Page 50 of A Cowboy's Trust

Instantly, Tansy motioned Jake forward.

He joined her at the office door. “What are you doing?” he shouted.

“Getting to the security controls. Grab Aiden.”

Jake shoved aside his curiosity and made tracks for his brother.

He avoided getting beamed by an upswing, grabbing Aiden’s arm to twist him around. “Love what you’ve done with the wedding venue,” he teased at the top of his lungs.

Aiden grinned. “I’m going to be too deaf to hear her sayI do. Thanks for coming.”

“No problem. Tansy said—” Jake glanced over to where Tansy knelt in front of the office door. She was eye level with the lock, hands twisting quickly. “Not really sure what’s going on, but come on.”

Standing behind Tansy, it was suddenly all too clear. She had lock-picking tools in her hands, fingers flexing rapidly as she adjusted them.

Shock struck hard enough to kick some of the other sensory overload to the side as Jake soaked in this new information.

He’d worked in law enforcement. He knew what the tools of the trade looked like, and seeing the criminal paraphernalia in her hands didn’t make sense with everything he’d ever thought about her.

She’d said Aiden and Petra were locked in, but Tansy had opened the back door without much fuss. Even now, she raised a hand in victory, pushing the door forward and gesturing them into the room.

There wasn’t time to do much more than gape as Petra pushed Malachi into the office and the five of them huddled together, the door mostly closed to block out some of the noise.

“I’ll try to access the controls.” Petra settled in the chair in front of the computer and booted it up. She typed rapidly, a disheartened snort escaping her a few seconds later. “This won’t take long.”

Tansy peered over her shoulder. “No password required?”

“Easy password,” Petra returned, typing madly.

The hush of silence as the system clicked and the lights and music cut off was nearly as shocking as the painful volume that had assaulted them seconds before.

For another moment, everyone stood motionless.

Malachi shook his head as if clearing it of cobwebs. “Well, that was quite the adventure. Thanks for coming to our rescue, ladies.”

Petra swung her chair around. “You’re welcome, but trust me, I will be giving Ryan a few pointed suggestions to increase his online security.”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to take them,” Aiden assured her as he ushered everyone back into the main dance floor.

Since he didn’t quite know what to say, Jake held his tongue. He just watched Tansy without looking as if he was watching her.

Aiden and Petra picked up the camera, but Malachi went straight to his daughter and gave her a big hug.

Tansy buried her face in his chest as if soaking in comfort.

When he stepped back, Malachi gave Tansy another one of those inexplicable nods. “With great mischief comes great responsibility.” Her father pressed a kiss to her forehead. “My cochlea thank you.”

“No going deaf for you,” Tansy agreed. “And I cannot believe how many ways you can mess up that movie quote.”

“It’s a talent,” her father said before lowering his voice. “Youareloved.”

Tansy took a big breath then nodded rapidly. “I know, Papa.”

Malachi turned his attention to Aiden and Petra. “Our unexpected chaos seems complete, so if you’re ready to get married, we can go ahead.”

Aiden took Petra’s hand, and they both nodded.

It only took a moment to get everything into place. The camera was repositioned with Aiden and Petra spotlighted in the centre of the dance floor.