Page 64 of Operation: Unify

Ferd had hinted she wasn’t completely happy here, that she wanted to spread her wings, and Lacy had immediately tried to convince her otherwise to suite her own needs. “Are you really thinking of going over to the Northern Guardians?”

“I don’t know. I’ve literally never lived away from my mom. I wanted to know all about Wayside, but it’s not my dream. I don’t know that Minnesota holds my dreams either. I just want to find out where I fit in the grand scheme. Where does God want me?I’ve never considered that it might be somewhere other than where I’ve planted myself.”

In some ways, Ferd was more responsible than Lacy had been. She’d grown up, married, divorced, and stayed attached to her former husband. The first time she’d ever felt she truly heard the Holy Spirit directing her was when she knew beyond a doubt that she would be married to Connor again. Being married to him meant she would be at Wayside.

“I know I tried to convince you to stay, and I still think you should give it some time, but I understand if you want to test the waters, travel, find a new path. I just don’t think you can determine that this place isn’t for you without giving it time. These guys are great, but they’re also stuck in their ways, as you discovered with the Christmas tree.”

Ferd snorted. “Yeah, that was a lot of work to learn that lesson. I don’t know. I’m not willing to walk away right now. Mom is still figuring out how she fits in here too. Dad has said she doesn’t need to work, she can enjoy retirement, but she’s bored sitting here in the house all day.” Ferd laughed.

“She doesn’t have to. Connor should’ve offered her something to do or asked if she wanted to. She probably feels unwelcome because Connor can be a bear, and he doesn’t show his emotions easily.”

“I don’t think many men do.” Ferd took a deep breath that hinted at her knowing exactly what she was talking about.

Lacy reached out and took her hand. “I still feel like I’ll have a sister when I’m with Connor again. Assuming he isn’t furious with me for taking all the guests across the field without telling him what I was about to do.”

Ferd laughed. “I love what Wayside does. This is Connor’s dream, and I have no desire to change it. I heard him talking to Randy about adding cattle over here though. I’ve helped myuncle with cattle most of my life. That’s one part of Wayside where I could add value.”

She was happy to hear that Ferd had no desire to ask Connor to sell off half of Wayside for her inheritance. “I think he’ll be excited to hear that.”

Ferd took her phone out of her back pocket and looked at it. “Still no response from Brendon. Sometimes, the signal is poor over here. We need to talk to Connor about that. It’s a safety risk.”

“Hopefully, after this, we won’t have to worry about safety anymore. I agree though, you should have the ability to call when you need to. Can I borrow your phone?”

Ferd handed it to her then headed over to help Gloria. Lacy couldn’t wait a moment longer, she needed to talk to Connor and hear that he was alright. He had to know she’d done her best, even if that was to go against what he asked. She had to think of the safety of everyone, not just herself. She never could’ve lived with herself if she’d been safely tucked away in the lodge while the cabins were wide open to attack.

She opened Ferd’s phone and skipped the contacts, instead punching in Connor’s number from memory. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail. Since she’d called from Ferd’s phone, she didn’t want to leave a message, but she did anyway.

“Connor, this is Lacy. We made it Gloria’s. All of us are here. We’re cold and wet, but safe. Come and get us when the danger has passed. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, but I couldn’t leave vulnerable people to deal with this attack all on their own.”

She bit her lip, then decided to finish the message exactly as she’d wanted to. “Love you. Call this number when you get this. My phone is trashed for a while.”

She hung up and took a deep breath. The warmth from the room and the blanket was finally working and she’d stopped shivering.

Gloria came back to her side. “You’re taller and skinnier than I am, but Ferd might have some things that would fit you. Go ahead and get out of those. We’ll put them in the drier for you while you take a shower. No sense in giving yourself pneumonia.”

She was pretty sure that wasn’t how people came down with it, but being freezing cold for a long time probably didn’t make her immune system stronger. “Has everyone else used them? I don’t want to make anyone wait.”

“Yes, dear. You’re the last one. I hope there’s still some hot water for you. Go and warm up. We’ll wait for any important calls.”

As much as she wanted to wait for Connor to call back, she needed the shower and dry clothes. “Okay. Thank you, Gloria.” She quickly wrapped the woman in a hug.

As if she wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about getting herself cold and wet, she hugged Lacy right back. “Now, shoo. I’ll have some more soup done by the time you get out.”

She wasn’t sure which sounded better, the hot water or the soup, but she was glad she was being offered both.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Agent Ross pulled Connor aside, away from all the other men forming a plan to canvas the ranch.

“I can tell you’re distracted, but this team needs your expertise right now. The faster we find these two missing men, the faster you can find out what happened to Lacy.”

“And Ferd. She’s my half-sister.” If anything happened to her, Dad might blame him.

While he was pretty sure his father wouldn’t leave, he didn’t want any distance there. He’d lost enough with his mother.

“I get it. I’d be distracted too. My sisters mean the world to me.”

Lacy wasn’t anywhere near his sister, but there wasn’t a need to correct the man. He wasn’t ready to announce his feelings in front of everyone, especially before he did so with Lacy.

---