The door to my house opened, and Drake walked in. He smiled at me, but when he saw Mindy, his eyes lit up.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” he said as he walked up and hugged me, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Mindy’s cheek.
“You off today?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m heading on out to the Meyer’s ranch to pick up Anson.”
The mere mention of his name made my heart skip a beat.
“Really? Seems like you two have gotten buddy-buddy again,” I stated.
He shrugged. “It’s not like that. Someone came in from Nashville a few days ago. She’s been staying at a hotel in Kerrville.”
“She?” Mindy and I both said at the same time.
“Yeah,” Drake said as he headed toward my kitchen. Mindy and I exchanged a glance, and I had to cover my stomach to keep down the sudden onslaught of nausea. That was why he hadn’t called me. There was someone he knew in town. Was it someone he had been dating? Oh my God. What if Anson had a girlfriend he hadn’t told me about?
Mindy stood and followed Drake. As she walked by, she squeezed my hand.
“Do you know who she is?” Mindy asked.
“Anson didn’t say. Just said he had to meet with her and needed a ride since he didn’t have his granddad’s truck.” He turned and looked at us. “Why?”
When his eyes met mine, Drake frowned. “What’s wrong? Why do you look pale?”
“I’m, I’m not feeling very well today.”
“Should you be around Mindy and the baby if you’re sick?” he asked, concern in his eyes as he gave Mindy a look that honestly made my heart swoon. My brother was indeed falling for my best friend.
“It’s nothing like that,” Mindy said with a laugh. “Drake, I walked over here, but I think the temperature was much warmer than I thought it would be this afternoon. Are you free to drive me home really quick?”
He smiled. “Of course I am.”
Then he focused on me. “Do you need anything, Bri? Need me to run and get you anything?”
Suddenly, I felt so tired. An unbelievable sadness swept over me.
I forced a smile and tried to look like everything was perfectly fine. “Nah, I’m simply tired. I’ve been pretty busy this week at the tea room. That’s all.”
He nodded, but with the way he looked at me, I could tell he wasn’t convinced. “If you’re sure?”
“I’m totally sure. Go take Mindy home and then run Anson on his…errand. I’m totally fine. I swear!”
Drake looked over at Mindy, then back at me. “Let me grab a water real quick…You need one, Mindy?”
She smiled and replied, “Yes. Please.”
My brother grabbed two bottles of water, and I followed them both through my house and out the front door.
“Call me later,” Mindy said as she gave me a quick hug.
“I will.”
Drake kissed me on top of my head. “Rest for a bit, will you?”
With a forced smile, I replied, “I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later.”
After I shut the door, I held my hand up to my mouth to keep the sudden urge to cry like a stupid fool at bay. I had no idea who Anson was meeting. She could be someone he worked with. She could be someone he’d dated. I forced it all out of head and headed to my bedroom to change. I needed to go for a run and clear my head.
Anson
THE YELLOW HOUSE looked bright against the late evening sun. I pulled Granddad’s truck up in front of Bristol’s house and turned to look into the backseat. When Lanny met me in Kerrville, she had a surprise with her. Brad had finally made it to town after being delayed a couple of weeks. And he had Zeus with him.
“Come on, Zeus. Let’s go see how our girl is doing.”
My chocolate lab jumped out of the truck and made a beeline straight up to Bristol’s front door. I couldn’t help but smile. The damn dog probably already felt like he knew Bristol with how much I talked about her.
I still couldn’t shake the worry I had ever since Drake told me Bristol wasn’t feeling good. He said she looked pale and hadn’t been herself. If I hadn’t needed to meet with Robert’s assistant earlier, I would have gone straight over to Bristol’s place. Especially since I hadn’t seen her in a week.
I knocked on the door and waited. Nothing. Another knock and still nothing. Zeus and I made our way around to the backyard. When she wasn’t there, I headed over to the tea room, which was right next door. The door had a closed sign on it, and when I looked inside, everything seemed to be turned off.
“Where is she, boy?” I asked as I pulled out my phone and typed out a quick text to her.