Anita's Triple Temptation [Men of Montana 4] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Read Online Free

down. The nurse looked from Kevin and then James and Dave as they arrived. Speculatively she began to ask the questions the men had dreaded as the orderlies took Anita away from them.
    “What is her name?”
    “Anita. Anita Cummings. She was working at the Tipsy Tavern and a customer got upset with her,” James answered, trying to remain calm.
    The nurse let out a sigh of relief which all three men noticed.
    Dave stepped forward. “We don’t go around hurting women, ma’am. We protect them the best we can.”
    The brunette backed up just a bit. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t implying anything, but we have to ask. We have to protect our patients by asking questions.”
    “Ma’am,” Kevin drawled calmly. “We brought her in ourselves because we didn’t want to wait for an ambulance. She hasn’t regained consciousness since she was knocked out. We’re very worried about her.”
    “I understand. Why don’t you guys wait in the waiting room and I’ll be out to update you on her condition once the doctor examines her,” the nurse said kindly.
    “I don’t suppose Doc Anderson is on duty tonight,” asked James hopefully.
    Shaking her head negatively, she answered. “No. I’m sorry. He’s not. But I’ll be sure to notify him that she was brought in.”
    “Thank you,” Kevin said, tipping his Stetson. “Please let him know the guys from the Circle G brought her in, please.”
    The nurse turned and disappeared through the double metal doors while the men made their way to the waiting room. The thought that this was where this journey had begun came across both James’s and Dave’s minds. The day that Anita’s life had taken a turn for the worse, but in essence, turned seven lives around.
    Again, as in many times in the past months, they each took a seat. Stretching out their legs in front of them, they removed their hats as manners sank into their psyche, ingrained in them as children.
    Glancing around, there was only one other person in the room this time. It was an elderly man who looked as if he had been crying, a million miles etched upon every wrinkle on his face. His hands were clasped together in his lap, knuckles white with the tightness.
    Dave grimaced at the thought that that could possibly be them with Anita as the fear still ruled his body at the moment. Fingering the scar upon his cheek, glimpses of the past converged upon his mind as he remembered his hospital visit as a child. Every day when he looked in the mirror, he had to remember the reason he had the scar, but it was only during incidents such as this did he remember the full extent of that day.
     
    * * * *
     
    It had been a beautiful summer day. He was nine and staying with his grandparents, his favorite thing to do while on vacation. He was out early with the ranch hands as they began to break some colts. Sitting on top of the wooden fence, he had been watching the men work for several hours before his grandfather came out to check on the progress.
    Feeling the presence of the man he admired and loved so much before he saw him, Dave turned to watch the large man make his way over to the corral. The man wasn’t like any of the grandfathers of his friends in the city. He was tall and muscular but not overly so, as he didn’t work as hard on the ranch as he used to. He didn’t have a paunch belly like other older men. Gray dominated in the thick hair on his head, with a matching, large mustache that drooped down past the sides of his mouth. The ever-present thick brown cigar stuck out from the side of that mouth. This time it was lit since he was away from the house. The woman, who had been his wife for forty years, fearing for his health, had insisted he cut back. Twice a day he took the liberty of having this indulgence, once in the morning and once in the evening.
    Dave’s grin was wide as the man approached him, though his grandfather wasn’t one to smile back, much. This morning, he did have a slight smile as he reached out and