5. Anna
ANNA
PRESENT
I had told Archer that I became a journalist to help cover important stories—stories that could help make a difference—and this was the first story he was seeing me cover?
If he weren’t such a damn good EP , I would likely kill him for this. Or at least leave a few chocolate bars in his car on a hot day—with the wrappers off. My sister Iris taught me that trick.
She wasn’t my sister by birth, but close enough.
Iris and I were placed in the same foster family when we were kids.
There were five of us girls in total— Gale , Hazel , Iris , Cora , and me—that the O’Hara women took in.
Winnie and Tia O’Hara were sisters who had also grown up in the foster system, constantly bumping around because no one wanted two older sisters.
They made it their adult lives’ mission to try to take in as many foster girls as they could so that no one had to go through constantly moving around.
Sure , we had some girls who didn’t stay—those were the ones who usually went back to their family or a relative who stepped in to take care of them.
But for the ones whose families never wanted them back or were told by the court that they couldn’t have them back, they would always have a home with the O’Hara women. I was one of those lucky ones.
The O’Haras lived on a small property in the Northern California coastal town of Stratus Cove .
It was beautiful, with so much green, fresh air, and friendly people.
Granted , it was a small town, so everyone knew everyone’s business.
But that also meant they knew what the O’Hara sisters did, so there was just a level of acceptance when we randomly showed up.
Some people just couldn’t understand what it was like to not know if you would have a family to celebrate Thanksgiving with or whether anyone remembered or even cared that it was your birthday.
Normal children would always have that security blanket.
Foster kids like me did not. In total, I think there were more than fifteen girls the O’Hara women fostered, but only five of us stayed.
Iris and I had arrived around the same time— I was ten and Iris eleven. I had bounced around a few foster homes before coming to the O’Haras , but they were the first stop on Iris’s journey, and I was glad for that.
In my case, my mother never wanted me. She gave me up when I was a toddler and her baby daddy walked away.
Apparently , I had an attitude problem as a child and didn’t fit in well in my first five foster homes.
I had even been almost adopted once, but that family fell through when a brand-new baby became available.
Finally , I ended up with the O’Haras , and I’d never been happier.
Iris and I had shared a room and instantly bonded.
Not just because we arrived at the same time, but also because we realized over time that we shared a lot in common.
We had never had pets growing up but always wanted them.
The O’Haras had them. We had two dogs, three barn cats, two llamas, and an ostrich.
We all had chore duty on the small farm, helping out, but I loved it.
Animals didn’t judge you like people did.
You could just be yourself around them, and they didn’t care.
Maybe T . rexes wouldn’t judge me either, which was good since there were about a billion of them here today.
At least I now had a Halloween costume ready to go.
I stood off to the side of the road where the runners were.
I was about fifty yards beyond the starting line, which was also the finish line since this was a loop.
We had interviewed multiple runners and charity staff members this morning before the race began, but now we were just getting some extra video of the runners and recording a piece that would run on the shows tonight.
Archer stood off to the side, wearing tan cargo pants and a black tee. He helped Terry , my cameraman, from time to time with setting up the tent and such, but otherwise just sat nearby and worked on his computer. To any passersby, they likely thought he was just part of the camera crew.
Terry had been informed he was my temporary bodyguard, but no one else would have been any wiser, and I liked that.
People already stared at you enough when they realized you were on TV , but it got exponentially worse if they saw a bodyguard.
For some reason, that made people think you must be an A -list celebrity.
While they set up all the equipment, I kept glancing around looking for anyone suspicious.
“You worried?” Archer asked me, bringing my gaze back to him. “ You keep scanning your surroundings.”
“Just trying to be vigilant, that’s all,” I responded.
Archer did have two other people there— Diego , whom I’d met last night, and a woman named Delia that I’d met this morning.
Delia was amazing. She had Egyptian heritage, which you could clearly see in her rich, tawny-colored skin and long black hair that was currently pulled into a ponytail.
She was a retired Air Force pilot—not just any pilot, but an Air Force Hurricane Hunter pilot.
I told her about my sister, Iris , who was a meteorologist with the National Weather Service , and how they would be perfect to have an in-depth nerd conversation together.
She laughed and told me she would love that, since there aren’t many women in her profession.
Delia stood along the sidelines, not far from me, pretending to be a bystander cheering on one of the racers. She even held up a sign from time to time that said Go Mike ! She said it was a super common name, so no one would think anything of it.
Diego was pretending to be an event photographer, taking pictures of racers, the podiums, event booths, and more.
Really , it was just his way of blending in, but it also allowed him to take photos of any suspicious people and send them to Archer on his laptop.
Diego was nice, though not a big talker.
I’d learned he was Mexican - American , had also served in the military, and came from a big family.
When we were all finished up for the day, having made it through without any hit men coming after us, Archer and I helped pack up and made our way to his car. Normally , I would have just hopped into the vehicle with the cameraman, but Archer insisted we drive separately.
I had to choose my battles carefully with him, so I let this one go.
“You need to go back to the station for anything?” Archer asked.
“No. Terry and I were able to write out, track, and plan the edits so that he could finish it up back at the station and send it off to the producers,” I replied as I began slipping out of the dinosaur costume and into my regular T -shirt and shorts I had on underneath.
“ Oh , God , it feels good to get out of that hot monstrosity.”
I sighed in relief at feeling some cool air brush over my heated body. It was morning in October —it shouldn’t be this hot, but it was. And being in that costume only made me hotter.
I looked up to see Archer staring at me with a peculiar look on his face.
“What?” I questioned.
He stared back and paused before he finally replied. “ Nothing .”
He got into the SUV , and I followed suit.
“Do you want to eat before your trainer comes over or wait until after?” he asked me.
I was torn because I was starving, but I also hated running on a full stomach.
Knowing Sara would likely have a lot of questions when she arrived—like why we had to run at a random man’s house and why I was currently living with said random man— I figured I had some time where I could digest my food.
“Let’s eat first,” I told him. “ I’ll have her take it easy on me in the beginning so I don’t puke.”
* * *
We went to a burger and wing place not too far from the race. We walked in, and the hostess took us to a booth near the back corner of the restaurant.
“Do you mind if I sit on that side?” Archer said, standing next to me after I slid into the booth. “ I’d like to be able to see the door and all possible exits, and the other side of the booth doesn’t allow me to do that.”
He may not be a cop anymore, but he clearly still had cop tendencies ingrained in him.
“Maybe I would like to see the exits too,” I responded, wondering how far he would push it.
I should have known better. He just shrugged and slid into the same side as me, pushing me over to the edge up against the wall.
“Together it is, then,” he said with a grin, clearly enjoying this.
I just rolled my eyes and turned back to my menu, studying it as though my life depended on it.
Our server came and took our drink order right away, clearly not thinking anything was amiss about us both sitting on the same side. She came back with drinks a few moments later, and we ordered our food.
Archer checked his phone and then turned and looked at me. He didn’t say a word, just stared as though he was deep in thought. It made me uncomfortable, so I did what I do best—talk. I chose to look forward, though, and not at him, so I didn’t have to crane my neck.
“Diego and Delia are both nice,” I told him, trying to make casual conversation that wouldn’t be awkward, even though everything about having lunch with my ex-husband should be awkward. Especially sitting next to him in a small booth.
Plus, Archer had filled out over the years.
He was good-looking when I’d met him, but he was bigger now, bulkier, especially in the chest and arms. It was things like this that made me dislike people like him.
Nobody wanted their ex to age better than they had.
Not that I had aged poorly, but I just didn’t want him to have aged well, but the jerk clearly had.
“Yeah, they’re great,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink. “ Both of them worked over at Dobbington Air Reserve Base and ended up in the pub we own, which was how we connected with them.”
“You own a pub?” I must have somehow missed that—and did he say we ?
“Yeah, Wade’s uncle used to own the Watering Hole which is a pub and restaurant.
He was ready to retire and sold the whole building to us.
The first floor is the pub and restaurant on the right, and our main reception lobby on the left.
There’s also a lobby area with elevators that go up to the other floors.
We own those, too. The second floor is the security company—our offices, camera and security room, a small gym, and a weapons area. ”
Wow, that was a lot to take in, and quite a bit more of a large-scale operation than I originally gave him credit for.
“The third floor has two small apartments,” he continued.
“ Wade and his wife, Ellie , live in one. Vince’s sister-in-law lived in the other, although she recently moved out, so they just started renovations to combine the two apartments into one larger one.
Wade solely works with us at the security company now, but he also managed the bar and worked a few bartending shifts from time to time.
He and Tammy are good at recruiting for us from former military folks who come into the pub. ”
“Tammy works for you, too?” I asked, having not heard that name before.
“No, she works at the pub. Wade is listed as the manager on paper there, but Tammy runs the place. She used to work there under Wade’s uncle, so she knows that place better than anyone. You’d like her. She’s a hoot.”
“I’m happy for you,” I told him. “ You seem to have a great crew to work with.”
“I do. I’m lucky. Everyone is great, the company is doing well, and I genuinely enjoy my work.”
“You certainly seem much happier about your job here than you did when you were a police officer in Vegas .”
He stared at me a little pensively but also with curiosity. Good . I liked keeping this man on his toes. And I was not the same woman he married all those years ago. I was a strong, resilient, and independent woman.
Our food was delivered shortly thereafter, which we ate quickly so we could head back to his place to meet my trainer. I was very much looking forward to that meeting.
This was about to get very interesting.