Page 28 of Operation: Return

“I talked to Dominic. He’s willing to come help for free because he owes me a favor. He wouldn’t say how he knew I was here or how I needed help.”

“That seems strange. Doesn’t it?” Edwyn raised his eyebrows and threaded his fingers together, waiting for Cole to answer.

“Yes, which is why I asked him to send over the background information on all the guys he’s going to bring with him, assuming you give the go-ahead for him to come. I gave him the general email to Wayside.”

Edwyn glanced at his watch. “Just so you’re aware, I sent Eric out to work with Trace since he met Trace when you had car trouble. I didn’t want him sitting there worrying. If you think he’ll be negatively impacted by that, they probably just started.”

“Trace hasn’t bonded with me at all yet. In fact, he’s reacted best to Pete and Scarlet. Even the horse had very little effect on him.”

“Venison? That horse makes everyone laugh.” Edwyn’s brow furrowed. “Would he do better with dogs?”

He had treated Bubbles well. “Perhaps. That reminds me that I need to check in on Bubbles. He got a clean bill of health from the vet, but I haven’t gone to see him since.”

“Sam likes to work with dogs alone when they first come. Check with him first. Since Pete missed his ride this morning, maybe you could use this time to give him some time alone with just you two. I’ll feel better when we have some help around here with security, but they will know we’re watching today after what they did to Gabby.”

He could argue that there was a chance this was unrelated but doing so seemed pointless. Who else could be after them? There had been too many coincidences to be chance. This was an attack meant to make them question themselves and their abilities.

“Pete will like that. Especially since I might not get much of a chance once the security team gets here to help. I assume we’ll ask them to go after Viceroy?”

“I can’t answer that. I’ll need to talk to Connor first.” He turned away from Cole. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I do. I want this to end. I feel like we’ve been caught in a trap and we can’t win.”

The government put restrictions on what they could do. Any attack on Viceroy would be seen as vigilante justice. As a Christian, it was difficult to support a decision that was against the law. In most cases, he would even agree with the law, but there was no safety for his home or his job until the threat of Viceroy was eliminated.

He headed back to Teddy’s office where Erica still sat behind the desk. She gave him a confused smile and he fought feeling embarrassed about coming and going so often. She probably thought he was making excuses to pester her. Though he wasn’t, he could see himself doing that.

“Sorry. Edwyn arranged for me to have a few hours that I can take Pete out riding alone, if you don’t mind and if he still wants to go?”

“Sure, I think he’s probably had enough of a nap.” She came around her desk and lowered to a crouch next to the sofa. She gently brushed his hair off his cheek. “Pete, it’s time to wake up, buddy. Cole is here to take you for a ride.”

Pete stretched and blinked, finding Cole almost immediately. “Is Gabby okay?”

His chest clenched with something close to pride. This boy had a heart for others. Erica had done a good job of raising him. “I think she’ll be alright. She’s talking to Brendon right now. He helps people who’re scared feel better.”

“Then she’s in the right place. She looked really scared.” He stood and stretched again, rising up on his tiptoes. “Is it alright with you if I go riding, Mom?”

She smiled at him. “Yup. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

Cole knew otherwise, but Pete didn’t need to know the particulars. Pete headed for the door. Cole let him get just outside and into the hall before he turned back to Erica. “He’ll be okay with me. I give you my word. I want you to know that.”

She clutched her elbows and gave a nervous nod that did strange things to his heart. How could he want to protect her and her son so completely after a day and a half?

“He’s so young and it terrifies me to just let him go with you after all that I’ve heard going on, but I let him get on the bus every day. Dangerous things happen no matter what. They can happen even when I’m watching him. I have to trust you.”

He would love that trust to come easier for her, but that couldn’t happen until she came to terms with who he was. After all he’d already told her, he still wasn’t sure how he’d convince her. He told himself that would come with time. The longer they were here and the more he saw her daily, the easier time she’d have accepting that what he said was true.

He followed Pete out to the barn wishing he had as much drive as the boy. He only had to take one step for every two of Pete’s, yet he danced around like his store of energy was boundless. When they arrived at the stall, Pete waited patiently for Cole to saddle his horse. If he’d been a little taller, Cole would’ve invited him to learn how to do the job for himself. He had the desire and listened well enough.

“Maybe if you come back next summer, I can teach you more about horses and how to take care of them.” Cole fastened the cinch tightly and turned to see Pete’s surprise.

“Do you think Mom would do that? Do you think I could come back every summer?”

He doubted there was any chance for a relationship between the two of them, not with her current state of distrust. He hadn’t caught any hint of interest from her so far, in fact, disbelief was the strongest emotion he’d sensed. If he could manage to not only keep Pete safe this summer and give him a good time, maybe he could convince Erica to return or let him come on his own. “I don’t know. That would be up to her. We’ll have to do our best to convince her it’s a good idea.”

He helped Pete mount, then led the horse into the corral. “You think I can try a trot today?” Pete grinned.

The boy reminded him a lot of himself at that age, not only in looks but attitude. “You’ll need to make a little sound like a click with your tongue, that’s the cue to trot. If he doesn’t respond to that, you have to be willing give him a little pressure with your heel. Not a kick, understand?”

Some horses needed the extra encouragement to mind the one in control. Most of the horses at Wayside had come from abuse situations and they needed a light touch, not to mention they were all trained by Eric, one of the best trainers Cole had ever seen.

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