Page 76 of Trouble Comes in Threes

Famous last words, but I was planning to hold him to them whenever he found out about Austin and everything else.

Chapter Sixteen

I gave Jed and Neely Kate the option to stay home for the night, but they insisted on coming over. He’d planned on grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids, so we stuck with the plan. I suspected part of it was that Jed was worried about me and the kids, but he had no reason to be worried, given Dermot had some men in a car watching the house from the field to the north of our property.

Jed tried to pry more information out of Neely Kate and me, but we insisted we’d told him everything we knew.

“Why don’t you call Dermot and get the scoop from him?” I suggested while I watched Liam toddle around the back yard with Muffy. Neely Kate and I were lounging in lawn chairs with margaritas—Neely Kate’s drink a virgin—while Jed worked the grill. It was still cool, so we were all bundled up in jackets. Hope and Daisy were chasing dandelion seeds while Mikey tried to teach Liam how to kick a soccer ball. Ashley half-heartedly swung on the swing set Joe and Jed had installed several years ago.

“I already called him.”

I turned to look up at him. “And? Does he have new information?”

“You’re supposed to be stayin’ out of it,” Jed grunted as he flipped a burger.

“I got dragged into this, and now Dermot has men watching my family. Like it or not, I’m involved.”

He sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“I do,” I said, my anxiety rising. “But I need to know if someone is coming for me or my kids.”

Jed put the spatula on the side of the grill before he walked over to me and squatted, holding my gaze. “You and the kids are safe. I’m here. Dermot’s men are watching from several angles.”

“Several?” I asked in surprise. “I know about the guys to the north.”

“There are also a couple of guys in the field to the south.”

I was really slipping. “Oh.”

He put his hand over mine. “You’re safe.”

“I’m safe with protection, but is anyone out to get me, Jed?”

His face turned grim. “I don’t know yet.”

I nodded. “Which means Dermot doesn’t know yet.” But he had to be worried if he’d posted multiple men near my property.

“He’ll let me know as soon as he does.”

“Excuse me?” I said, sitting upright. “He’ll let you know?”

“The less contact between you two, the better.”

He was right, and I knew it, but it still irked me. I wasn’t the stupid naive woman I’d been before my mother’s murder, content to let other people run my life. If I let Jed be the go-between, it felt like I was slipping back into that girl. Still, my husband was the sheriff, and if word got out that Joe’s wife had been conversing with the alleged head of the county crime world, it wouldn’t look good.

Setting my glass on the table between Neely Kate and me, I got up and walked over to Liam and played with him and Mikey until the burgers were done.

After I got the kids inside to wash their hands, Neely Kate and I carried the side dishes we’d made outside to the large outdoor table. The kids were excited to be eating outside, even if it was chilly, but the adults were quieter than usual. Thankfully, the only one who seemed to notice was Ashley. She gave us all funny looks but didn’t call attention to it.

Jed wanted to stay until Joe showed up, but I insisted he take his family home, assuring him I had a security system, heavy duty locks, and a shotgun locked up in Joe’s gun cabinet should I need it, not to mention my bodyguards outside. Part of me was worried Joe would notice them, but Jed had assured me they were well out of sight. Given I hadn’t noticed all of them myself, I suspected he was right.

“Besides,” I said. “Joe’s gonna think it’s weird if you’re here so late. He’ll be suspicious.”

“As he should be. You need to tell him,” Jed said.

“I know, but we’ll see how tired he is when he gets home. If he’s exhausted, I’ll tell him tomorrow morning.”

He searched my face but finally said, “Okay.”

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