Free A Match Made in Mystery by JB Lynn Page A

waited until we were home. My brothers didn’t even do that.”
    “Everything okay?”
    “It will be. See you at the game?”
    “I’ll try to be there. Bye.”
    “Bye.”
    Brady disconnected the call, found Jane’s text, and dialed Alyssa Montgomery.
    She picked up on the first ring, her voice cool. “Hello, Brady.”
    “Alyssa. Thanks for taking my call.”
    “Jane assured me this is a business matter. Is that correct?”
    “It is.” Brady had no doubt that she would have hung up on him if he’d been calling for any other reason. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in a job.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    Brady quickly laid out all that had happened to Mildred Michelman.
    “It does sound like she’s being targeted,” Alyssa agreed.
    “Detective Smith seemed to think she needed protection.”
    “He could be right.”
    “But she’s refused to even entertain the notion of a male bodyguard.”
    “What makes you think she’ll agree to my protection?”
    “I’m hoping I can convince her.” He hesitated for a moment before revealing. “She has a soft spot for me.”
    “Ahh, you flash those baby blues and lay on the charm and she’s putty in your hands just like any other woman?” Alyssa mocked.
    “I think you give me too much credit.”
    “I saw your date at the wedding,” she reminded him. “You seem to specialize in doting geriatrics.”
    Brady winced. “That was Tom’s Aunt Ruby.”
    “You were that hard up for a date, Stewart?”
    “I was doing him a favor,” Brady informed her through gritted teeth.
    “And I’ll do you the favor of meeting with your geriatric protectee. Think you can arrange it for tonight?”
    “Let me call her and see.”
    “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
    As soon as they disconnected, Brady called Mildred and convinced her to at least meet with Alyssa Montgomery.
    By the time he’d called Alyssa back with the meeting details, the parking lot of the restaurant had filled and Busy Bea’s was living up to its reputation.
     

     
    Amy’s right shoulder ached as she hefted the loaded serving tray up into the air, no doubt because of the swing she’d taken at Mildred’s would-be-mugger.
    She could feel his gaze on her across the crowded dining room, but she didn’t look in his direction.
    “A little help on seventeen?” Ann, the only other waitress who’d bothered to show up for their shift, pleaded as she rushed toward the bar to fill the drink orders of a large table.
    “Sure, if you can deliver table twelve’s dinner.”
    “Your stalker?” Ann looked over at the fifty-something man in a plaid shirt who sat alone in Amy’s section. “Sure no problem.”
    Amy let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks.” After delivering her own customer’s orders, Amy strode over to table seventeen and surveyed the group of businessmen laughing loudly at what no doubt was a bawdy joke.
    “Have you gentlemen made your choices?” Amy yelled above the din.
    A couple blinked at her, surprised at her arrival. A few leered. Only one was stupid enough to say, “Are you on the menu, sweetheart?”
    Years of practice enabled Amy to fix him with a steady stare that indicated she wasn’t going to play his game or be a victim of his antics. She counted a beat, two, three, and then, sure enough, he looked away, muttering. “Steak. Well-done.”
    “Baked, mashed, or fries?” she asked calmly, jotting down the order.
    “Fries.”
    After that the rest of the table fell into line and ordered their meals docilely.
    Heading back toward the kitchen, she avoided looking at the man who sat alone before handing off the order to Ann. “Seventeen.”
    “Thanks, Amy. You’re the best. I couldn’t handle them.”
    Amy was pretty sure that Ann’s predilection of wearing tops two sizes too small had made the situation that much more volatile, but she just smiled and kept her opinion to herself.
    “Busy night,” a familiar male voice said from her right.
    She turned in his direction.