Page 41 of Operation: Discovery

“You always have been a powerhouse, giving energy and motivation to everyone around you.” He’d even seen that as a very positive trait in her before he’d let his own discontent get in the way.

“I think maybe I need to temper my mitochondrial tendencies.” She snorted. “Not everyone wants the help of a powerhouse.”

He strained against the grass to get closer to her. Dee needed him. “Dee, you’re committed to helping Rebecca and she loves your energy. Don’t stop being who you are just because we talked about one situation that happened years ago. I’m sorry I was so critical when you got here. I should’ve assumed that you and I had both changed.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t. Other than caring for the elderly instead of younger men with the military, I didn’t change. I still pushed my patients to work harder and do more than they thought they could do.”

He rested his hands on his knees to keep from reaching out to touch her. If he did that, he would want to kiss her again. He was fairly sure she hadn’t found his kiss to be appropriate or welcome, though she hadn’t chastised him for it. She’d been retreating from him ever since.

“I think both of us need the commitment of work so we can have a distraction from the horror that is Jacob’s case. Let’s commit to helping Rebecca and Moira as much as we can.”

She gave him a soft half-smile that really seemed to only include half of her feelings, too. “I am committed to helping Rebecca and Moira. I don’t want her to go home until Jacob’s murderer is caught. I don’t think she’s safe in that neighborhood until he is.”

Brendon nodded his agreement. “Connor would agree. We’ll need to talk to the school about safety measures. We can’t have you getting chased by people wanting to run you off the road every day after school. It would only be a matter of time before they endanger other students to get at him.”

She stood up and out of the swing’s seat, then crossed her arms. “I think that’s a good plan. No one is going to hurt Adam. Not while there’s blood pumping through my veins.”

Brendon said a quick prayer that no one took that as a challenge.

ChapterSeventeen

Aweek later, Dee sat on the floor, massaging Rebecca’s calves as she thought about Adam at his first day of school. Moira had been worried about him all day and had secured a promise from Dee to take her into town to pick him up after school.

“Is everything all right?” Rebecca asked. “You seem distracted today.”

Dee stopped rubbing to add lotion to her hands. “I am, a little. But don’t worry about me. I saw that you went out and sat near the fire pit last night for the last-day-of-summer fire. Did you enjoy yourself?” Talking about happy things would distract her until three, when she needed to leave.

“I did. Though, I felt out of place there. I know that the only way to feel better is to get to know people, but I’m more afraid of meeting people than I am of feeling better, so I don’t.”

“It is hard. I struggle when I’m getting to know people, too.” Should she push Rebecca to break out of her comfort zone or was praising her for her efforts enough? She found herself questioning her motives now instead of trusting her abilities.

Ever since she’d spoken with Brendon about what had driven him from her life, she’d examined every intention before opening her mouth. She’d begun to feel like a fraud every time she was trying to encourage either Moira or Rebecca.

“Brendon gave me a challenge to get out of my room once a week, even if it was only for fifteen minutes. The only qualification he gave me was that it couldn’t be my usual time with Sam, nor can I count meals. So, the fire pit was an easy way to get my time in.” Rebecca laughed. “Now I don’t have to think about doing it again for another six days.”

“Brendon challenged you?” She went to work on the other leg and thought ahead to the leg lifts they’d be doing. The point wasn’t for Rebecca to feel the massage, she couldn’t, but to keep circulation going. Blood clots were a danger to people who sat for long periods and couldn’t flex their leg muscles. Dee hoped that the massage helped prevent those. The exercises she helped Rebecca do were to keep her muscles from atrophying too much.

“Yes, he said that if it just caused too much anxiety, then I could wait until I was ready. But he wanted to see me try. He was there last night, so he saw my effort.”

Dee had noticed he was there but hadn’t gone to talk to him. She hadn’t gone out of her way to speak to him all week. She’d started out being too busy, then she’d convinced herself that she couldn’t. Now, she wasn’t even sure he wanted to. He hadn’t gone out of his way to find her either.

Someone knocked on the door and Rebecca quickly moved her leg out of Dee’s grasp and tugged her pantleg down. “Who is it?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

“It’s Moira. Connor said I could find Dee in here?” She sounded unsure.

Dee smiled in a way she hoped asked permission to let Moira in. Rebecca bit her lip.

“I promise, Moira will not ask you questions or expect more of you than you want to give. She’s here to get me because I’m driving her to school to pick up her son.”

Rebecca gave a single nod of permission. “Fine.” Though she didn’t sound happy about the acceptance.

Dee wiped her hands as she headed for the door, then opened it slightly. Moira stood outside with her brow furrowed. “I’m sorry. I know I’m early, but I want to be there first in the pickup line so I can see him leave the school and make sure he gets in the car.”

“You called the school already and let them know we’re picking him up?” Dee asked. She’d called the school to verify the normal release procedure and that’s what they’d told her to do. Since Adam had lived in town and always walked to school in the past, the school bus system wasn’t one Moira was used to.

“Yes, I let them know he wasn’t supposed to get on the bus today. I just have a bad feeling about the school. These people are using places and situations people feel very comfortable in, places where people walk around without really seeing, and these people are using that to their advantage.”

Rebecca leaned forward. “Who?”

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