WANTED by Delores Fossen Page B

thinking that either Wyatt had lost his mind or she’d somehow trapped him. After all, she couldn’t be his usual type. They were probably used to him bringing home beauty queens and model types.
    Lyla resisted the urge to make sure her ponytail and clothes were straight, but she wished she’d at least put on some makeup.
    “Anything on the caller who threatened Lyla?” Wyatt asked Declan.
    “Nothing.” Declan made an uneasy glance around the room, as if bracing himself for someone to demand to know more about the marriage. When no one did, Declan cleared his throat and continued. “There’s nothing in his voice or the background noise to indicate who he is or where he was when he made the call.”
    “You’ll have to excuse our manners, but this is how crazy things get in the middle of an investigation,” a very pregnant blonde said, walking toward Lyla. The woman hugged her. “Welcome to the family. I’m Joelle.” She tipped her head to the lanky dark-haired man on one of the bar stools, who was talking on his phone. “Married to Dallas.”
    Wyatt continued the introductions from there. “Everyone, in case you haven’t heard, this is Lyla, my wife.” He hooked his arm around her as if remembering at the last minute they were playing the part of honeymooners.
    There were several more moments of pin-dropping silence. A few odd looks, too. Even a whisper between one of the couples. Then, the chatter and activity continued as if a marriage announcement wasn’t that unusual.
    And maybe it wasn’t.
    Because Stella was the only one in the room who wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
    Stella took a skillet of sizzling bacon off the stove and came over to give her a hug, too. “That’s Harlan and Caitlyn,” she said, pointing to the couple at the table. The woman was also pregnant and sitting so close to her husband that she was practically in his lap. They both added a welcome after looking up from papers they were studying.
    “That’s Lenora and Clayton,” Stella continued. “And their precious little boy, Clay, Jr.” She motioned toward the woman helping her in the kitchen and then to the man seated at the table next to Declan. Clayton was holding a sleeping baby only a few months old on his lap, and he glanced up from his computer, mumbled a welcome.
    Declan managed a smile when he looked at Lyla. Forced, no doubt. And brief. He put his attention back on the laptop screen positioned in front of him.
    “That’s Kirby.” And Stella’s smile was genuine when her attention landed on the man in the wheelchair at the head of the table. Even though it was obvious that the man was recovering from a serious illness, he didn’t look nearly as weak as Lyla had imagined he’d be.
    “Welcome,” Kirby greeted. He, too, had some papers on the table. “Wish it were under better circumstances. Still, we’ll have time to celebrate soon.”
    Yes, soon, if they managed to identify and catch this killer. And after that, there’d be no need to celebrate the marriage, because Wyatt and she would be able to either tell them the truth or get an annulment. First, though, they had to stop kissing and doing other things that would lead to sex. Because even though she had no legal training, Lyla was pretty sure that sex would nix an annulment.
    It would certainly make it harder for her to walk away from Wyatt, too.
    “Slade, his wife, Maya, and their two boys will be here soon,” Joelle finished. “And Declan’s fiancée, Eden, is in her office, working. She’s a P.I. and is trying to use her contacts to get a lead on the gunman Nicky Garnett.”
    Joelle leaned in closer to Lyla. “Bet you’re wondering how we all fit in this room, huh? Especially with all the babies and pregnant bellies?”
    Even though Joelle probably meant it as a joke, it had crossed Lyla’s mind. This massive dose of family was past being overwhelming, especially since she’d been an only child, and her parents had passed away a few years