Page 25 of Operation: Unify

A thump hitting the side of his truck pulled him from his mental list. He glanced in the rearview mirror, but there wasn’t anything in the road. Before he could slow to pull over, a loud rattling let him know he’d blown a tire. Not just a hole, he’d creamed it.

He pulled as far to the side as he could and turned on his emergency flashers. Hopefully, he could change the tire quickly and get back on the road. As it was, he would get there late. Now, he’d be even later. Lacy would worry.

Instead of jumping out, thinking he could power his way through, he called her.

“Hey,” she said, her voice calmer now.

“Hey, sorry I’m not there. I’ve been going as fast as I can, but I just hit a rock or something and I have to change a tire.”

“In the dark?” Her voice pitched higher.

“Yeah. Won’t be the first time and probably not the last. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to take a little longer than expected.”

“Okay, take care. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Was that a touch of resignation in her tone? “If I get hurt it’s not because of you. It’s because some fool decided it was okay to treat his wife like garbage. It’s not okay. Never okay.”

“Thank you, Connor.”

He wasn’t sure why she was thanking him, but he’d leave it at that. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“I know,” she answered quietly. “I’ll be here but the door will be locked.”

“Good. Keep it that way.” He said his goodbye and hung up then turned on the flashlight on his phone.

Seeing the tire was a little shocking. He’d only seen tires do that when they were bald. His had been fairly new, but the tread had turn to confetti. There was no saving it. He’d worried that was the case when he heard the noise, but seeing was believing.

The spare was full sized because he didn’t believe in weak spare tires. After managing to get it out from the undercarriage, he got the truck jacked up and removed the flat tire. Behind him, something rustled in the brush.

His fingers were only just starting to get cool. New Mexico’s version of cold took longer to hit him than a person native to the area since Wyoming was so much colder that time of year. He took the flashlight and swept the area behind him. Evenknowing the sound was probably an animal didn’t give much reassurance. New Mexico had bears in the northern areas.

He moved slowly, taking his time to look over the ground and deciding if each scrub bush and weedy area was safe. When he found nothing, he turned back to the tire. The longer he was out there, the more likely that something he didn’t want to deal with would come up behind him.

One of the lug nuts dropped into the dirt at his feet and he fought back the urge to curse. He hadn’t done that in years. Why was he suddenly dealing with all these things he’d overcome as a young adult?

Carefully, he stepped back once and glanced around by his feet. The nut had landed and rolled just slightly under the truck. While he trusted his jack to hold up the truck, he didn’t like the idea of reaching under it while it was up. He finished putting the other nuts on loosely, then lowered the truck to the ground before reaching for the one that had fallen.

As he did so, he heard a grunt behind him that sounded very bear-like. Then came the curious snuffling sound. He quickly turned the lug nut and tightened each one, tossed the wrench in the floor of the pickup and, instead of going around, he climbed in from that side. He was safer inside the pickup than out of it.

The bear made its way onto the road right in front of his truck and stood up in the beams of the headlights, then swiped its paws in front of its face like the glow hurt his eyes. He had no idea if the bear was a boar or sow, but that didn’t matter if it decided to climb on his truck.

He waited, watching what the bear might do. He didn’t want to try to drive around it and risk having the bear get hurt or swipe at his truck. “Come on, bear, keep going,” he muttered as he turned on the engine.

The noise made the bear fall back onto all fours then it moseyed across the road and down the other ditch. Connor tooka second to breathe, then pulled back out onto the road. He’d heard rumors that the highway patrol in New Mexico was known for giving tickets to anyone going even a hair over the speed limit, but out on deserted roads, he felt safe pushing his truck faster than normal.

The GPS on his phone said he had another thirty-five minutes to go. He felt a heaviness on his shoulders. “Lord, I know that’s my cue to pray. Whatever the reason, I give it to You. If it’s Lacy, since I was thinking about her, I pray that You protect her and give me the strength to protect her once I get there.”

He pushed the accelerator a little harder and watched the road ahead, hoping he didn’t encounter any more wildlife. The faster he could get there, the better. His need to see Lacy and make sure she was alright was no longer quenched by just hearing her voice. He wanted to hold her close. He needed to feel her arms around his waist and her head resting against his chest.

The minutes dragged by until he made it to town, drove quickly through a drive through and headed for the address she’d given him. He pulled off the road and stared at an old Oldsmobile parked in the driveway. Lacy didn’t drive a car like that so who was with Lacy, and did she realize she wasn’t alone?

He flung open his door and quickly closed it, reaching for his gun that almost never left his side. He made it halfway up the walk before Lacy whipped open the door and raced toward him. He’d barely holstered his gun before she jumped into his arms.

He held her tight, relishing the feel of her. Even though they’d been friends for a long time, this part of their relationship had been missing since the divorce. She’d kissed him on the temple a few times when he’d healed in the hospital, but nothing like this.

He never wanted to let her go. At least, until he saw the man standing in the door that she’d left open.

Lacy felttension coil in Connor. He gripped her tighter for a moment as he lifted her off her feet and settled her back down behind him, shielding her from the door. In a split-second, he released her and whipped around.

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