Page 78 of Mack's Horribly Hellacious Ghost Town
“You’re pretty good at reading people, so I think he’s fine. The FBI wouldn’t keep this man on call if he wasn’t trustworthy.”
Also a fair point.
Dad mused, “So we now have three apprentices in the family. Literally, all of my sons have an apprentice.”
“It is wild when you think of it like that.” But it was true. Although technically Gwyn was more Mack’s apprentice than mine, I still claimed her. Jon, of course, had Abby, and Don had Skye. “It’s especially wild to me because I didn’t start adulthood thinkingwow, I sure would like to have an apprentice at some point. Like, this was literally never on my wish list.”
Dad chuckled, an earthy sound that always brought a smile to my face. “I didn’t expect that for my children, either. Glad of it, though. The girls are sweet and they definitely need a guiding hand. Now, that said, I worry about Gwyn being in Black Rock. Her parents still haven’t come for her?”
“Well, they don’t know where we took her. Gwyn’s not blocked them, but they haven’t tried calling or texting either, which…I find really strange. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“I have to tell you, if some lawman came for my children, he’d have been buried in the backyard.”
“Yeah, same. I honestly expected more of a fight. But I think they knew. I think they subconsciously knew Gwyn was telling the truth. It’s why they couldn’t really argue with us and why they chose to let her go without much fuss.”
“A sad thing.”
“I understand they did put in a formal complaint with my boss, but…yeah. Anyway. I’m getting Gwyn into therapy first thing once we’re back home. This poor kid has a lot of trauma to process.”
“I wish she didn’t. But listen, if it gets too hot, just send her to us. We’ll be happy to take her.”
“I know. We may have to, but I’m trying to keep her here. She’s learning so, so much. And Seiji’s a resource we might not be able to tap in the future.”
“I understand. Just keep it in mind. Now, switching topics, you and Mack have talked wedding plans?”
“Yeah, we have a few venues we want to check out. We’re thinking April for a wedding. I’ve got a short list of wedding guests, so I think we’ll have about fifty people, max.”
“Your mother and I will chip in for wedding expenses.”
I didn’t need the help, financially speaking, but didn’t say so. My parents had paid for half of Sammy’s wedding and part of Don’s, so I knew this was just something they wanted to help their children with. I wouldn’t turn down the good intentions.
“Sure, once I know what those are.”
“I think your first expense should be a wedding planner.”
I thought on that for a second. Thought of all the impromptu trips I took because of the job, how scatterbrained I felt the first day back home, how many details it would take to prepare for this party. Yeah, no, I wasn’t doing this without a professional. “Wedding planner sounds great.”
“Lauren’s college friend is an event planner. I wonder if she’d do weddings?”
“Ask her,” I encouraged. “I have no better leads to find someone.”
“All right.”
The door burst open and Mack flung himself partway into the room, then paused, his weight balanced on the doorjamb. “Cher, move, allons!”
I was out of the bed before he could close on that last consonant. “What, what?!”
“Gwyn’s parents are at the police station and they’re threatening to sue.”
Ah, well, I guess I spoke too soon about the parents.
“Dad, gotta go.”
“Shit, you better call me back later, assure me you’re fine.”
“Yup. Bye.” I disconnected, already scrambling for pants. “Gwyn?”
“Adamant about coming with us, to prove she wants to be with us. Basically, everyone is adamant about coming.”
