Page 9 of Operation: Discovery

Brendon’s smile, complete with a single dimple, was more addicting than any coffee. She turned from him and headed inside, then glanced up at the board full of various flavors and blends. He was right, of course; she had no idea what to get. “Why don’t you order for me?”

One of his brows slowly rose, and he chuckled. “You trust me, huh?”

After today, she certainly did. “I do. I’ll find a place to sit if you order.” She dug in her purse for some cash, but he waved off her offer.

She found a seat with a booth on one side and chairs on the other so Brendon could comfortably pull up to the table. He joined her a few minutes later, balancing a cardboard tray with the coffees in his lap. He set the tray on the table, then gave her one tall cup. Silence spread across the table until she took a sip of what Brendon had ordered for her. It was white chocolate and just sweet enough to tickle her senses. He’d been right; she’d needed this.

“Thanks. I’ve got to say, when Connor told me I was needed on a ranch to help victims of human trafficking, I assumed once I was here that I would be far away from any danger.” But now that she thought about the fences and gates, plus all the security at Wayside, perhaps she should’ve assumed that wasn’t the case once she saw the place. “Am I in danger by living at Wayside while I’m needed?” That question wasn’t going to help her relax after the day she’d had, but there would never be a more appropriate time to get the answer.

He wrapped his hands around his paper cup and sighed. “Wayside is very safe. However, I wish I could say we’ve never had trouble. I wish I could say you were100%safe, but that’s not the case anywhere. If you don’t feel secure, Connor can find someone else to help Rebecca.”

While what Brendon said was perfectly true and probably meant to relieve her of guilt, the rejection stung. He was dismissing her once again. If she left now, she’d never have another chance to find out what happened. Too many years had gone by where she could’ve met someone else if her heart had a mind to let her. But it didn’t. Her silly heart still had a thing for Brendon. Looking at him now made her even more certain that there wouldn’t be anyone else.

If they didn’t figure out what had happened between them and work out their differences, she would be alone. She’d been alone for years, but this was a concrete feeling. Without a relationship with Brendon, she wanted no one else. If he wasn’t willing, then that door would be closed.

“I’m not leaving. I just needed to know if I have to take precautions. I almost got myself in trouble today because I assumed small towns were safe and handwritten signs were quaint. How have things in this world gotten so bad that evil like that could reach way out here?”

Brendon took a moment to answer. “Evil has a pretty long arm and no conscience. Unfortunately, no one is safe. We do try, though. It’s our mission to make sure everyone who comes to Wayside has a place to heal, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that happens.”

She shivered, hoping that protection was for everyone on Wayside, not just the patients.

ChapterFour

Dee wanted to sit and talk with Brendon for hours, just to enjoy his company for a while, but she couldn’t make her mind focus on anything but Mrs. Bixby, her son, and the boy who was taken. One could argue that they were victims as much as anyone out at Wayside. What had happened at the town hall would leave both of them scarred and there were no programs to help them. They would be forced to go on with life as normal because, if Moira couldn’t afford a few school supplies, she couldn’t afford counseling.

“I wish we hadn’t left them there. Mrs. Bixby and her son, I mean.” Dee stood and took her empty cup to the garbage can, needing a moment to compile her thoughts. She couldn’t invite someone out to Wayside without asking first. Connor had told her there was a long application process because so many people needed a place like Wayside and there was only so much funding available. They had to take those who Connor and Brendon were certain would benefit from the program.

Dee wasn’t so sure Mrs. Bixby and her son would. But they would be better off at Wayside than at home where all they had was each other. She turned to head back to the table and found Brendon staring at her. Her cheeks flushed warm, even though she couldn’t bring herself to believe he liked what he saw. He was probably wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

She took a deep breath and took her seat once more. “Thank you for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome, but don’t try to change the subject. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and pretend it didn’t happen.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I hadn’t forgotten how driven you are, but I don’t know that there’s anything we can do in this case.”

She wanted to ask him more, to elaborate on what he’d said. She’d wondered for years if he’d left because of some lack in her care. She’d wanted him to succeed so badly because she’d loved him. She wanted him to fulfill his potential and be the happiest man he could be. His withdrawal had made her question everything she did as an aftercare nurse.

“I don’t know that there’s anything we can do, but I get the feeling that those two have no one. They have no resources. What if Moira gave them her address? What if they come back to find her? Is she safe now that the situation is over? Arewein danger because we stopped it? I have so many questions.”

The room around faded away as she waited for Brendon to alleviate her mind. She needed to know that the little boy and his mother were going to be all right after that horrible experience. If only they knew more about the other boy, but Officer Blake had said little more than that his first name was Jacob.

“Officer Blake will make sure they get home safely, but the police force is too small in Piper’s Ridge to watch over one family. Most of the few officers we have, we share within a fifty-mile radius. If something happens in another town, for a little while, we’re defenseless.”

“There are just so many people who need help,” she said, but no answers came to her.

“I know. As much as we want to, we don’t have the resources to help all of them. We aren’t a shelter.”

“But you are. In a way.” Even his slight disagreement with her made her want to bring the Bixby’s to safety even more. “You are a shelter for the people who are there, and I don’t mean to cheapen what you do by saying that. A shelter is a protection, not just a place for the displaced. If I think about the Bible, Psalm 91:4 saysHe shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust.”

He tapped his cup against the table. “I know what you mean, but legally, we aren’t a shelter. We can argue semantics all you’d like, but I still don’t have the authority to bring two people to Wayside without going through the proper channels. I’ll go so far as to say I don’t think they would qualify.”

She didn’t like his answer, but from what Connor had said, Brendon was an equal with him at Wayside. They were both in charge of bringing people in. That didn’t stop her need to make sure the Bixby’s were alright.

“Let’s go see where they live.” The moment she said it, she regretted the words. Brendon was very capable, but an unknown home wouldn’t have anything to aid him. He could make his chair go anywhere he wanted at the ranch, his home where they had built aids for him, and public places that had to at least try to accommodate his way of getting around. A stranger’s house didn’t have any of those things. While she could walk right into any home, he could not.

“You want to find out their address from Officer Blake and go to their house on the same day that they’ve had their privacy completely compromised?” He raised his brows.

“Stop trying to put evil actions on me. I’m trying to beneighborly,not intrusive.” She could feel his blame, though he was really good at hiding it behind a professional façade. He blamed her for their separation. If only she knew why. He wouldn’t keep trying to paint her as the enemy if he didn’t.

“You’re trying to push yourself into their lives. We have a specific group of people we’re trying to help, and we can’t do that if we’re helping everyone. This is an incredibly difficult job. Don’t think that I don’t want to help everyone, you have to go into this firmly believing you can save the world. You soon learn that you have to be happy saving just one. Then saving just one more.”

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