Page 16 of Two Hearts Reunited

Ashley reached inside her bag and pulled out her phone. “We can have leftovers tonight for dinner. But I think I’ll order some food to pick up from the Crystal Rock Tap right now for all of us if that sounds good?”

“Sure,” Brian agreed.

They decided what they each wanted, and Ashley called and put in the order.

“I’m actually supposed to meet Anya Weldon there at the Tap tonight when she gets off work,” Eric admitted.

Brian grinned. “I forgot to mention that I plowed out her driveway this morning when I was helping a few of the neighbors.”

“Anya Weldon?” Ashley repeated. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

Brian looked thoughtful. “Besides the fact that she’s a couple years younger than you, she used to be Eric’s girlfriend. You probably didn’t know that because we were in our feuding stage back then.” He grinned when Ashley punched him lightly in the shoulder, but then he quickly became serious. “Her sister disappeared sometime after we left town ten years ago. Jake had her sister’s name on the list of potential trafficking victims when he arrested Wes Armstrong and Wade Montgomery last year. There are still so many unanswered questions, so he shared some information with us since he thought that this house might have once been a meeting place or transfer point for the traffickers since the property was abandoned for so many years.”

Ashley nodded her agreement, glancing at Eric with what appeared to be a worried frown. “I remember talking to her now. I didn’t even realize that she was from Crystal Rock because I only met her a few years ago. She runs the downtown mall.”

Eric’s eyes went wide. “Sherunsit?”

Brian’s eyes met Eric’s in the rearview mirror. “There’s something odd about the fact that she sold her family home, but still decided to stay in town.”

“I think she might be trying to find her sister,” Eric confessed. “It’s just a gut feeling I have.” He pursed his lips. “Didn’t you say you plowed her driveway?”

“She lives in one of the old cabins not too far from our place,” Brian observed.

“I wonder if it’s the cabin that used to belong to her grandparents?” Eric said, becoming thoughtful. Thankfully, none of his family knew exactly how much time he and Anyahadspent at the cabin. It was a memory that he’d clung onto at the most horrific times in his life. “We used to hang out there occasionally, although the place was kind of run down back then.”

“It’s been fixed up a little, but I think she might be living in only a few of the rooms,” Brian said. “I know that you’re curious about the trafficking story, but I’m thinking that if you’re going to be hanging out with Anya, and she’s really doing what you think she is and investigating her sister’s disappearance, maybe Ashley and I should share what we know with her too, providing Jake gives us his okay.”

Eric nodded. “I’ll see how it goes tonight. She wasn’t exactly excited about meeting me at the Tap tonight. I had to talk her into it.” He sighed. “But I don’t like the idea of her doing something like that without any help. It could be dangerous.”

“So, you were planning on offering your assistance, were you?” Ashley asked dryly. “You sound like Brian, the first time I ran into him again.”

“You can’t blame her for not trusting you, bro. You did leave town without a word,” Brian said.

Ashley winced. “You too, huh? What happened with Mr. Ashford and that Ponzi scheme sure screwed up the lives of a lot of us, didn’t it? When you think about it, it’s kind of amazing that not only Jeff and Michelle ended up getting back together again, but so did Brian and I.”

“Is that what you want, Eric—to get back together with her?” Brian asked softly.

Eric grimaced, not bothering to answer.

Because he was starting to realize that it was exactly what he wanted. No one knew how hard he’d tried to let her go for herown sake when he’d been forced to leave town. Very few people had even known how much of a genius Anya was, including her parents. They’d kept it a secret between the two of them, and Anya had deliberately downplayed her intelligence at school. But Eric had a feeling that once he was out of the picture and she’d taken her SATs that it hadn’t stayed a secret for long. Even though he’d missed her terribly, he’d used it as an excuse after they’d left town, probably because he’d been insecure along with being a little jealous of her at the time. Even then, she knew exactly what she wanted—college and a business career.

Finally, he answered, “I think I need to understand what Anya wants first. After all, we’re strangers. We need to get to know each other again first.”

“Well, I think we should include her at Christmas, whether you two make up or not,” Ashley said. “It sounds like she could use some friends.”

Eric grinned. This was definitely not the Ashley he used to know.

“Quit giving me that gooney look, Eric,” Ashley muttered. “I know what you’re thinking. Sometimes, I can’t believe how much I’ve changed either.”

Everyone was laughing as Brian pulled into the parking lot of the Crystal Rock Tap so they could pick up their lunch.

Chapter Seven

With Eric on her mind, it had taken forever for her to choose something to wear. But since the weather forecast projected warming temperatures throughout the day, Anya had dressed a little more festively than usual before coming into work.

Well, maybe a lot more, according to Jaynie and Wren, two floral designers who conveniently happened to be her best friends. She was closest to Jaynie, who’d endlessly tried to set her up with several different guys living here in town.

The first thing that Anya noticed when she came inside through the back of the shop was that more flowers had apparently been delivered. When she saw the number of orders clipped above each station, she could sure understand why.

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