Page 23 of Operation: Return
“I think what started out as pain, opening his mouth was painful, turned to embarrassment. His mouth was deformed and looked awful. Back then, when he tried to speak, it was frustrating and would often get him beaten. So, he quit speaking completely. He and I would talk using hand motions mostly. It’s not ASL, not even close. They wouldn’t have allowed him to learn anything like that. Since they didn’t know ASL, he could’ve used it to signal for help.”
“So, he’s deformed, embarrassed, potentially in pain, and unable to communicate.” Cole watched the man finally allow the horse to zip and unzip his coat, seeing the change in his face as he relaxed slightly.
“He wants to grow, but doesn’t know how.”
Cole asked the burning question on the tip of his tongue, “How old is he?”
“Right now, nineteen.”
That put Scarlet quite a bit older than Trace, not that age mattered where love was concerned. “Will you two ever marry?”
Scarlet snorted. “Neither of us are interested in that kind of relationship ever again.” She turned and walked away.
Trace glanced over to him, his haunted eyes finally looked a little brighter, a little more welcoming. That was a start. He’d worried the horse would be too much for Trace and force him even further into himself. Making him not only want to get away from people, but the horse too. Maybe Edwyn knew what he was doing better than Cole had thought.
His shoulders tensed. When was the last time he’d allowed himself to agree with, or meet any idea that wasn’t his own, without patronizing the other person? Was being around Erica already rubbing off on him?
* * *
The window drewErica’s gaze away from her work yet again. She’d managed to sort Teddy’s desk all afternoon, but after going outside to watch Pete ride, she wanted to be out there with him. The clock struck five, pulling her out of her daydream.
“Knock, knock.” Gabby, Junior’s wife, stood in the doorway with a brown paper bag. “Care for an early supper?” She held it up and gave it a shake, making the wonderful scent fill the small room.
She should be worried about Pete, going to get him, making sure he ate supper in the dining room . . .
“I already sent Teddy out to gather Pete and make sure he ate a good supper. That man could get a bear to eat a salad. I swear.” She laughed and crooked a finger. “Come on. Punch out and tell me about your day.”
She couldn’t say no and the only other woman on the ranch who wasn’t there to heal was Victoria. Supper time was not a good time to strike up a conversation with the chef at Wayside. “All right. I don’t need to do much except turn the phone back on voicemail and turn off my computer.” Edwyn had told her to just keep track of her hours and turn them in at the end of the week. None of them used a punch clock and he wasn’t going to start with her.
She reached for the phone, remembering the call from earlier. Should she tell Gabby about it? If Edwyn found out she had listened and not told him, wouldthatmake her lose her job? Or, if she admitted she’d heard something she probably shouldn’t, would they be angry and send her away? Teddy had told her to listen to the messages but she didn’t know anyone there well enough to ask.
After making sure the office was as secure as she found it, she grabbed her purse and followed Gabby outside to a small picnic table around the back of the house. The area was bathed in sunlight even with a pergola over it since the sun was low enough to be under it.
“I hope you like tacos.” Gabby opened the bag and spread out one of the napkins from inside, then laid a dozen wrapped tacos side-by-side on top of it. “There’s this new little place in town and it smelled so good, I had to try it. Piper’s Ridge is so small that when a new business comes along, we want to support it.” Gabby pulled out a container of seasoned rice and refried beans. “For sharing.” She grinned as she pulled two forks from the bottom of the bag.
“Okay . . . but why did you bring this for me? Why not eat with your husband?” Weren’t they newly married?
“Oh, don’t worry. He’ll still eat at the house and I’ll see him later. Having a woman that I’m allowed to talk to around here is rare. I’m not going to pass up the chance.” She finally sat down and patted the table across from her indicating Erica should sit.
Erica gave up her reservations and took the seat. After that message earlier with the threat, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to stay. Being on the ranch didn’t seem any safer than striking out on her own. Especially if she could get back to her house, gather a few things, and run. But where to? She had no car.
“You look like you’ve got a ton on your mind. Just like I did when I first came here.” Gabby took a taco and carefully unwrapped it.
“Wait, were you a resident here?” She scrunched her nose at the idea that Junior would’ve started a relationship with someone they were trying to help.
Gabby waved her free hand wildly. “No. It wasn’t like that at all. In fact, that’s not allowed here.” She set her taco down and screwed up her face in thought. “I was, well, I don’t know how much about the mission you know. I don’t know how much I should say.”
“What mission?” Was she talking about the mission that killed Taylor?
“Each of the guys here on Wayside was in love at one time in their life. They all had their reasons for giving up on those relationships. I don’t know all of the reasons, only Junior’s. Connor was challenged by Scarlet to right a past wrong, to fix his regret. He passed that mission on to his men.”
“All his men. Theyallhave regrets too?” Erica guessed, finally feeling like she might be able to eat and grabbed a taco from the stack.
“You got it. Junior was the first one to take up the challenge and called me to come here and help with Scarlet. I did what I could, but I made a mess of a few things too.”
Like Erica could make a bigger mess if she said anything about the message that was meant for Lacy? The more she thought about it, the more she thought she should leave that kind of thing for Lacy to deal with, pretend like she hadn’t heard it. She would be back in a week and know how to handle it, who to tell, what to do to trace it if that was possible. Erica’s stomach clenched and she pushed the taco away a few inches.
“Rough first day?” Gabby said through her first bite, then laughed and wiped her mouth.