Page 100 of Love on the Run

“Okay.” He didn’t sound put out or irritated that she’d clearly pulled him away from work. “See you soon.”

Anna ended the call, and Olivia was standing right beside her with a smile that could rival the Cheshire cat’s grin.

“He really likes you. Did you know he works until about nine every night?”

Anna looked at her phone. What had she done? He said they needed time to get things in order after being gone for a week, and here she was already asking for his time. “I shouldn’t have called him.”

“You most certainly should have. He needs a life outside of the garage. There just hasn’t been anything else he cared about until now.”

Oh no. Anna’s defenses were crumbling. There was a tingling in her nose and a lump in her throat that refused to be ignored.

“I…I just…”

Olivia opened her arms and patted her shoulder a mere second before Anna’s tears made their abruptappearance. The sobs wracked her frame as Olivia brushed a hand over Anna’s hair.

“That’s it. You haven’t done enough crying since that bad man hurt you. Let it out so you can move on.”

“I’m not crying over him! I don’t even care anymore.”

“I know exactly what you mean. Even if you’re happier without him, you were still betrayed, and it’s okay to be hurt by that. I think anyone would be.”

That was it. The betrayal hurt, not the loss of Dean in her life. Actually, not a single one of her tears was for him. It was the look in her mom’s eyes that upset her the most.

“And I’m so proud of you,” Olivia continued. “You’ve handled it all really well, and I’m excited about all the happiness you have ahead of you.”

“What about my mom? She’s not going to be happy.”

Olivia chuckled. “We don’t care if she’s happy. She could stomp on you all day and still look like she ate a handful of sour grapes. Don’t let her hurt you.”

Liv was right. Catherine would never be happy, and there wasn’t anything Anna could do to change that. Trying would only make both of them miserable.

Anna lifted her head and wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. “You’re right. I don’t think there’s anything I can do that would make her happy besides go back to Dean.”

Olivia’s nose scrunched. “Ew. That’s the worst thing you could do.”

“I know, but Mom thinks I should just act like it never happened. I can’t be in a relationship like that. I won’t. If that’s how Dad has treated her, then I feel really bad for her.”

Olivia reached for Anna’s hand and squeezed. “My mom was the happiest woman on Earth, and there were two reasons for that. She put God first, and she had a good man standing beside her who reminded her to keep doing just that.”

“Yeah. My parents despise anything to do with God. It makes me physically ill when I think about how closed off they are to any talk about God.”

“That’s because you care about them despite the way they treat you,” Olivia said. “And we should all feel that way. We’re not called to only share the gospel with the people we like. We’re told to go into the world teaching all nations about Christ.”

“I just wish it didn’t hurt so much.”

Anna was used to her parents’ dismissal, but most times, she couldn’t discern whether they were rejecting God or her.

Olivia squeezed Anna’s hand, reminding her of the ever-present and unwavering friendship that was always a phone call away.

“Your parents are human and fallible. Your heavenly Father is not, and His love is unconditional. You’re doing great.”

Olivia was right. Anna had too many blessings to sit around letting the bad control her life.

The oven timer beeped, and the women separated. Anna grabbed two oven mitts and reached for the hot casserole dish. “You always know just what to say. Do you get that from Beau or does he get that from you?”

Olivia blinked a few times before stammering, “Um, I’m not sure I was aware that Beau was capable of saying the right thing at the right time.”

Anna set the baked chicken dish on the counter and covered her mouth with the back of her mit to hide the chuckle.

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