What The Heart Wants (22 page)

Viv lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “That call the other day. I was worried. You didn’t sound like you,” she said, sending her a strange smile. “I should have known it was about a man.”

“I was having issues with the farm,” she hedged, knowing it was partly true.

Viv completely ignored the statement. “So it’s getting serious, huh? You’re sleeping with him. He’s your first, right?”

“Oh my god, we are not discussing this,” Anna groaned, her face turning red.

Viv patted her leg, smiling. “Oh, yes we are. I’ve waited years for you to have a boy we could talk about. You aren’t going to take this away from me. So what’s his name?”

Anna sighed. Viv was not the type to give up. Ever. “His name is Sam Flynn. He owns the farm that way,” she said, pointing.

“Details. Details,” Viv insisted, rolling her eyes. “How old is he? What does he look like? What does he do? You’re killing me here.”

“He’s older. I don’t know exactly. He’s ridiculously tall and has this blondish shaggy hair and brown eyes. He’s a goat farmer.”

“And how was the sex?” Viv asked, making Anna lean against the couch and cover her face in her hands.

“It was good,” she said, wishing she could crawl up in a ball and disappear.

“Good,” Viv said, backing off for the moment. “I’m going to put the kettle on,” she said, despite the heat. Anna followed her into the kitchen, watching with curiosity as Viv knew where everything was. “Oh, honey. Let me tell you about this yummy thing I saw on the way in. I had to stop at this little rinky dink gas station in town and there was this man…”

“You saw Eric,” Anna broke in, her voice entirely too eager even to her own ears.

Viv’s lips quirked up at her tone. “Ohh, so there are two men in your life,” she said, her eyes lighten up. “Now that’s my daughter,” she laughed. “No wonder you called me. You’re so out of your depths here. That man just oozes sex.”

Anna smiled, looking down at her feet. “Yeah I know.” There was a certain sadness in her voice.

“What happened there?”

Anna shrugged a shoulder. “We dated a little. But I…”

“Liked this Sam guy better,” Viv finished for her. “Out of curiosity,” Viv started, pouring the hot water into cups, despite the stiflingly hot house. “is Sam the stalwart, strong, good hearted type?”

Anna’s head shot up. Her mother never ceased to amaze her. “Yeah.”

Viv handed her a mug of tea, no milk and no sugar. Healthy. “I always saw you ending up with that type. But I think test driving that Eric would have been a life changing experience.”

Anna laughed quietly. “We turned the car over. Just never got out of the driveway,” she said and Viv laughed, a musical sound.

Viv considered her over the rim of her mug. “You’ve changed so quickly,” she said, her eyes looking wistful. “It’s not just the sex though I’m sure that’s part of it. You’ve grown up.”

“Things are going really well here, Mom,” she said and meaning it. “I dunno… I feel like I belong here.”

A flash of something strange crossed Viv’s face right before she smiled, walked over to her and threw an arm around her.

“I’m really glad you found your place, baby. You know you have no food in this fridge?”

Anna laughed, shaking her head. Her mother would always be… her mother. “I had people over helping me out the other day, we used up all my food.”

“I see, well I am going to go drop by that farmer’s market in town and get us some supplies. You go get yourself changed and do your farmer thing. Don’t worry about me.”

Anna smiled, walking closer, went up on her tippy toes and kissed her mother on the cheek. “I missed you, mom.”

Viv smiled, grabbing her keys out of her purse. “I missed you too, baby.”

–

Anna spent the next hour frantically cleaning despite knowing Viv had probably already snooped quite extensively before she even got home. Viv had always been a stickler for having a clean household and nothing, not even her perfectly manicured nails, got in the way of that.

She shuffled paperwork into the drawers in the cabinet where she had moved all of Mam’s knick-knacks. She looked curiously down when a slip of color caught her eye. She pulled the shiny paper out, realizing it was a photograph.

It was a bright picture of Mam in a hospital bed. She had a strange light blue hospital gown on and white sheets pulled up to her waist. Mam had been a very slight woman, short and small-boned with strong muscles. The bed looked like it was swallowing her up. Anna looked at her face, fine lines next to her hazel eyes and her short cropped brown hair. Then she noticed Mam’s arms cradled in front of her. Holding a baby. A newborn baby. Mam had just had a baby in the picture, she realized with a start.

Mam had been a mother? What had happened to the baby? Why hadn’t anyone told her about it?

Anna heard her mother’s car in the driveway and stuffed the picture back into the drawer.

She let herself out into the backyard, flicking on the sprinklers and walking around. There wasn’t much weeding to be done, but she grabbed her small gardening scissors and went about snipping off the herbs that were ready to be harvested and laying them carefully in a basket she hung from her arm.

After stringing up and hanging some of the plants and preparing some to freeze, she made her way into the house. Viv was standing on top of a chair in her high heels, the contents of her cabinets spread across the counter as she scrubbed the insides.

Anna smiled, shaking her head. She opened the fridge to grab the pitcher of water and found every shelf inside overflowing with fruits, vegetables, tofu and hummus. “Thank you, mom,” she said, wondering if she lived closer if Viv would randomly show up with bags of groceries every week to make sure she was eating well.

Viv made a sound in her throat. “I’m gonna make us a big, healthy dinner tonight. If you don’t have plans with your man, that is,” she added in a tone that implied she wouldn’t mind if she did.

“No,” Anna said to her back. “No plans.”

“Good,” Viv said, moving on to the next cabinet. “Now go wash up and put something nice on. I wont have you sitting down to eat all sweaty and gross.”

Dinner would be served at six sharp. Her mother had very definite ideas about proper meal times. Four hours before bed, so your body had time to digest before sleep. Apparently it was good for keeping your weight down or some nonsense that Anna wasn’t sure she believed.

She hemmed and hawed over her wardrobe while Viv banged and chopped around in the kitchen. Eventually she slipped on a deep purple and white sundress and made her way out to ask her mother if she needed any help.

She had barely stepped into the room when Sam showed up outside the back door. “Oh no,” she said quietly.

Viv’s head jerked up, looking over and smiling. “Annabelle it looks like you have a gentleman caller. Ask him if he would like to stay for dinner.” As Anna walked past her, Viv leaned closer. “He’s very handsome,” she said and Anna shook her head, shuffling outside.

She almost barreled into Sam, slamming her palm against his chest and pushing him off the porch, moving until they were out of sight of the kitchen. She knew Viv would be peeking out.

“What is going on?” Sam asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

“My mother dropped in for a visit,” she said, looking over her shoulder.

Realization dawned on him. “When did she get here?”

“Oh I dunno. But she was here when I got back this morning, waiting for me.”

“Oops,” Sam said, smiling and running a hand through his hair.

“Oh no no,” Anna said quickly. “she’s glad I’m having sex.”

“Wait… what? You told her that?” he asked as if the idea was genuinely perplexing. Who told their parents they were having sex? In general it was just something they assumed after you had been dating someone for a while. But it wasn’t something you usually sat down and have a conversation about.

“No, I didn’t tell her. She just knew.”

“How did she just know?”

“I don’t know. It’s like she has sex radar or something. But she’s here and she knows about you and she wants you to stay for dinner.” At Sam’s barely-noticeable grimace, she rolled her eyes. “She’s cooking, not me. Don’t worry.”

“In that case,” Sam said, grabbing her waist and pulling her to him. “I would love to.” He kissed her until she swayed against him. “Show me to your mother.”

Anna tentatively walked into the house, Sam right behind her, a hand on her hip.

“Hey mom,” she called, looking at Viv’s back.

“Dinner is almost ready. I just have to strain this pasta and make sure the veggies have cooled. Oh and toss a quick salad…”

“Mom…”

“Honey, why don’t you…” Viv said, turning around and noticing them. A smile spread slowly across her face. “Well hello there.”

“Hey,” Sam said, giving her his charming lopsided grin and reaching his hand to her. “I’m Sam.”

Viv sent a pointed look toward Anna who quickly said, “Oh, right. Mom this is Sam Flynn. Sam this is Viv.”

Viv took his hand in hers and looked him over carefully. “It’s a pleasure,” she cooed.

Anna shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Was there anything more awkward than introducing your flirtatious mother to your new… male friend? Was that what he was? She hadn’t really stopped to give that much thought. Were they actually dating now? Was that a conversation she would have to, heaven forbid, have with him sometime soon?

“Hey mom,” she broke in as Viv was complementing Sam on his height and strong build. “what were you going to ask me to do when we came in?”

Viv looked at her like she lost her mind for a second before she smiled. “I was going to ask you to throw together a nice salad.”

“Please, allow me,” Sam said, moving away from her side. “I don’t know how but I’m pretty sure Anna would find a way to make even lettuce come out badly.”

“Hey,” Anna objected on principle, though she knew he was right.

But Viv laughed, charmed. “Why thank you. There are a bunch of different greens in the refrigerator and a large bowl up above the sink.”

Anna leaned against the wall, feeling out of place as she watched Sam and Viv work side by side as Viv talked to him about his business, sounding genuinely interested in goat farming. She always had that ability, to make any man feel like she found him to be the most interesting person on the planet.

They sat down to a mixed greens salad and a whole wheat cold pasta dish with cooked and cooled eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and feta cheese topped with a homemade Italian dressing.

As Viv brought the food to the table, she looked over at her for the first time since they came in. “Anna, there’s wine in the trunk of my car.”

Anna obediently went out to fetch it, knowing by the strange solid feeling in her gut that Viv was sending her away so she could have “the talk” with Sam. The “what are your intentions toward my daughter” talk. Anna took her time, dawdling over choosing which wine to bring in so she didn’t have to walk in on some weird protective mom lecture.

Sam put the salad down on the center of the table then looked up to see Viv staring at him, her hand placed on the back of a chair as if bracing herself. “She’s something special, you know,” she said, her eyes seeming to cut through him.

Sam nodded his head. “Yeah, I know.”

“She’s not the kind of girl you sleep with and toss aside.”

“No, she’s not,” Sam agreed. Viv hadn’t seemed like the over-protective mother type. But he had to admit, there was just something about Anna that made people want to protect her. He searched Viv for some sign of Anna, but found nothing in her more mid-sized bone structure, sharp features, and height. “I know you’re worried about her,” he said. “I promise I am looking after her.”

Viv watched him for a minute and nodded. “I believe you,” she said, placing the tongs in the salad bowl. Then she looked at him sideways and said in a sweet but firm tone. “If you hurt her, I will drive my ass down here, break into your house, and chop off your balls. Understood?”

“Perfectly,” Sam agreed, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He didn’t doubt she meant it.

Anna walked in with the wine and they sat down to eat, Anna heaping two plates full of pasta and noticed both Viv and Sam looking at her. Sighing, she filled a second helping of salad to placate them and finished it before moving back to her pasta.

After dinner, Viv kept the conversation going for a minute before standing up and declaring that she was going to take a long soak and they should go for a walk. As she said it, she looked over at Anna and winked.

“Oh my god,” Anna whispered under her breath but Viv managed to hear, patting her on her knee and smiling slyly.

Sam grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the back door.

They walked silently for a few minutes, Anna marveling at how his large, work-calloused hand swallowed hers up. Sam stopped as they reached his property line, picking her up and putting her down on the top rung of the fence.

“I’m sorry about my mother,” she said, not meeting his eyes.

“I am under strict orders of good behavior or I risk castration,” Sam said, smiling widely.

Anna’s face shot up. “No,” she said, embarrassed. “she didn’t.” But she knew she had. It sounded exactly like Viv, over the top and dramatic.

Sam nodded down at her. “So I guess I better be good to you.”

Anna looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “Oh, yeah?”

“Mmhm,” Sam said, pushing to stand between her legs. “Is this good?” he asked, leaning down to trail kisses along her jaw line.

“It’s… okay,” she said, smiling wickedly. Was that really her talking? Was she actually flirting? Where had that come from?

“Hmm,” Sam said, looking down at her for a second. “How about this?” he asked, leaning down and catching her lower lip between his teeth and biting down.

Anna yelped, half pleasure and half pain. When he pulled back, she smiled slightly. “Eh,” she said, shrugging.

“How about this then?” he suggested, reaching between them, his hand slipping into her dress and stroking her desire.

Anna groaned, leaning forward to rest her head on his chest. “Better,” she said, her voice a whisper. She felt her desire building, leaning into his exploration for a moment. “Wait. No.” Sam’s hand slipped away and he looked down at her, confused. “She knows,” she said, her face scrunching up.