Page 26 of Two Hearts Reunited

“That’s a good idea,” Ashley agreed. “We’ve never left her with anyone this long. It’s so great of you to do this for us, Eric.”

“It’s the least I can do. I’ve spent so little time with everyone through the years. It’s nice to have a family again.”

As Brian walked toward the mudroom after giving him an approving smile, Eric turned back to Ashley. “I think that Anya needs to be better informed about the traffickers. If it’s not too much trouble, would it be possible to arrange to speak withsomeone about the investigation and maybe let her in on what happened here with you and Brian before Christmas last year?”

“We’d have to talk with Jake Loughlin. He’s not only in charge of the local investigation, but he’s the one who’s been working with both of our families, you know, through the years,” she answered. “I don’t see why we can’t talk him into it. A lot of us already know about what happened with the traffickers here.”

“I guess I’ve always kind of known that Jake was the one who was assisting with our departure from town all those years ago, but I didn’t realize he was the one who’s been investigating the trafficking.”

Ashley became thoughtful. “So, it’s like Brian said, she’s looking into her sister’s disappearance?”

He nodded. “Yes. And she’s got some information that might be useful to the investigation.”

Just then, a horn echoed outside.

“There’s Brian,” Ashley said, standing and resting her coffee cup in the sink. “I’ll talk to Jake sometime today. Okay? He should be around.”

“I’d appreciate that, Ash. Another problem is that I don’t think that Anya is aware of the reputation Shanna had, although Brian somehow knew.”

Ashley grimaced, heading toward the mudroom and pulling on her coat. Unhooking the clothing bags, she looked at Eric again with her hand on the doorknob. “I do remember Shanna now. She seemed to always be in trouble. She hung around with a lot of older guys even though she was a lot younger than me and Brian. At first I couldn’t place her, because we weren’t living here in town either when she disappeared.”

Eric sighed. “Anya’s her polar opposite.”

“And you’ve never gotten over her,” Ashley observed, giving him a wry smile. “I’ll text you and let you know when we’ll be able to get home.”

Much to his surprise, she walked away from the door, standing on her tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re a real sweetheart, Eric.”

Heading back to the door, she opened it quickly, rushing outside to meet Brian, who was definitely impatient as he held open the passenger door of his truck to assist her inside.

Smiling, Eric gave them both a quick wave, before closing the door and locking it tight.

“It looks like it’s just you and me, Arielle,” he called out as he headed back into the kitchen.

He blinked when she squealed, pounding together her fists as if she’d understood exactly what he’d said.

Chapter Thirteen

Despite going to bed later than usual the previous night, Anya had still woken early.

She’d slept soundly, feeling surprisingly rested, and had taken a shower and washed her hair right away, ready to choose something more festive again to wear to work.

But her phone rang at about ten o’clock, and glancing at her caller ID, she was surprised to discover it was her boss, Penny Danielson.

Switching on her phone and putting it on speaker, she rested it near the garment rack so she could decide what to wear. Penny probably needed her to come into work a little earlier.

“Good morning, Penny,” Anya said.

“Hi there, Anya. Your voice sounds different than it usually does this morning,” she replied, sounding somewhat taken aback.

“It does? How so?”

“More upbeat, I guess. Like you have a smile in your voice,” Penny answered.

“Oh. My boyfriend from high school is back in town for the holidays, and we met for dinner last night after work.”

Penny laughed. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me to hear you went out on a date. You don’t do nearly enough for yourself, Anya.”

“I guess it’s like you said, Penny. I can’t keep living in the past. I need to take an occasional break from the darkness,” she admitted, surprised by her words.

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