Chapter 16
Dylan was right. The presence of three Brotherhood Protector bodyguards, each with his own brand of muscle and brawn, had effectively put an end to any harassment Nikki might encounter. She took trips to Animas and Lordsburg with a man in tow, shopped and even visited the hardware store, where Mark Williams refused to meet her gaze. At the trading post, Wayne stood just inside the door and watched her greet several of her church’s members with affection. When she turned to look at him and nod, he stepped back into the shadows without a word. She should have felt some remorse at losing his friendship, Nikki thought. But she hadn’t ended the relationship. His own actions had done that.
When she arrived at the courthouse for the hearing, several of the church’s members were in the spectator’s seats. Surprised, Nikki glanced at Dylan, who was at her side, along with the attorney Hank Patterson was supplying. He smiled at her when she expressed her feelings. “They’re your friends, what would you expect?”
She stood before the judge and witnessed the attorney debunk every charge. She was a private citizen and could use her property in whatever manner she chose, as long as it didn’t cause public harm or harm to the land. She didn’t live on federal land, and with that explanation, he pulled out a huge land map and demonstrated with more flair than the hearing warranted, that she wasn’t in violation of any trespass law. When the prosecutor tried to bring up the issue of case law and convictions made for similar infractions, Mr. Greene calmly rebutted that with more cases that had overturned the convictions. At the end of the hearing, the charges were thrown out and Nikki was cleared of any wrongdoing. She hugged Dylan, shook her attorney’s hand, and turned to leave the room. In the back was Wayne, sitting in the corner of the room, his face blank and set.
They left the building and the other two BPs, as she’d started calling them, started toward the black SUV they’d driven to the ranch in. Dylan hung back and when Nikki looked at him, he smiled and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back. I forgot something.” She frowned then got distracted by one of her church friends, accepting their congratulations.
Dylan stepped backinto the courtroom and glanced around. Wayne French stood by the window overlooking the parking area. Dylan knew without checking that the window offered an excellent view of Nikki right now. He cleared his throat and took cheer in the slight start he gave French as the man turned around.
“Wright.”
“French.” Dylan studied the man. He was about ten years older than Dylan and while he was in good shape, he was starting to fray around the edges. Especially over the last couple of weeks. “Nikki’s troubles look to be over, with this final hearing.”
“Appears to be,” Wayne agreed, his hands fiddling with the Stetson he never seemed to be without.
“I figure nothing else will happen to her animals or property right now.”
“Probably not. The criminal was caught, wasn’t he?”
“Mmm. Shooter was arrested.” Dylan let the silence take over for a minute then he finished. “Well, I just wanted to make sure. That nothing else would happen to deter her from her works.”
“Not any of my business anymore,” Wayne said and glanced out of the window again.
“No, it isn’t.” Dylan turned to walk out of the room but stopped at Wayne’s question. “You hanging around, Wright?”
“Yeah. I’ll be around for a long time.” Dylan smiled a genuine smile this time, and headed back to Nikki, who was waiting for him to go home.