Chapter Twelve
Truthfully, Eric was shaken by everything that had happened tonight. He hadn’t realized just how much having to leave Anya as a teenager had affected his ability to commit to any other relationship seriously.
He’d always thought that there was something wrong with him.
Well, there was, but what was wrong with him had nothing to do with his ability to engage with other women.
It had everything to do with the fact that he’d never stopped loving Anya.
And that’s what it was, alright. Love. He’d wanted her more than anything he’d ever wanted in his life tonight.
Had they grown too far apart to make it work?
Well, he was sure willing to try, and it seemed like Anya was too.
A few minutes later, he turned into the driveway of Brian and Ashley’s place. He’d left the porch light on near the basement apartment door, so he pulled up near the house instead of parking in the barn. It wasn’t supposed to snow much more tonight, so Brian wouldn’t be plowing in the morning again.
He had the keys and the code for the alarm system memorized already, so he was inside within a matter of minutes.
There was something about the setup of this basement that was weird. It had nothing to do with the drywall, or the windows or even the furnishings and flooring used inside. That’s what made the room inviting.
“I suppose if I stick around long enough, I’ll figure out what it is,” he muttered, tugging his sweater over his head and throwing it on the couch before heading into the bathroom.
As he stepped under the icy cold water of the shower, he wondered what Anya would think if she knew how much his encounters with her were turning him on? In fact, the experience was kind of making him feel like a school kid who was getting ready to have sex for the very first time.
He stilled after turning off the water, because that was exactly what it was. During all those years since he’d made love to Anya, no other woman had made him immediately desire her.
* * *
He woke the following morning feeling a strange sense of peace. Eric had suddenly realized that the restlessness that had gripped his soul through the years seemed to have had a lot to do with the guilt he’d felt at having to leave Anya after they’d taken a significant step in their relationship.
But there wasn’t one thing that would be easy about moving forward. There’d been too much tragedy in Anya’s life. The only way he could help ease Anya’s pain would be to do everything he could to help her look for her sister.
No matter what they discovered, it would be the only way that Anya could have closure. She may not have said it out loud, but for whatever reason, Anya felt responsible for Shanna’s disappearance. So, he’d suggested that she needed to hear the truth. He had a feeling that she knew nothing about Shanna’s reputation, so he’d talk with Brian and Ashley and see how they wanted to handle it.
With that decision made, he headed into the bathroom to wash up before quickly dressing into jeans and a t-shirt. Ashley said that they needed to leave the house by eight, so he’d better get upstairs to receive his instructions for the day. Ashley had probably made him a mile long list. Originally, they’d expected one of the sets of parents to have arrived before Christmas Eve, but everyone had been delayed by weather.
When Eric walked into the kitchen, it appeared that he still had some time, realizing it was still only seven. They were awake, most likely getting ready, because he could hear bits of conversation echoing from above the kitchen staircase.
If he remembered correctly, they were having a meeting at breakfast with the skeleton crew who would be handling the auction at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn.
He smiled widely, because Ashley had already made him a mile long list that was resting on the island counter. After starting a pot of coffee, he sat down and read through it.
Feeding, eating, sleeping and changing diapers was the gist of it, he realized, grinning as he stood to pour coffee.
Suddenly, with his coffee cup half filled, he saw a black cat come sauntering upstairs from the basement.
He blinked. Did the cat belong in the house? This was the first time he’d seen him.
But then again, when he’d been sleeping pretty soundly, he’d felt unusually warm during the night, thinking that the quilt on the bed was awfully heavy.
“Did you sleep with me last night, cat?”
“Meeeeeeeeeooooow,” the cat answered, heading toward the open door that led into the pantry.
Eric walked across the kitchen, peeking inside. Sure enough, there was a litter box in the corner and a food and water bowl resting on a plastic mat on the floor.
“I’ve been here a day and a half and it’s the first time I’ve seen you,” Eric said, sipping his coffee.
The cat glanced up at him momentarily before eating more food from the bowl.
“You’re obviously comfortable in my presence,” he muttered, turning to the staircase when he heard footsteps from above.
“Morning,” Ashley said, grinning.
“Morning, Ash,” he answered, smiling. “I made coffee and read your list.”
Although she was dressed casually, she was carrying two clothing bags in her arms. Walking into the mudroom, she hung them both on an empty coat hook, returning to the kitchen.
“Thanks, Eric. I have a feeling you’re going to do just fine. All you have to do is text us if anything comes up. Have you eaten?” she asked.
“I thought I’d wait for Arielle,” he replied. “Cooking will give me something to do while Arielle is flinging her food from the high chair.”
She started laughing.
“Morning.” Carrying Arielle in his arms, Brian came walking downstairs, smiling. “She’s good to go, now that she’s had a diaper change.”
“Want me to take her?” Eric asked, approaching and tickling her belly.
“Nah. You’ll have plenty of time for that today,” Brian answered, moving over to the table and slipping her into the high chair set up near the end. “She had a bottle about an hour ago, so she’ll be content for a while. I need coffee.”
“Let me pour you two a cup,” Eric said. “I need more myself.”
A few minutes later, the three of them were seated around the kitchen table with coffee, while Arielle pounded on her high chair tray with a set of plastic keys.
“What’s with the clothing bags?” Eric asked, grinning at Ashley when he noticed Brian frown.
“Dress clothes,” Ashley replied. “We have to take turns displaying items at the online auction.”
Catching Brian’s eye, Eric gave him a wink. “Arielle and I will be sure to watch you two on TV today.”
Brian’s frown turned fierce.
Eric turned to Ashley. “I can tell that Brian’s really looking forward to it.”
She laughed.
But finally, she turned to Brian. “I suppose we should be on our way after we finish our coffee. At least we’ll have a fancy breakfast when we arrive.”
“That much I’m looking forward to,” Brian agreed. “I’ll go warm up the truck and bring it around if you need to grab more coffee. We’d better leave the SUV here with the car seat just in case Eric would have to deal with an unexpected emergency.”
“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 with someone 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.