Page 9 of Jolene's Justice

Jolene glanced at him over her shoulder from where she sat. “Da, this is my friend Finch.”

“Finch?” Mr. Pritchett echoed with a slight questioning tilt of his head, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

Finch stepped up to his bedside and held out a hand. “Atticus Mobey, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Mr. Pritchett studied him as he shook his hand. A slow smile spread before he said, “Atticus.To Kill a Mockingbird. I get it. Very clever.”

“My master sergeant thought so,” Finch responded.

“Army?”

“Air Force, sir.”

“Ma name’s Gorden. Gled tae meet ye. An airman, huh? Thank ye for your service.”

“You’re welcome.”

“How do you know my Jolene?”

“He’s a Nighthawk,” Jolene said, simplifying their relationship for her father.

“One of those rescue guys you told me about?”

“Yeah. He works with Emma.” Emma Watterson was one of their newest Nighthawks. Emma and Jolene’s paths first crossed in college, but while Jolene honed her culinary skills, Emma opted for a career in the Coast Guard. It was only recently that he and his fellow Nighthawks learned the reason why she’d left the Coast Guard. Her tragic tale took a turn for the better when she was put in charge of training Marcus Rayne, the A-list actor who was producing a movie about the Nighthawks. Emma and Marcus were now blissfully in love and currently traveling the world for the movie’s premiere.

“And how’s our Emma girl doing?”

Despite Jolene’s efforts to hide it with a smile, Finch could sense that she was missing her friend. “She’s good. She and Marcus are promoting the new movie about the Nighthawks.”

“That finally got made?”

“Yes. It comes out next month. We’re all going to the premiere.”

“That’s pure barry. Cannae wait to see it.”

Finch raised a brow and looked down at Jolene. “Pure barry?”

She translated. “He’s saying it’s fantastic.” Then she looked back at her father sternly. “You’re not going anywhere unless you start telling the truth about your health.”

“Och, lassie. Right back at ye.” With tense silence between them, the father-daughter duo locked eyes. As they stared each other down, the father’s jaw clenched and the daughter’s eyes narrowed. They were both unyielding, their stubbornness evident with each passing moment. As a fellow redhead, Finch knew firsthand about the tenacity that came with the stubborn gene. Maybe that was why he could never give up hope of gaining favor with Jolene again.

Jolene relented first, her shoulders sagging in defeat. “Really, Da. I’m fine. Just some issues at work. No big deal.”

“Is that feckin’ fandan bawbag still causing you trouble?” Gorden’s eyes narrowed, and his lips tightened, his expression turning fierce. Gorden’s tone betrayed his extreme dislike for whoever he was talking about.

Had he not been paying attention, Finch would have missed Jolene’s reaction entirely. It was as if her entire being was holding its breath, every muscle in her body coiled tight. Curiosity piqued, he resolved to discover the identity of this enigmatic “bawbag” and the troubles they had brought upon Jolene.

“No, Da,” she hissed in answer to her father’s question. “Nothing like that.” She sent a subtle sideways glance in Finch’s direction, as if hoping he didn’t notice her unease. “And we don’t talk about that, remember?”

“Pshaw. You should talk about him. It wasn’t fair what he did to you.” Finch was intrigued, and he needed to know more. Had this guy hurt Jolene? Rage surged through him at the mere thought of some man laying hands on her. If that was the case, he’d do whatever it took to find the person who had wronged her and make him regret it.

Jolene’s eyes briefly met Finch’s, but then she turned away, as if silently conveying to her dad that she didn’t want to discuss it in front of him. That was fine. He knew it would take time, but he was patient, and eventually, he’d get the story from her.

“Not here, Da. Please.”

Gorden’s mouth opened as if to say something, but then he shook his head, shifted in the bed, and remained silent. Her ramrod straight posture in her chair betrayed her tension.

A knock on the door preceded a doctor’s entrance. Jolene greeted him with a barrage of inquiries as soon as he stepped into the room. She was clearly very worried about her father.

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