Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
V ictoria had set up the dining room in the main house with one long table along the side, then a small selection of individual tables for people who didn’t want to sit with everyone else. Sometimes groups could mean pressure. Sam stood on a ladder leaning against the fireplace while he hung swags of fabric Lacy called bunting, whatever that was. Lacy kept telling him to move it to the right until he felt like he was going to tip the whole thing over.
“That’s going to have to be centered enough or I’ll have to move over.” He gripped the side of the heavy stone chimney.
She laughed. “Naw, go back to the left about two inches and you’re good.”
Sam affixed it with double-sided tape, then slowly climbed down. He’d been watching for Kelly to appear, but she hadn’t come yet. She had talked to him a few times about how excited she was to join in the Thanksgiving festivities, but that didn’t mean she’d want to be there all day. Too much time with people still wore her out.
Anna sat along the wall with her feet curled under her and her nose in a Bible Lacy had gotten for her. The woman was bookish, almost to the point of avoiding people to be in a book. He couldn’t blame her. While she’d known the dangers of being a missionary, that couldn’t ever really prepare a person for going through what she had. She and Edwyn seemed to be getting along so far, and she’d even gone for her first ride the day before.
He wandered over the buffet, still clear of any food outside of a tray of meat and cheeses, and one with pickles and various olives. He wasn’t interested in sampling at the moment. His mind was on Victoria. She was always there for the guys, acting motherly even though she was younger than most of them.
“Vicky, how are things going?” He grinned, knowing she’d take the bait.
“You know I hate that name.” She gave him a fake scowl. “And I’m wishing Teddy was here. He did more heavy lifting in this kitchen than I realized. I guess I’d hoped he would be back by now.”
Connor didn’t talk about his dad much, and mentioning Teddy often made Connor terse so no one knew anything. “Have you heard when he’s coming back? His trip seemed sudden.”
Victoria snorted as she mixed a huge bowl of salad greens. “Sudden. You could say that. He didn’t even tell me he was going. I found out the day he didn’t show up to help me. Now, mind you, he didn’t have to. He’s not technically on my staff. But when a man is in here helping literally every day, you get used to his presence and start counting on him.” She huffed, whipping open the huge refrigerator and shoving the bowl back inside.
“I’m sorry. Anything I can do?” Not that he was any good in the kitchen, but Teddy probably hadn’t been at first either.
“No. I’m fine. It’s just that . . . I thought we were better friends than that. And before you get your thoughts turning to the romantic, that man is old enough to be my father. That’s not it at all. I just like having him around. He’s a good soul and I’m worried about him. What if his leg goes stiff from the polio and he’s somewhere he can’t rest? What if something happened to him and no one knows because he didn’t tell anyone where he was going?” She sighed. “I’m worried. End of story.”
He slowly nodded. “We all are.”
Connor came in holding his phone in front of his face like he was in the middle of a phone call on speakerphone. Odd, since he usually wanted privacy for that sort of thing. Sam gave him a wide berth so he didn’t feel like Sam was eavesdropping, but he couldn’t miss Connor’s loud part of the conversation.
“You’re still up north? What are you doing there? It’s Thanksgiving. Why aren’t you home?”
The voice on the other end sounded like Teddy, but different, too What was the older man up to? Sam waited until Connor hung up and jabbed the phone in his shirt pocket.
“Hey, what was that all about?” Sam asked.
“Dad. He won’t say why he’s gone. Just that he still needs time. He’s not secretive, so this is driving me crazy. What could he possibly be doing hundreds of miles away that is so important that he can’t come home for his second favorite holiday?” Connor swiped his sleeve across his brow.
“Is he doing something for Wayside, or maybe for the Haven?” Lacy asked as she joined them. “I know you planned on opening up The Haven next month, in time for Christmas.”
Connor shook his head. “No. He would’ve told me. Since his health isn’t great, he turned all ranch business over to me when I started Wayside. He’s happy about The Haven, but doesn’t plan to live there. It’s for families and he feels he’s not a family. This is just not like him.”
Sam didn’t know Teddy as well as some of the other men, because Teddy didn’t like coming to the kennels. If his leg went stiff on him, walking was difficult. Even though he’d never stepped on one of the dogs, he still worried that he might, so he avoided the place completely.
“Well, we can sit here wondering and worrying or we can do what we should’ve done from the beginning and let me call him.” Lacy grinned. “He’s never kept a secret from me. I don’t think he can.”
“Well, you could’ve chimed right in when I was on the phone with him,” Connor said with more anger than he usually showed when Lacy was around, proving just how wound up he was about his dad.
Lacy laid a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I know you’re worried, but I have no right to step on your toes or stick my nose into your private call, even if it was on speakerphone. But if you want me to call him and try to find out what’s going on. Just ask.”
Sam backed away from what suddenly felt like a private moment. Lacy always knew just what to say to calm down a rare sighting of Connor’s agitated side. He was nothing like what he’d been at first, which wouldn’t have been good for human trafficking victims. In fact, the very idea would’ve been bad. It was Lacy that had shown him how to be empathetic. Sam prayed she would open her heart back up to Connor like she did for the people who came to stay here.
“Hey,” Kelly’s voice behind made him grin as he turned around.
“Hey, good to see you. Want to help set up?” He wasn’t sure if she’d want to be a part of that or not.
Edwyn came in just after her and waved to Sam. “Hey, Sam and Connor, can I talk to you for a second?”
Sam glanced at Edwyn and back to Kelly. He knew which person he’d rather be with. She giggled for a mere second before she tilted her head toward Edwyn. “Go. I’ll sit by Anna for a minute and see what she’s studying. I’ll help when you’re done.”
She wanted to help, to participate. She was doing great, and he was elated. The moment he joined Edwyn though, his elation died. “What’s wrong?”
Edwyn glanced between the two of them and lowered his voice. “I know Dominic and Spenser left while Kelly was in the hospital since the risk was neutralized, but there’s a new danger and we could use their expertise.”
“What is it?” Connor crossed his arms and frowned.
“Nadine. She contacted me about a week ago and told me to tell you to back off in contacting her. She doesn’t want to be found. Her message said that she would hack into Wayside security and destroy it.”
Connor just stared at him. “So, why didn’t you tell me?”
Edwyn ducked his head. “I didn’t think she’d really follow through. Nadine was as smart as they come, but not a criminal. At least, she wasn’t then. ”
“What are you saying?” Sam didn’t want to believe that this threat could rip down the peace he’d only just found.
“She’s not playing,” Edwyn said. “I just checked with Brendon who was watching the cameras this morning. He said that one third of our cameras are out and a cryptic message came up on his screen. It said, ‘I told you to leave me alone.’”
“Well, I can leave her alone now, but what can we do about the security breach? I can’t just call in the Guardians every time we have an issue. I wish we had an experienced tech person here all the time.”
“Maybe you should just hire them.” Sam snorted, knowing that as much as Connor liked and admired the other team, they wouldn’t mesh well for long.
“I can’t do that. Dominic mentioned they were needed back home, anyway. So, either I hire someone now or we figure this out. In the meantime, I’m sorry Edwyn. Your mission is on hold.”
Edwyn visibly swallowed. “I figured as much. I told her I was sorry. It didn’t matter. She just wants anonymity. I guess I can’t blame her. How did you find her?”
Connor shrugged. “I didn’t. Lacy did. She finally had to resort to searching the dark web. Not a place anyone wants to go.”
Kelly watched Sam’s body language as he spoke to Connor and Edwyn. He was very different with them than he was with her. When he spoke to her, he was relaxed, mostly. Though when he tried to visibly hold back, that made her feel a tension she hated. It was like waiting for a touch that never came .
Anna turned the page in her Bible, the onionskin paper making a sound that was so different from every other book.
“Is this how your family would’ve celebrated?” Kelly asked, trying not to interrupt her in the middle of a sentence.
Anna glanced around her. “Yes, and no. My parents didn’t decorate. They would gather all the resources they could and invite as many people over as possible. They would explain what thankfulness was, and then they would lead with a prayer of thanks. Everyone around the table would offer one thing they were thankful for.”
Kelly leaned into her friend for a moment, bumping her shoulder. “And if you were there, part of their prayer today, what would you be thankful for?” Though she was listening to Anna, she watched Sam, waiting for him to finish.
“I’d be thankful that I’m still alive.”
Kelly grinned, totally understanding. “I’m not sure if I’d be more thankful for that or for the chance to talk to Sam again.”
Sam turned away from Connor and headed back to her. Kelly glanced at Anna and Anna laughed. “Go, I can see you want to talk to him. I’ll see you at supper.” She shooed her away with one hand while she found her place at the top of the new page with the other.
Kelly took a deep breath and met Sam halfway across the room. Each time they talked was a little easier than the time before. Each time, her mind was a little quicker to calm down. She couldn’t wait for the day when seeing him wouldn’t cause a tailspin of emotions. Or rather, when all the emotions were immediately positive.
Sam glanced around the room like he was hiding a secret. “Hey, come talk to me over in the hall.” He drew her out of the loud room and toward the hall where Connor and Brendon’s offices were. Everything was quiet and peaceful since the majority of the people at Wayside were in the dining room, helping to prepare for supper.
He grinned at her and took her hands in his. “You look great.”
His attention made her chest flutter. The feeling was so strange after blocking emotions for so long. “Thank you. I’m almost starting to feel great again. At least, sometimes. I’m a work in progress.”
“We all are.” He drew her close and kissed her forehead.
Every kiss he’d given her had been gentle, and never on the lips. He seemed to prefer the top of her head or her forehead. In her heart, she knew that he was letting her take the reins in the relationship. She would set the pace. That was wonderful in the sense that she needed to go slow, but awful in the sense that she wanted him to choose to kiss her. He would at some point, that much she knew.
She ran her thumb along the red wax ring. “I can’t believe you still have that. I made it from the thick wax that covers those tiny rounds of cheese. It’s kind of silly.”
He released her hands and twisted the ring around on his finger. “I don’t think it’s silly. It shows you listened to me, that you cared. I hope you don’t think this is silly.” He drew a box out of his pocket. “Now, don’t get your worry up. This isn’t what it looks like.”
Her breath caught in her lungs at the sight of the little velvet box. Rings came in boxes like that. Could he really be wanting to take that step now?
“This is the ring I got you ten years ago. It’s small and, honestly, cheap compared to what I would buy now. So,” he took a deep breath, “would you accept this ring as a promise that I will stand by you? No matter how long this takes. You’ve got me until you don’t want me anymore.”
Words escaped her as she looked at the diamond ring with a small, round center stone and waves of gold surrounding it to look like a flower. It was delicate and beautiful, better than she could’ve imagined. Her voice cracked. “That will never happen. I want to be with you always. It’s just . . .”
He waited, letting her find her words if she wanted to. When she didn’t continue, he said, “I know. It’s hard. Sometimes it feels impossible.” He turned the box over and in delicate white writing it said, Phil. 4:12.
“What does that mean?” She reached for the box so she could put on the ring. Accepting wasn’t a question. Whether it was merely a promise for now or a promise for always, it meant the same to her.
“It’s a verse in the Bible. It says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“All things.” Her voice choked again.
“All things,” Sam repeated.
She tilted her face up and rose on her toes. This time, he met her, and she relaxed into him. This kiss held slightly more promise in it than those before, making her heart skitter around like rabbit.
He ended the kiss quickly, but held her close. “We should get back soon and help. This year, I have a lot to be thankful for.”
Anna hadn’t asked her outright if she had anything she personally would feel thankful for, though she’d told her, anyway. Now, she could add one more thing to her list.