Page 26 of Smitten with the Single Dad

“So does this mean she needs to now worry about murder charges,andICE?” Brooke asked.

Gabrielle’s eyes turned serious as she zeroed in on Vica. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to any of that. But right now, all I will tell you is to keep your nose clean. Don’t talk to anybody besides us, and … I think this goes without saying, but,” she sighed heavily, “don’t leave town.”

A hot tear slid down Vica’s cheek. “I have nowhere to go anyway.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“I’ll be in touch,” Gabrielle said as she and Wyatt walked out of his house and he saw her to her car. Brooke and Justine had already returned home, and Officer Bruce finished questioning Vica, then left. Gabrielle stuck around just a little longer to get a few more details from Vica before taking her leave as well. “But I’ll be honest with you, Wyatt. She needs a support system if she’s going to get through this.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“She’s stubborn, has been without anyone in her corner for a really long time, and is now used to fending for herself. So it may take a bit of extra effort on your part to actually get her to open up and allow you to help her.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

Her gaze turned shrewd. “My ex did a real number on me. Let’s just leave it at that. Turned my family, and his, against me in the process. So I was on my own for a while.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

She dismissed it with a flip of her hand and a headshake. “Whatever. That’s the past. I’m stronger now because of it, and I have a huge support system in my cousins.”

“What can I do to help Vica? Offer her a job here? Submit a visa application and hire her?”

“It’s not that simple. She has an elite set of skills that you’d have to prove are being used here. Otherwise, if you just gave her a serving job it would be argued that she’s stealing a job from an American citizen. It gets complicated and messy. She’s an engineer, so unless you’re looking to start up a solar power company in addition to all the other things you have going on, I’m afraid hiring her as a server or line cook isn’t going to work.”

“Then how does it work for all these backpacking kids who come here from Australia, and Germany, and shit, and get jobs working in restaurants and as surf instructors?”

“They’re on temporary travel visas and can work a certain amount of hours while on their travel visa. And a lot of them work under the table while on a travel visa. I’m not well-versed in this section of law, and I can look into it more if you’d like, but I don’t think it’s as cut-and-dried as you’re hoping for.” Her frown said she was equally frustrated with the system as he was. “Trust me when I say I don’t agree with any of this either. Both companies have done Vica dirty, and she’s going to be the one to pay the ultimate price if we don’t help her.”

“Anything. Just name it. We’ll even cover your legal fees if we have to.”

He could hear Bennett’s voice in his head. “We? The business does not have that kind of capital.”

Gabrielle dismissed him with another wave of her hand. “We’ll figure it out. But I’m not charging my normal hourly rate. I don’t practice law anymore, even though I still renew my license. And given the circumstances, it’s the least I can do for someone who just went through what Vica did.”

Wyatt smirked.

“Surprised there’s a heart inside this icy exterior?”

“You said it, not me.” His lip twitched, and he glanced away for a moment before leveling his gaze back on her. “Thank you though, Gabrielle. We really appreciate it. Even though we’re all in competition for Bonn Remmen’s land,it’s nice to know that when shit hits the fan, we can put our differences aside and come together as a community.”

“That’s business. This is personal. This is a person who needs help. I am capable of separating the two. Aren’t you?”

He reared back a little at her abrupt change in tone. “Of course I am.”

She nodded. “Good. Like I said, I’ll be in touch.” Then she climbed into her SUV and she drove down to the main gate while he walked alongside her vehicle to punch in the code so the gate swung open. Once it did, she pulled through, offered him a cursory wave, and was gone.

Jogging back and already breaking into a sweat under the unforgiving sun, Wyatt entered his house to hear Griffon and Jake arguing upstairs. About what? He had no fucking clue.

He took the stairs two at a time, only to come up empty when he checked both boys’ rooms. It wasn’t until he got to his room, which was being used by Vica, that he found both boys on his bed with Vica between them. Jake’s book—Vol. 1 of The Evans Twins Chronicles—was on her lap and open.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, taking in the scene and enjoying the warmth that filled his chest.

“Vica was sad, so we came to check on her. She asked what Jake was reading and so we started explaining it to her—”

“But Griffon had it all wrong—”

“No, I didn’t—”

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