my family. And I need you to bring that SEAL of yours here soon. I’ve got a catalog of eye-candy in my mind and it could use some refreshing.” Her mischievous wink made Lily laugh, even though she wasn’t sure how she felt about her husband being in someone’s fantasy rotation.
With more than half the glass drained of water, and no more bouts of dizziness, Lily took Sage out of her stroller to nurse. The diner was quiet for the time of day, just a few strangers here or there that occasionally looked over at her. Not wanting to shock the patrons, Lily opted to drape a nursing cover over herself and Sage. Her sweet baby happily snuggled down and began nursing.
For a few minutes, Lily just watched the world passing by her. When Sage seemed perfectly content to continue, Lily found herself mesmerized by the condensation forming on the outside of her glass.
“Lily?”
The familiar voice coming from the side of her table startled her. Sage moved beneath the nursing cover, but still seemed happy with her air-conditioned snack.
“Stone? What are you doing here? I thought you guys had a big team meeting today.”
“We did. But Dolly called. Said one of our wives was down here feeling a little under the weather.”
“Why did she call you? Does Gunner know I’m here?” She looked out the window for any sign of him stomping down the street as Stone slid into the booth across from her. “He’s going to be so mad at me for walking all this way.”
“Well, I think I’ve told Dolly one too many stories about my time as a medic. She’s just got this way of sliding pie in front of me and lowering all my defenses.”
Lily laughed. “Yeah, she seems like she could get information from just about anyone. What about Gunner?”
“When Dolly said wife, I kind of knew it was you. Figured maybe I’d just come to make sure everything was okay, and we could keep it our little secret that you wandered off today.”
Lily groaned. Clearly, Gunner had told the guys what she was supposed to be doing. “Did he tell everyone about my plans for the day?”