Page 2 of Operation: Unify

“I hadn’t planned on it. I don’t have any friends outside of those here at Wayside, and they’re all married now.” She was the only outlier. Other than Victoria, all the other women were married or engaged, but Victoria was needed at Wayside, and she didn’t live on the ranch.

“I’ll be praying for your safety.”

“I’d like that.” And she knew she could count on him to do what he said he would. “I won’t be a stranger, either. You’ll hear from me. I’m not leaving to get away from you. You’re still my closest friend in the world, Connor. That won’t change.”

“Good. You know how I feel about change.” He laughed without any humor.

That was true, but he’d rather face the change of divorce than deal with change coming from anyone else. “I’m aware. I’ll keep you posted on Ferd’s progress.”

“Sounds good. Please tell me this isn’t some secret mission to get me to know my half-sister better.”

She laughed. “Guilty, but I think you’d get there on your own soon enough. You aren’t one to hold things against people when they have no control over them.”

“Thanks for that. I’m sure I’ll get used to the idea, but I’ve kept my brothers away for so long that I didn’t think I had room for siblings anymore. I suppose at some point, she’ll want to meet them too. Then I’ll have to face everything.”

“That’s true. Christmas Eve might be good. You could have them come over for a few hours. Scheduled. Tell them what’s upso they actually come.” She bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t pushed too hard.

“It’s a good idea. I’m just hesitant. I guess if I’m going to, I’d better decide today though, Christmas is almost here.”

“It is.” And this would be the first Christmas since Connor was deployed that she would feel separated from him, even though he might still be in the same room.

Lacy staredat the phone for a full minute after hanging up with Connor. Was this the right thing to do? The wordsrefiner’s firefloated through her thoughts. There was no way that a refiner’s fire wouldn’t melt away the impurities. The process couldn’t be pleasant. She had to walk this path that might cause Connor some pain now so he wouldn’t have to hurt as badly later.

In the process, she would certainly get burned too.

Her phone rang once again, startling her. The phone never rang and all of a sudden it wasn’t leaving her alone. “Connor, what’s up?”

“Huh?” a semi-familiar voice said. “Who’s Connor?”

“Who is this?” Lacy’s heart took up a fast rhythm.

“I don’t blame you for not remembering. It’s been years. Look, Lacy, this is Melinda, from church.”

Melinda. Lacy hadn’t heard that name in almost a decade. “You haven’t been to church in a long time.”

“You’re the only friend from back then who still has the same phone number. Look, I’m in danger. I married a man I shouldn’t have, and I can’t get out. He won’t let me leave. I need you to get help for me. Please. I’m sending you a pin to my location, thenI have to delete all of this off the phone, so he doesn’t know. Please, please help me.” The line went silent.

In the next instant, a text came through with a location, two states away in New Mexico. Who could she call who would believe her? Lacy pressed the saved phone number for Ferd. In two rings, the young woman answered. “Lacy?”

“Yeah, hey . . .” Where to begin? “We have a lot of work to do to get you up to speed.” Her mind whirred with ways to help Melinda. She could call the police in town, but if they did a well-check, would that make the situation worse?

“Yeah, I’ve been looking at the files in your office that you told me to. What you do is kind of a lot. Does Connor know about everything you do around here?”

Lacy laughed. “Not hardly, and I don’t want him to. Do you think you can handle the job? He told me we could hire someone else if you don’t want to do it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he said it that way.” Ferd’s voice went completely deadpan. “I’m not sure why he sees me as some kind of threat. I’m not.”

“You’re just too much like him for him to deny you are who you say you are. It would be great if he could just accept you, but he isn’t that kind of guy.” And she was about to drop Ferd into the lion’s den. “I need to leave town quicker than I thought. Like, tonight.”

“What?” The word was so loud Lacy had to pull the phone from her ear.

“Yeah, I just got a call. An emergency. I have to go.” She stood up to start packing.

“Um, I don’t know how I’m going to do what you do. I guess I’m glad it’s right before Christmas and no one new will be coming for quite some time.”

Currently, Wayside was full and tending to those who were already living there. Most of their immediate needs had been met. If there was ever a time she could go freely, it was now.

“You know you can call me with any questions. I’m only a phone call away.” She tossed a few pairs of jeans in her bag, then closed her eyes. Was New Mexico warm at Christmastime? She had no idea.

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