Page 43 of Cole

After carefully carrying the garment bag down to her car, Annie called for Nyla and waited for her to hop into the front seat. She wondered if her dad and Jude might agree to her going places on her own if she took Nyla with her.

The dog was a physical force, being that she was a larger size dog. Despite that, Nyla was a gentle presence as long as Annie didn’t communicate with her the need to be on guard.

But she wasn’t taking Nyla with her that day, so she pulled to a stop in front of the security building. She let the dog out of thecar, then opened the main door and waited for her to lead the way inside.

Nyla trotted down the hallway to where she knew the other dogs would be if they were in the building.

“Ready to go?” Dawn asked as she appeared from a nearby doorway.

“Yep. Do you have a plan?”

It was the norm before every outing, but Annie found she had little patience for it that day. She just wanted to be able to get in her car and go without having to work out a protection plan.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand her dad’s worry. His wealth and somewhat controversial life made him the target of people who didn’t like or agree with him. But it had never been suffocating before. Her insular, solitary life had been sufficient. She hadn’t dreamed of anything more.

But since Cole had come into her life, Annie found herself wanting more than the life that existed within the current boundaries placed upon her by her dad and his head of security. She wanted to have honesty in her friendships. She wanted to one day have someone special in her life. Go on a date for the first time and possibly get married one day.

None of that felt possible, as long as her dad insisted on keeping her hidden from the world.

After she knew what Dawn’s plan was and had confirmed that yes, she had her gun strapped to her leg, Annie went back out to her car and slid behind the wheel. She put the address for Charli’s house into her GPS, then made her way along the winding driveway to the gate, which slowly swung open at her approach.

Dawn’s car appeared behind her but fell back a few car lengths as they turned onto the main road that led toward Serenity. It took around twenty minutes to get to Charli’s, and when she pulled into the large driveway to park, Dawn continued on past the house.

Pushing aside her thoughts of the security situation and how to handle it with her dad, Annie got out and retrieved the garment bag from the back seat. As she approached the front door, it swung open to reveal the teen girl.

“Hey, Annie!” Amelia greeted her with a beaming smile.

Annie accepted the hug Amelia offered. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m great!” Amelia stepped back so that Annie could enter the house, then closed the door behind her. “How are you?”

“I’m excited for you to try this on,” Annie said, lifting the garment bag. “I hope you like it.”

Amelia clasped her hands under her chin. “I’m sure I’m going to love it.”

As the teen led the way deeper into the house, Annie hoped that she did. Amelia had said that she loved the design that Lexi had come up with, but trying on the dress would be the true test. Then they’d have to do what Annie was thinking of as anice test, where Amelia wore it while skating her program to make sure that it didn’t constrict her in any way.

The house had a lived-in look that Annie appreciated. It was more in line with her own home, while the mansion was definitely more of a showplace. The only exceptions were Benji’s spaces, which his mom allowed him to have however he wanted.

They ended up at the back of the house in a sunroom where Charli sat with Lexi. There were shouts and laughter comingfrom the yard where two little boys bundled up against the chilly fall air were scrambling on a large play structure.

After greeting the two women, Annie went with Amelia to her room to help her put the skating costume on. Amelia shared the attic floor with Layla, and the two opposite sides of the large space showed the differences in the young women’s preferences.

Amelia’s was all about skating, and she had a shelf that held several trophies. Annie thought the teen might be embarrassed about changing in front of her, but she quickly took off her leggings and sweatshirt and allowed Annie to help her into the dress.

“Oh, wow…” Amelia’s voice trailed off as she stood in front of a large vintage mirror that leaned against the wall. She ran her hands down the fitted bodice. “This is so beautiful. Better than I could ever have imagined it would be.”

Annie smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Let’s just hope it passes the parent test.”

“The parent test?” Annie asked. “What’s that?”

“Mom or Dad have to approve it from a modesty perspective,” Amelia said.

“Did they approve the design when Lexi originally did the sketch?”

Amelia nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

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