Charlie’s eyes misted even as his grin widened.Nash wished his son had actual memories of Charlotte, but he tried to fill in with conversations about her whenever possible.
“You always said Mom was brave and strong.”
Nash nodded.“She was.”
Gray grinned.“You must get it from her, Charlie, because we all know Alice here is a wimp.”
Charlie howled with laughter as the rest chuckled.Nash reached across Olivia to cuff the back of Gray’s head.“Says the man also known as Santa Claus.”
Good-natured ribbing continued around the table for the next few minutes while they ate.And planned how to make the already secure farmhouse even more secure.
Olivia found it difficult to eat.Worry and fear tumbled together in her belly.These people were proactive, innovative, and super-protective.
They shot down her suggestion that she and Ella leave immediately to ensure the safety of the others on the farm.
Safety in numbers.
We don’t know if he’s seen the pictures.
Better to stand and face danger when resources surround you.
We want you to stay.
Not without us.
Now they were munching on a batch of apple brownies that Knox had experimented with earlier in the day.Nash handed her another square.“Eat.You need to keep up your energy and your brain power.”
“And apple brownies are the way to do that?”
His smile showed concern and amusement.“Whatever it takes.”
His fingers caressed her shoulder.They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other.Even in front of Charlie and the rest of the group.Even though danger might be coming their way.
They’d moved into the room where Jay had apparently spent most of his time while he’d lived on the farm.No one seemed to want to be anywhere else other than with the group.
Charlie entertained Ella by showing her the commands Oggie knew and trying to teach him new ones.Dance appeared to confuse the dog, but Charlie wasn’t deterred.He lifted the dog gently to his back feet and helped him wiggle while saying dance.
Ella’s giggles rang through the room, and Olivia had to blink away the moisture threatening to gather in her eyes.No crying, especially in front of the kids.
They’d talked through all the security measures in place on the farm.The windows and doors were wired with alarms.She should feel safe.Adam wouldn’t have the resources of the people around her.Four former special operatives with the best training the army had to offer.
She leaned her head on Nash’s shoulder and listened to the soft laughter and chatter from the group.They weren’t annoyed with her for potentially putting them in danger.They’d shared stories of what they’d been through since moving here to the farm.She figured the stories had been toned down because Charlie was in the room, but it was clear these people were smart and resourceful.
She couldn’t ask for a better family to surround her while she raised Mary Mae’s daughter.
Which meant she needed to be proactive about her protection.“I think I’ll call the store where Adam works tomorrow and make up a story about how helpful he was.Then I can ask when his next shift is.Do you think they’d tell me?”
She’d kept her voice for his ears only and he squeezed her shoulder.“That’s a good idea.We’ll block the phone number and give it a try once the place opens.”
“What else should we do?”
Nash sighed.“I’m not sure.You’ve already called Marcus to update him.I don’t know if there’s any way for Adam to figure out where you are from the photos.It should still be very difficult for him to figure out our location.”
His use of the wordourhad Olivia feeling his love right down to her toes.
“I don’t know anything about tracking images and photos.I never thought of checking to see if the location is identifiable from the pictures.Do you know how any of that works?”
Nash shook his head.“Sorry.Not my field.I don’t know if that kind of information is scrubbed away when you forward an image.I imagine the publisher does that before it posts pictures, but I don’t know.”
