Page 2 of Two Hearts' Accidental Heroes

And when Rick glanced into her eyes, he was immediately taken aback. The depth of darkness and despair that he saw inside seemed to be overwhelming.

“I’m around if you ever need to talk,” he said, his voice cracking. Even to himself, he sounded desperate.

Shanna looked like she was on her way to her own execution as she approached the truck.

“What are you doing wearing all that crap on your face?” her father yelled. “Make sure that you’ve got every bit of it removed by the time we get to Rice Lake.”

As Shanna’s father pulled away, Rick waved. Although Mr. Weldon ignored him, Shanna gave Rick a nod as her father drove by.

Rick sensed that there was something not quite right about Shanna’s relationship with her family, but it was odd because as far as he could tell, her sister Anya was outgoing and always seemed to fit in. If there was trouble at home, how could Anya be so different from Shanna?

Another five minutes later, Eric finally showed up.

“Sorry it took me so long to get here,” Eric said through the open window, pulling into the parking space near the picnic bench. “Brian had to work a little late. I tried to call you.”

Rick grimaced. “I forgot to charge my phone, but that’s alright. I just had an interesting talk with Shanna Weldon,” Rick replied, stepping into the passenger seat of the truck that Rick shared with their oldest brother, Brian.

Eric frowned, acting like he was going to say something about Shanna.

But Rick didn’t want to hear it. Besides, there was something about the expression that had been on Eric’s face when he’d pulled into the parking lot that had Rick worried. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s trouble between Mom and Dad,” Eric answered, turning onto the street from the parking lot. “I’m glad I’m off work for the next few days.”

Rick blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s just wait until we get home, and then we can talk about it with Brian. Want to stop for something to eat?”

“Sure,” Rick replied.

“Dad ordered dinner from the Crystal Rock Tap, but I skipped lunch so I wouldn’t mind some food right away. Let’s stop for burgers first, and then we’ll go pick up the order. It’s probably not ready yet anyway.”

Rick nodded his agreement.

Chapter One

Later that night after eating dinner, Rick stood with his brothers, stunned after hearing what his father had to say.

“There’s trouble in your marriage,” Brian repeated, echoing his father’s words. “What do you mean by that, Dad?”

“Yeah, Dad. What’s going on? You and Mom get along fine,” Rick muttered.

Not answering, Dad continued sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, his eyes not meeting theirs.

What in the heck was going on here, Rick thought to himself. Something just seemed so off. His parents had just celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary a few weeks before.

It was kind of strange that Mom was still at work though.

“When’s Mom coming home?” Rick asked, feeling panicked but trying not to let it show.

“Later tonight,” Dad answered, his eyes meeting Rick’s. “She’s packing up her stuff at the office.”

“Why?” Eric asked. “Come on, Dad. Tell us what’s going on.”

“It’s nothing,” Dad replied. “There was some trouble at the real estate office late this afternoon, so they’re closing up the office for a couple days.”

But Rick’s eyes were still on Dad. While Brian was the hothead of the family, and Eric was kind of a dreamer, Rick had always had good instincts. There was definitely some kind of trouble, but Dad would never be someone to lie without a good reason. Whatever was happening, Dad wanted the three of them to think that what he was saying was true.

Dad heaved a sigh. “Boys—let’s get the kitchen cleaned up for your mom. Okay? We can talk more about it during the next week. It’s been a rough day. Your mom and I have had a lot of issues to deal with.”

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