Page 5 of Bernadette
“What has he done now?”
“Nothing, it’s what he did last week.”
“Which was?”
“He hired that friend of yours. Patterson. Isn’t he due here sometime soon? We’ve been lucky to have enough hands around to help keep an eye on things, and I don’t know if you’re aware or not, but someone is always there to take him to school and bring him back.”
“Is that what my brothers are doing?” Morgan asked, then headed down to the kitchen. She saw Dolly had just put a large bag on the counter and looked at Wyatt.
“All set for your supper, and a few extra snacks.”
“Thanks, Dolly,” Wyatt said as he went to the cupboard and brought down a large thermos and began to fill it with coffee. When he was done, he looked at the two women. “I’ll be in the field with Dillon and Lucas. April is coming here after work, and Wilson will be here in the house with the three of you until we return. We’re not taking any chances.”
“Hank should be here tomorrow or the next day,” Morgan said, then turned to Dolly to explain. “He’s the guy Lucas hired, and he owns and operates a protection agency over in Montana. Once he gets here, you should be safe to go to your own home. I have no clue how many operatives he’s bringing with him, but they were all invited to the wedding. They’ll just be here a few days earlier than planned. Last time I talked with him, he had some business to take care of in Colorado, then he’d be over.”
“Okay, not that I’m a scared ninny or anything, but I feel better when there’s a man in the house that knows how to use a gun.” She looked at Morgan in shock. “No offense, dear.”
“None taken,” Morgan laughed as she patted her side, and both Dolly and Wyatt saw that she had a Sig Saur 9mm strapped there. Before they could do anything, they looked up when Wilson walked in, and he was his usual self, not beating around the bush when it came to him wanting to say something.
“Now that I have you both here, I have a question regarding the wedding.”
“Which is?” Wyatt frowned at him.
“I know the reception will be like the usual Erwin BBQ, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Okay, what about the guests for the wedding? How will we know who’s invited? If we’re to keep you safe, we need to know who to expect.”
“I can get a list to you,” Morgan said. “Right now, it is everyone over at the compound, along with Stokes, Drake, and Trent. You know, the heads of the local alphabet soup.”
“What about the other ones? The new ones that showed up when June went through all that information? You know, the ATF, DEA, and Homeland?”
“I’ll double check to see if they will be here.”
“Okay, and what about their men they might have here for added protection?”
“Good question,” Morgan said as she nodded and grabbed a pad of paper from the counter to write notes. She looked up at one point and frowned. “Oh, I forgot to tell you that my cousins may be here. I’ll get with Uncle Chip to see what he says. They are all his children and their families. I’ll let you know in a couple of days.”
“Thanks, I know I don’t have to tell you how to do your job, but I would like all the extra security we have here to have a picture of Carlisle on their phones. I think that would help look for him.”
“I agree,” Wyatt said as he turned toward Morgan. “What do you think about keeping an eye on Randy?”
“Let me talk it over with the others, but right now, I agree with letting everyone have a photo of him. Though nothing is confirmed, but he is a gigantic person of interest to us right now. Has he returned to work?”
“He has, he was only off on Friday and Saturday,” Wilson said. “His usual two days off.”
“Okay.” Morgan nodded as she ripped off the piece of paper and headed toward the back door to get back to her job.
“Wait,” Wyatt said and held out his hand to stop her. With her hand tightly gripped in his, he turned to the older couple standing on the other side of the counter. “I would like to ask a favor of the two of you.”
“What’s up?” Dolly asked.
Wyatt stood there with Morgan’s hand in his, and kept looking between the older couple and her. When he didn’t say anything, Morgan reached up and laid a hand on his arms. “Wyatt?”
“I can do this,” he said, and drew in a deep breath, letting it out quickly. “Dolly, Wilson, during the wedding ceremony, will the two of you sit in the front row on the groom’s side?”
“Oh my,” Dolly said in shock. “That place is reserved for the parents of the groom.”
