Page 10 of Two Hearts' Accidental Heroes

“Oh, no,” Dad moaned. “When did this happen? Mom and I both knew that he was kind of sweet on her, although with her disposition, we weren’t exactly sure why.”

“It’s been about a week, I guess. That’s why he wanted to borrow your Camaro the other night,” Rick admitted.

Closing his eyes, Dad rubbed his forehead, heaving a sigh. “Well, with your brother’s temper, their next meeting probably won’t go very well. Ashley and her mom are going to be leaving town too, so maybe they won’t even see each other again.”

“It might be better that way,” Rick agreed, stacking his cereal bowl into the dishwasher before heading toward the staircase. “I guess I should get dressed.”

“You’re being awful level headed about this, Rick,” Dad said.

“It’s better not to think too hard about everything,” he answered. “I’ll miss playing ball. I’m not sure if I’ll be good enough to play at wherever I end up going to school. But I know that Mom will be safe, and I don’t have a girlfriend to worry about, so I’ll make it my mission to keep Brian and Eric level headed about everything too.”

“You’re already doing a pretty good job of making me feel like our lives aren’t totally spiraling out of control,” Dad said dryly.

Halfway up the staircase, Rick snorted. It was probably going to hit him soon—just how much he was going to miss Crystal Rock and his friends. Right now, he was trying as hard as he could not to think about it.

Chapter Four

If it hadn’t been for all the troubling issues hanging over their heads, the following day would have felt like any other, Rick couldn’t help thinking when practice was over. It was Friday and their last long practice would be tomorrow before the summer league games began next week.

But Rick had a gut feeling that he’d no longer be here in town to play.

Eric appeared right on time to pick him up today, and Rick gave a quick wave of farewell to all his friends on the team. Everything that was happening was finally starting to hit home. Since he’d never lived anywhere else, he hadn’t realized just how attached he was to his hometown.

“Why don’t I pick up Anya later and we can do some skiing this afternoon since you don’t have a double practice today?” Eric sighed, giving him a side glance. “Who knows when we’ll ever get the chance to do it again.”

“Sure. I’d like that. Maybe we can pick up some sandwiches and snacks to bring along with us,” Rick said.

But the mention of Anya got Rick thinking about Shanna again. Before they left town, he needed to figure a way to help her somehow.

“What’s Anya’s mother like?” Rick asked suddenly.

Eric blinked. “Why?”

“I ran into Shanna at the Inn again last night and it got me thinking that she could be in trouble. If we leave, I’d like to talk to someone who cares about her so that they can look out for her.”

Eric reached out, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “Their mother seems to really love both girls, but she works all the time because Anya and Shanna’s father lost his job. I think that their father bosses their mom around a lot and Shanna’s always been his favorite, so it’s made her rebellious.”

Rick had decided not to tell Eric his suspicions about Mr. Weldon, because he could hardly believe what he was thinking himself. But he wouldn’t feel right leaving town without telling someone. He’d talk it over with Shanna’s mom, he decided, and see what she had to say.

“Where does Mrs. Weldon work?”

“At Callahan Construction. She works some pretty long hours as a receptionist and accountant.”

“I wonder if she works on Saturdays?”

“She does. At least in the morning,” Eric replied.

Rick nodded. “I might take a ride over there tomorrow after practice. I’ll take my bike, so you won’t have to drop me off. It’s our last practice before Monday’s game and since we don’t know for sure what’s going to happen next week, I might just take my time coming home.”

Eric nodded his understanding.

The decision made him feel a little better. He’d fallen asleep last night thinking about Shanna and all the trouble she could be in.

And had come to the realization that her issues more than likely had something to do with her father.

He would question Mrs. Weldon tomorrow before deciding if he should let her in on his suspicions. It was hard to believe that she could live in the same house with Shanna and not notice that something was terribly wrong.

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