Page 104 of Love on the Run

Chapter 33

Anna

Flurries of soft snow rushed over Anna’s windshield in the dark night as she followed the taillights of Beau’s truck. The hands that gripped the steering wheel ached, and her wrist throbbed. Her entire body shook as she gasped for air.

I left. I just…walked out.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins was either excitement or fear, but none of it mattered. She needed to use the energy to figure out what to do next.

“Father, I need some help. What am I doing? I want to honor my parents, but at what cost?”

Her parents didn’t love God. Did they even love her? She’d blindly trusted that they’d had her best interest at heart her whole life, but did they? It certainly didn’t feel like it at the moment. Was blind obedience at twenty-eight the only way to honor?

She’d left her mom—the one thing she’d always said she wouldn’t do. Her mom’s parents had been taken from her, but this was different. Anna had left on her own.

But it was time. She knew it. She wasn’t ready, but for some things, she might never feel ready.

“God, help me. I—I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t want to hurt her, but I don’t like it when she hurts me either.” Her breaths were ragged as her tight muscles racked her whole body. “Help me, please!”

Then the tears came again, blurring what little she could see of the road in front of her. Beau’s taillights were the only thing guiding her now.

“Am I supposed to follow him? Where is he even going?” Anna asked as tears rolled down her face, chasing each other before falling onto her lap.

The rest of her prayers were more of the same. What else could she do but beg for help? She was as lost as the hundreds of snowflakes that peppered her windshield.

Beau parked behind Blackwater Automotive, and she followed. She spent a lot of time hanging out with Olivia and their friends at Beau’s place, and while she knew he lived in the back, she’d never had a reason to explore that area.

He met her at her car as she stepped out. Snow crunched under his boots as he wrapped her in his arms and settled his stance around her.

Beau huffed a warm breath against her hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do or say. I wanted to fight her for you.”

“You were great.” She was still shaking, but hopefully he wouldn’t notice. “I don’t think I could have done that if you hadn’t been there.”

“You might not have had the same conversation if I hadn’t been there.”

Anna was already shaking her head. “No. It’s not your fault. She’d already made up her mind before she showed up. I could tell. She was going to push me to the limit.”

Beau pressed a kiss to her head and took her hand in his. “Let’s go inside. You’re freezing.”

She wasn’t shaking because of the cold, but she didn’t correct him as they entered the back of his building. He took her straight to the kitchen that served as the break room and pulled out a chair at the table for her.

He opened a cabinet and grabbed two mugs. “You want coffee? I think Olivia keeps hot chocolate here somewhere.”

“Coffee sounds good.” She brushed her hands into her hair, trying and failing to shake off the exhaustion of the day.

While the coffee brewed, Beau pulled a chair away from the table and rested it in front of her before sitting down. He cradled her hand in both ofhis and propped his elbows on his knees. “What can I do?”

“I don’t know.” Her mind was still inconveniently void. “I have no idea what to do.”

“Do you want me to schedule a moving company to come? Dawson, Asa, Travis, and Gage would all help you move since your mom has evicted me from the property. I’m sure Olivia is on her way here right now.”

Anna hadn’t made a single phone call on the drive to Beau’s. While she’d been praying, Beau had been making a plan for her.

“Thank you. Yes, I do need a moving company and plenty of friends. I’m still in shock.”

Beau straightened his shoulders and gently tugged her hand. She moved from the chair to sit on his lap where he wrapped his strong arms around her, forming a fortress around her that shut the rest of the world out.

“You’re not alone. You have plenty of friends, which means you have options on where to stay until you can find a new place. That is…if you want to.”

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