Page 10 of Operation: Discovery

“Why can’t they be my ‘just one’?” She needed to know why, because his answer might give her a clue into what he was thinking. Why did he blame her when he was the one who left? How had her unwavering support driven him away and would it again if she kept pushing to help this family?

He sighed, but it didn’t come across as frustration. His shoulders didn’t tense, and he didn’t shake his head like he was angry with her. “You truly believe they need us?”

She’d never been poor enough to need to give plasma to pay bills or to buy things she needed. She’d always been able to find a job that supported her. But she wasn’t naive enough to think everyone was like her. “She never mentioned a husband. Not even in passing. Not ‘what is Mr. Bixby going to think of all this’. Not, ‘what am I going to tell my husband’. I noticed no ring on her finger, but not that everyone wears one. I think she’s alone with a young son and they were both traumatized today. What would it hurt to help them, just for a few days, to get a little support from the community?”

“I don’t have the authority to give that to you,” he said before she could even fully finish.

Connor had told her that Brendon was his equal when it came to Wayside. While he was technically Brendon’s employer, he didn’t see Brendon as an employee. “But you have the power to make that call and ask.”

“You’re putting me in quite the position.” He didn’t even blink, his concentration on her was so complete.

“I can call if you want.” But either way, she had to try. Noon was approaching, and they would have to return to Wayside soon, but she hoped they returned with Mrs. Bixby and her son.

“Fine. Let’s go see them and make sure they’re alright. You’re making quite a few assumptions, and I can’t make a decision without facts.”

“I know you think these are just feelings, but they are the same as the feeling you had when we went into that fake blood drive. You could feel what was going on and the clues proved you right. My hunches are being proven true by the evidence.”

He released the brake on his chair and rolled back. “I guess we’ll see in a few minutes.”

* * *

Even with thatmorning’s events solidly on his mind, Brendon couldn’t recall a time when warning bells had rung louder in his head. He’d called Connor on the way to Moira’s to tell him what had happened and what Dee had proposed. Despite his belief Connor would disagree, he’d told Brendon to go with his gut. Well, his gut felt like they were walking into a trap.

“You’re being all silent on me again.” Dee glanced at him from the passenger seat.

“It’s not intentional. I have a lot going on in my mind right now and I can’t process and have a conversation at the same time. Not all men can multitask.” He gripped the stability knob on his steering wheel while he pushed the accelerator with the other and tried to read the faded writing on the ancient signs on that side of town.

His navigation service hadn’t even known there was a street with the name Officer Blake had given him. Technically, Brendon wasn’t supposed to have the information. It was private. Since Officer Blake had said the dispatcher had originally gotten the information off of public records, he would make an exception in this case. That had been another surprising turn. Nothing was working out like he’d expected today.

He finally saw the right sign, almost completely worn bare, and pulled to a stop in front of a trailer house that looked older than him. He was pretty sure that trailers had a limited span of livability, so to speak. There was only so long they could be used before the whole structure just disintegrated. This one looked like if he breathed on it wrong, it would fall into a pile of dust. Worse, he’d have to rely on the Bixby’s coming out because the only way in was a narrow, rickety, wooden set of stairs with no railing for him to pull himself up. He wasn’t about to send Dee into that house alone.

The house was dark inside and there were no toys in the front yard to let anyone know a child lived there. Nothing gave away that anyone lived in the house. There was no car in the overgrown driveway, and no welcome sign on the door. The storm door hung loosely off its hinges. He waited for a moment, contemplating how he should proceed. Moira Bixby needed him. She would need their help to make sure she had the resources she would need over the next few weeks. Not to mention a safe place to lay her head for a few days.

“Do you think she’ll accept help?” Dee sounded less than sure of herself for the first time in the last hour.

“I don’t know. This isn’t how we usually do things. Of course, I want to know that she and her son are all right, but this is way outside of my norm.”

Dee unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’ll just go up and knock, see if she’s home. I don’t see a car in the drive. That would’ve been a long walk from the town hall.”

He might not be able to go into the house, but he didn’t want Dee going up there alone. What if they’d been followed? He tried to figure out a way, even as he saw none. His chair could manage the grass easily, but there was no way up those uneven stairs with no railing. “I think Officer Blake drove them. So, they are or were safely returned home.” But if they were still in that state, he wasn’t sure.

Brendon opened his car door, then reached into his back seat for his chair.

“Just wait.” Dee held out her arm, laying it over his and he froze.

Moira opened the inner door but stayed inside the storm door as if it might protect her from whoever she thought they were. “I don’t want to frighten her. Give me four minutes to talk to her.”

“Four? Exactly four?” Was she out of her mind? Who asked for four minutes?

“Yes. Five is too many. I’m nervous here.” She laughed as she pushed the door open.

Dee was a conundrum. She laughed when she was frightened, and she defended the underprivileged. She wanted to help everyone, even him. He wasn’t sure what to make of her.

He glanced at his watch, noting the time, then paid close attention to Moira and Dee. He couldn’t hear what was said, but the body language of the two women spoke volumes. Dee was relaxed or had forced herself to appear that way. Moira was tense with her arms wrapped over her stomach and her brows furrowed.

A moment later, the door banged open, scaring both women as the young boy stumbled out. He was obviously still a little woozy from whatever they’d given him. Usually, the paramedics wouldn’t have let him go until he was fully awake, but maybe they’d wanted to transport him, and Moira had refused. She hadn’t wanted an ambulance called at all. Not because she didn’t think it was necessary, but because of the cost.

The boy finished asking his mother a question, then approached Brendon’s car. Brendon pressed the button to lower the window. Adam leaned against the car and stuck his little face through the open window.

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