Forgiving Patience (6 page)

I really don’t want to mingle.

Because of the lack of time, she’d
thrown herself together in a frenzy. After the irritating conversation with her
realtor—and she now used that word loosely, because of the position he had put
her in—she had just enough time to reapply her deodorant, add some powder to
cover up her sunburnt face, and mascara to her eyes, run a brush through her
hair, and slip on her previously chosen dress paired with red heels. The
sleeveless black cocktail dress had a high neckline just for mingling purposes.
When she knew there would be a big party she was required to attend, she’d
intentionally packed this dress because it would cover the splotches of red on
her neck if she got too nervous.

Em took her hand and gave it a little
squeeze, as if to let her know she was going to be okay and to take a deep
breath. Anna looked down at their joined hands and was comforted to know she
had someone who knew her so well that she could feel her anxiety. She also figured
Em didn’t want her passing out and taking all the attention away from her and
her party.

I have missed this.

They were approaching two women—one
she recognized from her high school days. She looked out of place at the lavish
party. Her short black skirt with a white baby doll tee and flip-flops were a
far cry from what Anna expected to be worn at such a fancy party. Her simple,
brunette-colored hair hung loosely past her shoulders. A to-die-for tan left
her needing little to no make-up. The slightly muscular arms showed her
willingness to stand up to any man if need be, but also made her seem soft and
feminine.

“Anna, this is Jesse Daniels, Tommy’s
‘
lil
sister. I don’t know if you remember, but she
was a couple of years behind us…and this is Jill Travis,” Em said, pointing to
the woman standing next to Jesse. “She works with me at the salon.”

Jill had dark, curly hair springing
out in every direction. Anna wished for hair like that, but knew it had to be a
nuisance to deal with every day. She was about Anna’s height and was blessed
with a naturally dark completion. The spaghetti strap dress she wore was very
modest and cut just above the knee. The color looked amazing against her dark
skin.

How is it that everyone can get or
has a tan except me?

“Yes, I do remember, you played on
the softball team. It’s nice to see you again, Jesse. And it’s nice to finally
meet you, Jill.” She gave both women a friendly handshake.

While Jesse could be the spokesperson
for a strong-willed, confident woman—Jill, who looked younger than Jesse, was
more conservative.

“Yeah, softball days were the good
‘ole days. Now I’m stuck playing with all men.” Jesse really didn’t look that
upset at the idea. “I’m glad to have backup,” Jesse said, rolling her eyes at
Em. “She’s driving me crazy with all this wedding stuff. Stuff I know nothing
about. You have to help her—help me…p-l-e-a-s-e,” she pleaded with both hands
gripped together.

“Em, are you really being a
bridezilla
?” Anna looked at Jesse. “Don’t worry, I have
your back. Between the three of us, I think we can take her.”

“Good, because I was about to boycott
the wedding altogether.” Anna didn’t doubt Jesse was telling the God’s honest
truth.

Feeling surprisingly comfortable,
Anna pointed the question to Jesse, “What does Em have you doing?”

The woman tucked a piece of her dark,
shoulder-length hair behind her ear. “Well, let’s see, last week it was buying
the groomsmen’s and bridesmaids’ gifts—which I think is absurd. This week…” She
turned toward Em as if asking her what her chores were this week, even though
Anna could tell Jesse knew exactly what she was supposed to do. “Oh—yeah, I
have to send out invitations for her bachelorette party. A party she won’t
allow me to throw. I fell like a grunt. She won’t even suggest that Jill do anything.”

“Hey, don’t throw me into this.” Jill
held both hands in the air, as if guarding herself from the accusation. “I
volunteered to help, but she doesn’t tell me anything. Don’t blame me. I’ve
tried.”

It felt nice to be involved in the
friendly banter between friends. These were the people closest to Em. In some
ways, Anna felt like an intruder on a life she hadn’t been a part of.

Chiming in, Em said, “Jill is busy at
the salon till dark six days a week. You are the most available person, Jesse,
so stop being a terrible sister-in-law.”

The comment sounded harsh to Anna,
but the smile that spread across both women’s faces let her know this was
normal talk between them. It was obvious Em loved Tommy’s sister, and even
though Jesse would probably deny it, she loved having Em around.

“You saying I have nothing to do?
That I can drop everything at the store to go and rescue your ass and…” Jesse
knowingly added, “Jill only works five days a week.”

“Good grief, Jesse, can you be a lady
for one night?” Jill scolded. “Have some manners. You are at a party that
doesn’t consist of beer kegs.”

“Fine. Just for you, Jill, I will act
like a lady,” Jesse said sarcastically. “I won’t say another damn
word…oops—sorry, I guess you don’t approve of damn either…”

“Forget it. Anna, it’s so nice to
meet you. I hope we get a chance to spend some time together while you’re
here.” Jill gave a pointed glance in Jesse’s direction and turned on her heel,
heading toward an attractive man seated several tables away from where the bride
and bridesmaids were standing.

Okay, what is up with that? Note to
self—watch the language around Jill.

Breaking the unwelcome silence that
hung in the air, Jesse said, “Well.”

“Jesse, do you always have to do
that? Why can’t you play nice with her?” Em lectured.

Anna wasn’t sure what was going on,
but she felt the need to change the subject. As maid of honor, she needed to
channel the waters in a different direction. Things had been going so well with
meeting
Em’s
friends. No need to ruin the atmosphere.
Em would thank her later for taking charge of the situation and turning the
focus off Jill and her abrupt exit.

“Em, you should feel bad for sending
one of your bridesmaids out to buy her own gift. That just crosses the line.”

“I paid for the gifts. Now that
you’re here, Anna, I can entrust you with some things. Jesse just isn’t into
all the wedding stuff…as you can tell.”

“I’m never getting married, therefore
I don’t need to know anything about how to throw a wedding. I’m glad I only
have one sibling. I don’t think I can go through this torture again.”

“Well, I hope that plan works out for
you, but for now—you are mine. So until I walk down the aisle and your brother
says ‘I do’, you are stuck with me.” Em turned to Anna and gave her a smile.
“You come by the house tomorrow so we can catch up. It’s crazy here, and I want
to be able to actually talk.”

Em sauntered off, leaving Anna with
her comrade. “Is she always like this? I mean, when did she get so bossy?”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.
Sometimes she is just downright scary. Weddings do not bring out the best in
people…that’s for damn sure. Come on, let’s get a drink.”

The two women took a seat at a table
situated in the middle of the room. Jesse stopped a tray-carrying waiter and
grabbed two glasses of wine—handing one over to Anna and tossing back hers in
two hefty gulps. Wow. Nothing like alcohol to calm the nerves. Anna was
thinking she could learn a few bad habits from this chick.

“What do you do? Em said you were the
most available,” Anna curiously asked.

“I split my time at the hardware
store with my dad and Tommy, but I also work on the farm. We’re setting
tobacco, and for some reason Em thinks that’s easy and I can just drop
everything because I don’t have a clock–in, clock-out job.”

“It must be nice to be your own boss.
I, myself, want to open up my own coffee shop someday. I hope to experience the
same feeling.”

“I would hardly call it being my own
boss. I have to deal with an older brother who thinks he’s in charge of my life
and a father who thinks I’m still five,” she commented while grabbing two more
glasses of wine. After handing one to Anna, she added, “And I do work hard.”

“I’m sure you do,” Anna agreed.
Having a family, no matter what their flaws, must be rewarding. Even though
Jesse was complaining, she could sense that the woman adored her family.

Anna had always wished to have a
brother or sister, someone she could experience life with. The closest thing
she had to a sister was Em. Em was indeed sister material. Anna had been sworn
to keep secrets from her friend’s parents, was given advice about boys, and
even had someone to fight with on occasion. Overall, Anna was thankful to have
her bossy friend in her life.

They sat and talked about high
school. Jesse asked what it was like to live somewhere different. Anna told her
small details about Linden and how at first it felt strange to be in a town she
hadn’t grown up in, but soon grew to love.

She couldn’t help but notice Jesse’s
eye wandering several times as they talked. She was looking to her left at a
man slow dancing with a long-legged redhead. They were the same couple Ms. Edna
had pointed out earlier—during their need to forget sex talk. Bradley Lawrence
was holding the woman close while they swayed to the newest country song. He
looked ruggedly handsome—much like his older brother. Instead of the typical
suit and tie most of the men dressed in, Bradley had on Wrangler jeans with a
blue-and-white plaid western-cut button-up rolled up to his elbows. His cowboy
hat was pulled down low, allowing him to only zone-in on the woman he was
grinding on. She doubted he noticed anyone else was in the room—including
Jesse.

From the look on Jesse’s face, she
didn’t appreciate the couple or their dancing skills. A look of hatred mixed
with love filled the woman’s eyes.

Anna approached the subject
obliquely. “Is that Bradley Lawrence?”

The soft color filling Jesse’s cheeks
told Anna that the usually confident woman was slightly embarrassed at being
caught watching Bradley and his date. “Yeah, that’s him. Same ‘ole, same ‘ole
with him.”

Anna didn’t know exactly what same
‘ole, same ‘ole meant, but whatever was going on, it wasn’t a topic she cared
to embark on at the moment. Still, she couldn’t help but to be a tad curious.

There was a tap on Anna’s left shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss?”

Anna turned in her chair, away from
Jesse, to come face-to-face with Kevin Costner.

* * * *

“How’s the house coming along?”

Jake shifted his weight off his bum
knee to his left leg without making it obvious to Tex. He’d grown up with Tex,
and it wasn’t like his buddy didn’t know he was in pain a lot of the times
because of the old baseball injury. But he didn’t want anyone to look at him
and think he was some washed-out-ex-ballplayer.

“It’s coming. I finished up the
exterior painting this week.”

“I stopped by there a couple days ago
and saw the side porch you were adding. If you need any help, just holler.”

Jake only nodded because he and Tex
both knew he wasn’t going to ask for help. It seemed lately he was out to prove
he could do all the repairs with minimal assistance. Every day he pushed
himself a little harder and was now finally getting his life somewhat back
together. He was far from normal, but he was better than he’d been not too long
ago.

“Who’s the hot babe sitting with
Jesse?”

Jake took a swig of his second beer
of the night. “That there is Anna Kelly.”

“Woo-
hoo
.”
Tex whistled. “She’s some kind of pretty. When did she get back?”

Jake’s jaw tightened at the thought
of Tex scoping out Anna. The guy was not harmless when it came to beautiful
women—and Anna sure looked beautiful. Her honey hair hung loosely past her
shoulders. Every now and then she would sweep back a tendril falling in her
face back behind her ear. Her sleeveless black dress showed off her milky,
smooth arms, and the crimson heels showed she was definitely not boring. She
looked like a mixture of level-headed woman who wanted to look presentable at a
fancy party and a wild cat burning to come alive. He knew she had a wild side
because he’d seen a little bit of it earlier when she’d laid into his ass. He
usually didn’t enjoy being handed his ass by anyone, but it wasn’t so bad with
Anna. She made a good butt-chewing downright sexy.

He had every right to be concerned
for any woman who was in his friend’s line of vision.

“Today. She claims I tried to run her
off the road.”

“Let me guess? You didn’t, though?”

“No, I didn’t try to run her off the
road,” Jake answered, giving the other man a hard look, as though to question
who
do you think I am?

“Come on, Lawrence, we all know you
have become obsessed with speed.”

Jake couldn’t say much. It was true.
He loved to feel free and get that adrenaline rush while going almost ninety
down a country road. But, he wasn’t out to hurt anyone. The loss of his dad in
a car wreck caused by a drunk driver taught him to always be aware when
driving. It was pure coincidence that he had driven up on Anna. Why did she buy
a sports car if it was only to poke around like she was in the middle of a
school zone? A car like that was meant to be driven hard and fast.