Page 72 of Operation: Unify

“Yes, but they all look very much like me.” Or they did last he’d seen them. Twenty years could change people.

“Might be good to let the men know that we’re looking for two men, alone, and give a description of them. I refuse to tell Melinda she has to stay inside any more than she already feels she has to.”

He took her hands in his, so they stood face-to-face. “I agree with you. I’ll go down for my morning meeting and let everyone know what’s going on. Do you want to go tell Melinda to simply keep a cautious eye?”

Lacy sighed deeply. “I hate to do that. She’s already watching over her shoulder all the time. Victoria decided to come in today. She seems to be getting along well with Randy. I may tell them and have them check in with her to keep her company. Christmas can be really lonely in a new place, and I’ll be busy for quite a while.”

“That sounds good. I don’t want to keep you from her though. If you feel she needs you more, then I’ll deal with this.” He brushed his thumbs over her skin, feeling the softness.

“I didn’t say that. I’ll still be there for you. I only wanted you to know what was going on ahead of the meeting. I’m sure Brendon will talk about it.”

He nodded and released her. “I’m sure he will. My family should be here in one hour. I’ll see you then?”

“You can count on me.” She leaned forward on her tiptoes, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

The ability for her to slip right back into giving kisses and loving him was so surreal. In some ways, it was like their marriage had never ended. He headed down the stairs and to his office. Once inside, he only had to wait about a minute before Brendon came in, followed by Cole, Sam, Edwyn, Eric, Junior, Nadine, Ferd and Dad. They all found seats quickly. Though they could’ve had bad attitudes about meeting on Christmas Day, none of them looked put out.

“Thanks for coming, everyone.” He took a seat behind his desk. “Edwyn, you told me you had news about some cattle?”

Dad sat up straighter in his chair as he turned to look at Edwyn.

“Yes, there’s an operation that’s shutting down about an hour south of here. They are already selling half their herd to another ranch, so it will be about the perfect size for us. The issue is that we’ll have to have the Homestead up and operational within a month.”

“And is that an achievable goal?” Connor asked.

“That depends. We only have these men here right now and all of them are busy. The fencing over at the Homestead needs a lot of work.”

Connor tapped his desk. This was something he wanted to do for his father as a thank you for all the time and effort he’d put in all these years. Not to mention how he’d made sure Lacy stayed. “We have multiple pastures on Wayside. Assuming we don’t have any deep snow with no shelter, we could temporarily put them in one of those.”

Edwyn nodded. “We could, but that would mean hiring people soon.”

Dad shifted in his chair. “I could help with that.”

“Good. You two can get together tomorrow and discuss what needs to happen. Let me know when you come up with something.”

Brendon told the group what Lacy had already told him about Tod and Cal. Everyone was silent, waiting for instructions. Connor still wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t know where the men were, couldn’t go looking for them, and hated to have to be on the defensive until they made a move. “We have to keep our eyes open, looking for anyone who doesn’t belong. My three brothers are coming today for a little while. Those will be the only strangers on the property. I’ll go out when they come so if you see them with me, they are not a concern.”

“Do you think these two will find their way to Wayside?” Cole asked.

“Eventually. I’m more concerned with them seeing me or Lacy in town and following us out here. They would recognize us.”

“And Randy,” Brendon said. “He was there, too.”

“Right, Randy would be recognized.”

“That could be an issue,” Edwyn said. “I sent him to town this morning to get gas for the ATVs. We ran pretty low this last week. He took a Wayside truck with a bunch of gas cans.”

The room went silent for a minute. “There was no way you could’ve known. I just hope no one saw him.”

“Is he back yet?” Connor asked.

“I didn’t check. I told him where the cans were, handed him the keys and a credit card to pay for it, then assumed the job would get done. He seemed happy to be able to help.” Edwyn shook his head. “I had no idea.”

Connor picked up his phone and pressed Randy’s number into it. The phone rang quite a few times, then went to voicemail. “Weird. He’s attached to that phone. I never see him without it.”

“I volunteer to go to his cabin and see if he’s there. If he’s not, I’ll head into town to check on him,” Junior said.

Cole scowled at Junior. “Dude, your wife is about to give birth any minute. You can’t leave her alone on Christmas Day. What if you get a Christmas baby?”

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