Page 4 of Operation: Unify

“Sorry. I was distracted.”

“By Lacy leaving?” she asked as she came into his office and sat on the chair closest to his desk, the one Lacy would usually sit in every morning.

“What makes you think that?”

Ferd snorted. “Connor, you’re as easy to read as a children’s book. You care about her. A lot. You look at her differently than you do everyone else.” Ferd shrugged a shoulder. “She told me she was coming back, hopefully soon, so you shouldn’t worry.”

He scrubbed his face and released a sigh, the rough hair on the lower half scraping against his palms. He hadn’t had the energy to shave that morning after a sleepless night waiting for Lacy to send him word she was alright. “You’re perceptive.”

“That’s what Lacy told me. That’s why she thought I would do well in her job. I’m not sure why she wants to give it up though.”

He wasn’t sure either. Lacy loved helping the victims who came to Wayside, and she’d never once indicated that she wanted to leave until the night before. “I didn’t realize she did.”

“Maybe she thinks I want to take over or something. Just so you know, I don’t. I love what you do here, and I would never jeopardize it. I want to help, and I’ll do whatever you and Lacy want me to, but I’m not here because I was left half of it. I’m here because my mom is here, and I want to learn more about my father . . . and my brother.”

She’d had so much more time to process all of this than he’d had. Dad had told him just after Thanksgiving that he’d had a one-time fling with a woman who worked at the ranch twenty years before. That one night had brought Ferd. He’d also learned more about his mother than he was ready to process.

Maybe there was a good reason she’d never returned. Maybe she thought he would hate her or that he would side with Dad.He’d tried to reach out to Mom on multiple occasions, but she’d never responded. She’d never even told him so much as, ‘leave me alone’. That would’ve made life easier. At least then he could stop thinking about what he could’ve done differently. After her death, it was too late to get answers.

“I want to get to know you, too. I’m just still so . . .” the words wouldn’t come.

“Yeah, it’s not easy to process. I thought my dad was dead. I never knew he was a few hours south of me this whole time.” Her glance dashed to the side, and she ducked her head, hiding her emotions.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure that was hard.” He knew it was hard. Having a mom he knew about who had lived just an hour away who wouldn’t talk to him was tough. Knowing now that Ferd could’ve had help this whole time, but being denied because of lies had to sting.

Ferd looked around at his office and he was suddenly struck by how much he had, just in that one room. “I don’t think you have any idea what I went through, but thanks.” She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Lacy had to leave so abruptly that I have no idea what to do. I know where she hides the key to her office cabin, but no clue what I should be doing in there other than looking at the files to get an idea of her job.”

He braced his hands against the desk and wondered if part of Lacy’s need to hurry was to force him into talking to Ferd. If he had his way, he’d do this slowly, on his own time. Without Lacy here as a buffer, he had to face the sister who’d arrived a month before and he still didn’t know.

“Let me go over there with you and give you a run down. She does a lot. There will be things I don’t think of until they go undone. I know that, and I’m not going to blame you for that. She is the literal glue that holds this place together.”

Ferd stood and turned from him. “Great. That’s not terrifying or anything. I’m trying to fill the shoes of someone who the boss loves, who does everything, and holds the place together. What could possibly go wrong?”

He laughed because she’d just encapsulated his own feelings in one long sentence. “I think you’ll do just fine. Plus, it’s the week before Christmas. Lacy has already done all the gift shopping for the guests. They will be arriving this week. She always marks them as gifts, then puts a note to them inside so she remembers who is supposed to get each one.”

“That’s smart. I would order them and then sit there looking at them when they arrived thinking . . . who was that for again?” Ferd laughed.

“That would be me, too.” He held the front door open for her and then braced against the wind as they headed for Lacy’s office.

“Why did she want to be out here? There has to be office space in there for her.” Ferd motioned behind her toward the main house.

“There isn’t,” he quickly answered. Though he recalled her hinting at one point about wanting to be in the lodge. “She prefers to be closer to the guests. She could even move to one of the bigger cabins now that all my men have moved over to the Homestead for housing.”

“Except Brendon.” Lacy ducked her head against the wind.

“Yes, because he’d already made his living quarters wheelchair accessible and moving would be hard. He decided to stay. I didn’t force anyone to move.” Connor dug the key ring for the cabins from his jacket pocket and unlocked the office.

The moment he opened the door, Lacy’s scent met his nose, and his chest ached all over again. He prayed she’d make it to her destination safely and that she’d remember to text him.

Ferd moved behind the desk and touched the phone lightly. “No messages. That’s a good start.”

He nodded, unable to find his voice for a second. His phone sounded like three gunshots, and he dove for it, knowing that was the sound he’d programmed for Lacy. Ferd’s eyes widened, and she stared at him as he answered the call.

“Connor.”

Her voice sounded tired, but she was clearly alive and well. “Morning. I just arrived and found a hotel that let me check in early. I’m going to catch a few Zs before I meet with Melinda.” She yawned.

“I don’t really understand the urgency. You could’ve slept in your own bed last night, gotten up early and had a clear head to drive.” He closed his eyes, remembering he didn’t have the right to be protective of her right now. She didn’t want that from him.

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