Page 27 of Bernadette
“Okay,” Bernie said and looked at him in confusion.
“Trust me, you’re going to want to move into the compound, because that’s where the action is.” They climbed into her truck, but before they could leave, several vehicles pulled up, and everyone got out of their own vehicles to talk. It turned out that Hank Patterson and his people from the Brotherhood Protection Agency were heading home themselves. It was almost two hours before Bernie and Chuck climbed back into her truck, and they pulled out of Wyatt’s driveway.
“Where are we going?” Bernie asked when Chuck barely drove over twenty miles an hour before he slowed down. He only pointed out of the windshield, and she looked up. “Holy fucking hell, what the hell is that?”
“The compound,” Chuck laughed as he pulled the truck in, and parked before the house. That was when Bernie saw others pull in further and disappear inside a building, while two others stayed in the front with them. Before she could get out, one of the trucks that had disappeared, reappeared and this time it was pulling a trailer. By the time everything was all done, Stan had agreed to pull the trailer, loaded with empty boxes, home, and he could use it to haul it back when he and Dottie moved back in a few weeks.
After they left, Chuck turned to her and held his arm out. “Welcome to the Boswell compound, we don’t know what else to call it, and since all the ladies here work for Boswell, the name stuck. Aunt Peggy assured me that she put fresh sheets on both the beds in the spare rooms, so you have your choice.”
“From how many?”
“Two.” Ava laughed at here. “There are eight with their own baths, and we’ve claimed six of them. I don’t think you want to sleep in the basement with Chuck and Carl.”
“Not really.” She laughed, then smirked at Chuck. “No offense.”
“None taken. Let’s get you settled, then we can unpack your truck for you.”
CHAPTER11
“Who lives here?”Bernie asked as she turned to follow Chuck after everyone left, and stopped dead in her tracks. She stopped so suddenly, she stumbled, and sighed in relief when he reached out and took her elbow to steady her.
“This is our home, or what we refer to as the compound. All the ladies live here, so do the J’s, A’s, Carl, and me.”
“Holy crap, how big is this place?”
“A little over seven thousand square feet,” Chuck said as he shrugged, and moved his arm forward, indicating her to precede him. They went inside, and after he kicked off his shoes, he waited for her to do the same, and they took the next hour to show Bernie around her new home. With Chuck’s help, all the men unloaded her truck, and carried her things up to her room. At one point Chuck returned to seek her out, as he looked at her, he asked, “What would you like done with those three locked crates in the back of your truck? The ones that are up close to the cab.”
“I didn’t go up the stairs, but is it possible to take them up to the attic to store?”
“Sure.” Chuck turned to leave, but paused when she called him back.
“You’re going to want two people to carry one crate at a time.” At his scowl, she grinned. “Trust me.” As soon as the men left, she turned to the ladies with a grin. “My personal arsenal and ammo stash.”
“Cool,” they all said and laughed as the first two men through the door struggled to lift the crate. At one point Chuck looked over at Bernie with a scowl. “Please, tell me this isn’t all your shoes.”
Bernie laughed as she took the glass of wine handed to her and settled back in the corner of the loveseat, watching the men struggle to carry in her crates. “No, it’s just security. If you could, I’d like them to be taken to the attic.” The men scowled, but did as asked, and by the time they returned, all the women had settled in the living area, soon the men each grabbed something to drink and joined the others. Bernie looked around and began to smile, which quickly turned into giggles.
“Are you okay?” Chuck asked from her right side. As she started giggling harder, he reached over to take her glass of wine from her, but stopped when she slapped his hand away. “What’s with you? Are you on pain meds, and they’re not mixing well with the wine?”
“No,” Bernie giggled harder and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to calm herself. She looked over at Chuck and grinned. “I wonder if Morgan sees it.”
Chuck frowned as he reached out and put his hand on her forearm, but when she grabbed his hand, he intertwined their fingers. “I don’t understand.”
Bernie laughed as she sipped her wine, then with her hand still in Chuck’s she pointed to the other people. “J, A, J, A, J, A.”
“Yes, they’re the J’s and the A’s.”
Bernie only laughed harder, and it took several minutes for her to regain control of herself. She turned to Chuck with a gigantic grin on her face. “You don’t see it, do you?”
“See what?” Chuck asked in confusion. He pointed to the people sitting across from them. “Justin, John, Josh, the J’s. Alfie, Alan, the A’s. Alex would be sitting there, but he’s working over at the ranch. I’m sorry, but I don’t see the humor in this situation.”
Bernie looked around the room and saw that no one understood what she was trying to say, so she took a significant sip of her wine before she spoke again. “Okay, everyone with the first initial of J, please raise your right hand.” She shook her head when only three men lifted their hands.
“Oh my god!” June cried out as she sat forward so quickly, she almost upended not only her own drink, but also Alfie’s. She looked at Bernie and grinned, then held up her own right hand.
“What are you doing?” Alfie asked her.
“My name starts with J. So does Joyce, and Janice.”
