Page 51 of Operation: Chosen

“Iam,” Eric corrected.

“Weare.” Ali narrowed her eyes, daring him to correct her again.

Lord bless him, he wanted to challenge her. Ali had lived to the beat of her own drum for a long time, and so had he, but with work, could they have now what they should’ve had long ago? If they’d only learned to communicate back then instead of reading each other like picture books with half the images missing. He’d never lived with encouragement; she needed that to survive.

Now he’d learned how to encourage people because of his life at Wayside. He could nurture and encourage her. But could she learn to live out on the land? Was she willing to? If he could learn to love her, could she learn to love what made him who he was now?

“I was going to, but I’m not going to argue with her now.”

Connor laughed. “Smart man.” He turned his focus on Ali. “You have anything to wear? You’ll be damp and cold in that.”

Eric had to give props to Connor. He’d pointed out Ali’s issue without outwardly saying that she was wrong. Her clothes would need a change, or she would not only be damp, but she’d stick out. Bright-white pants that stopped just below her knee were enticing to look at, but would be filthy after sitting in a barn and would be very visible in a place where everything was dirty by nature.

“Let me guess…” She smirked. “I’ll need boots, jeans, and flannel?”

“That’s a good start. Let’s see if Lacy has anything you can borrow.” Connor motioned for Ali to follow him.

Eric held his breath as he watched her leave, realizing he didn’t want to see her walk away from him again any more than she wanted to go.I don’t want to go back…Her words taunted him. How would he have to change if she couldn’t live with his life?

“Skyfall… I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

His mare didn’t have any more answers than he did.

* * *

Ali hadn’t wantedto leave Eric in the barn. What if he decided to go on his stakeout without her? What if he went all chivalrous and protected her like she’d wanted him to do all those years ago? This would be the worst moment to become what she’d hoped for because she wanted to go with him and do some protecting of her own.

She followed Connor through the dark to the welcoming lodge. He said nothing as he pushed open the door and held it open for her. During the day, the house felt like an office that people could sleep in, like a professional hotel. At night, with the dim lights and the large dining room shut, the house felt like a home.

Lacy sat on one of the huge leather sofas, flipping through a magazine in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a loose-fitting tee that hung off her shoulder a bit. It looked old enough to have been hers when she was a teen. The image on the front was a faded Strawberry Shortcake, her huge pink hat taking up most of the real estate.

“Lacy, Ali is going to sit on a stakeout with Eric. Got anything she can wear?”

Lacy stood and stifled a yawn. “I’m sure I do. Boots will be the issue. She’s got tiny feet.” Lacy laughed as she headed for the stairs.

Ali glanced down at her sandaled feet and felt self-conscious. Were her feet too tiny?

“Follow me. I doubt you want to try clothes on in the living room.” Lacy called down.

Ali zoomed up the stairs after her. She’d never been to the second floor of the lodge. Up here, it was even more like a home. It was comprised of a long hall, similar to the one below where Connor’s office was, but the feel was totally different. Relaxed. Welcoming.

“I’m down here,” Lacy called from the one open door near the end.

Ali followed the sound and found Lacy in her room with two drawers hanging open. The room smelled like a lemon had taken a bath in there. Lacy had already piled a few pairs of jeans and a few flannels on the bed.

“Pick what you think will fit.” She turned to face Ali with a gleam in her eye. “I can’twaitto see what your life is like after tonight.”

ChapterTwenty

Eric’s truck bounced down the gravel road past the place where they’d found Skyfall. Ali resisted the urge to roll up the sleeves of the flannel shirt against the heat in the pickup cab. She’d chosen dark jeans, an equally dark flannel, and the only boots Lacy had that came close to fitting. They’d both had a good laugh over Ali trying to walk in the ones a size larger.

But now her stomach roiled with the tension of what they were about to do. “If my superior knew…” She bit her lip. This was breaking the law. She’d sworn to defend people, not encourage lawlessness by breaking it.

“Then let’s make sure they never do.” Eric splayed his fingers wide as he slowly turned the wheel to pull them down a short access road that led to a field. There were no crops, but they also hadn’t seen a single car, so the truck was probably safe there.

“This will be quite a walk,” she said to change the subject. She still hadn’t told Eric the reason why she wanted to stay at Wayside and didn’t want to go back and face her job. The reason didn’t fully make sense to her. In the last week, she’d discovered many things about herself that she was sure weren’t true before. Now she wanted to test those things and see if her assumptions matched with reality.

Eric climbed out of the truck and closed the door with almost no noise. Ali followed suit and came around the back of the truck bed. A gravel road spread out in front of them full of large rocks and places to twist her ankle in her loose boots.

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