*Six Years Later*

I sighed as I pulled into the quiet town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. I had spent the last few days driving from Wyoming and I was more than ready to get to my new apartment. I had never moved across the country before and I never wanted to do it again.

What was the reason behind the move you may be asking? A few years back I discovered that I had some family here and after I lost my mom, my therapist thought it'd be good for me to make a fresh start somewhere else. My new found cousin jumped at the chance to help me move to Bon Temps. He had even helped me get an apartment.

I found my way to a street lined with duplexes and drove down until I found number 3137. I parked in the driveway and walked to the porch where two men were waiting. One was my cousin, Hoyt Fortenberry, the other I didn't know. Hoyt gave me a big hug. "Welcome to Bon Temps Ari! I'm so glad you're here."

I smiled up at him when he let me go. "Thanks Hoyt. It's nice to finally meet face to face."

He laughed a little then clapped a hand on the other man's shoulder. "This here is Sam Merlotte. He's your new landlord."

Sam extended a hand which I took. He had a nice firm grip. "It's nice to meet you Ari."

"You too Mr. Merlotte. Thank you so much for letting me rent from you. I really appreciate it."

"Just Sam." he said with a smile. "Here's your keys. I'd love to stay to help unload, but I have to get to the bar. Swing by later, I'll give you a drink on the house."

I took my keys from him. "Thanks Sam. I'll have Hoyt bring me in. See you soon." He waved at Hoyt and me as he drove off in his jeep. I turned to my cousin and clapped my hands together. "Alright, let's get started."

It didn't take long for us to unload my SUV and U-haul, especially when Hoyt's friend Jason Stackhouse showed up to help with the furniture. We had just finished unpacking when the sun set. Jason wiped some sweat from his brow and sat on the couch. "Whew, what a day."

I tossed a bottled water to him and Hoyt. "Thank you guys so much for your help. It would've taken me forever on my own." I took a big swig of my own water. "Now let's go get some food. I'm starving."

Jason took off in his truck as Hoyt and I loaded into his. We dropped the U-haul trailer off at the lot before heading to Merlotte's. Sam smiled at us when we walked in and a red headed girl who looked no older than nineteen came up to us. She looked at me and then Hoyt quizzically. "Jessica, this is my cousin Ari. Ari this is my girlfriend Jessica." Hoyt introduced.

Jessica gave me a quick hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Hoyt's been so excited to have you here."

"It's nice to meet you too Jessica." I said with a smile. She walked us over to Jason's booth and said our waitress would be with us real quick. "Everyone seems so nice."

"Everyone is for the most part." Jason started. "You'll have your bad apples occasionally, but tell me one place that doesn't."

Just then a very peppy blond bounced up to our table. "Hey guys." She turned to me. "You must be Ari. I'm Sookie, Jason's my brother. Welcome to Bon Temps." She pulled out her notepad and pen. "Now what can I get you?"

I let Jason order for me since he knew what was good. "Three Burgers Lafayette with cheese, two with fries and one with onion rings. Hoyt and I want a pitcher of Bud and Ari?"

"Just a Pepsi please."

Sookie nodded and hurried to the kitchen with our order. "So why Bon Temps?" Jason asked.

I shrugged. "I wanted a fresh start and to get to know Hoyt."

"How are you two related?"

"Our dads were brothers." Hoyt replied.

I nodded. "Yep. Apparently they had a major falling out and stopped talking. It wasn't until I was going through his things in the attic that I found old family pictures. I had a tech savy friend look into it and hunt Hoyt down."

Sookie brought our food and drink and took a moment to sit with us. "That's a gorgeous necklace." she said spotting the infinity pendant.

I fingered it and smiled. "Thank you. Someone very important gave it to me a long time ago." I didn't really want to talk about Eric. Partly because I had just met these people but mostly because I still felt a pain in my heart whenever I thought of him. You would think that after six years I'd have gotten over him, but no. He was the first man I'd ever really loved. Even my short marriage did nothing to dampen my feelings for the blond vampire. I had spent years wondering if I had made the right choice in leaving Louisiana that day.

Sookie must've sensed that I didn't want to talk about it anymore and changed the subject. She spent the rest of her break telling me all I needed to know about Bon Temps, not that there was much to tell. I in turn told them a little about myself, avoiding anything super personal. "So what are you doing for work?" Jason asked.

"Nothing really at the moment." I sipped my Pepsi. "Think of it as a sabbatical. Between the inheritance from my parents, a trust my grandma set up for me when I was born, and my earnings from my old job, I have enough to live comfortably for a while. I do odd jobs here and there but that's mostly to keep me busy."

"How are you with payroll books and what not?" Sookie asked.

"I got my degree in Office Information Systems so that is right up my alley."

"Perfect. Sam!" she yelled.

Same hustled over. "Yes chere?"

"I've found the solution to your book keeping problem." She pointed to me.

Sam looked at me. "You've done book keeping before?" I nodded. "Want to do mine? You'd only need to come in for a few hours a night. I absolutely hate doing books."

I couldn't say no, he looked so desperate. "Sure. Why not?" Sam smiled and thanked me over and over again. We decided to have me start a few nights later. Hoyt and I hung around a little while longer before he took me back to my apartment. I told him thank you again before he left. I went to bed that night happier than I had been in a while.

My first month in Bon Temps passed by in a blur. Sookie and I had become fast friends. I easily considered her my best friend. I think she considered me hers as well since she trusted me enough to confide in me about her telepathy. We would have the occasional girl's night or just spend the day together sunbathing or watching movies. After about a week in town she introduced me to her boyfriend Bill Compton, who just happened to be Jessica's maker.

I spent quite a bit of time getting to know Hoyt as well. We would have Sunday dinner every week at his mom's house. Aunt Maxine was a piece of work. I'm not sure how Hoyt could stand her, especially given her views on vampires. Jessica once told me that she thought it was because he felt it was his duty to look after his mom, seeing how his dad died when he was a kid.

Doing Sam's books and payroll was a piece of cake. I would go in every night for only a few hours and work in Sam's office. Afterwards I'd hang out at the bar for an hour or so. All in all, my fresh start was going great. Little did I know life had a big surprise waiting for me around the corner.

"Evening Sam." I said as I walked into Merlotte's late one afternoon.

Sam looked up from behind the bar. "Evening Ari." He handed me a sweet tea. "The office is ready for you."

I nodded my thanks and headed to the back. I settled at Sam's desk and got started, only waving at Sookie when she stuck her head in to say hi. A few hours later, I had finished the books and had all the paychecks ready for Sam to sign. I stood and stretched, popping my back in the process. I grabbed my purse and left the office. I sat at the bar and started picking at the burger Lafayette always had waiting for me. It was busy for a Thursday and I scanned the bar for Sookie. She was standing at a booth talking with Bill and some other guy.

Bill's companion looked somewhat familiar but I just couldn't place him. Then he turned to face Sookie. I felt my heart speed up as I looked at his profile, my hand immediately went to my pendant. The guy with Bill was none other than Eric Northman. He still looked the same, obviously, except his hair. It was a lot shorter now but the style suited him. By now my pulse was racing. I knew Bill and Eric could hear it for at that moment both of them looked over at me. I did the only thing I could think of at that moment. I ran.

Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I have a good chunk of this story already written (in the process of typing it) and this was the best place I could cut the chapter. :) I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I'm trying to get more typed up as fast as I can. And in case you didn't know, this is a fluff piece. I like writing fluff and I firmly believe in happily ever afters. :)