Page 11 of Operation: Discovery

“Mom says you and that lady saved me.”

Brendon immediately liked the boy’s matter-of-fact way. “We stopped what was about to happen, yes.” He didn’t like acting like a hero or having someone think of him that way. He couldn’t live up to that.

“They’re talking about staying at a ranch for a few days until we feel safe again. I don’t think that’s going to happen. There’s been three different cars that drive through the neighborhood every night and Mom is scared all the time. At first, all the neighbors thought they were looking for kittens. You know, to feed to attack dogs. We hate that, but it happens. But no one was missing cats.” He shrugged. “Anyway, if they aren’t after cats, they must be after something else.”

Something like children. “Is this neighborhood full of kids?” Brendon leaned in closer to hear the boy. “I’m Brendon, by the way.” He held out his hand.

The boy’s eyes widened as he slipped his tiny hand in Brendon’s. “I’m Adam. Yeah, there are kids in almost every house here. Jacob was from this neighborhood, too. Ma calls this place the unintended garden or something like that. Because of all the kids.”

“Oh, no!” Moira and Dee had come close enough to hear the end of the exchange and Moira’s face turned bright red. “Not unintended.Untended, because all these houses are so old.” She lowered to look Adam in the eye. “I shouldn’t have used words that you might not understand yet, but it’s also important to remember not to repeat words you don’t know unless you’re asking what they mean.”

He tucked his chin to his chest. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, but I need you to go back inside and put two pairs of clothes in a bag and a pair of jammies. Everything you will need for two days.” She held up two fingers to enunciate.

He raced toward the house as Moira bent to look inside at Brendon. She held out her hand. “I didn’t have a chance to thank you. I don’t think I can thank you and Dee enough. And to offer us a place to stay for a few days … ” Her face pinched slightly. “You have no idea how much that means, especially after hearing about Jacob. My front door doesn’t even lock and all I could think about was sitting up all night because I couldn’t sleep in an unlocked house. The handle broke months ago. The landlord was supposed to come and replace it, but he hasn’t yet. He owns a lot of the places down here, but he doesn’t update anything.”

“Jacob was the little boy who was taken?” He’d heard Officer Nixon Blake mention a boy named Jacob.

Moira swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, he lived in that blue trailer.” She pointed just down the street. “His mother is frantic, calling all the hospitals over and over, hoping one of them sees her son.”

With all the houses in disrepair, people became more private. They didn’t call the police over things like trolling cars because they were sure the police wouldn’t care. There was a feeling that poor neighborhoods were trouble and irredeemable, so the police didn’t want to invest any time there. That made the neighborhood perfect for scouting.

He’d call Officer Blake as soon as he returned to Wayside and let him know something was going on that needed his attention. Brendon gave her a nod, since he wasn’t sure what else to say. He still wasn’t sure why Connor had agreed to let her come. He was usually incredibly private when they had clients staying at Wayside.

“I’ll just need a minute to put together a few things. Thank you again.” She straightened and headed for the house.

Dee opened the back door and took the frame of his wheelchair out of the car. He popped open the trunk from his seat so she could stow his chair back there, giving Moira and Adam room in the back seat. In the time it took her to quickly move the three pieces, Moira and Adam had returned.

She let them in the car, then got in the passenger side. Moira leaned forward. “It’s so strange. I know I have to come back here, but I feel like I’m saying goodbye forever. Before I lost my job, I left every day to go to work and I didn’t feel this way.”

Dee twisted in her seat to look at Moira as Brendon pulled back on the street toward Piper’s Ridge. “Maybe it’s only because you’ll be gone a few days. You probably don’t go away for a few days very often.”

“Never,” Adam corrected.

“We’ll have to see about getting you a booster seat. How old are you?” Dee asked.

“I don’t need a booster. I’m eight years old.” Brendon could hear the pride in his voice.

“Oh, you’re quite old then. Old enough to just use a buckle.” Dee glanced over at him.

A realization hit him. He understood exactly what her look meant. There was no wondering. There was no, ‘I think she means ….’. He knew with complete certainty that she was nervous about what Connor would say once they returned to Wayside. She’d only been back in his life for a day, and she’d already threaded her way back into his mind.

“I think you’ve got good cause to worry,” he said.

Dee whipped her head around to look at him and now her eyes were wide. “How did you know I was worried?”

“I just do.”

“Well, you don’t look so unfazed yourself.”

If he was counting score, she was now two for two.

ChapterFive

The closer Brendon drove to home, the more unsure he was about what to do. Connor hadn’t called to let him know, nor had he asked what was going on. The entire situation was very unlike Connor. He pulled into the parking spot near the front of the lot, closest to the lodge, and waited for Dee to bring the parts of his chair around.

He’d fully planned to accept whichever piece she brought first and arrange it so he could assemble it in the easiest sequence, but she brought him the correct parts in the right order. He must not have controlled his face as well as he thought because she laughed at him as she handed him the final part, the outer wheel. “I told you I’ve worked with paraplegic patients before. This part, I know.”

---