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* * * *

Anna exited the small bus, relieved to finally end her journey and

get to the town of Pearl. It was completely secluded but was quite

stunning. There were blocks of numerous boutiques and specialty

stores as well as a large diner and a food shopping center. The school

was at the end of town, and the sheriff’s department was smack in the

middle.

She walked slowly. Her injuries were far worse than two days

ago. She stared at the sheriff’s department for a moment wondering if

her father was looking for her. The tears stung her eyes. Foolish her.

After what he did, she knew better than to think of him ever again. He

was dead to her now.

She thought about trying to remember where Stacy said she lived,

but she couldn’t. She hadn’t called before she hopped on the plane.

She knew Stacy was there in Pearl. She expressed her love for the

place and the fact that she didn’t want to leave. Looking around, she

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Dixie Lynn Dwyer

understood why. It was a lovely town, quaint and clean. The smell in

the air was fresh, unlike the city.

She hid behind large sunglasses and a sweatshirt. It had gotten her

through the airport even when people asked questions. People stared

at her injuries, and she lied, saying she was in a car accident. That

seemed to ease their minds. However, she used the washroom in the

airport to wash away most of the blood, and she used a twenty to buy

a sweatshirt to cover the bloody T-shirt she still wore. But here, she

stood out. People looked at her, immediately noticing the outsider.

She needed to contact Stacy.

Anna saw the payphone and headed straight for it. Stacy would be

able to help her.

For the Love of Anna

21

Chapter 3

“Eric!” Stacy yelled as she ran from the house with tears

streaming down her cheeks.

Eric immediately stopped what he was doing and ran to meet her.

“Stacy, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” he asked, rubbing his hands

gently over her body. His cousins, Ben, a rancher, and Charlie, a vet,

ran over to her as well.

Stacy took a moment to catch her breath.

“Anna’s here. She’s in town, Eric, and she sounds hurt.”

“What do you mean ‘hurt’?” Charlie asked. Stacy allowed the

tears to flow freely. These men were her family. She loved them and

knew they were good men.

“She wouldn’t tell me. She said she had a car accident. But she’s

waiting for me to come get her in town. Can you come with me?”

“Let’s go,” Eric stated, pulling Stacy along with him to his pickup

truck.

* * * *

“There she is!” Stacy blurted out as Eric pulled the pickup truck

alongside the curb near the hardware store. A petite woman sat on a

bench with large sunglasses and a sweatshirt pulled snug against her

body. She looked so fragile, as if she were trying to hide.

Stacy jumped out of the truck and ran to her. Eric watched as the

two women embraced and Anna cringed and bent over. She was

obviously in a lot of pain.

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* * * *

“You’re hurt! What happened?” Stacy asked as she held Anna at

arm’s length.

“Car accident,” Anna stated in a scratchy voice.

“Oh, my God!” Stacy froze as if she were thinking Anna’s

statement through.

“Wait. You don’t drive a car.”

“Exactly. I was on the sidewalk. Can we talk about this later? I’m

so glad to see you,” Anna stated, then pulled Stacy into another hug.

Anna pulled away and took a few steps back when she saw the

large cowboy walk toward them. He was tall and lean, and she

watched as he stuck his hands in his back pockets.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend, honey?”

Stacy looked at Anna warily before she introduced the cowboy.

“This is Eric. Remember I mentioned him and Max?”

“Of course. It’s nice to meet you, Eric.”

She reached out her hand to shake his hand, and her sweatshirt

came undone. She watched as his eyes widened, and she pulled her

hand away to pull the sweatshirt tighter. He probably saw the blood.

Her ribs were killing her. She had yet to remove her sunglasses. When

she did, Stacy would flip.

“I’m sorry to be intruding like this. It was a last-minute decision,

and Stacy has been begging for me to come visit. I’m sorry about how

I look, but I didn’t get to change after the accident, and I hopped on

the next available plane out here. I’ve been traveling by bus and

nearly missed the one coming this way,” Anna rambled on as Stacy

and Eric listened.

“Not an intrusion at all, Anna. Stacy told us all about you. I feel

like I know you already,” he stated as he placed a hand on Stacy’s

shoulder.

“Well, let’s head back to the ranch and get you settled. Do you

have any luggage?”

For the Love of Anna

23

“Oh…no…they lost my luggage. I’m not sure I’ll get it back,” she

replied, then nibbled her bottom lip.

Eric appeared to read right through her lie, but Stacy accepted it.

“Well, then no need to worry. I have plenty of things you can

wear, let’s head home.”

* * * *

Anna looked out the passenger window in awe. The ranch was

magnificent. There were men riding horses, cattle grazing in the

pasture, and two very large, beautiful homes separated by a

traditional-looking red barn. There were stables and training circles. It

was so impressive. As they approached the first house, the smaller

house of the two, she noticed a group of cowboys standing by the

fence. Her heart throbbed in her chest. They were giants. She thought

the cattle and horses were extra large, but these men were tall and

built like gladiators.

Her stomach quivered, and her hands shook. Great, now she was

going to have a complex about large men. One look at Eric and she

knew she better get used to it. It seemed Pearl grew their men real big.

If she kept her distance, she would be fine for the little time she

stayed here.

As the truck stopped, Anna’s heart continued to pound, and her

head throbbed.

Slowly, as not to jiggle her ribs more than necessary, she

cautiously exited the truck. Her movement wasn’t lost on Stacy or her

man, Eric.

Stacy took her arm.

“You’re safe here, Anna. I promise you.”

Anna felt the tears sting her eyes, but she swallowed hard and let

Stacy help her.

“Everything all right?” someone yelled from the group of men,

and Stacy kept walking Anna into the house.

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“Honey, you two will be all right while I head back to work?”

Eric asked.

“We’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride,” Stacy said, and they headed

inside.

* * * *

“So what’s the deal? Who’s the kid?” Charlie asked.

Eric smirked. “That’s no kid. She’s Stacy’s friend, Anna.”

“Well, I guess when you’re six foot four other people look like

kids,” Eric teased then took a look back toward the house.

“Damn! She a tiny thang? She the one from New York?” Charlie

asked.

Eric mumbled a “yeah.”

“Hey, what’s bothering you?” Charlie asked, and Eric smiled.

Leave it to his cousin to know him so well.

“Not sure, really.”

“Well, it’s obvious you’re concerned, so spit it out.”

Eric laughed at Charlie. He didn’t beat around the bush about

anything.

“Anna has bruises and cuts on her face that she’s trying to hide

behind big goofy sunglasses. She’s favoring her ribs as well.”

“What?”

“She said she was in a car accident.”

“You don’t believe her, do you?”

“No. I don’t, and I’m hoping she’ll come clean with Stacy.”

“Do you think she’ll let me take a look at her? Maybe she hasn’t

even seen a doctor.”

“I doubt it. She was nearly ready to bolt when I showed up with

Stacy and approached them.”

“You thinking she may be in some kind of trouble?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll see what Stacy says later.”

“That’s a good idea. Keep me posted.”

For the Love of Anna

25

“Sure thing.”

* * * *

Stacy stood in the spare gust bedroom staring at Anna. She knew

something was up but didn’t want to question her in front of Eric. It

was obvious that Eric picked up on Anna’s uneasiness and the few

white lies she told. Knowing that Anna would never lie to her, she

knew she had to have had good reason. Now, watching Anna sitting

on the bed and still wearing those goofy seventies sunglasses, she

knew she needed answers.

Stacy closed the bedroom door and crossed her arms in front of

her chest.

“Fess up, girl, or I swear I will tear you a new one!”

Anna clutched the sweatshirt to her chest and slowly pulled off the

sunglasses. Anna began to sob.

“Oh, my God, Anna, what the hell happened, and don’t tell me

any bullshit about a car accident.” She rushed to kneel in front of her

and pulled her into an embrace.

Anna moaned in pain and pulled away. The pain obviously took

Anna’s breath away.

“You’re hurt badly, aren’t you?”

Anna tried to explain in between sobs.

“I don’t know. I’ve been running on adrenaline. I just had to get

out of there. It was so terrible.”

“Shhh, honey, slow down. First things first. Do I need to call the

sheriff? My Max is a deputy?”

“No! No police, no sheriff, no law.”

“Okay, we’ll discuss that later on. Now, have you seen a doctor?”

Anna shook her head.

“Damn, woman! What the hell are you thinking? You haven’t

received any medical attention, and you flew here from New York?

Didn’t anyone ask about your injuries or your clothes?”

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“Car accident.”

“And they believed that bullshit?”

Stacy stood up and began to pace.

“Was it your father? Did your father do this to you?”

“Please, Stacy. I can’t. I just don’t want to think about the whole

thing. I had no place to go. I had to run and get out of there before

they…”

Stacy began to cry as she saw Anna cover her face and sob. It was

such a tormented sound. Her heart ached for her best friend.

“Okay, honey, first let’s see the damage and get you cleaned up.

No offense, but you kind of need a shower or something.”

Anna laughed as she wiped her eyes, then lifted her arms to smell

her pits.

“You’re right. I do.” She sniffled.

They both laughed, but Anna was serious immediately.

“I’m sorry to do this to you. Eric is real handsome, and I can tell

he loves you.”

“Don’t apologize for anything. I’ve been trying to get you to

move out here for years. Listen to your older and wiser best friend

and let me take care of you.”

“You’re only two years older than me. That’s not that much.”

“It’s enough, so you listen to me and let me take care of you.”

“I love you, Stacy.”

“I love you, too.”

Stacy hugged Anna.

“Now, show me the damage, and I’ll determine whether you need

to see a doctor.”

Stacy stood back as Anna slowly rose from the bed.

When she unzipped the sweatshirt, Stacy saw the blood.

She tried to stay calm, but anger shot through her veins.

As Anna painstakingly removed the sweatshirt, she saw the

bruises and hand marks on her skin. Then she removed the shirt, and

Stacy covered her mouth and cringed.

For the Love of Anna

27

“Anna! Oh, my God, Anna.” Stacy shook her head and began to

cry.

Neither said a word as Anna tried to speak.

“I’m alive, Stacy. That’s all that really matters right now.”

* * * *

Stacy headed downstairs and into the large kitchen. She told Anna

that she needed to see a doctor, and of course, she refused. So Stacy

threatened her, and Anna finally agreed to let Eric and Max’s cousin,

Charlie, take a look at her injuries. Despite the fact that he was a

veterinarian, Charlie had served in the war as a medic. He handled all

the first aid around the ranch.

Stacy let the coffee brew and stared out the window over the sink.

She watched the men riding horses and saw Charlie and Ben.

The tears welled up in her eyes. What the hell happened in New

York? She’d never seen Anna so frightened or so unwilling to discuss

it with her. And those injuries were so bad. How the hell did she

travel like that?

“Hey, darling, didn’t you hear me?” Eric asked as he entered the

kitchen.

Stacy jumped at the sound of the raised voice. She was so deep in

thought that she hadn’t heard him.

As soon as they locked gazes, the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Eric was immediately in front of her, pulling her into an embrace.

She sobbed against his chest, and he held her tight.

“Talk to me, baby. How’s Anna really?”

Stacy pulled away a little and wiped her eyes.

“She’s hurt bad. I don’t know the gist of it, but her injuries are

bad. She hasn’t had any medical attention. She refused, but I did

convince her to let Charlie look at her.”

“That’s my girl.”