Page 17 of Operation: Discovery

Dee kneeled at his side, ignoring Connor’s request for everyone to stay back. “Are you all right? I saw you had fallen.”

Embarrassment washed over him. He could handle being in a chair with no issue, but having people see him as weak was still a struggle. He’d been an Army Ranger. Tough. A man who could handle any situation. He didn’t want Dee to see him as a man constantly in need. She wasn’t asking about any of the others, only him.

“I’m fine.” Even if his head and neck hurt some, he wasn’t about to complain. He’d ice it and take something when he was alone.

“I’m sorry about your car. I’ve been wishing all morning that I hadn’t asked you to come with me. I put you in danger and now your car is destroyed. All because I wanted to do something to feel like I was a part of this community. I like to get to know people and do things when I move somewhere new. I’m so sorry.” Her voice was soft, but still loud enough for anyone around to hear her.

There was a touch of deeper emotion that he didn’t want to examine too closely, mostly because his mind and heart were stuck on the fact that she was apologizing for including him. “And if I hadn’t gone, what would’ve happened to you? To Adam? I’m not a hero, but I notice things. My car is expensive, but replaceable. People are not.” He unlocked the wheels of his chair but, before he could pull away, Dee rested a hand on his shoulder. Even if he didn’t want her back in his life, he couldn’t pull away from her touch.

“I’m glad you’re fine. I came a long way to see you and I’m not ready to miss you again just yet.” She turned and headed back for the lodge.

Sam picked up Max off the ground and cradled the huge golden retriever as he headed for the kennel. He didn’t slow down or lose his focus on the place where he had the medical equipment to look after his dogs. While he wasn’t a vet, he could manage most small issues. If whatever had happened to Max couldn’t be managed by Sam, he’d take the dog over to Dr. John. Brendon prayed nothing had happened to Max, especially because someone might have been hurt if the dog hadn’t warned them.

He looked around for something he could do to help, but the situation seemed slightly out of control as the fire department rolled up. Controlled chaos had seemed like an impossibility until now. He wouldn’t have believed it could exist. Four firefighters descended from the truck and took over the situation, immediately pulling hoses and preparing them for the tanker truck coming up the drive just behind the first truck.

Soon they’d formed a barricade around the burning car. The other nearby vehicles that could be moved, were. People were shuffled back far enough to be out of the way. Brendon waited nearby. He wasn’t sure what he could do or where he should go. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to leave the scene yet.

A police officer he recognized as part of Officer Blake’s team came over to talk to him. “I don’t want to assume we know the whole situation here. Can you fill me in on where you were all day, starting with when you left this morning?”

He was fairly certain the bomb couldn’t have been there before, but could he be wrong? Could someone have come up to Wayside in the middle of the night and placed a bomb under his car? Connor made sure that the parking areas all had excellent lighting, making it less likely someone would choose to risk being seen coming onto the property. But risk didn’t make it impossible.

“I went into town with Dee Heather Rose, a CNA who has come to help one of our guests here.”

“And that’s when you went to the blood drive where you spoke to Officer Blake earlier?” He jotted down something on a notepad.

“That’s correct. We were there for a little over an hour. When we left, there were still quite a few cars in the front lot, since there were still people who needed to be processed before they could leave. I didn’t know anyone well enough to know if the cars belonged only to those inside or if some of the people who we’d thought had fled were still nearby.”

The officer nodded. “That’s a possibility. Continue.”

“Dee and I needed a minute to wind down from the stress after breaking up the fake blood drive. We went to Sacred Grounds to grab a coffee.”

The officer glanced up and grinned. “Best in the county. And how long were you inside?”

Brendon tried to think. He’d remembered that they’d needed to be home before lunch, but they’d had three hours. If they were at the blood drive for a little over an hour and picking up Moira and Adam had taken an hour, the coffee had to be less than an hour old, because lunch hadn’t been ready yet when they’d returned. “Probably about twenty-five minutes.”

He’d discounted that stop in their day, since it had been so brief. For a professional, it would’ve been the perfect opportunity for someone to tamper with his car since the parking was all on the side of the building where there were no windows, though it was visible from the street. The coffee shop itself was in a huge old Victorian home that had been repurposed as a coffee shop. When the house next door had been condemned, the owners bought the lot, leveled the condemned house, and turned the area into a parking lot.

“After that?” The officer kept scrawling notes.

“Dee was worried about Moira and Adam, the boy who was found on the table at the blood drive. She wanted to go check on them. I got the address from Officer Blake who reassured me they were safe at home. We went and determined the housewasn’tsafe, then brought them back here.”

“Did you leave your car unattended at any point during that time?”

Brendon nodded. “Yes. While at the clinic and the coffee shop, I couldn’t see my car. I didn’t know there was an issue at all until we got home. If Sam hadn’t been walking that dog when he did, anyone could’ve been out here when the car blew.” At least he could be thankful that, despite the horror that could’ve been, God had saved everyone at Wayside.

“The team won’t be able to look at your car until the scene cools. We can’t get the device or anything else from your car until then. We’ll be here for a while.”

Meaning Brendon didn’t have to remain on the scene. The officer had accepted the baton of worry. At least for now.

* * *

Dee went backto the dining room to find all three of the people she’d planned to join had finished and left. Her tray sat all alone at the table where she’d abandoned it when Brendon’s car had blown up.

Victoria leaned out of the pass-through window. “Is everyone okay? I’ve been waiting and waiting for someone to come in here and tell me what’s going on. Teddy left to find out, but I haven’t seen him since.”

Dee couldn’t remember in all the bustle outside if Teddy had been there. She approached the counter so she wouldn’t have to yell across the room. “Brendon’s car exploded. One of the dogs alerted on the car. They called the authorities, but it blew up.” And she’d been in that car not even an hour before. What if the bomb had blown while they were driving? Life was fleeting and she had so much she wanted to do yet.

“Goodness …” Victoria covered her mouth. “Praise God everyone is okay.”

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