37. Anna
Anna
B right lights shone through the windows of Barn Sour as Beau parked in the gravel lot in front of the restaurant. The orange glow faded into the dark night before reaching them, and flurries of snow drifted gently toward the white ground.
“Asher and Hunter know how to draw a crowd,” Beau said as he turned off the engine.
Anna unbuckled and reached for the door. “It’s always a good show. I’m glad Donna lets them play so often, even if most of the people they bring in don’t buy drinks.”
Beau rested a hand on her arm. “Don’t move.” He hopped out and rounded the truck to open the door for her.
Anna took his offered hand and stepped out of the truck. “You’re such a gentleman. Are you going to dance with me tonight? ”
Beau chuckled under his breath. “Like we did in Freedom? No way.”
The intimate dance class they’d taken in Freedom felt like a lifetime ago, but she couldn’t forget the way he held her or the way he’d whispered silly things in her ear. “We’d have every jaw in Blackwater dropping if we showed them what we know.”
Beau pressed a kiss to her temple. “I think that kind of dance should be our little secret. Maybe we can practice again sometime.”
A full-on belly laugh gripped her as Beau opened the door and raised voices rushed at them.
It was just past seven, and the bar was already packed.
Friends crowded in groups around tables laughing, while Asher and Hunter Harding set up their equipment beside the stage.
The platform was only a couple of feet high, but it was enough to give the whole room a good view of the musicians.
Anna leaned in close to be heard above the noise as they weaved their way through the crowded room. “I haven’t heard the Hardings play in a while.”
“Me neither.” Beau leaned from one side to the other, scanning the room. “You see Travis? He’s supposed to have a table for us.”
Anna spotted Lauren across the room, waving. The two usually helped out with children’s activities at church together, but with the move and changing jobs, Anna hadn’t spent a lot of time hanging out with friends.
“Hey, girl! I’ve missed you!” Anna wrapped Lauren in a hug. “How are you?”
“Great. I just graduated with my master’s in psychology. I’m a licensed counselor now!”
“Congratulations! How many degrees is that now?”
Lauren rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face said it all. “Three, but who’s counting?”
“I’m counting. Tonight, we celebrate! A round of water and totchos for the whole place!” Anna shouted.
Lauren covered her mouth as she bent over in laughter, and the light in her eyes reflected pure joy. She’d overcome so much in her life, and she’d never once let the darkness win.
Lauren had lost family and friends. She’d been used for selfish gain by the people she loved most and had almost lost her life. Yet, she never let her chin fall.
Could Anna be like that? Could she be strong when she was losing the only life she’d ever known?
Anna wrapped her friend in a hug and held on. Lauren was living proof that anyone could be strong in the face of struggles.
“You’re amazing, and you’re going to change lives as a counselor,” Anna whispered against Lauren’s hair .
“Are you saying I haven’t been changing lives as a librarian all these years?” Lauren joked.
“You most certainly have, and you’re the best Sunday School teacher ever. I’m just happy you’re going after your dreams.”
Lauren stepped out of the hug with a huge smile on her face. “Thanks, girl.” She pointed behind Anna and gasped. “Look who’s here!”
Camille stepped through the crowd with her husband, Noah, and their little boys, Evan and Taylor.
Evan ran straight up to Anna and Lauren and wrapped both of them in a hug around their legs. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” the six-year-old boy shouted.
Lauren ruffled his hair. “I just saw you Sunday morning. That was only two sleeps ago.”
“I know, but I missed you.” Evan released them and looked around. “Where is the food?”
“You just ate!” Camille said, leading Taylor by the hand toward the nearest table. “I swear he’s a bottomless pit.”
“Wait until they’re both teenagers,” Anna said.
Camille bit her lips between her teeth and leaned closer to Anna and Lauren. “There might be three teenage boys running around the house one day.”
Anna gasped. “Are you serious? ”
Lauren grabbed Camille’s shoulder. “You’re joking!”
Camille shrugged, but a playful smile lingered on her lips. “Well, there might be two boys and a girl. We’re not sure yet.”
“Congratulations!” Anna and Lauren shouted in unison.
“We have so much to celebrate tonight,” Lauren said. “Anna’s new job, Camille’s growing family, and my expensive diploma.”
Bella stepped up beside the women and elbowed her way into the huddle. “Did someone say celebration? If nothing else, we should celebrate Anna’s new freedom.”
Bella had lived with Anna for a little while over the summer, and their friendship had only grown since then.
Bella had needed a place to stay and friends in a strange new place, but Anna had gained a friend during the rockiest time in her relationship with Dean and her mom.
How would she have handled those tough times if God hadn’t given her a roommate to lean on?
Now, Anna knew freedom in more ways than one. She’d found hope and healing in the town of Freedom, and she’d brought home a new boldness that was changing her life for the better every day.
Lauren held up a plastic cup filled with water. “Amen!”
Beau’s warm hand rested on the small of Anna’s back, and she leaned into him as he appeared at her side. “Can we join you ladies?”
Travis nudged his way into the group with a playful smile. “Yeah. Beau is the object of someone’s affections.”
Beau huffed and rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to make it into a big deal.”
“It’s just funny.” Travis jerked his head toward the bar. “That waitress over there can’t leave Beau alone. She just asked him if he’d meet her after they closed tonight. Or should I say in the morning?”
Heat crept up Anna’s neck. Dean had never seen the harm in flirting with other women and even made sure Anna knew women wanted him, but Beau had made every effort to assure her that she was the only woman he was interested in. Still, her body’s instinctual reaction was unavoidable.
Beau leaned in to whisper in Anna’s ear. “I let her know I am happily taken.”
Anna lifted her chin and gave him a tense grin. She really believed him, but her immediate reaction wasn’t fading quickly.
Beau brushed the side of his nose against hers and pulled her closer, pressing her whole body against his as he whispered, “I love you.”
Well, that was one way to make her body forget to be jealous. The tension from mere seconds ago melted away as he pressed his lips to hers.
The relief swept over her like a tidal wave. Beau was fixing parts of her he didn’t even break. Between his love, God’s guiding hand, and her friends’ encouragement, Anna could make it through any storms life could throw at her.
The short kiss was all she needed to reset her fluctuating emotions. A peace settled over her as she blinked in the bright lights. “Thanks for that.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Beau said before flashing her a wink.
Anna’s stomach was still doing somersaults when she caught sight of movement behind Beau. Her grip tightened on his arm as Brittany Diaz stepped into view.