Page 51 of Two Hearts Reunited

“Now that’s a coincidence that you should ask,” she said. “I just got word today. They’re going to come and install a separate satellite tomorrow.”

“Would you like me to be here?”

“I would if it isn’t too much trouble. I need to help decide the best place to keep the equipment hidden, but I have no idea how much equipment there will be.”

“Okay. You’ve got it,” he answered.

“You’ve heard from your superior again, haven’t you?” she asked, sounding glum.

“I have. I’ll have to leave here on the thirtieth, but I want you to keep my truck. Okay? It’s much safer than that old junker you drive. If you want, you can drive me to the airport that morning.”

“Try and stop me,” she muttered.

He grinned. “Maybe we’d better start making love more often to make up for the time we’re not going to have together?”

“I’m not sure when we’d fit it in with as much as we’re doing it already,” she answered dryly.

He barked out a laugh.

When they stopped laughing, he asked, “How about having one last night out at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn for dinner, the night before I have to go?”

“I’d like that,” she said softly.

* * *

Their last week together went by way too fast. And Eric couldn’t believe it when the thirtieth arrived so quickly. At least they’d made the most out of their last seven days.

“You’ll have access to Facetime, right?” she asked as they approached the airport, and Eric turned into the entrance, driving through several rows of vehicles before he finally found a space to park.

“For sure while I’m still in the States, and I should when I reach Ramstein. I could be called to duty at any time though, so if I don’t get in touch, it won’t be because I don’t want to.”

He pulled her into his arms, kissing her thoroughly.

Finally, he looked at his watch. “We’d better load up. My duffel bag is the lightest. Why don’t you carry that while I get the rest of my luggage?”

“Alright,” she said, looking like she was ready to cry.

When Eric was waiting in line to board the plane another half hour later, he glanced back at Anya one final time.

“I love you,” he called out.

She smiled, the tears running down her face. “I love you too. Please be safe.”

“I’ll do my best.”

When Anya gave him a thumbs up, he laughed.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Although Eric reporting back to duty had been one of the hardest things she’d had to accept, he was there with Anya in so many ways.

They’d talked about converting one of the downstairs spaces into some kind of exercise room. It was something Anya would have to think about as Ashley kept coming up with ideas on how she could update the cabin.

A wall heater had been installed in Anya’s office after the outer walls of the lakefront cabin had received a glazing treatment to retain the heat. Apparently, the logs of the outer walls were thick enough to insulate the cabin naturally. All that was needed was some special type of caulking between the logs before applying the glaze, which had been done by a spray application, much like what was used for the spray insulation used in new construction. It was a costly process, so Anya had only one side of the cabin done while the other walls of the cabin would hopefully have the glaze applied before fall.

She and Ashley had redesigned and expanded the office area to include the huge closet space that had been an eyesore since it had been added later in time. The pinup wall that Mom had created was still there for Anya to study, but the rest of the office furniture had been shifted around to include Anya’snew computer that Jake had provided along with the additional office equipment he’d insisted she needed to do her job the most efficiently.

She’d never been so productive, Anya had to admit. She’d gone through almost every name from the notebooks by June, looking for connections to Wisconsin and Michigan, and with Jake’s assistance, Charlie was being kept busy. Anya suspected that Jake was providing him with a much higher salary than she was, but all was well. Charlie was going to Jake with his findings and Jake was filling in Anya instead.

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