come.
She tried to remain still and hope for once that her pretending to be asleep
would stop the devil from touching her. But just like every other time—it
didn’t. The door closed behind him, shutting out all light and hope. It was
only a matter of seconds now. The smell of Old Spice mixed with beer filled her
small room. She should scream. Why can’t I scream?
Anna jerked up on the bed with her
heart racing. She gripped her chest, trying to force her beating heart to calm.
She dropped her head on her drawn-up knees until she got her breath back. Over
and over again she told herself, “It was just a dream…it was just a dream…it
was just a dream.”
* * * *
“Ouch! Good grief, Em, be easy,”
Jesse whined, her head tilted back in the groove of the styling chair.
“Well, you’re getting your eyebrows
waxed. It’s going to hurt a little. Quit being a baby and let me do my job,” Em
demanded.
“So,” Em continued while standing
over Jesse, “we need to get all three groomsmen and Tommy to pick up their
tuxes. My cousin Melanie will get Sam, my little ring bearer’s, outfit. I’ll
get Tommy to go down to Mrs. Lena’s and get his final fitting. Anna, can you
deal with the groomsmen?”
“Sure. Just let me know how to get in
touch with them,” Anna answered.
“Michael is my cousin’s husband, so I
assume she’ll get him, but if you can, get in touch with Bradley and Jake.”
She had gone most of the day without
thinking about him—of course most of that day had been spent asleep in bed—but
still he had been off her mind. Was her contact with him ever going to end? It
didn’t look like it. As long as she was in Patience, Jake was bound to be in
her life. With fewer than three weeks left on her visit, she needed to get him
out of her house. And after Em’s wedding, he would be
out of her life. She just needed to get through the next two weeks.
“Okay, I can do that,” Anna said
softly, hoping the other two women didn’t notice her uneasiness with the simple
request.
“Mama is having the last meeting with
the caterer. We’re also going to get the band that played at the party Saturday
to play at the wedding. They were surprisingly good. Everyone seemed to like
them. I know Anna sure did.” Em smiled and gave a knowing look in Anna’s
direction, abandoning Jesse’s eyebrows for a second.
Jesse chimed in, “Yeah, the guitar
player had a thing for Anna. It actually was sweet, that is, until good ole’ Jake
ruined her dance.”
Anna didn’t know Jesse had been
watching her and Jake so closely, but then again, the whole room was looking at
her when she stormed out of the Banquet Hall. If the same band was going to be
at the wedding, at least she could apologize to Cam for Jake’s uncalled-for
behavior.
“I saw y’all leave together. How was
the reunion?” Em asked curiously, still hoping for any bit of information she
could try to sneak. She wasn’t the least bit subtle.
Anna didn’t answer.
“Come on,” Jesse pleaded, “we’re
between the sacred walls of ‘everything gossip’. If you can’t spill the beans
in the hair shop, where else can you?”
That’s what Anna was scared of. She
didn’t want her gossip to leave the shop and be the talk of Patience. Right
now, everything was stored away in her head. The only other person who knew
about the kiss was Jake, and though he could tell Tommy, which would result in
Em finding out, she just had to hope Jake wouldn’t talk.
Anna sat in her chair, ignoring Em,
Jesse, and their prying, while she flipped through a styling book.
“All done,” Em announced to Jesse.
“Thank God. Do I have any eyebrows
left?”
“I suggest you stop complaining
unless you want to start paying for your waxings and
cuts.” Em glared in Jesse’s direction. She cleaned up her mess and came back to
sit by Anna, drinking one of the Diet Cokes she’d offered everyone earlier.
“So, did you and Jake get it on after
my fabulous
She tried to remain still and hope for once that her pretending to be asleep
would stop the devil from touching her. But just like every other time—it
didn’t. The door closed behind him, shutting out all light and hope. It was
only a matter of seconds now. The smell of Old Spice mixed with beer filled her
small room. She should scream. Why can’t I scream?
Anna jerked up on the bed with her
heart racing. She gripped her chest, trying to force her beating heart to calm.
She dropped her head on her drawn-up knees until she got her breath back. Over
and over again she told herself, “It was just a dream…it was just a dream…it
was just a dream.”
* * * *
“Ouch! Good grief, Em, be easy,”
Jesse whined, her head tilted back in the groove of the styling chair.
“Well, you’re getting your eyebrows
waxed. It’s going to hurt a little. Quit being a baby and let me do my job,” Em
demanded.
“So,” Em continued while standing
over Jesse, “we need to get all three groomsmen and Tommy to pick up their
tuxes. My cousin Melanie will get Sam, my little ring bearer’s, outfit. I’ll
get Tommy to go down to Mrs. Lena’s and get his final fitting. Anna, can you
deal with the groomsmen?”
“Sure. Just let me know how to get in
touch with them,” Anna answered.
“Michael is my cousin’s husband, so I
assume she’ll get him, but if you can, get in touch with Bradley and Jake.”
She had gone most of the day without
thinking about him—of course most of that day had been spent asleep in bed—but
still he had been off her mind. Was her contact with him ever going to end? It
didn’t look like it. As long as she was in Patience, Jake was bound to be in
her life. With fewer than three weeks left on her visit, she needed to get him
out of her house. And after Em’s wedding, he would be
out of her life. She just needed to get through the next two weeks.
“Okay, I can do that,” Anna said
softly, hoping the other two women didn’t notice her uneasiness with the simple
request.
“Mama is having the last meeting with
the caterer. We’re also going to get the band that played at the party Saturday
to play at the wedding. They were surprisingly good. Everyone seemed to like
them. I know Anna sure did.” Em smiled and gave a knowing look in Anna’s
direction, abandoning Jesse’s eyebrows for a second.
Jesse chimed in, “Yeah, the guitar
player had a thing for Anna. It actually was sweet, that is, until good ole’ Jake
ruined her dance.”
Anna didn’t know Jesse had been
watching her and Jake so closely, but then again, the whole room was looking at
her when she stormed out of the Banquet Hall. If the same band was going to be
at the wedding, at least she could apologize to Cam for Jake’s uncalled-for
behavior.
“I saw y’all leave together. How was
the reunion?” Em asked curiously, still hoping for any bit of information she
could try to sneak. She wasn’t the least bit subtle.
Anna didn’t answer.
“Come on,” Jesse pleaded, “we’re
between the sacred walls of ‘everything gossip’. If you can’t spill the beans
in the hair shop, where else can you?”
That’s what Anna was scared of. She
didn’t want her gossip to leave the shop and be the talk of Patience. Right
now, everything was stored away in her head. The only other person who knew
about the kiss was Jake, and though he could tell Tommy, which would result in
Em finding out, she just had to hope Jake wouldn’t talk.
Anna sat in her chair, ignoring Em,
Jesse, and their prying, while she flipped through a styling book.
“All done,” Em announced to Jesse.
“Thank God. Do I have any eyebrows
left?”
“I suggest you stop complaining
unless you want to start paying for your waxings and
cuts.” Em glared in Jesse’s direction. She cleaned up her mess and came back to
sit by Anna, drinking one of the Diet Cokes she’d offered everyone earlier.
“So, did you and Jake get it on after
my fabulous
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