by Claire Adams
I'd returned to Chicago to start my new position as Director of Auditing. Adam had returned to the city not long after I did, and after a long talk about where we had been and where we were headed, I'd agreed to move into his new, luxury penthouse in the Loop. Much to my surprise, no one was shocked, least of all Honor who had come back to the city with me to finish her senior year of high school at a top-ranked Chicago school where she'd have a much better chance of getting into Harvard or MIT. Adam had assured her that he'd put in a good word at the latter, and when the time came, he escorted her to the campus for a visit.
Danny had stayed at the house with Verity, explaining that he'd rather work the land than live in the city with Honor and I, but he missed us both terribly. In September, Adam had hooked up a computer that Danny could use to communicate with us more regularly, and we'd hired a speech pathologist to come down several times a month and work with him to see if he could learn to speak.
Today we were finally celebrating Levi and Verity's wedding by throwing a huge party for the entire community. On an emotional morning, two days before the wedding, Verity, Honor, and I had harvested the celery that Mamm had planted just before she died. We laughed and cried as we clipped the celery and talked about all the wonderful family memories. Verity had called on Hope and Faith, asking them to be present at her wedding, but they'd been part of the community that had sided with Uncle Amos and the bond between sisters had been irrevocably broken.
Levi had agreed to move into the house with Verity and take over farming the land my parents had left us. Coupled with the income from the turbines we'd installed, they would be able to live a comfortable life and support their future family without worry.
Later that afternoon, the sun broke through the clouds just as the wedding was about to start. Verity looked lovely in her new cotton dress and kapp, carrying a bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers that grew behind the house. I smoothed her hair one last time and smiled as I kissed her cheek.
"You make a lovely bride," I whispered. "And I wish you all the happiness and love of a lifetime."
"You're next," she said with a playful grin as she patted my cheek then took one last look in the mirror before announcing, "Let's get this show on the road!"
I stood next to Adam and held his hand as the couple said their vows. After they'd signed the marriage license and then kissed for the cheering crowd, Verity and Levi moved toward the barn to begin the feast we'd prepared. Many of the guests had brought food to contribute to the wedding banquet and the table groaned with all the offerings. We'd opened the barn and given it a good cleaning so that there was room for a band in one corner. They struck up the music as soon as the newlyweds entered the barn. Adam and I watched as the wedding guests began to fill the tables.
"Come with me," he said, pulling me toward the backfield where the hay had been cut and bundled in bales waiting to be put on a truck and transported to the loft above the barn. Out in the middle of the field, one bale sat covered in a mossy green cloth with something on top. As we got closer, I saw there were two glasses and a bottle of what looked like champagne. Adam stopped in front of the bale and looked down at me before he reached down, popped open the bottle, and poured two glasses of the bubbly drink. He handed me one and then dropped to his knee and said, "Grace Miller, I've loved you from the moment I met you, and here today on this land that your parents loved and farmed, I want to ask you if you'll spend the rest of your life letting me love you."
"Adam? Oh my God," I said as he produced a box from his pocket, flipped it open, and offered me a ring with a diamond larger than any stone I'd ever seen before. "Are you—"
"Asking you to marry me? Yes, indeed I am," he said with a wide smile. "Grace, will you marry me?"
For a split second, I was torn between past, present, and future, and then I came to my senses and looked down at him with a smile as I replied, "Yes, Adam Wallace, yes I will marry you!"
As Adam slipped the ring on my finger, a loud cheer erupted from the barn and all the guests came pouring out, laughing and clapping as Levi and Verity led the shouting crowd. "Congratulations, Adam and Grace!"
"What is going on?' I asked confused as to why my engagement had become the focus of my sister's wedding celebration, but when I looked off to my right and saw my brother holding a camera up, I knew that everyone had been in on the proposal. I shouted, "You all are too much! Go celebrate the wedding!"
Adam laughed loudly as I turned to him and said, "Mr. Wallace, you are incorrigible!"
"And you, Ms. Miller, are lovely," he said as he bent and softly kissed my lips.
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PROTECTOR BOX SET
The Complete Series
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Claire Adams
PROTECTOR #1
“Absolutely ridiculous,” I muttered into my phone as I stomped across campus on the way to my first class of the day. “This is outrageous, Father! I don’t need a stupid bodyguard to follow me around all the time!”
“Ava, you are being unreasonable,” Joseph Klein admonished. “Your mother and I feel it is a necessary precaution if you want to stay in school. Your safety is our primary concern.”
“But lots of girls have ex-boyfriends who are idiots and their parents don’t hire bodyguards!” I yelled in exasperation. I was embarrassed that my parents had gone behind my back and hired this blockheaded mercenary to follow me around campus when I had assured them that there was no threat. “Who is this meathead anyway? How do you know he’s even capable of protecting me?”
“Young lady, Mr. Flynn is a former Navy SEAL who has seen and done more in his life than you could ever dream of,” my father replied. “He was recommended by a business colleague who used him to protect his son while he was on a study abroad session in Egypt, and they got along famously.”
“Oh, big whoop,” I blurted. “So he’s buddy-buddy with some kid who spent a summer looking at sand and pyramids, and suddenly you think this is a great idea to emulate? That all kids should have bodyguards?”
“We don’t trust Dominic,” came my father’s no-nonsense response. “End of argument, young lady. If you want to stay in school, then you accept that you will need protection until we deem it safe.”
“Oh my God!” I cried. “I’m not 10 years old! I’m so sick of the way you treat me like I’m fragile. Why didn’t I have a say in this? You probably hired some old military guy who wishes he was back in Iraq, not guarding some college student who doesn’t need protection! Do I have to talk to him?”
“Ava Marie Klein,” my father warned. “Mr. Flynn is an experienced personal security expert who is going to follow you around campus until we’ve determined that there is no longer a threat. You will not be anything but absolutely polite to him, do you understand me?”
“Fine!” I hissed. “I’ll deal with it, but this had better not go on the whole semester! It’s going to be humiliating to have to explain why I have some meathead following me everywhere, and my friends are going to think he’s spying on them, too!”
“Cool the dramatics, young lady,” my father warned. “We’ve hired a young man who is experienced at this type of thing and knows how to be discreet. If you behave and follow directions, you probably won’t even know he’s there.”
“Oh right,” I replied. “No one will notice the guy following me everywhere. Sure, sure.”
“Ava,” my father’s voice dropped into the low range he used when he was warning me that he was about to run out of patience.
“Okay, fine. I�
��ll behave like a good girl and let the big, bad security detail sweep me off my feet and ensure my safe return to the castle,” I said in an airy tone designed to defuse the tension.
“Young lady, you try my patience,” her father replied. “I’ve got to go, I’ve got a meeting in five minutes. Do you need anything else?”
“No, I’m fine, but —” I began, only to be met with the sound of the phone line disconnecting.
*****
I sighed as I scanned the screen one more time before tucking the phone into my pocket. My father had said the security detail would meet me in front of Brody Hall, and I was fully expecting an old, grey-haired man with a crew cut, sunglasses, and a Secret Service suit to follow me all over campus before reporting back to my father. Hopefully, this charade of parental concern would only last a week or two and then I could go back to living a normal life on campus.
I scanned the front of the building, but didn’t see anybody who looked like an official bodyguard. The only person standing in front of Brody was a guy who looked too young and hot to have been hired by my father, and a small smile spread across my lips when I noticed the scowl on his handsome face as he checked his watch; whoever he was waiting for was going to get an earful, but from those lips it might not be so bad. When he looked back up, the scowl had disappeared, replaced by a raised eyebrow and pursed lips as he began to walk toward me.
“Ava Klein? I’m Brian Flynn,” he said as he extended a large hand and waited for me to reciprocate. “You’re late.”
“Excuse me?” I replied.
“You’re late,” he repeated as he continued holding a hand out for me to shake. “I was told you’d be here at 8:30 am, and it’s now 8:42. That means you’re late.”
I stood staring at this broad-shouldered man who was simultaneously trying to engage and scold me, and I shook as I tried to contain my rage. How dare he!
“You’re the guy who is going to follow me around?” My incredulous tone caused his scowl to return as he dropped his hand and stared at me. “My father hired you? You’re barely older than I am! How on earth does he think you’re going to protect me?”
“I’m 32 and I’m not in the habit of having to explain myself to the people I’m hired to protect,” his voice cut through my mini temper tantrum, stopping it cold. “But yes, your father hired me to be in charge of your security while you’re on campus. As far as my credentials go, your father had me fully investigated and feels confident that I’m capable of protecting you, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Fully checked out, eh?” I sarcastically replied as I rolled my eyes. “Well, I’m totally reassured. What exactly are your credentials, Mr. Flynn?”
“I’ve got a degree in criminology from Michigan State, I’m certified in tactical force, personal protection, and close range weapons usage, and I’ve earned a black belt in karate,” he dutifully ran down his resume while I looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “And I’m a former Navy SEAL; is that good enough for you, Ms. Klein?”
“It seems as if you know what you’re doing,” I retorted. I was impressed with his background, but I wasn’t about to show him that given the way he’d tried to lecture me a few minutes before. “And now that we’ve gotten that worked out, just how long do you think you’ll be employing these outstanding credentials, Mr. Flynn?”
“As long as it takes to ensure your safety,” he responded, and then added, “Ma’am.”
Is he mocking me? I wondered as I looked more closely at my knight in a hoodie and Nike tennis shoes and thought, He looks like a total frat boy, but at least he’s easy on the eyes.
“Fine,” I grudgingly conceded. “But you need to get something straight, right here and now. You work for me, and if I want to be late, I’ll be late, and you’ll shut up and follow. Got it?”
“Oh, I’ve got it, alright,” Brian said, the corners of his lips twitching ever so slightly.
That jerk! Is he laughing at me? I wondered as I glanced down at my watch and realized that class was about to start.
I nodded, flipped my long brown hair over one shoulder, and turned toward the classroom, looking over my shoulder as I called back, “Good, I’m glad we understand each other. Now, let’s move, move, move soldier!”
“That’s sailor, ma’am,” he quietly corrected.
“What?” I was getting irritated.
“Members of the Navy are sailors, not soldiers,” he explained.
“Whatever! Just get a move on it or I’m going to be late to class!” I shouted at him over my shoulder as I picked up my pace and headed for my psychology class.
I could hear him trailing behind me as I quick-stepped my way to class. My professor hated it when we were late, and he’d threatened to lock the doors when Jessie and Lara arrived late for the second time that week. I didn’t think he’d do it, but I didn’t want to put that thought to a test.
Behind me, he was silent. I felt like I should make some kind of conversation with him, but since I had no idea what to say. Besides, I was still pissed at both him and my father for engaging in this silly little exercise. I didn’t need a bodyguard, but it seemed that if I put up a fight, it would only make things more difficult. What I really wanted to do was dismiss him on the spot and then call my father and tell him to stay out of my business once and for all, but I knew from experience that telling my father to butt out was the best way to ensure that he had a hand in my business, albeit a distant one.
As I walked briskly across campus, I kept looking back over my shoulder to see if the bodyguard was still there. What is his name? Brad? Brandon? Oh, yeah, Brian. Every time I did it, I felt like an idiot for caring whether he was there or not. After all, he was there to serve and protect me, not the other way around.
I couldn’t get a clear look at him as we trotted along, and as I replayed our little conversation, I felt like there was something familiar about the look in his eyes, but the thought slipped from my mind as the phone in my pocket began buzzing. I pulled it out and saw a message from Jess asking where I was. I quickly texted back, “On my way” and then stuffed the phone back in my pocket.
Another look over my shoulder told me that Brian was still on my heels. We were almost in the center of campus now, and I was aware that people were looking at the odd paring of the Klein girl and the guy who was following her, but I’d grown used to the stares in my time at this school and I shrugged them off as I scanned the quad for Jessie and Lara.
“Oh my God, Ava!” squealed Lara. “What is going on here? Who’s the hottie following you?”
I rolled my eyes dramatically and sighed, “He’s a gift from my father. Jessie and Lara, meet Brian. Brian, meet Jessie and Lara. They’re my best friends and they are do not pose a threat to my safety in any way.”
“It’s nice to meet you, ladies,” Brian said as he nodded politely at them both and then with a wry grin added, “It’s good to know that I won’t have to use force on either of you.”
“Oh, you can feel free to use force on me anytime!” Lara purred as she gave my bodyguard the once-over.
“Lara!” I objected. “Do you always have to be in seduction mode?”
“Well, he’s cute,” she pouted. “You know how I am around cute guys!”
“You have got to be kidding me,” I said as I turned and gave Brian an apologetic look before addressing the girls. “I’m being followed by a guy who my father has hired to monitor my every move and you are talking about how hot he is and trying to flirt with him? What is wrong with you two?”
“There’s nothing wrong with us, Ava,” Jessie interjected. “We just appreciate his rugged good looks and his finely-tuned bod!”
I peeked over at Brian and realized that he wasn’t listening to anything we were saying, but was instead scanning the quad area, presumably looking for potential threats to my safety. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Jess and Lara who were now whispering conspiratorially as they continued assessing Brian’s body and giggling about wha
t they’d do with it.
“So, what’s the deal with this guy?” Lara whispered.
“My father thinks that this is the best solution to the Dominic problem,” I replied as I rolled my eyes.
Lara and Jessie groaned as the three of us rolled our eyes. They’d grown up with me and knew how little interest my parents had taken in me unless it had to do with the family business or the family name, and while they knew that things hadn’t gone so well with Dominic, they didn’t know the whole story. No one did, and I preferred to keep it that way.
“Apparently he thinks that by bringing in the big guns, he’ll make me feel like he actually cares about my safety,” I told them in a matter-of-fact voice. “I say, whatever floats his boat. In two weeks he’s going to lose interest in trying to protect his little girl, and I’ll be able to ditch the security detail and go back to normal.”
“Well, at least we’ll have something to look at while you’re waiting for your time in house arrest to be up!” Jessie squealed.
“I’m not under house arrest, Jessie,” I corrected. “I’m simply being tailed 24/7. Big difference. If my father ever tried to keep me confined to my apartment, I’d totally lose it!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot,” Jessie apologized.
“Nah, it’s fine,” I brushed off her apology and turned to see what Brian was doing. His eyes constantly scanned the surrounding area and it was starting to creep me out a bit. I wasn’t worried about what Dominic was going to do, but Brian’s vigilant watch was already getting to me.
