“Maybe I could drive passed her house” she optimistically proposed, ‘I may see her going shopping’ trying to convince herself that irrationali...ty was perfectly sane.A few minutes later she was driving slowly along the road trying do decipher the house numbers and, projecting the count. She looked ahead to what she thought should be the house she was seeking. She saw a man on the doorstep, a tall handsome man with broad shoulders and black hair; behind him she could discern the frame of a smaller. ..” “And what?” Brad urged. Ashley spit it out. “Well we were putting on quite a show for the guy at the front table and...” “And?” Brad prompted again. “And well... that guy was Nick – the guy I was with tonight.” Brad sat stunned. Jarrad let out a long low whistle, then said, “Well, that sure does explain a lot. So this wasn't exactly a first date then?” “How well did you know him?” Brad asked. “Nick?” Ashley asked. “I didn't know him before the mall. Until then he was just some stranger. "She mentioned to him that she found the ruthless and most successful slavers to do it in Galicia to do it and that they had never failed to get their target yet! He said that she had been planning this for seasons! That she had people watching our families all this time and she waited until the girls were of the right age to travel before she struck so that they would be away from home and away from you and the twins so none of us could help!"OH MY GOD! SHE IS REALLY GOING TO DO IT! SHE IS. "I finished my speech with a soft kiss."C'mon," I told her. "Your mom and dad are about to have a stroke and I'm starving and I have to find a place to stay. Let's get moving."I felt pretty good. I'd done in half an hour what her parents couldn't manage in five and half hours. They still greeted her with a hug. It had damned sure better have been a $5,000 hug.I started to head toward Richmond to try to find a hotel but the Stenstroms told me to just stay there. I was glad because it was almost.