Winchester Christmas Wedding by B.J. Daniels

the few times she could get away, Anne had been busy.
    Lizzy tried to put it out of her mind. She just needed to stay here until she could complete her assignment.
    Lunch was as miserable as she’d anticipated. Both McCormick sisters seemed to be in a bad mood and said hardly a word.
    â€œI think I’ll take another ride after lunch, if that’s all right,” Lizzy said when it was finally over.
    â€œYou really don’t have to ask every time,” Anne snapped. “Please, just make yourself at home.”
    â€œYes, you’re more like family than a guest,” Janie had said, shooting her sister a look of defiance.
    Lizzy couldn’t wait to get away from the pair. She took the satellite phone to make the call to her boss once she had ridden far enough away from the ranch. Stopping on a hill out of sight of the house, she made the call.
    â€œAgent Calder reporting in,” she said when Roger Collins answered.
    â€œYou made it to Montana without any trouble?”
    â€œYes, sir. We both did.”
    â€œTD is there?”
    â€œHe’s apparently staying at the Winchester Ranch.”
    â€œHow did he manage that?”
    She had no idea and said as much.
    â€œIf there is any way you can make contact, do. Just be careful. TD Waters will be suspicious of anyone who tries to get close to him right now. Keep me posted.”
    Liz disconnected, thinking about the man she’d seen behind the wheel of the pickup—and the photograph of the boy. She realized she hadn’t mentioned that she’d found the photograph among Waters’s things. Or that the name on the back of the photograph was a different one, although the boy in the snapshot was clearly Waters.
    She told herself the framed photograph was irrelevant. Her boss was more interested in what weapons he’d brought, where he was staying and what he was doing.
    Why would Roger Collins care about some old photograph of Waters?
    Lizzy was glad she hadn’t mentioned it as she put away the phone and considered how to get closer to Waters.
    The one thing she wouldn’t let herself speculate on for long was why he’d gone rogue, and ultimately what she would be ordered to do to stop him if necessary. Best not to know too much, Agent Director Collins had always told her.
    â€œJust do your job. No questions asked.” He had smiled at her kindly. “One of these days you’ll be tested. Don’t let me down, Elizabeth.”
    She feared that day had come.
    Â 
    â€œM C C ALL, MAYBE YOU should consider hiring some security for the wedding. I’m serious,” Luke said. They lay in the small double bed in his travel trailer after sneaking away for an impromptu lunch and lovemaking. Through the window, she could see the beautiful house he’d built for them. Luke had promised it would be finished and furnished by the time they returned home from their honeymoon. He’d also made her promise she wouldn’t peek until then.
    McCall looked over at her handsome fiancé. “This is about the McCormicks?”
    â€œYou said you picked up bad vibes from them.”
    She realized she shouldn’t have shared that with him. They were both in law enforcement, but Luke was also a man. He worried about her.
    â€œDon’t you think my family is more dangerous than the McCormick sisters ever could be?” she asked,only half joking, as she lay back and stared up at the ceiling.
    â€œI was thinking more of the bad blood between the two families,” he said, still way too serious. “This will be the first time that all of the Winchesters are together in one place.”
    â€œThe thought makes me nauseous. Maybe security isn’t such a bad idea. We’ll need someone to keep my mother and grandmother from killing each other. If I know my mother, she’ll head straight for the bar at the reception. All Pepper has to do is look at her cross-eyed and all hell will break