CHAPTER TEN
Annie carefully gathered up the garment bag containing Amelia’s skating dress. Now that it was complete, it was time for the first official try on.
Lexi had offered to bring Amelia to Annie’s home, but Annie said no. There was no way that Annie was going to try to explain why they’d have to come through a gate with security guards who would check their IDs, and then drive past a huge mansion to get to Annie’s place. She knew it would likely happen at some point, but she wasn’t in the mood to explain her weird life just yet.
As it was, she was having to work something out so that Dawn could be in the vicinity while Annie went to Charli and Blake’s house.
For the first time, Annie felt like it was getting harder and harder to accept the security restrictions that controlled her life. Maybe she needed to have another talk with her dad about it. Not that she had any confidence that he’d ease things up for her the way he’d been a bit more willing to do for Benji.
After carefully carrying the garment bag down to her car, Annie called for Nyla and waited for her to hop into the front seat. She wondered if her dad and Jude might agree to her going places on her own if she took Nyla with her.
The dog was a physical force, being that she was a larger size dog. Despite that, Nyla was a gentle presence as long as Annie didn’t communicate with her the need to be on guard.
But she wasn’t taking Nyla with her that day, so she pulled to a stop in front of the security building. She let the dog out of the car, then opened the main door and waited for her to lead the way inside.
Nyla trotted down the hallway to where she knew the other dogs would be if they were in the building.
“Ready to go?” Dawn asked as she appeared from a nearby doorway.
“Yep. Do you have a plan?”
It was the norm before every outing, but Annie found she had little patience for it that day. She just wanted to be able to get in her car and go without having to work out a protection plan.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand her dad’s worry. His wealth and somewhat controversial life made him the target of people who didn’t like or agree with him. But it had never been suffocating before. Her insular, solitary life had been sufficient. She hadn’t dreamed of anything more.
But since Cole had come into her life, Annie found herself wanting more than the life that existed within the current boundaries placed upon her by her dad and his head of security. She wanted to have honesty in her friendships. She wanted to one day have someone special in her life. Go on a date for the first time and possibly get married one day.
None of that felt possible, as long as her dad insisted on keeping her hidden from the world.
After she knew what Dawn’s plan was and had confirmed that yes, she had her gun strapped to her leg, Annie went back out to her car and slid behind the wheel. She put the address for Charli’s house into her GPS, then made her way along the winding driveway to the gate, which slowly swung open at her approach.
Dawn’s car appeared behind her but fell back a few car lengths as they turned onto the main road that led toward Serenity. It took around twenty minutes to get to Charli’s, and when she pulled into the large driveway to park, Dawn continued on past the house.
Pushing aside her thoughts of the security situation and how to handle it with her dad, Annie got out and retrieved the garment bag from the back seat. As she approached the front door, it swung open to reveal the teen girl.
“Hey, Annie!” Amelia greeted her with a beaming smile.
Annie accepted the hug Amelia offered. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m great!” Amelia stepped back so that Annie could enter the house, then closed the door behind her. “How are you?”
“I’m excited for you to try this on,” Annie said, lifting the garment bag. “I hope you like it.”
Amelia clasped her hands under her chin. “I’m sure I’m going to love it.”
As the teen led the way deeper into the house, Annie hoped that she did. Amelia had said that she loved the design that Lexi had come up with, but trying on the dress would be the true test. Then they’d have to do what Annie was thinking of as an ice test , where Amelia wore it while skating her program to make sure that it didn’t constrict her in any way.
The house had a lived-in look that Annie appreciated. It was more in line with her own home, while the mansion was definitely more of a showplace. The only exceptions were Benji’s spaces, which his mom allowed him to have however he wanted.
They ended up at the back of the house in a sunroom where Charli sat with Lexi. There were shouts and laughter coming from the yard where two little boys bundled up against the chilly fall air were scrambling on a large play structure.
After greeting the two women, Annie went with Amelia to her room to help her put the skating costume on. Amelia shared the attic floor with Layla, and the two opposite sides of the large space showed the differences in the young women’s preferences.
Amelia’s was all about skating, and she had a shelf that held several trophies. Annie thought the teen might be embarrassed about changing in front of her, but she quickly took off her leggings and sweatshirt and allowed Annie to help her into the dress.
“Oh, wow…” Amelia’s voice trailed off as she stood in front of a large vintage mirror that leaned against the wall. She ran her hands down the fitted bodice. “This is so beautiful. Better than I could ever have imagined it would be.”
Annie smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Let’s just hope it passes the parent test.”
“The parent test?” Annie asked. “What’s that?”
“Mom or Dad have to approve it from a modesty perspective,” Amelia said.
“Did they approve the design when Lexi originally did the sketch?”
Amelia nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Annie hoped that was true. It felt important that this sewing project be perfect. Though she would admit it to no one, she wanted Cole to be impressed by what she’d made for his niece.
“Let’s go show Mom and Aunt Lexi,” Amelia said as she did a pirouette in front of the mirror, then led the way back down the two flights of stairs to the main floor and the sunroom where Lexi and Charli waited.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Charli said when she got her first look at Amelia. “You look beautiful.”
Amelia twirled around, then curtsied in front of her mom and Lexi. “Isn’t it the best?”
Annie felt a rush of warmth as both Lexi and Charli declared that it was, indeed, the best.
“I’ve designed other costumes in the past,” Lexi said as she lifted the edge of the filmy skirt. “But you’ve breathed life into this one in a way the other seamstresses haven’t been able to.”
“You’ve both done a great job,” Charli said. “And Blake will have no issue with her wearing this one. You’ve somehow managed to keep this modest and age appropriate, and yet still a good representation of the music. It’s stunning.”
“I can’t wait to see you on the ice in it,” Lexi said. “Want to try a few poses here to see how it feels?”
Amelia nodded, then did some stretches at Lexi’s direction. After she’d finished, the teen said, “It feels very comfortable. Nothing is pulling or restricting me.”
“Good. Good.” Lexi circled around Amelia, checking the shoulder seams and waist. “This looks so good.”
Annie knew that her dad—and even Elizabeth, to some degree—didn’t understand why she “wasted” her time sewing things. But for her, it was for moments like these. When she’d used her talent to create something that was special to someone.
“Whoa, Amelia,” Layla announced as she walked into the room. “You look amazing.”
“Annie did a great job with Lexi’s design, didn’t she?” Amelia said as she smoothed her hands over her waist.
“Do you do prom or wedding party dresses?” Layla asked as she sat down beside Annie.
“I haven’t ever attempted them,” Annie said. “My focus has been on baby and toddler items, though I do have a few simple items for women as well.”
“Well, clearly you have a talent for more than that.”
“I agree,” Lexi said. “You did a great job on this. Perhaps it’s time to branch out.”
Annie couldn’t deny that, after making Amelia’s dress, she had wondered if she could do more. However, it wasn’t really something she could do with her current lifestyle. She’d need to have a place where people could come to meet with her for discussions and fittings. That wouldn’t work with her current set-up.
“When are you going to test it on the ice?” Charli asked.
As they discussed Amelia and Lexi’s schedules, Annie found herself watching Charli and seeing bits of Cole in her features. As siblings, it wasn’t strange that they looked alike to some degree. Or maybe she was just seeing Cole because he was always on her mind.
“Would you be interested in joining our ladies’ Bible study at the church, Annie?” Charli asked, making Annie realize that she’d zoned out yet again. “We’re starting up next week.”
Annie recalled hearing something about it in the announcements before the service over the past couple of weeks. She hadn’t given it much consideration because she assumed she’d have to be open about her life in order to participate. And that was just something she couldn’t do.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not really comfortable in groups where I might have to talk a lot.”
“You don’t have to participate more than you’re comfortable with,” Charli assured her.
“That’s true,” Lexi agreed. “I’ve probably been one of the quieter ones in previous Bible study groups, but I’ve still learned a lot by attending. Maybe you could come with your friend Dawn, so you’re there with someone you’re comfortable with.”
Layla’s words were a reminder for Annie that even that wasn’t a hundred percent the truth. To them, Dawn was simply Annie’s friend. And while, yes, she was a friend, first and foremost, she was her bodyguard. If she was forced to choose between doing her job or being Annie’s friend, Dawn would always choose her job. Of that, Annie had no doubts.
It was why she rarely confided her most intimate thoughts and feelings in Dawn the way she imagined a normal person would with a best friend. She’d probably be even less likely to share stuff if Dawn was present at the study. But there was no chance that Dawn wouldn’t come with her, especially since Dawn was a Christian, too and would no doubt have an interest in the study.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You could come to our first gathering and see what we’ll be doing without committing long term,” Charli told her, then smiled. “No pressure.”
“I’ll think about it.” Though the desire to join with them was strong, Annie was reluctant to commit.
Having to consider the restrictions she faced to live an authentic life even with these women added just another example of the growing dissatisfaction with how she was being forced to live her life. She wanted the type of life that Charli and Lexi had. She wanted to live a genuine life, where she didn’t have to hide parts of herself from people she really liked.
“Would you like something to drink?” Charli got to her feet and led the way into the large, sunny kitchen. “I should have asked earlier, but we got distracted by the beautiful outfit you made.”
“I don’t want to take up more of your time,” Annie said, though she would have loved to hang out with them some more.
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Charli gave a wave of her hand. “We have nothing else on this afternoon.”
“Is Blake outside with the boys?” Lexi asked.
“Yep. He’s doing some work on the garage.” Charli put on a kettle of water. “How about Wilder? What’s he up to?”
“He’s helping Lee at the vet clinic. They were doing some work, building more cages or something.”
“Is Wilder handy like that?” Charli asked, her tone highly skeptical.
Lexi laughed. “He’s been trying his hand at it recently. It’s led to living in some messiness of late, but it makes him happy, so I put up with it.”
“I hear ya,” Charli said as Amelia walked back into the kitchen, having gone to change out of the dress. “Blake has been doing lots of projects around here.”
“He just finished our room,” Layla volunteered, as she helped her mom prep the mugs with the tea bags they’d each chosen.
“I saw it when Amelia changed into the dress,” Annie said. “It looked lovely. Very reflective of two different people.”
“We insisted,” Layla said.
“But we tried to agree on things where we could,” Amelia added.
The sisters clearly shared a closeness, and for a moment, Annie wondered if she might have been close like that if her twin sister was still around.
She didn’t think about her sister often. She was an abstract concept to Annie. But there were times when the thought of her sister popped into Annie’s mind.
“And yet you still managed to drive Dad crazy,” Charli said with a chuckle. “It’s amazing he didn’t lose all his hair while he worked to please you two.”
Annie could hear the affection Charli had for her husband clearly in the woman’s voice. It sparked a longing in her own heart to have that for herself.
She wanted to love and be loved. To have friends and a life beyond the walls of her home.
But how would it ever be possible?
“Here you go,” Amelia said, as she set a mug of tea in front of her.
“Thank you.” Annie gave her a smile that felt harder than usual to bring to the surface.
Every day now, it felt she was struggling more and more with discontent. And it was weighing her down. She didn’t want to feel like that, because she had so much in her life to be grateful for.
“How is Shiloh doing?” Lexi asked. “Is she not here today?”
“She’s doing well,” Charli said as she sat down at the table. “She’s out with Skylar and Aiden this afternoon.”
“That’s great that they’ve managed to work things out,” Lexi said.
Charli nodded. “It’s an answer to prayer. Actually, I just wanted Skylar and Aiden to get along better. Maybe become friends again. That they’ve decided to get back together as a couple came as a little bit of a surprise, but definitely a welcome one.”
Annie thought of the news that Cole had recently shared with her that he was a donor match for Shiloh. He’d been excited at the prospect of being able to help his niece, though he obviously hoped that the stem cell transplant wouldn’t be necessary.
Cole had shared quite a bit about his friendship with Aiden and his relationship with his sister, Skylar. There was no doubt that he was super close with both of them. Annie hadn’t spent much time with either of them, but when she had, she hadn’t felt like they shared much in common.
Although, realistically, there were probably very few women her age that she had much in common with.
By the time Annie had finished her tea, Blake and the boys had come inside and brought a small level of chaos with them. Since she’d already stayed longer than she’d expected, Annie took advantage of the distraction to say her goodbyes and leave. But not before she’d promised to come to the ice test, which was tentatively scheduled for Monday after school.
As she left the house, she sent a quick text to Dawn to let her know she was on the move and heading home.
It was hard to leave the normalcy of Charli and Blake’s home. Dawn’s presence in her car behind Annie’s was a stark reminder of the differences in their lives. It was a reminder she didn’t want, which was why she was in a hurry to get back to her home.
There, she could pretend that she had a normal life, just like everyone else. Within the walls of her home, she could pretend that the guards, fences, security cameras, and gates didn’t exist.
Did the pretense that she found comfort in there also extend to how she was viewing her friendship with Cole? Was that all a pretense too? Was she hoping for something that had no chance of ever happening?
She knew she wasn’t the sort of woman he usually dated, so why would he make an exception for her? Especially since he didn’t even know about the money she had, courtesy of the generous monthly allowance her dad gave her, in addition to the trust fund he’d set up for her.
Some men might overlook the fact that she wasn’t stunning if they knew she came with considerable wealth and connections. She really didn’t think Cole was like that, especially because he had wealth of his own.
But if it wasn’t her wealth that prompted him to keep in contact with her, what was it?
She wished she had more experience dealing with men. But the only ones in her life were either related to her or responsible for her security.
Cole was the first man who had taken the time to get to know her and seemed to truly enjoy interacting with her. She really didn’t want to do anything that might change that.