Page 103 of Love on the Run

Uh-oh. Surely, that wasn’t something Anna wanted her mother to find out about. How had word gotten out?

Catherine chuckled, but the sound held no humor. “Do you seriously have the nerve to pretend like this is perfectly normal? How long have you been sneaking around with him?”

“I have not been sneaking around with anyone. I was faithful to Dean. He was the one who cheated.”

“And so what? That’s what men do!”

Beau squared his shoulders, ready to set things straight. “No, that’s not what men do. Good men are faithful and?—”

“Who said you could speak? I’m talking to my daughter,” Catherine spat.

Beau allowed himself half a second to rein in his irritation at the interruption. “You’re not talking to her like she’s your daughter. You’re treating her like a criminal, and I don’t like it.”

Catherine huffed a small, humorless chuckle. “This conversation is private, and you’re not allowed on my property. Leave now, or I’ll call the police.”

“Mother! Stop talking to him like that!”

Catherine shot a glare Anna’s way. “You shut up and listen. This is my estate, and he is never allowed here again. Is that understood?”

Anna’s jaw dropped open, and she stammered, “What?”

The look on Anna’s face said it all. She’d been given an ultimatum—her family and her home or him. She’d lost everything last week, but apparently she had more things she cared about to be stolen.

Anna reached for Beau’s hand and squeezed tight. Keeping her gaze firmly locked with her mother’s, she begged, “Don’t do this. Let’s talkabout it.”

“There’s nothing else to talk about. I won’t watch you throw your life away.”

“I’m twenty-eight. I stayed here because you wanted me to. I’ve been obedient to you my whole life, but this has to stop.”

Beau’s jaw tightened. Anna was finally speaking for herself, but what would she lose because of it?

Was she standing up for herself, or was she standing up for him?

Catherine took one more step toward Anna, keeping her icy glare on her daughter. “You stayed because you have no business running your own life. You can’t do anything without me.”

“What makes you think that?” Anna asked with shoulders pulled back. “I graduated from law school. I’m a successful attorney and a business owner. I manage my life just fine.”

“You can’t even associate yourself with decent company!” Catherine spat. “Olivia is a chicken farmer, and her brother is no better,” she said, pointing at Beau.

He’d been called a lot of things in his lifetime, but to be compared to his sister wasn’t a bad thing. Olivia was one of the best people he knew, and Anna was better off with a friend like Liv.

Beau loosened his hold on Anna’s hand. If he stuck around much longer, he’d tell her mom exactly what he thought.

“If he goes, I go too,” Anna said.

Beau’s heart sank. Anna’s entire life was burning, and she’d be the one left in the ash when all was said and done.

Catherine’s nostrils flared, and her lips pressed tight together for a mere second before she stepped to the side. “You can go with him. Find somewhere else to live.”

There it was—the blow he’d been dreading. Catherine hadn’t listened to a word Anna said, and she never would. Anna had a million problems sitting on her shoulders, and he’d just become another.

Pulling his hand, Anna marched for the door. “I’ll be back to get my things later.”

“Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Catherine shouted.

Anna’s hand shook in Beau’s as she grabbed her purse from a hook by the door with the other. “I’m not going back to Dean, and you’re not listening to me.”

Beau grabbed the knob and shut the door behind him as they walked away from her family and her home without looking back.

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