19. Anna
Anna
G etting out of the wet clothes was more of a chore than she’d expected. By the time she was dry and dressed in warm pajamas, she could barely hold her eyes open. It would be great if her hair was dry before she laid down, but she wasn’t about to ask Beau for another favor tonight.
Beau sat at the table, leaned over his open Bible with one hand wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee. When she made a noise while trying to get under the covers, Beau popped up.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly at her side.
“Nothing. Just trying to get comfortable.”
“Do you need the medicine?” He was already looking for the pill bottle.
“No, it’s not that bad.”
“Are you sure? What else do you need?”
She rested her head back against the pillow, grateful to be clean and in the comfortable bed. “Nothing. You sound like a mother hen.”
“Mother hens are vicious,” Beau said, completely serious and not at all teasing.
“Well you’re worrying too much. Go back to whatever you were doing.”
“Are you ready to go to sleep? I’ll turn the lights off.”
Her phone rang across the room, and Beau went to get it. He handed it to her without looking at the screen.
“Dean. Again,” she said with as much ire as she could muster.
“He’s still calling?” Beau asked.
“I haven’t answered yet.” Just the thought of talking to him had her blood running cold. He probably had an excuse prepared to explain his affair. No doubt he thought it was justified somehow.
Beau held out his hand. “Allow me?”
Anna couldn’t contain her smile. “That would be epic.”
Beau’s brow lifted. He was serious.
In a flash of boldness, Anna handed him the phone. He immediately answered and pressed it to his ear.
“Hello.” He walked slowly around the foot of the bed and sat on the other side next to her.
“Beau.”
Oh no. Dean was already shouting .
Beau looked over at Anna as he continued the conversation with Dean. “Anna can’t come to the phone now. She’s already in bed.”
Anna sat up quickly, completely forgetting the pain in her arm. She’d never gasped so loudly in her life.
Beau held the phone out to her. “Say hey, baby. It’s that loser from your wedding on the phone.”
The laugh bubbled out of her instantly. She slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Dean shouted a string of the worst curses she’d ever heard before hanging up.
Anna fought to catch her breath through laughter and terror. “I—I can’t believe you did that!”
Beau tossed the phone onto the covers. “I don’t know about you, but I feel better now.”
She gently rested her hand over the throbbing knot on the side of her head. “That was so much fun, but he’s definitely going to tell my parents.” All humor drained from her in an instant. “Oh no. He’s going to tell my parents!”
“And why is that a problem?” Beau asked.
Her heart rate jumped from jogging rate to running rate. “You don’t know my parents! They’re going to be so mad at me.”
“Anna, you’re almost thirty years old. You don’t have to report to your parents.”
“But—But I do. I live in their guest house. I work at their law firm.”
“I know you can afford your own place. Why are you still living at home?”
It was a good question, but she also had a good response. She still hadn’t caught her breath from the phone call. “Because Mom is intense, to say the least. She lost her parents when she was young, and when she had my brother and me, she was always intensely protective.”
“Controlling,” Beau said. “The word is controlling.”
He was right, and she had no rebuttal for that insight.
“She is. Mom and Dad always expected a lot from us. We were to always reflect well on them. Everything is about appearance.”
Beau didn’t comment. Instead, he leaned back against the headboard and listened.
“Drake left home as soon as he got the chance. Mom threw the biggest fit, but he didn’t care. He was determined to get away, and I didn’t blame him for that.”
“But…” Beau added.
“But that meant they doubled down on me. Mom was absolutely not going to lose me too. I know how hard it was for her when her parents died, and I didn’t want to put her through that again.”
“That’s not your fault, and there isn’t a good reason for her to use you like that. She held you back.”
“I know,” Anna whispered. “They didn’t force me to become an attorney, but they definitely pushed for it. They wanted Drake to follow in their footsteps too, but he shut that idea down quickly.”
“Where is he?” Beau asked.
“Moved to France. He’s married with three kids.”
Thinking about her brother was always tough. She loved Drake and missed him every day. He called often, but she’d never met her niece and nephews and probably never would unless she got over her fear of flying and hopped on a plane to the other side of the world.
“Is he happy?”
Anna nodded and settled back against the headboard beside Beau. “He is. He’s very happy, and I’m glad. Mom and Dad disowned him, and he said he’d never come back.”
Beau reached out and slid his hand into hers. “Not even for you?”
Anna threaded her fingers with his. It was difficult to focus on the conversation when Beau touched her. The anxiety that had gripped her since the phone call melted away, replaced by soaring hope. “That’s okay. I know how hard it was for him before he left.”
“Was it better for you when he was here?”
Beau released the grip on her hand, but he didn’t let go. His fingertips slowly brushed down her palm and back up her fingers.
“Yes and no. It was clear I was second best. Drake is incredibly intelligent and so likable. Everyone loved him.”
“You’re all those things too,” Beau added quickly.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re so sweet to say that.”
He reclaimed the grip on her hand again. “It’s true,” he whispered.
And that was the difference. She’d never lived up to her parents’ expectations, but Beau had made her the light of his life for a few days, and it was glorious. For the first time, she was someone’s number one.
“My parents aren’t all bad. They provided for us, and we never wanted for anything. I don’t take that lightly.”
Beau loosened his hold again, tracing lines that were as light as air over every side of her fingers. Their hands slowly danced around each other, twisting and shaping together until they moved as one.
Beau pressed his bearded cheek to her damp hair. His voice was deep and soothing as he spoke. “I don’t know them, but I don’t think they respect you, and that’s a shame because you’re amazing.”
And she was flying somewhere above cloud nine, hanging on for dear life as her heart soared. Snuggling closer to him, she whispered, “You’re pretty amazing too, but you do an awesome job of hiding it. It’s like you don’t want anyone to know.”
He shook his head. “Nah. I just like to mind my own business.”
“How do you do it? How do you not worry about what anyone else thinks?”
“I care about what people think to an extent. I want to be trustworthy. I don’t want to treat anyone unfairly.”
“I can see that. I just don’t know how to do it the way you do.”
“You want my opinion?” he asked.
“Yeah. I do,” she whispered, hoping whatever he said didn’t cut her to the core.
“You let go of yourself to be the person they want you to be. It’s okay if they don’t see you as perfect. God made you to be yourself for His glory. You’re good at that, and that’s all that matters.”
She inhaled a deep breath as the sting of tears pricked in her nose and throat. “You’re right. I’ve lost sight of that. Do you always read the Bible in the mornings?”
“I do. It helps me start my day with a reminder not to lose my cool when I have to deal with idiots at work.”
She chuckled and twisted her fingers around his. “I think I should start my day that way too.”
“Want to start tomorrow?” Beau asked.
“Yeah. Room service, coffee, and Jesus,” she said as her eyes drifted closed.
“Sounds good to me.”
“I’m tired,” she whispered.
Beau pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Good night. Wake me up if you need something in the night.”
He stood and rounded to her side of the bed. After helping her ease down into the sheets, she grabbed his hand before he walked away.
“Thank you for everything,” she said, grasping his hand with the force she wanted to convey.
He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it. “Sweet dreams.”
“Good night.”
Despite the turmoil of the day, her mind and heart were more at ease than ever, and she pushed away any worries about tomorrow as she fell asleep.