Page 13 of Operation: Unify

She chuckled because he’d just told her without telling her that he still cared. He’d used endearments for her all the time before he’d left. They’d been her version of a dream married couple. Especially since her own childhood with divorced parents was a mess. “I’m good. The moment I’m not good, you’ll be the first to know. Sleep well.”

“I might be able to now. Just so you know, someone attempted to break Viceroy out of jail before his trial. They’ve increased his security, and we’ve increased ours. I know you planned to testify, so part of me is really glad no one knows where you are. Keep it that way.”

She bit her lip. Her only way of paying for the hotel was with her credit card which was traceable. She was probably safethis far south, but Connor wouldn’t have warned her if it wasn’t justified. “I’ll keep my eyes open. Thanks for letting me know.”

She stalled for a moment, wanting to say that she loved him. She would be home soon. She wanted him back. But it was too soon for that. “Miss you.” That was as close as she could come to the truth.

“Miss you, too.”

Chapter Five

Dad strode into Connor’s office and took a seat across the desk from him. Connor looked up from his laptop and gave him his full attention, since he hadn’t come to the lodge in over a week.

“Dad, you doing okay?”

“No. I’m not. I heard from Ferd that Lacy is gone.” His brows dove down in the center, clearly angry at being the last to know.

His dad had always been a big guy. Connor had come by his broad shoulders and large build honestly, both through biology and hard work. Now, his father looked stooped. His limp from polio more pronounced.

“It was her choice. I didn’t do anything to make her go. You can’t blame me for this.” He held up his hands in surrender. He’d never figured out why his father had sided with Lacy in the divorce. After the fact, he’d been glad his father had, but at the time it had been infuriating.

“She didn’t say a word to me,” he grumbled.

“It was a quick thing. A friend in New Mexico needed help. Lacy wanted to be the one to do it. That’s all there is to the story.”Even though he knew there was more. Lacy had said as much but couldn’t tell him what was really happening.

“Why didn’t she take you along?” He raised his chin and narrowed his eyes.

“Maybe because she also told me she needed some time away from the ranch.”

“And you?” he questioned.

Connor sighed. He couldn’t lie to his dad. “Yeah. And that part I don’t understand. Since I got shot almost a year ago now, I thought we were getting closer, but every time I mentioned the second chance missions, she would shut me down. She has never wanted to get back together.”

“But you want that?” Dad sounded surprised.

“Yeah. I realized it almost right away, but she told me flat-out to forget it.” He looked for the right words and decided honesty was better than delicacy. “Something changed with her when she was kidnapped. She came back different. Distant. If I’m honest though, it was even before that. She’s never kept anything from me, and she kept Nadine’s plan from me.”

“That is strange. Did you do anything to bring that on? That distrust.”

Connor had thought about that long and hard and had come up blank. “Besides divorcing her? No. And why would something we did ten years ago suddenly matter now?”

“Because every single man here is working on their pasts? Maybe?” Dad chuckled. “I won’t claim to know what women think. Goodness knows I’ve messed up when I try. But if I had to guess, I’d say that she was having second thoughts about the relationship you had, but she’s scared of history repeating itself. You were the one who wanted the separation. Not her.”

Lacy hadn’t seen the divorce coming. Dad hadn’t either. But why tell him that under no circumstances was he to try for his own second chance mission when she was feeling the opposite?

“If that’s true, why keep pushing me away?” Dad wasn’t one he’d ever gone to for relationship advice, but he’d been the one to keep Lacy there, so maybe talking to him was better than mulling it over himself.

“Because whatever caused the divorce is still there. She can’t forgive what you won’t tell her was wrong. That’s asking for trouble.”

Admit what had happened? Admit that how his mother treated him had given him issues? That made him weak. “I can’t do that. And it doesn’t matter, the reason isn’t valid anymore.” Mostly. Lacy had always come back, but this sudden need to be away got to him much worse than he’d thought it would.

“Is it?” Dad questioned.

“Sure. Why?”

“She’s been gone for two nights, I hear, and you didn’t tell me. You just stewed about it. Meaning you’re looking for meaning instead of just living like she will come back soon. That tells me whatever is wrong, is still wrong.”

Blast him and his ability to read Connor like the back of a cereal box. “She said she was coming back so I didn’t think it was that important to call you right up and tell you. Even though she’s your favorite child.”

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