Anna
Anna drove away from the chapel, and the stupid tears came no matter how fast she batted them away. Charlotte’s tiny snores from the back seat reminded her she needed to pull her crap together before she crashed, so she pulled the car over in front of Mr. Collins’ old barn.
But it wasn’t Mr. Collins’ anymore. It was Drew’s. She’d come home a year ago to visit baby Charlotte and realized Drew now lived in between her parents and her sister. In the home they had once planned to share.
But she had a new life plan now. One that didn’t include men. All her focus would be on Yoakum Ridge and the promotion that she’d worked her butt off for.
Somewhat composed, Anna pulled back onto the dirt road and drove to her parents’ house. She rocked a sleeping Charlotte on the wraparound porch while she waited for her mom and sister to find their way home.
The sound of gravel crunching woke Anna from a light snooze sometime later as Mrs. Bishop pulled down the long driveway. Beth stepped out of the car with a scowl and thanked their neighbor for the ride. She secured her chestnut hair in a messy bun then rubbed her eight-month pregnant belly.
She and her husband, Kevin, had been together since the day ten years ago when he came to work for their father on the farm. They were married four months later. Kevin still helped their Dad but also managed his own horse breeding business.
The green eyes they’d both gotten from their father searched for a reaction as Beth stepped onto the porch.
“How was the wedding?” Anna asked, placing Beth’s daughter in her arms and pushing through the screen door into the house.
Anna paced the living room, interrupting the view of the giant flat screen her dad and brother, Max, were currently staring at. The very same television Mason had meticulously picked out for them to pitch in on and give her dad for Christmas two years ago.
Both men’s wide eyes found hers, and she glared as Beth followed her in.
“It was beautiful. Mom stayed, but I left before the reception,” Beth replied. “Thanks for leaving me without a way home.”
Anna shrugged. Guilt seeped in and replaced the anger as she stared at her clearly exhausted sister.
Beth blew out a heavy sigh. “Mom and I should have given you more warning, but we wanted the two of you to see each other. Maybe talk a little? All these years we both thought you and Drew shared a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.”
Anna stepped back with a gasp, adrenaline flooding every part of her body. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who told me he’s engaged.”
“Yeah, well, he was looking at rings in Traci’s store one day, but word is they split up months ago.”
That stopped Anna’s pacing. Her gaze darted to her dad who nodded in confirmation.
Beth let out another long sigh and lowered her very pregnant body on the couch. “Every time I cut Drew’s hair, he asks me about you. Every. Single. Time. He tries to be sneaky about how he works you into the conversation, but every five weeks for over ten years I’ve basically given him a recap of what’s going on in your life.”
“You never told me that,” Anna whispered.
“Because he broke your heart and then you fell in love with someone else. But now…”
Anna cut her off with a hand in her face. “That doesn’t mean anything. We grew up together; he’s asking about a friend.”
“No, he’s not. The look on his face, the way he says your name, it’s not the look of a man who is talking about his friend. It’s been eating at me since I heard you were coming home that the two of you should sit down and talk, but I knew you’d never go for it.”
Beth was right. Mason’s actions had Anna questioning her ability to ever love or trust anyone again. She hadn’t seen her marriage falling apart until it slapped her in the face. “No, I wouldn’t have.”
Max growled from the couch. “Beth, why are you pushing her to that little jerk? Don’t you remember how sad she was for months after he broke up with her?”
“Because you have soooo much healthy relationship experience to contribute to this conversation? Wait. No? So shut up. Besides, that was years ago.” Beth turned her attention back to Anna as their dad grunted from his chair.
Anna knew she had to tread lightly on her next question, but her heart still screamed she needed the answer. “So…Drew’s not engaged?”
Beth had the nerve to roll her eyes. “I kept thinking Drew would come talk to you himself, but since he hasn’t, I decided I had to do something. I asked Mom to help me get you there today. So did you see him? Did you talk?”
She saw him, every gorgeous inch of him.
“He was standing in the parking lot when I left,” Anna mumbled.
“In the parking lot! How did I miss that? What did he say?”
“He asked me to leave with him.”
“I’ll break his face,” Max snarled, looking to their dad for support he wasn’t going to get. Their father had always loved Drew, and now they were BFF neighbors.
“So why are you here?” Beth shouted, standing and shaking Anna’s shoulders.
Anna rubbed her temples to push away the headache forming. “It doesn’t matter. Even if he wanted us to try again, like you say he does, it would never work. Too much has happened. You know that. If he knew everything, he’d never want it to.”
“It’s in the past, and you should leave it there. All of it. The feelings you have for Drew are still there. That look he gives me when he talks about you…you have the matching one right now,” Beth said gently.
Anna had no response. She wasn’t even sure her heart was capable of the emotions Beth described anymore, so she simply walked past them all to her room and closed the door.
***
“He what?”
Anna drove toward her first day at Yoakum Ridge as she gave her best friend, Layla Weber, a play-by-play of the exchange with Drew.
Layla and Anna immediately bonded at college move-in day. Anna had just watched Drew and her parents drive away, doing her best to hold in the tears. Her mom was sure to sob the entire way home, and Drew looked so agonized about leaving her that she put on her big girl pants, kissed him hard on the mouth, and told him to go kick ass as her sexy college baseball player. She held it together until she walked into her room; then the tears wouldn’t stop. Layla grabbed her hand and pulled her to the nearest Sonic, introducing her to the glory that was a blended Dr. Pepper float.
She and Layla now worked together at Green & Russell, and although happy for Anna’s big career break, Layla was none too happy to be missing her office moral support.
“He asked me to leave with him,” Anna confirmed.
“Then what did he say?” Layla breathed the words like she couldn’t get enough. Anna knew her eyes must be wide as saucers sitting there in her office, leaning into the phone.
“Nothing really. I bolted out of there pretty quickly.”
“So he’s not engaged?” Layla reminded Anna of the fact she hadn’t been able to forget.
“No, I don’t think so anyway. The talk from my sister’s salon on his relationship status seems fuzzy.”
“Well, that is something to consider,” Layla replied, clearly treading lightly on which side of the Great Drew Debate she should fall. She’d seen Anna crazy in love with him, and she’d seen her cry so hard she couldn’t get out of bed.
“And he called me Sunshine,” Anna added.
“Oh no! Pulling out the big guns. Is the boy still smokin’ hot?”
“Layla!”
“What? Those tight-ass baseball pants he wore in all those games you dragged me to. Those biceps, those thighs. He was super freaking hot back then, but maybe he’s fat and ugly now?”
Anna laughed a full-on swerve off the road laugh as she turned left onto Highway 311. Leave it to her bestie to make her smile in this situation that made her brain ache. “No, smokin’ hot still describes him pretty perfectly. The muscles have only filled out, and I’m certain there was an eight pack under that dress shirt. Oh, and he’s added scruff to the face.”
“Oh not the scruff. Damn, boy doesn’t play fair.”
“Yeah, but I’m so not playing. Okay, go do some work. I’m pulling into the job site.”
“Get the project over and come back to me. I miss you staying with us. Ryan won’t eat cookies and ice cream with me at midnight, and I miss you at work even though I agree this time away will be good for you. I’ve still banned Ryan from bringing him anywhere near our home, so if you feel like a visit we are an ex-husband free zone.”
Layla and her husband Ryan had generously let Anna stay in their guest room these past several months, which hadn’t been easy on any of them considering Mason was Ryan’s oldest and best friend. “Thanks, love. I appreciate that.”
“Give all those boys hell!” she yelled as they hung up, and Anna stared at the construction trailer in front of her. Pulling herself out of the soap opera of her life, she forced her brain to focus on rocking this building project so at least one area of her life would feel stable.
Anna leaned her head against the headrest, pulling in a deep breath and steeling herself to be the boss in that room. The local construction company’s crew would be showing up soon, and she wanted to be ready when they got there.
Stepping out of her 4-Runner, she took in the majestic scene in front of her. The backdrop of these cabins alone would draw visitors from all over the country. The rock bluffs in the distance, the river rushing by, the sunrise over the water. It screamed relaxation, and for Anna, it screamed home.
Walking up the rickety metal steps, she pulled out the key she’d been given, but the door wasn’t locked. Chris Stapleton’s latest album played inside as she stepped through the door. Someone sat at the small counter top that passed for a desk, so focused on his task she wasn’t sure he’d heard her. Anna set her bag on the table, turning to hang her coat. The stranger’s chair squeaked as she turned back to him.
A goofy smile appeared on the man in front of her. Not a stranger after all.
“Anna Presley, what in the hell are you doing in my trailer, girl?” Luke immediately stalked toward her. He swept Anna in one of the bear hugs he’d been giving her since they were toddlers and he’d passed her in height.
Luke is the foreman on this project. So much for forgetting about Drew.
“Long time no see.” He raised an eyebrow, his signature grin tugging his lips as he sat Anna back on her feet. He’d never met an awkward moment in his life.
“Yeah, it has been a while.”
“They told me some tight-ass dude would be working with us from Green & Russell. You don’t look like a dude.” He gave Anna a once over with a wink, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I believe you are referring to Gary. Another project came up that Gary is now working on, and the boss thought I might have some insight into the area and keeping the locals on task.”
“Good luck with that,” he said, a smirk firmly in place.
Anna hugged him again, her arms drawn to wrap around his waist. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.” He squeezed her, then pulled back so he could look in her eyes.
“So…I saw you and Drew talking at the wedding?” He raised a questioning brow, never one to beat around the bush. “You ran out of there pretty fast. You know he’s not engaged, right?”
She shrugged, turning away from his stare. “If you’re about to give me the same speech as Beth, I’ll tell you what I told her. It doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it?” Luke challenged. “So if I told you right now that he was getting married next week, you wouldn’t care.”
Anna tried to hide the cringe from her face, but Luke knew her too well and caught it immediately.
She looked away, and he took her hand in his. “He’s not with anyone, Anna. He ended his last relationship the same day Beth told me you were coming back home. Though when I called him on the timing, he denied one had anything to do with the other.”
“What are you saying?” Anna asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“I’m saying what everyone but the two of you already know as fact. That you were always perfect together. Life just got in the way. Everyone in this town is rooting for you two, even if you’re both in denial.”
“Perfect? Denial?” She let her gaze bore into his. “Do you remember me sobbing for two days on your grandparents’ porch while you tried to hold me together? It could never work, Luke. Too much has happened. You know that better than anyone.”
He raised both eyebrows in question. “Why? And I want a real reason, not some bull about mistakes that happened years ago. You guys were so in love it was a little disgusting to watch.”
A smile curved Anna lips. Luke’s gaze turned from teasing to sympathetic as he continued. “If you’re asking for my opinion…”
Her hands fell to her hips as she tilted her head in mock consideration. “Pretty sure I didn’t.”
“Well I’m giving it anyway. I think you two should give it a chance. He needs you; he’s always needed you even when he was an idiot, and I think you need him too. Everything got tilted on its axis the day he left you, but now, you guys can fix it.”
“Wow.”
“All profound and crap, right?” He tapped his finger to his temple as Anna rolled her eyes. “Damn, I only get better with age.”
“Your opinion is duly noted. Now, let’s get to me bossing you around.”
Luke smacked her on the back, threw on a hard hat, and held open the door. “Sure thing. Right this way, Anna Banana.”
Anna scowled but grabbed her own hat and followed him outside. Even if Luke was right, could she ever let herself back into a relationship? Her stomach clenched with the memory of those divorce papers sitting in front of her, of signing her name and ending the marriage she and Mason shared.
She’d once been able to see the positive side of every situation, but on this one, her heart couldn’t see past the potential for another break to consider the possibility that Drew or anyone else might ever be able to heal it.
***
Six Months Earlier
Standing in the doorway that led inside, Anna squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to take another step into their home. It had been almost two weeks since she left, since Mason told her that he’d broken their vows. He’d called, but she couldn’t hear his voice yet without breaking, and she couldn’t cry anymore.
Anna desperately needed to pull herself out of the misery and figure out how to move forward, whether she and Mason had a chance to fix their marriage, if she could trust him. She wasn’t quite ready to consider any other alternative yet.
She did need to stop wearing the same four outfits over and over, so she came to pack more clothes. Ryan assured her Mason would be out of town for three days, and it still took her two of them to drive there. A tiny part of her heart hoped he’d be waiting when she walked in, but the house was empty.
Layla’s hand on Anna’s back and her gentle smile nudged her into the kitchen, the one she and Mason had painted together a year ago. He hated painting almost as much as he hated going to the dentist, but when she asked for his help, he smiled, smacked her butt, and started taping off the room. They hadn’t even gotten halfway through when she streaked bright yellow paint across both his cheeks. His eyes grew wide with retaliation, and he tackled her to the ground with a mega-watt smile. His expression quickly changed from one of teasing to desire, the rest of the afternoon lost to their passion on the kitchen floor…then the counter.
Anna ran her fingers across the spot where he’d lifted and placed her gently on the granite as she’d squealed from the cold. Her gaze drifted to an open file folder, and curiosity got the better of her as she scanned the document. Her heart split in two with every new word she read.
Mapleton County Court
Application for Divorce
Petitioner: Mason Chambers
Respondent: Anna Chambers
Petition number: 41798123198
This application for divorce is initiated by the petitioner Mason Chambers, requesting the dissolution of his marriage to respondent Anna Chambers. The petitioner and the respondent were married for five years…
She couldn’t read any more. He wanted a divorce? He wanted…someone else? Anna’s shaky legs gave out as she turned and slumped against the cabinets to the floor.
“What is it?” Layla asked.
Anna couldn’t speak the words, so she simply pointed in the direction of the papers that would end their marriage.
“That son of a bitch,” Layla whispered, crouching in front of Anna. The sympathy in Layla’s eyes broke her when she swore she wouldn’t cry another tear.
Layla brushed them away, tucking Anna’s hair behind her ear. “Let’s go, sweetheart. Pack your bag and you can talk to him when…”
Anna cut her off, stumbling up from her seat on the floor, the anger now burning the tears away. “There’s nothing to talk about. There are divorce papers on the freaking counter! He’s probably on that trip screwing her again while I sit here and sob like a freaking idiot.” She grabbed Mason’s favorite clicky-top pen from under the folder. “He wants a divorce so he can be with her. There’s just…there’s nothing to talk about.”
With a shaking hand, Anna signed her full name on the line that was clearly marked with an orange tab.
Tears ran unchecked as she placed the pen on top of the document. “Can you please call Ryan? I need him to bring his truck.”
“Anna…”
“Just call him! Please, Layla. Call him.”
Layla moved into the living room, already dialing her phone as Anna took a notebook from the drawer beside her.
Mason,
I signed your papers, and I’m taking the very few things from the house that I want. Your father bought you this house, and I don’t want any part of that. Please don’t make me go through the hiring of lawyers. The only thing I ask of you is to finish this divorce petition, and I won’t contest your wishes. I will deposit half of our savings in my checking account tomorrow; you file your papers and send them to me when it’s final. We can go our separate ways.
I’m sorry it came to this.
Anna
Anna stared at their wedding photo across the room on the living room mantle as she heard Ryan pulling into the driveway. Hands gripping the counter for dear life, she ugly cried until she couldn’t breathe, wiped the tears away, and started packing.