Chapter 83

Dave found Jeff in the gym working out on one of the machines. Jeff nodded at his friend and kept working, "Did your monkey suit fit?"

"Yeah, but I'm not wearing that thing."

"Yeah, you will," Jeff huffed out as he pulled the bars to him.

"Is that an order?"

Jeff stopped and looked at him. "Of course not. Where did that idea come from?"

"Then I'm not wearing it."

"Yeah you will."

"Damnit, Jeff. If you're not ordering me to, then why in the hell do you think I will? And if you're saying my women will make me..."

Jeff worked the bars through two more cycles, then looked at Dave. "Evie will sit in your lap and ask you very sweetly to do it. If that doesn't work, she'll tear up a little. Next stage will be for her and your other wives to have a headache tonight, or maybe they'll use reverse logic and try to fuck you to death before asking again. I suspect you won't last past your Queen's clouding up to rain." Jeff went back to working the machine. "Make it easy on yourself and just volunteer," Jeff said, his teeth bared as he fought through his last reps.

Dave stepped out of the way as Jeff slid off the machine, grabbed a small towel and wiped the sweat from his face and neck. Dave grinned at the Prime. "You gonna take a shower? Walk down the hall like that and you're going to get raped. Looks like you've been wiped down in oil."

Jeff glanced in the mirror as he stood in shorts and shoes, his upper body bare and sweat-drenched. "I wasn't consciously putting out any pheromones, but I guess you're right. I think I've got another tee shirt and a pair of shorts down here. Wouldn't want to parade down the hall half naked with the wedding planners here, anyway."

Dave hadn't worked out in a week or so. Thinking he had plenty of time before supper, he sat, positioned his feet and pulled back on the bars — struggling to get one cycle. Jeff hadn't reset the machine. Its counter now showed fifty-one reps. Dave stared at the weight setting, then at the door Jeff had just disappeared into as he headed for the shower. Shit. He doesn't look that strong. Nowhere near it. Damnit, I know I'm fairly strong. The other day, I threw three bundles of shingles on my shoulder and took them up to a roofer who had run short. The roofer's helper had already taken the conveyor down, thinking there were enough shingles on the roof. He said I almost ran up the ladder, and he was much impressed. Hell, I hadn't even thought the shingles were heavy, but two bundles used to be a hell of a load for me, especially for the shingles we use. But Jeff just did fifty cycles on this machine. If I struggle, I might make ten. I know that my extra strength is the result of whatever Little One has done to our bodies, but shit, he just did fifty fucking cycles and walked away from it. Shit.

Dave reset the machine and got to work. So he's faster and stronger than I am. Hell, he's my Prime. He's supposed to be. Besides, I'm pretty damn sure I can take anyone on any of our crews, and I can fuck all my wives unconscious. Suddenly laughing aloud, I'm just glad to be here. Shit, my Prime is going to wear his monkey suit, as he calls it, then mentally sighing, Guess I will, too.

Jeff went down to watch the crew set up the guards' building at the foot of the drive. It was as if Wainwright or Dave had anticipated this when they built the driveway, Jeff thought as the crane lifted the little eight foot by ten foot building and set it snug to the side of the drive. Still plenty of room for a vehicle to get by, but... Then, Crap, It's logical to have a security checkpoint here. Frank probably left this wide place just for this.

As if reading Jeff's thoughts, Korey, who was standing beside Jeff, spoke up, "This is temporary until after the wedding. After that, Dave says we're going to move the house and build a bunker underneath for the guard to escape into in case he's overwhelmed. Also, there will be a substantial barrier in front of the building that will keep someone from driving a truck straight through the building and taking out the guard that way." Korey stopped for a moment, then plunged on, "What the crap happened, anyway? I know something prompted all this."

"We had some threats," Jeff hedged. "Better safe than sorry."

Korey shrugged. "One reason I'm working for Dave and Evie is that they treat me right, and they treat everyone else right, too. And they want the job to be done right. When we're finished here, this little house will match the retreat, will be warm in winter and cool in summer, and ... anyone in it will be safe, not that the guy looks like he needs any help keeping safe," he finished, nodding toward Carter.

Jeff chuckled with Korey. "Yeah, Carter can take care of himself, as can the others. He'll be leaving Sunday or Monday though."

"Lieutenant Mayfield says there will be a bunch of permanent security people in late today."

Jeff stood quiet for a moment as they watched the crane man as he gentled the little house into position. "Korey, let me ask you something. What do your crews think about all this? The fixing up of the ski lodge, the military copters — everything?"

"Mr. Matthews, I don't want to..."

"You're not going to be in any trouble, not with Dave, Evie or me. Just please answer my question."

Korey took a breath and turned away from the house to focus on Jeff. "Mr. Matthews, we make a living with our hands. Oh, we have to read building plans, figure needs for materials, know the building codes, that kind of thing. But none of us are intellectuals, I guess you could say..."

"Bullshit," Jeff broke in. "Just because you don't sit at a desk all day and work on a computer or something like that, well ... it damn sure doesn't mean you're stupid. So let's just cut to the chase. What's the scuttlebutt about all this? I would really like to know."

Korey grinned at him. "Oh, there's a bunch of rumors. Now that those military copters are coming in and those guys are here," he said, nodding toward Carter, "the rumors and wild ideas are really flowing. It's fairly obvious that you have something to do with the military. Everybody knows you're an inventor, so with the military involved, we think they want to make sure you're safe so you can keep on inventing for them, or keep working for them — something along those lines, anyway.

"Dave and Evie called us all together quite a while back and told us to either keep our mouths shut about you and your family, or they would fire us on the spot. Finding another job around here after that would be problematic at best, and it damn sure wouldn't pay as well, or have the benefits we now have.

"Truth is, about all we know about you is that you obviously have a ton of money, are good to us, and you're involved with the military in some way. Oh, and you have a bunch of very pretty ladies, also." Then thinking he might have stepped over the line, "Uh, Mr. Matthews, I..."

But Jeff was chuckling. "Yeah, I agree with you there. They're nice to look at. So don't panic, I'm not going to bite your head off. And besides, I asked," he finished still chuckling, then suddenly sobered. "If you hear or see anything that you think I need to know about, please tell Dave or Evie about it as soon as you can. If they're not around, my phone still works. I'll make certain you're not sorry. Oh, and Korey, be extremely suspicious about any new people to be hired at your company, or a new crew member to come up here."

"You bet, Sir. Uh, but Mr. Matthews, I really don't think you'll have to worry about any of the crews that come up here. You don't work up here unless you're trusted. We're all curious, but we all know that some things just aren't our business."

"Thanks Korey. I think Dave and Evie picked the right man to ramrod their business."

Jeff and most of the wives were in the kitchen as they finished the evening meal. Margaret, the wedding planner and her assistant were just coming in.

When the computer made its announcements, "Here they come," Jennie said, as everyone watched first Alesha get her vehicle quickly checked by the guard, then Jesse right behind her.

Ann quickly brought the wedding planners up to date on what was going on.

"It's ready, Mom," Arlene said as she and the girls came in. "We secured the bow as best we could, but I'm afraid the wind will blow it off if it sets out there long, and it's started snowing, too."

"All right. We'll eat, then get them out the back on some pretext or other. So somebody needs to move the truck around to the back door about the time we finish up supper."

"Not me," Arlene quickly injected. "No way am I going to drive that pretty truck. I might scrape the door when I back it out of the garage or something."

"Oh, Arlene. You would not," Ann laughed.

"We hid two video cameras in a cardboard box in the mudroom. All you have to do is hit the On button and you're ready to go," Jennie said, then added, "Melissa and I will do the videos, I guess, unless someone else wants to do them."

"You both do a good job with a camera, so we'll leave that to you two," Diana said.

"I'll leave just before supper is over and drive the truck from the inside garage to the back door," Dave said. "Hey, I'll bet they're planning on going out tonight. If they park near the mudroom, I'll come in and say there's a big dent in the right fender of Alesha's Escalade. That should get both of them out the door."

"Oh, crap. Alesha will have a stroke," Evie said. "That is sooo bad. I love it."

Dave turned to Jeff. "Has Jesse asked about his truck lately?"

Jeff shrugged. "No. I'm just about certain he knows something is going on. The truck has been gone almost a month now. No way would it take that long to rebuild the motor."

"'Bout what I thought. He hasn't said anything to me. I'll bet Alesha told him to stop asking. Well, whether he's figured it out or not, the guy is going to have kittens when he drives it. And you're going to have a case of sticker shock when you look at your bank statement," Dave laughed, then continued. "The inside of the cab has all modern electronics just like a new model. And they didn't spare the leather, either. The inside is every bit as nice as the Escalades. They stripped the truck down to its frame and built it up again. And, of course, they put in a new motor, current year. That paint job is one of a kind, too. And the all-wheel drive is the modern version, also. Just flip a switch and go, or leave it on Auto and it comes on when you need it. Best snow tires money could buy, with a little bigger and wider chrome wheels, but not overly so. Speedometer has been calculated for the larger wheels, too. I topped the tank up when I got here, so they can ride tonight if they want."

"I wish he had let us do more," Joyce said. "He saved my life. Well, he and Alesha did. We still need to do something for her."

"Oh, we will," Jeff said with a little smirk. "Dave said he has an idea about that."

"What?" Caitlin asked.

"Not yet. Let's see what happens first, then we'll talk about it. If it works, the two of them will be set for their marriage, when she finally gives in and says yes, that is," Jeff laughed.

Margaret, Page and Kelsie (the wedding planners) sat at a table in the conference room that was assigned to them. Page looked at the notes on her laptop. "We're going to be fairly crowded in the reception hall..."

"Booze will be flowing by then. People will spread out after Frank and I finish the first dance." Margaret had sounded very confident, until she added, "I hope."

"And this chef?"

"He's from Martha's restaurant. One we hired and sent to her. There are none better. We sent her two very good chefs for the interim as replacement. He's here basically for special cooked-to-order items that won't necessarily be on the food bar during meals. I had a heck of a time getting Diana to agree to him being here. This is Diana's home and her kitchen."

"You told me that, but you and Frank owned this place — built it, didn't you? I don't understand why you're using ... Oh, forgive me, that didn't come out right?"

"You're saying that Frank and I have the finances to bring in professional staff, and you're wondering why Diana and her family and our ... extended family are acting as staff, instead? Believe me, it has nothing to do with money. And certainly, Jeff and Diana are more comfortable the less we have to bring outsiders in, but truthfully, the decision was made for family to be staff well before anything happened. All I can say is that we've had a threat that has caused a tremendous escalation in our security measures. Bringing in that many outsiders to enter every room and have total free rein in this building is something that isn't going to happen right now — if ever. We're not going to tell any of the guests that staff is actually family until the wedding."

"They're surely going to know then," Page said, as the three of them laughed.

The women were quiet for a time as the planners made notes on their computers, then Kelsie turned to Margaret. "Uh, Ma'am..."

"Just Margaret, remember? I hear enough 'Ma'am at work."

"Uh, Margaret, this time slot here right after the wedding. I mean the reception area is just down the hall. Certainly we will announce to everyone that you and Mr. Wainwright..."

"And the rest of the family," Margaret offered.

"And the rest of the family will be in shortly. But isn't there something we might do to assist you?"

"The doors to the living room will be locked so no one is going to get back in. Hopefully there won't be any drunks knocking on the door to interrupt us," she joked. "Just carry on with the plans we've made and we will be there shortly. It would expedite things if you could get everyone out of the living room as soon as possible after the wedding, and get them moved into the reception hall."

"But if you're going to have some other type of..."

"No," Margaret interrupted. "There will be no need for planning or rehearsing. Just facilitate getting the living room clear of guests as soon after the wedding as possible. We'll all meet back with everyone at the reception in twenty minutes or so."

"I'll do my best."

They were well into the evening meal. Jeff and his wives had subtly gotten the wedding planners to talking about themselves and their chosen work. When that wound down, Jeff asked Alesha about her day.

Alesha looked at him with her eyes sparkling, a totally different woman from the one who walked into the retreat a few short weeks ago. One obvious reason was Little One's enhancement, of course, but there was more. She was a lot more assured now — happier too. Her eyes would frequently drift to Jesse's, and a look would pass between them. The woman was in love and it showed.