Page 25 of Operation: Chosen

“I’m doing fine, thanks.” She drummed her fingers on the table, unsure how to turn the conversation to what she wanted to know. The day before, after the car full of boys had come onto the ranch and she’d almost gotten shot, Eric had piqued her curiosity when they’d talked. He’d told her about the people who came to Wayside to heal. Lacy too had mentioned healing, but hadn’t told her who these people were.

Ali had assumed the ranch was more of a dude ranch, where guests could come and vacation. Or maybe with all the rules that were similar to the Ten Commandments she remembered Eric talking about when they were younger, Wayside acted as a church camp. “I’m curious, and maybe you can cure my curiosity.”

Gabby smiled. “You want to know what the ranch is all about. I can see it on your face. I was lucky in that I was originally invited here to work with one of the guests, so I knew up front the service Wayside provides. I’m sure if you don’t know, being here is confusing for you.”

“Well, yeah. There’s this ranch full of horses and dogs, a couple kids, and a bunch of grown men who don’t seem to do anything other than the ranch. How can this work? Then there was Lacy who said everyone comes here to heal. So, that confused me too.”

Gabby laughed. “I can see how that would be confusing. Wayside is a place for victims of human trafficking to come and find rest. They can stay as long as they need to and heal. I’m still new here. I came about five months ago to help Junior, who I knew many years ago. We were able to work through a past mess, and now we’re married.”

“Connor mentioned that a few of his men were able to get second chances with women they regretted leaving behind. I was hoping for that with Eric, but I don’t think he will ever open up for me. He’s too grounded in the past.” At least they’d had one good conversation, even if neither of them got real closure from it.

“That’s secondary, but it is a big deal to all the men right now. Some are happy for the chance to try again. Others, like Eric and Brendon, are not. I’ve tried talking to Brendon about it, since I know him better than Eric, but he’s very closed lipped about what happened between him and Dee. He’s a mystery.”

Ali was good at opening books that didn’t want to be opened, but she wasn’t about to offer to help in that case. She already felt like the men there were against her after her first day when she tried helping them with the boys.

“So, Eric helps these victims return to normalcy through…horse training?” That seemed like a pretty big leap.

“Sort of. Mostly through riding and listening. That’s what all the guys do here. Many of the people who come here are women. They’ve been sex trafficked and seeing strong men can be a trigger for them. Having all the Wayside men gently show them that they are safe and can be trusted in a slow and sensitive way helps them to acclimate to a world they never thought they’d see again.

“The guys have to be very careful about how they treat and react to situations. I looked up the training all of them had before they started this venture, and it was pretty intense. I’m delighted to be here, and I’ve been able to help in some ways because Brendon never had anyone he could turn to. Now he does.”

The expensive bottle of wine on its way there came to mind, and Ali flinched inwardly. Even at the cost of that wine, it wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilling as what Eric did with his life every day. “I had hoped with this second chance mission, as Connor put it, that I could convince Eric to look at my life, at what I have and what I’ve accomplished, and join me. I was convinced that nothing he did in this out-of-the-way ranch could be as fulfilling as what I do.”

“And now?” Gabby’s brows rose, and she waited for Ali to answer.

“I don’t know what to do now. I want to see him. I want to rekindle what we had, what I shoved away. But I’m dealing with the fact that in some ways I’m not sorry. I was able to do a lot that I couldn’t have done if I’d stayed with Eric. But part of me wishes I could go back and see what that would’ve been like.” Even thinking like that sent acid churning in her stomach. Thank goodness she’d turned down the coffee. What if Eric had left her just like everyone else? Would she have been as strong and capable if she hadn’t been through college and physical training?

“It’s okay to have thinking that isn’t one hundred percent one way or another. There is no safety net when it comes to relationships. That is especially true when there is a painful past involved. I can tell you with complete assurance that Eric is not going to leave here without a good reason to.”

Ali couldn’t force him to choose, nor would she tell him what to do. But then, why stay? There was no place for her as a member of JAG out in rural Wyoming. They didn’t even need an attorney like her in Piper’s Ridge. While Gabby had obviously moved here and settled in with her career, that wasn’t an option for Ali. She wasn’t so sure she would ever see Eric devoted to her enough to leave Wayside.

If it would make him unhappy, she didn’t want him to.

Which meant there was no future for them. She’d already lived through a relationship with no future and wasn’t about to put herself in that situation that again. Eric might not get drunk or violent, but living in a loveless relationship caused by pressuring him would be torture enough. Nearing retirement, she wanted someone who would understand her and love her, not leave her when it was convenient like everyone else in her life.

Ali reached into her bag and gripped the scented lotion from within, then squirted a liberal amount on her hands and carefully rubbed it in, making sure all the places where lines might form were good and moisturized. Maybe she still had a chance to find love if she kept fighting against the clock.

Gabby reached across the table and rested a gentle hand on her arm. “You’ve only been here a little more than a week. Give Eric some time. His hesitance is his safety net. There are three sides to every story: his side, your side, and then what really happened that only an unbiased observer could recount. You both brought something to the situation that broke you apart. Let him work through his truth, and maybe you can get to the other side together.”

Ali stood and gripped the chair tightly like an anchor. “Even if we do, I’m not so sure anymore that it would benefit either of us. I’m not cut out for life out here, and he would be unhappy anywhere else. His job is just as important as mine, but his lifestyle is a world away from what I need. I don’t see how either of us can make that work.”

Gabby tilted her head and the side of her mouth raised in a smile. “Then let God handle the details, and you just concentrate on listening to what you should do.”

Ali didn’t have the heart to tell Gabby—the only person so far who’d really treated her openly like a friend—that she had no faith, no little angel on her shoulder to direct her. Nothing. Maybe other people could hear direction, but Ali wanted to make her own way and claim it as her own. Unfortunately, the path she was supposed to take currently resembled a mud pit, and there was no way she was escaping a mess.

ChapterEleven

Eric gathered the few things Terrell had brought with him while the other boys looked on in disgust. Neither of them asked why Eric was there or why he was touching Terrell’s stuff. Terrell was truly an outsider in the group. The feeling added credence to Terrell’s statement that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time when the theft had happened.

Eric took the duffel from the room and left the cabin feeling heavy in his chest. Big E and Jayzon were still welcome to choose otherwise, but he knew they wouldn’t. They’d both decided to follow their brothers down a path that would lead to destruction. Very few people retired from a gang.

He stopped in front of his own cabin and pushed the door open. Terrell waited just where he’d told him to, in the living room area. He was pacing and stopped as soon as Eric closed the door.

“Did they say anything?” Terrell glanced at the door, then at Eric.

“No. Did you expect them to?”

Terrell seemed to deflate a little. “I guess I hoped they would. I’ve been with Jayzon for years. I thought we were friends. I guess not.”

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