Page 65 of Found By You
“I’m praying for you too, bro. Love you.” She hung up.
I pulled into the gas station. “I’m going to fill up really quick.”
Both of us got out.
After filling up, we went over to the Subway.
It was nearly empty, the dinner rush not having started yet. The aroma of fresh bread mingled with the scent of various sandwich fillings.
We each ordered a sandwich, and I found it interesting that she ordered only vegetarian. Soon we had our food in hand, and we sat down at a small table by the window where the evening light filtered through.
I asked, “Is that all you eat? Vegetarian?”
She shrugged. “No, I just felt like it.”
We dug into our sandwiches, and she smiled after a bite. “Isn’t it weird for you to not know anything about me, except the past couple of days when I didn’t remember anything?”
I nodded, not wanting to pressure her. “It is,” I said after a bite of food.
She leaned back. Even though she didn’t have makeup on and we’d both been through a long day, she was still gorgeous with those pale green eyes, that beautiful skin, and the huge, frizzy mop of red curls coming around her shoulders.
She smiled at me. “What do you want to know?”
I hesitated, wondering if it was time or not, but I figured that since she was asking, I could tell her the truth. “Everything.”
“Okay.” She looked relieved.
I put the sandwich down and crossed my arms. Luckily, we weren’t in a hurry to get back, and no criminal was chasing us right now. It felt like we had some downtime. “Start at the beginning.”
“Well, I grew up in Texas, a little town outside of Austin. I told you about the fire. Our childhood was not easy, but we were lucky and went into the system together.” She paused, taking a sip of her drink.
I nodded, hating that for her. Outside, a family pulled up in a minivan, kids climbing out with summer energy despite the hour.
“And then we met an older lady. Hazel Flemington. She adopted my brother and me, and I was grateful, because she just had a very safe environment for us.” She sat back and laughed a bit, a glow coming to her eyes. “She was always telling me to follow my instinct, to dig into the truth. My father had been a reporter, and I love being a reporter. I’m grateful that Hazel encouraged me.”
“Nice. Where did you go to school?”
“I got my journalism degree from University of Texas, and Hazel helped me through school. She got really sick, so I moved back in with her, and that’s when I got hired at the local news station.” She took a deep breath, shadows crossing her face. “Not an amazing job, but it was available and I could help out with Hazel. But she passed away last year of cancer, and I don’t know …” She shrugged and picked up a napkin, tapping at the edges of her mouth. “I guess that’s when I really got into my podcast.A. Ryan on Conspiracies.And that was probably my downfall, right there.”
I was surprised. “What do you mean?”
She threw her hands up. “I wouldn’t be in this situation if I hadn’t been digging so deep into that human trafficking ring. I mean, Hazel always cautioned me about being careful, and since she passed away, I just … I don’t know, I didn’t feel like I had to be careful. I mean, my brother and I are close. He’s not married either, so we would get together and have dinners together. We got really close after Hazel passed away, and like I said, he’s a cop in the same town, so it worked out, but he always told me to be careful too. But, clearly he didn’t trust me.” She sniffed. “And he shouldn’t have. I mean, I walked into that canyon with nothing. Nothing to protect me. I thought, what? I was going to stop human trafficking by myself?” Her eyes blinked rapidly. “And I guess I let him down too. I mean—” Her hand clenched into a fist. “I’m so mad at him for flying to Casper and trying to protect me. I mean, he should have just stayed.”
I let out a laugh. “If my sister did that, I wouldn’t have stayed.” And I meant it. I thought about Kayla and how protective we were of her. “None of my brothers would have stayed.”
She sucked in a deep breath and wiped her tears. “That’s true. I can see that. I love that about your family. You guys are so close, and I love your parents. They’re just amazing people.”
I nodded, trying to digest everything she’d told me.
She shifted in her seat. “I got lucky ending up in your town with your family. I mean, if I was doing a report on your town, that would be it—Refuge Falls is a refuge.”
Warmth filled me, and for some stupid reason, I wanted to ask her if she was willing to move to Refuge Falls. I could make another joke about how we needed more cops and her brother could move here too, but maybe that was too early. I just nodded. “Yeah, that would be a good article.”
Our eyes held, and that sizzling attraction came back, even more so now I knew that this woman wasn’t taken. She didn’thave a boyfriend or a husband, and I wanted to be in her life. I wasn’t sure what that would look like, but I wanted it.
“Let’s get on the road,” I told her, “and if you don’t mind, we have to stop by my parents’ house first. They’ve all been texting like crazy.”
Chapter 30
