Page 69 of Operation: Unify

“I hate to say it, but by the time the fire trucks get here, there won’t be anything left,” Connor said.

Trent holstered his weapon. “I was hoping I’d be bringing a fugitive in to face trial. You never want to see this.”

All of them seemed to inherently know that no one could survive that blast, but none of them moved to leave. Connor had to stay to maintain safety. With a fire raging like that, it would be ludicrous to walk away. Trent made no move to order his other man to leave, and neither did he.

Junior trudged back toward them, looking tired. “Ross is on his way to Cheyenne. Two firefighters are coming with portable extinguishers, since I told them there was a risk of fire. We saw it blow on the way back. I doubt they’ll be able to do much, but that’s all they have.”

He was too tired to offer to throw buckets of snow on the building. If there had been any chance to save lives or the building itself, he would’ve tried but the effort looked futile. He was tired to his very core, but Viceroy wouldn’t be threatening Wayside anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Six

By Christmas Eve, Melinda and Randy had been moved out to their own cabins. Randy hadn’t found a job with Wayside yet, but Connor had asked him to wait until after New Years to learn something. Both men were good with that plan.

Lacy sat on the sofa with Melinda and everyone from Wayside mingled around. Soft music played in the background and the tree was bursting with presents this year. This was the first Christmas where all of the Wayside men were married or engaged so the party had doubled its usual size.

Victoria had gone out of her way to make mountains of food. With around thirty people in attendance, there had to be enough to go around and give her the day off tomorrow. Connor had told her that even though his family was coming, she didn’t need to drive to Wayside, unless she wanted to. Victoria didn’t have family close by, so she often came in even when she didn’t need to.

Randy was currently in the kitchen helping Victoria. Pete, Cole’s son, and Adam raced around the fringes of the room, avoiding adults, and making a ruckus, though Lacy loved it.Children had been a rarity at Wayside, now there were two permanent residents and soon there would be a third when Gabby, Junior’s wife, ushered their baby into the world.

Peace filled her soul as the lights on the tree glowed. After finding out that one of the bodies removed from the chapel was Viceroy, she’d finally allowed herself to relax. She wouldn’t need to see him at trial. No one had to fear his return. Talking and laughing ebbed and waned around her. She wasn’t talking to anyone but felt part of everything. Connor came over from speaking to his father.

“Hey, how are you both doing?” He tilted his head slightly and his eyes finally held some joy. She loved to see that.

Melinda answered first. “Good. Now that I’ve been on the medications for a few solid days, the headaches have all but gone away. Not that I want to stop taking them before the prescription is up to find out if the pain is still there or not.” She laughed.

“I just got some news that pertains to both of you,” Connor said. “Dad talked to Officer Nixon’s family. He’s healing really well and should be able to come home by Wednesday of next week.”

Melinda shifted in her seat, all of a sudden looking uncomfortable. “That’s great. It will be good to have him around again. I’m terrified to go into town. What if Tod or Cal are there?”

Connor nodded once in agreement. “I know. He won’t be back on the job for a while, but he was the one who coordinated all the other officers. I’ve been reaching out to the man who temporarily took over and he hasn’t seen anyone who fits the descriptions. I gave them the family name and, unless they are hiding Tod and Cal, no one has seen them. So, that’s positive.”

Melinda frowned and said nothing. Lacy knew the look well enough to know that she didn’t believe what Connor said andshe’d been shut down enough in her life that she wasn’t willing to defend her thought.

Lacy spoke up, “I think it’s wise to stay here for a while until we can be absolutely certain all danger has passed. With the amount of snow on the roads, maybe they turned around, knowing they couldn’t handle the weather here? Maybe they made it somewhere they consider safe and are biding their time? There’s no way for us to know.”

Connor’s lips slightly turned down. “I can see your point. Either way, it’s good to know that Officer Nixon is healing and will get out of the hospital soon.”

Melinda stood, gave Connor a weak smile, then took a deep breath. “It is. I’m going to go see if Victoria needs any help.” She didn’t wait for a response and headed for the kitchen.

Connor sat next to Lacy and laid his huge hand on her knee. “I get the feeling she doesn’t like me.”

Lacy covered his hand with hers. “You’re a guy, so, yeah. She’s not going to trust you for a while. I’ve talked to Gabby, even though she’s not taking clients until she has her child. I wanted to know if Melinda could meet with her instead of Brendon. I feel like she would interact better with a woman.”

Connor’s head slowly nodded. “I think you’re right.” He took a deep breath. “Look, my family is coming tomorrow. I would really like it if you could be there.”

Her heart jumped for a beat then pounded in her chest. “I’m not family, Connor.”

“Yes, you are. You’re my family. Will you consider being there?” He looked her in the eyes and her insides melted.

She couldn’t tell this man no. Not when it meant so much to him. “I can do that. Will Teddy and Gloria be there too?” She’d known the meeting was mostly for Ferd, but why shouldn’t everyone be there?

“Gloria is still a maybe. Dad didn’t want to force her to come because it could be legitimately uncomfortable for her. My brothers consider her a homewrecker. It’s crazy to me that they can completely paint Mom as innocent. Granted, she didn’t have an affair. She just didn’t love Dad anymore. What they did was still wrong. No doubt about it. I don’t know. The longer I live, the more I realize there are some situations that are gray. Not black or white.”

Lacy nodded. “I know. If I’d heard about this situation outside of the family, I’d be quick to judge. I’m still not sure how I feel. Trouble is, they sinned twenty years ago. Once. God doesn’t see sin as big or little. It’s all sin. But who am I to hold it against them if they’ve repented? I have to assume they did.”

Connor took a breath so deep his chest puffed, then he released it. “According to my dad, yes. He did. He felt horrible about what happened. He still cared about my mom, but he was seeing no love in return. I don’t want to rehash it all. I just wanted to say that Gloria may not be there. Dad will.”

She squeezed his hand. “If you want me to stand by your side, I’ll be there for you.” Truth was, she lived in the lodge and had nowhere else to be. If she wasn’t invited, she’d have to stay up in her room.

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