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“Wow, well, if it counts for anything, it worked.” She chuckled. “No one so much as blinked an eye at it.”
“The back road on the other side of the mountain helped, too.” I figured I could start filling in some gaps for her since she was part of it now. “There are three checkpoints. This is the first one.” I showed my ID and was waved in. “We have security throughout the entire property and sensors in places we don’t. I’ll let Daniel fill you in on the rest, but I do have one last thing I’d like to go over.”
“Of course.” She turned to give her attention to me.
“This whole thing is somewhat new to us, too, so if you see anything that could be improved or if someone steps over a line, you must tell one of us. Communication is key here.”
“You have my word.” Her face was a picture of amazement as I pulled into the roundabout driveway in front of the massive safehouse.
“Ready on my signal?”
“I am.”
“Be right back.”
I jogged inside and found Daniel in the kitchen.
“Dear God,” he boomed, “this is the biggest fridge I’ve ever seen. Have you really stopped and studied how far back it actually goes? I know there’s pickles in there somewhere.” He reached behind him. “Someone hand me a ladder. I’m going in.”
“I picked it out myself.” I chuckled. “Dan?”
“Dad, I hope I’m not the one who has to grocery shop for that thing.” I nodded absently at him. I was glad to see he was wearing the new fatigues we’d bought. The ones we had were quite ratty. “Maybe we should start a rotation of us guys to do it,” he continued. “Maybe only have to do it every other month. I know I have a hard enough time just finding the baking soda in a store, let alone—”
“Dan,” I said louder and caught his attention, “I want you to know I did something.”
“Okay.” He closed the fridge door, folded his arms, and looked at me.
“I’ve never broken a military rule before, but in fairness, you broke it first.” I couldn’t help but smirk at my blame game.
“What?”
“If you’re going to start a new life with someone, you need to do it right. You deserve it.”
“I’m having trouble following you here, Dad.”
I took him by the shoulders and walked him out front. As I gave a wave to the car, Sue opened the door and stepped out.
“Hey, you.”
“Oh, my God.” He shook his head at me, no doubt trying to understand what was happening. “How…I mean, why? Dad.” He raked a hand though his hair. “What will the guys think?”
“We had a meeting. They understood and feel the same way, that she should be here. You’ve proven time and time again you’re a leader, so be the leader of your family too.”
“Co-leader.” Sue lifted an eyebrow at me.
“Co-leaders. Forgive me, dear,” I corrected myself. “But.” I held up a finger. “This is a one-time thing, not something that will happen again. The guys have agreed that when love comes into the picture for them, they’ll step away from Shadows. They can choose to stay on, but they can’t live here at the house. I can’t see how this business and family can co-exist. Add in a bunch of little ones running around…” I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“You sure about this?” Daniel took her hand. “This is a huge secret and will be a big change in your life.”
“It is, and maybe I would be a little more apprehensive if I hadn’t known about Shadows for quite some time now.”
“Wait, how?”
“You talk in your sleep.”
“I do?”
“Mmhm.” She chuckled. “It’s why I know you love your goats so much, too.”
