6. Anna
Anna
T he weight crushing her chest followed them out of Blackwater, Wyoming. Even with four hours between them and the chaos she left behind, the ghost of her mother’s hands might as well be wrapped around her throat.
The emails. The messages. The voicemails. Trying to manage them was like trying to drink from a firehose.
Add in the slight nausea from looking down at her phone while riding, and she was five minutes away from full-on motion sickness.
Dropping the phone onto her lap, she rested her heavy head back and closed her eyes. Beau was a surprisingly good driver. He obeyed all traffic laws, including using his turn signals and maintaining a speed within the limit.
It was unexpected from someone she’d always assumed lived by his own rules. Not that Beau had ever been a troublemaker. He just didn’t care much about what other people thought.
At least, that’s what she thought he thought.
Okay, that was getting confusing. She’d assumed a lot of things about him over the years, knowing he wouldn’t give her an answer if she straight-up asked.
Now, he didn’t have much of a choice but to talk to her. Well, he could ignore her, but maybe if she didn’t push too far, he’d talk to her long enough to help the nausea ease.
Twilight settled like a blanket over the land around them. Shadows of forests and rocks crept over the hills and valleys. It really was beautiful.
She’d been looking forward to the drive to Colorado. Too bad she’d been too busy to look up and see it until it was almost too late.
The man beside her hadn’t said a word unless spoken to since he got in the car. His long arms were relaxed with hands placed correctly at the ten and two on the steering wheel. Anna turned her attention to him, “What are you thinking?”
Beau kept his attention on the road ahead. He’d changed into a gray, long-sleeve thermal, jeans, and worn boots before tossing his duffel bag into the trunk of her car.
He hadn’t put up a fight at all when she suggested they take her car instead of his truck. She felt bad enough for dragging him along with her. The last thing she wanted was to put miles on his vehicle.
“I’m not thinking. I’m driving.”
“Doesn’t that require thinking?”
Beau shrugged.
Anna picked up her phone and opened the Instagram app. The nausea had dissipated enough. “Nice talk. We should do this again sometime.”
The flood of messages brought the nausea back.
One of the drawbacks of being followed by hundreds of thousands of strangers on social media was that they all wanted the inside scoop.
Everyone wanted a piece of her life that no one else had, and that meant plenty of people had zero qualms reaching out and asking how her wedding went.
It didn’t matter that as far as they knew, she should be spending this time with her new husband.
It didn’t matter that what she’d thought would be the best day of her life turned into the worst.
It didn’t matter if she wanted to share the most private parts of her life or not, someone was going to find them and exploit them.
There were also plenty of wonderful people out there who genuinely wished her the best. Those were the ones she appreciated. If only she had time to cultivate all of those sweet friendships the way she wanted to .
Her phone rang, displaying the name of the wedding florist. She answered the call and pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey, Fiona.”
“Hey. How are you doing?” Fiona asked, lacing her soft words with pity.
“I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”
“You know I’m always here for you if you need anything, and I’ll be praying for you during this hard time.”
Anna turned toward the passenger window. Another kindness to be added to the day.
As much as she wanted to say Dean had crushed her, it wasn’t true. In fact, his infidelity had opened her eyes to the goodness of her community. Mixed in with the snide comments of people on the internet were prayers and kindness from so many people she’d grown up with in Blackwater.
“I appreciate that so much.”
“Well, I also wanted to reach out and let you know that Hank and I have decided to void your bill.”
Anna sat up straighter. “No! I’m paying you. Those flowers were gorgeous, and what happened wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, but I wouldn’t sleep well at night knowing I’d added to your distress. Honey, you deserve a wonderful man who will love you and only you for the rest of his life.”
“Fiona, I had no idea you were such a romantic. ”
The older woman giggled, and the sound chased away some of the darkness that had settled over Anna throughout the day. “You don’t become a florist without believing in love.”
“I still want to pay you for the flowers,” Anna said.
“Don’t take this blessing away from me. I’m a grown woman, and I say your money isn’t any good here,” Fiona said, stern and proud.
Anna gulped down the emotion threatening to clog her throat. She’d find a way to help Hank and Fiona someday. “Thank you. That’s so kind of you.”
“Keep your chin up. God has this all figured out.”
“I know He does.” Knowing was one thing. Being patient enough to trust Him was a different ball game. Easier said than done.
Anna ended the call and immediately made another call. Everly answered on the second ring.
“Hello.”
“Hey, girl. I had to call and say thank you for everything you did today.”
“No problem at all. I know exactly what it feels like to have the rug ripped out from under you like that, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
Anna hadn’t known Everly before she married Blake, but knowing others found love after betrayal kindled a spark of hope. “I’m so sorry, friend.”
“Don’t be. It was for the best. The Lord had a plan for me, and it included Blake. ”
Anna glanced at her bare finger. Maybe some good would come out of this mess. At least she found out about Dean’s affair before she married him.
“I’m so happy for you,” Anna whispered. It was easy to mean it. Everly’s happiness didn’t have anything to do with Anna’s low moment.
“You have a group of people praying for you, girl.”
The tension in Anna’s chest released. Maybe that was what she needed. Faith, hope, and trust. “Thanks again. You have no idea how much you helped today.”
“Get some rest, and call me if you need anything else.”
Anna pressed the microphone on her phone and spoke a note to her to-do list. “Send Everly a gift basket. Ask Haley Harding to design an ad for Fiona’s Flower Shop. Call the Blackwater Messenger and ask about ad space.”
When she raised her head, Beau was looking at her.
“What?” she asked.
He returned his gaze to the road. “Nothing.”
“Why did you look at me like that?” It was the first time he’d noticed her at all since they started driving.
It was not the first time she’d noticed him though. It was difficult not to look at the quiet man that took up too much space in the cab. She’d be sharing more than the console between them for the next week. Would traveling with Beau be easy?
“I just figured you’d have someone else handle that stuff for you.”
Anna scoffed. “This is my mess.”
“Agree to disagree,” Beau said stoically.
“You think Dean is going to care about any of this? All he needed to do was show up. Well, and be faithful, but silly me thought that was a given.”
She scrolled through the messages, but most had little to do with him.
“Not getting married today really did a number on my social platform. Designers and boutiques made custom pieces I was supposed to wear. Now, I have to find a way to tell them that the expensive clothes they gave me won’t be featured in my beautiful wedding photos. ”
Her phone rang again, and she quickly answered. “Hey.”
“Hey. What are you doing?” Olivia asked.
“Oh, just burning bridges. The usual,” Anna said.
Beau made a noise, and she looked over at him. Was that a chuckle?
“You like it when I’m melodramatic?” she asked.
Beau didn’t respond, but his mouth lifted in the slightest grin in the fading sunlight.
He was actually grinning. Why did that small expression trigger her own smile?
Olivia huffed. “Tell him not to be a jerk. ”
“I’m not being a jerk. I’m minding my own business,” Beau said loud enough for Olivia to hear.
“That’s true. He hasn’t said two sentences before now,” Anna confirmed.
“Tell him not to be a knot on a log either,” Olivia added.
Anna glanced at Beau, but he ignored his sister’s correct assessment. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say he heard you.”
“I just wanted to check in. You two behave and play nice.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Anna and Beau answered at the same time.
Olivia’s laughter surrounded her quick “Bye” as she ended the call.
Anna checked the map on her phone. “It looks like we’re about five minutes from the resort where we’re staying tonight.”
“Just tonight?” Beau hadn’t asked many questions about the trip, so she hadn’t felt the need to offer anything.
“Yeah. We still have a few hours before we get to Freedom where we’ll stay the rest of the week.
We have a few things planned for tomorrow, but we can talk about what you want to do after we have dinner.
We have reservations at the resort restaurant.
It’s supposed to be amazing, but we can go somewhere else if you want. ”
“It’s fine with me,” Beau said.
“You don’t even know what it is.”
Beau shrugged. “I don’t care. I assume they’ll have food, so that’s all that matters.”
Hmm. No push-back on the restaurant. That was new. Dean liked to make most of the decisions, and he’d been particular about the places he ate, so planning a lot of the honeymoon had been stressful.
All of the worrying she’d done over this trip with her future husband was wasted. Anything she’d planned with him in mind was like a slap in the face.
A few minutes later, the Snowy Peak Ski Resort came into view. White lights twinkled over every tree, column, and awning. Wreaths were hung in every window, covered in a light dusting of snow, and the moonlight shone bright over the mountains in the distance.
Beau parked in front of the stately entrance and turned to her. “This is it?”
Anna looked at the lodge. What had Beau expected? A quaint B&B? A roadside motel? The question didn’t hold judgment, but was there a little bit of awe in his tone? She’d chosen the luxury hotel thinking it would be the perfect place to spend her wedding night.
That vision went up in smoke hours ago. There would be no honeymoon activities tonight.
“Is this okay? It’s already paid for.”
Beau nodded once and slipped out of the car just as a doorman wearing a long black coat and hat opened her door. Taking his hand, she stepped out into the cold night.
Another doorman met Beau at the trunk and reached for their luggage.
“I got it,” Beau said, shouldering both bags with ease.
Anna pressed her fingers over her mouth as her lips spread into a grin. This was going to be a fun trip.