Page 15 of Securing His Family

“Maybe,” Ben said.

The joy his brother usually had when talking about his fiancée was absent and raised red flags for Reed. “Are you having second thoughts? Because I know it will be a hassle to cancel everything but if you’re having doubts it’s better to say so now and not after the fact.”

“You sound like Clara,” he grumbled. “She said that to me last week.”

Reed had always liked Clara, he always imagined that she and Ben would get married. They’d been best friends for years, but Ben had met Fern, and here they were, a couple of months away from a wedding. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, but maybe you should just think about it. If you need anything, anything at all, even if in the end you do decide that this isn’t what you want, call me. I’ll help you.”

“I know. I’ve got to go. Talk to you later.”

“Later, bro.” Reed disconnected the call and ran a hand down his face. He really needed to make time to see Ben and look him in the face and ask the same question. If he saw any doubts at all on Ben’s face, he’d encourage his brother to reconsider his decision. If he had to give some money to Fern’s family to help cover things, he would. His brother’s happiness was important to him.

Of course, it could just be pre-wedding jitters and Fern had turned into a bridezilla, but once the vows were spoken everything would be different.

However, Ben and Fern were a problem for another day. Today was Monday, and Charlee would be going to school and Lauren to work. Even though he wanted to watch over both of them, he couldn’t split himself into two. But he knew there were some safety measures in place at both places. There were still things he could do and would do.

“Reed! What are you doing in your car?” Charlee knocked on the window.

He opened his door and got out, his muscles protesting the movement. It had been a long time since he’d been stuck in one position for over eight hours, but the discomfort had been worth it because he’d kept Lauren and her daughter safe.

“Hey munchkin, what are you doing out here?” He looked around but couldn’t see Lauren. “Does your mum know you’re not in the house?”

“I went to fill the bird bath. I do it every second day for Sally and Terence. I saw your car and came to see why you were sleeping in it.”

What should he say to Charlee? He couldn’t tell her he was protecting them because he knew Lauren didn’t want Charlee’s world to be turned upside down. “Come on, let me take you back to your mum. She’s probably worried that she can’t see you.”

Charlee skipped beside him. “Did you go to PT? You said you go every morning, but you don’t look like you’ve got wet hair.”

Reed snorted quietly at her observations. Was there anything that got past this little girl? He doubted it.

“Charlee!” Lauren’s panicked cry filled the air, and he hurried Charlee up the driveaway.

“She’s here,” he called out.

Lauren rushed up to them and pulled Charlee in for a tight hug. The little girl tolerated it for a few seconds before she pulled away. “Mum, you’re squashing me.”

“Don’t you do that to me again,” Lauren admonished.

“But Mum, I was just filling the bird bath like I always do.”

“The bird bath is over there, young lady,” Lauren pointed to the cement structure in the middle of the yard. “When I came out to tell you breakfast was ready you weren’t there.”

Charlee shrugged the way kids do when they didn’t think they’d done anything wrong. “I saw Reed’s car, so I went to say hello.”

Lauren’s focus narrowed in on him, taking in the rumpled state of his clothes. She had no idea that when he’d left her house on Saturday night, he’d rushed home for a shower and a change of clothes before coming back and parking on the street. He’d watched the house all day on Sunday, only leaving after he’d called Andy who’d taken his place so that he could run a couple of errands before coming back.

“What are you doing, Reed?” Lauren asked.

“My job,” he responded, because that’s exactly what he was doing. If Lauren had come to Power Security with her current situation, this is what they would do. They’d provide around the clock surveillance to make sure that nothing happened to them. The fact that she hadn’t didn’t matter at all. As he’d repeatedly told her, she wasn’t alone. She was family and had all of Power Security to look out for her.

“Charlee go inside and brush your teeth. We have to leave for school soon.” She kept her tone light but her eyes didn’t stray from him and they were shooting flames in his direction.

Reed prepared himself for the lecture he was about to receive.

“I don’t believe I employed your services,” Lauren ground out, propping her hands on her hips. “In fact, I thought when you left on Saturday night you agreed with me that Patrick was just being Patrick and I didn’t have to worry about him.”

“I didn’t say anything like that at all. In fact, due to not having any evidence that Patrick was up to something was one of the reasons why I was hanging around. He’s here for a reason, you said so yourself, and it was only because you were tired and overwhelmed that you’d convinced yourself that you were safe.”

Reed was an ass for pointing out how she’d buried her true feelings because it all became too much for her. He didn’t blame her for what she’d done and why. So much had happened in the span of a few hours that anyone would react the way she had after the evidence they found showed Patrick looked like a standup guy. Sometimes those were the guys that needed to be looked at the most. Not to mention the way he’d acted at the café was in contradiction to the report Wilt had found.

---