Page 57 of Operation: Unify

“Good to hear. I’ll be right here when you find out anything.” He hung up the phone.

Dad came in and sat down in the chair Lacy usually sat in when she came to see him. She hadn’t since they’d returned home, and he wondered where she’d gone. “Hey, Dad.”

He lifted his chin in greeting. “How did things go with Lacy?”

Dad would understand all that had happened, and he’d never kept anything from his father. “Good. Really good. We may have had a breakthrough. We’ll see what happens.”

“Glad to hear it. You ready for your brothers to come?”

Connor scratched his chin and realized he was in desperate need of a trim. His facial hair was longer than he usually allowed. “Assuming we’re able to have guests by then, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Are you ready? They could question the change to your living trust. They could want their portion back again. That might be the only reason they decided to come.”

Dad snorted. “Seems to me if they wanted anything to do with the inheritance, they would’ve contacted me before now. I’m not young and they already lost one parent. Nothing makes you more aware that people have a finite amount of time on this earth than losing one of your parents.”

Connor nodded, though he had to admit, learning that his mother had passed away had only affected him in that he’d lost the chance to reconcile with her. He’d tried over the years but had been shut out. Now, that door was closed. He’d never know why she didn’t love him, and he’d never be able to prove to her that he was worth loving.

“I think the main reason they’re coming is to meet Ferd.” He hoped so, anyway. Ferd could find herself in the middle of an uncomfortable situation if that weren’t the case and he didn’t want that for her. She’d proven herself to be trustworthy and helpful while he’d been gone. Having people like that around was always welcome.

“They may be curious about Gloria too, which is why I’m still not sure I want to bring her to the get together. She might be a distraction, and she doesn’t like being the center of attention.”

“If you don’t bring her, they’ll think you’re ashamed of her.” Guys his age and older weren’t immune from making decisions based on what a situation appeared to be as opposed to what it was.

“You might be right. I’m just thinking of keeping her from the stress of it. If they’re only coming this once and they never plan to talk to me or Gloria again, do I even need to worry about what they think? They assumed all this time that I had a torrid affair that split the family. That was only half-true.”

Connor wasn’t ready to ask for that explanation. It was still too new to think about a twenty-year-old half-sister. How Dad could have “half” of an affair was too much for his brain to work through. “I guess you’re welcome to bring her or not. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her at all since you arrived. She’s been taking care of you, and I’ve been busy.”

“Right. Busy.” Dad frowned. “She’s not leaving, Connor. I may have made a pretty serious mistake, but that doesn’t mean I’m not forgiven.”

Hadn’t he given grace to Edwyn for a much more personal slight? Hadn’t he thought that Wayside was built on grace? Yet he hadn’t extended it to his own father. “I’m sorry, Dad. I put you on a pedestal and expected you to do everything right to stay on it. You’ve always been the man I looked up to. It’s hard to admit you’re human.”

Dad snorted and it turned to a chuckle. “I’m only human and so is Gloria.”

Connor’s phone rang and he picked it up. “Connor speaking.”

Brendon said, “I just spoke to John. There are six men in the cars. Nadine just told me that we’ve lost our window we hoped to use. They didn’t go to town to gas up or get supplies. They arenow headed down the driveway on foot. I’d rather we pull Cole and Eric back to join with us instead of facing them alone. Six to two are pretty tough odds.”

“Agreed.” He’d hoped to have a chance to move everyone to the bunker before the men could strike. Now, he’d have to meet them far enough away to keep the bullets from penetrating any of the cabins. “I’ll let Lacy know she’s to tell everyone to stay in the house and to call all of the guests and tell them to take cover.”

“Sounds good.” Brendon hung up.

“I’ve got to go.” Connor hung up as he spoke to his father.

“I know. I’ll let Victoria know and I’ll call Gloria. She’ll let all the women know over on the Homestead.”

“Perfect, thank you.” He quickly stood and headed for the living room.

He’d expected to find Lacy there. Had she gone out to her office? He prayed she was safely out of harm’s way. It was bad enough that his guests were out there, but Lacy too? He heard a soft laugh come from the dining room and recognized it as hers immediately.

He headed that way and found her in the dining room, talking to Ferd. She stopped talking the moment she saw him. She stood. “What’s wrong?”

“The men are coming up the driveway. I need you to call all the guests and tell them to take cover in their homes. Don’t go outside, whatever you do.”

Ferd’s mouthdropped open as Connor turned and walked away. “We can’t . . .”

“No, we can’t.” Lacy pushed her chair in and headed for the door.

“Lacy, talk to me. I’m still new to this. I know what I think we should do, but you’ve been here longer.”

Lacy headed for the row of pegs by the front door where most people left their coats when they came in to work. She donned one of Connor’s and Ferd shrugged on her own. “First, we have to make sure the coast is clear. We’ll do no one any good if we get shot running in to help.”

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