Chapter 19

"We're your bodyguards. I'm Natalie."

"And I'm Nicole," said Natalie's twin sister.

Lucy looked from one to the other. Despite the fact that Nicole had black hair and Natalie had blond, their hair was cut in the exact same style. It was parted along the top of their head and hung down to their shoulders without curls. They both had simple bangs that came down to just above their eyebrows. Lucy asked, "Which of you dyes your hair?"

Natalie removed her wig, exposing her short brown hair, and answered, "Neither one of us dyes our hair. It's not healthy."

Lucy looked from one woman to the other wondering how she was ever going to tell them apart if they both removed their wigs. While Natalie replaced her wig, Lucy asked, "So you are my bodyguards? I was kind of expending two burly guys."

"Your boyfriend must be very trusting if he'll let you go in a bathroom with some burly guy tagging along," answered Nicole with a grin at her sister.

"I didn't think of that," Lucy said turning bright red at the reminder of that. William had told her she would have company when going to the bathroom, but she had not believed him. She was still trying to deal with the idea that she had lost her privacy and was now a public figure.

An hour after Rock had gone to bed for the day, he was awakened by Colt. The big man grumbled about being woken when there wasn't an emergency. Colt just smiled and gestured with his head towards the door. Rock entered the living room and saw the twins. His partner had not mentioned the arrival of the twins, but their presence explained the smile on the man's face. More than happy to see them, Rock said, "Nikki and Nat, nice to see you again."

"Hi, Pebbles. Long time, no see," said Nicole with a twinkle in her eye. Her eyes flicked down to his crotch in a very obvious manner.

"It's been a long three weeks. It'll be nice working with you again, Nikki," said Rock.

The exchange only confirmed what Ling already knew. It was half the reason she had chosen the four of them. She cleared her throat and said, "Do you know what you are supposed to do?"

Opening her jacket and pointing at her gun, Nicole answered, "Protect the young woman from all and sundry that would harm her. We'll work twelve-hour shifts with shift changes at eight. I'm the night shift."

"I'm the day shift," said Natalie twiddling her blond hair. There was a reason they had chosen the colors of their wigs in the manner they had.

"Ling, do you mind if I sleep while you brief Natalie? Night shift starts in six hours and I've got to get some rest," said Nicole.

Nodding, Ling said, "Go ahead."

Colt came out of the bedroom and said, "I've moved my gear into the other room."

"Come on, Nikki. Time for us to get some rest," said Rock with a yawn. The entire group had traveled the entire morning and he hadn't gotten any sleep.

Having just finished setting up the second guest room for Natalie and Nicole, Lisa looked confused at his announcement. She asked, "You're changing rooms?"

"Rock and I sleep together," answered Nicole moving to stand beside Rock. She bumped him with her hip, a gesture that indicated her continued interest in him. He slipped an arm around her and, together, they headed towards the bedroom.

Watching Nicole and Rock leave the room, Colt looked over at Natalie and asked, "So are you ready for the grand tour of the property?"

Natalie answered, "Whenever you are."

Smiling at Ling, William said, "We'll leave it up to you to show them around."

Changing into her professional mode, Ling stood and said, "We'll do a walk around the property. I'll show you where I want security features added."

After the trio had left the house, William asked, "What do you think of your bodyguards?"

"They seem kind of average looking. I was kind of expecting some tough looking people," answered Lucy.

"If Ling picked them, you know they're good," Ed said.

William's cell phone rang and he answered it while Ed and Lucy talked about the twins. He was grinning at his father when he finally hung up the phone. "Doug is coming over for a visit."

Noticing William's grin, Ed asked, "And?"

"I'm going to enjoy watching the two of you talk," William said.

"Why?"

"Doug is not quite sure that the Druids represent good," Lucy answered knowing that William and Doug often spent hours discussing the matter. She enjoyed listening to them argue. In a way, she was curious about what Ed and Doug would say to each other.

"Really?"

"His thesis is that power corrupts and the Druids are too powerful not to become corrupted," answered Lucy.

Lisa rolled her eyes having heard the discussion more times than she ever wanted. As far as she was concerned, the Carters were good people and that wasn't based on an intellectual argument. She knew them and that was all the proof she required. Her mouth dropped when Ed said, "It's a valid concern."

"I can't wait for the two of you to meet," William said. "Let's go swimming until he shows up."

Lucy was out of her seat and stripping before William had even finished his suggestion. It wasn't long before William was naked as well. They went out the back and headed towards the pond with lots of grabbing at each other. Ed chuckled and said, "Lisa, you might want to send this Doug fellow down to the pond when he gets here."

Laughing at the exuberance of the young couple, Lisa said, "No problem."

Getting up, Ed went to the back door and undressed. Lisa examined the handful of scars on his back. She asked, "What's it like getting hurt so much?"

"It hurts," he answered with a grin.

Lisa blushed at his answer and said, "I don't mean it like that. I mean, what's it like knowing you are putting yourself in danger?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Ed answered, "Usually, I don't think about it at the time - I just act."

"Are we in danger?" asked Lisa getting to the real point of her concerns. She'd been concerned when Rock and Colt had shown up. With the addition of Natalie and Nicole, her fears had quadrupled.

"A little, but Ling is making sure that danger will be kept at a distance," answered Ed turning to look at the young mother. Stepping closer to her, he said, "You are right to be concerned. I'll make sure that your husband knows that his first priority should be to protect his family."

"What's going to happen?"

"I have no idea. You'll have to ask William if you want to know about the future. He's better at that than I am," Ed answered with a light laugh.

His words didn't comfort her despite knowing that he was probably right. She said, "I'm worried for Tim."

Ed put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. In a comforting voice, he said, "Don't worry. William will make sure that all turns out for the best. He's good at that."

She felt the strength in the man even as her hands ran over the scars on his back. She believed him and she believed in William. That comforted her more than four bodyguards. Pulling back, she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now I better get down to the pond before people start to wonder about what I'm up to in here," Ed said with a wink at Ken.

Lisa realized at that moment that she'd been hugging a naked man. Blushing, she said, "Off with you before my husband returns."

"Too late," Ed said as he slipped out the back door waving to Ken.

The couple watched out the back window as Ed made his way to the pond. Ken had entered the room right before Ed had told Lisa that he was to take care of his family first. It had touched him more than he could imagine. How many parents would say that? He didn't know. Putting his arms around Lisa, he said, "He's an amazing man."

"Yes," answered Lisa. She looked over at her husband and said, "I'm horny."

"Where's Tim?"

"Swimming."

"Let's go."

"Where?"

Smiling at his wife, Ken said, "Upstairs. Where else?"

Ed was engaged in a dog paddle race with William when Doug arrived. Considering the small size of the pond, it was the only kind of race that could be held there. Doug laughed when Ed said, "You swim like a Chihuahua."

Trying not to swallow any water, William retorted, "And you swim like a Wiener Dog."

The comment caused Ed to lose it. Laughing, he had to stand before he drowned. The mental image of a Wiener Dog swimming was just too much for him. Still paddling, William shouted, "I win by default."

Seeing Doug, Lucy waved to him and said, "Come on in. The water is great."

Having visited in the past, Doug knew how things worked around the William household. He stripped and entered the water. It didn't bother him that there were a few people present whom he didn't recognize. If they were here with William, he was sure that anything that happened there would stay there. Assuring privacy was a major concern for him. His father was running for re- election, so this was a year for Doug to keep a low profile. The last thing his father needed was a news story about his son cavorting around naked with minors present.

Lucy swam over to him and said, "Glad you could come."

"Who is the guy trading insults with William?"

"His father, Ed Biggers," Lucy answered.

"Oh," Doug said getting worried. "Maybe I ought to go."

Grinning, Lucy asked, "Are you going to deprive William and I of the chance to watch you debate good and evil with Ed?"

"Preferably," Doug said turning and making his way to the edge of the pond. He'd told William on many occasions that he wasn't sure that he wanted to have that discussion with a Druid.

Lucy laughed at Doug's discomfort and said, "He won't bite."

"You don't know what they are capable of doing," Doug said. He thought about his father's race and the damage that could be done to his father's political career.

Doug nearly jumped out of the pond when Ed, standing right behind him, asked, "And just what do you think we're capable of doing?"

Wondering if he was going to kill his father's chances of re- election, Doug answered, "Anything you want to do."

"I'd say that you're pretty close to correct," Ed said. He turned back to William and winked before he added, "while being about as wrong as you can be."

Doug stared open mouthed at Ed. He stuttered for a moment and then asked, "In just what way am I wrong?"

"Let's go up to the patio and get some sun while talking about it," Ed suggested while exiting the pond.

"Oh boy," William said. He'd been looking forward to this conversation for a long time.

"Oh God," groaned Doug as he got out of the pond.

While everyone made themselves comfortable in the chairs around the patio table, William opened the patio bar. After setting cans of soft drinks out for people to grab, William filled a couple of bowls with pretzels and chips. Lucy carried the bowls over to the table.