For the Love of Anna (The Town of Pearl 1)

“I doubt that very much.” Stacy giggled.

“What?” Anna asked.

“It’s getting late, and we’re gonna have to start getting dinner ready for the men. I’ll talk to them tonight. Don’t be surprised if Charlie, Wyatt, or Ben are there and want to tuck you in.”

“Tuck me in?” Anna asked as Stacy began to gather up their stuff.

“Don’t fret about it now. It will be all right.”

Stacy winked, and Anna helped her clean everything up.

As they headed toward the house, they walked side by side talking about their plans to swim in the river once the summer temperatures hit.

Chapter 7

There was silence as Stacy told the men what had happened to Anna back in New York. She tried her hardest not to cry, but the pain and the sadness she felt for her best friend was too powerful to fight.

Eric and Max sat on either side of her for moral support as she retold the story in detail.

“Jesus!” Ben exclaimed as he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

Stacy saw the concern and the anger on the three Cantrell brothers’ faces. They were good men, genuine men of great moral fiber, so she expected no less of a response.

“Her own father gave her up knowing that these men would whore her out to make back money he owed, and he did nothing. He said that she meant nothing to him and to take her.”

Mumbled curses spread through the room.

Tears streamed down Stacy’s cheeks. “Then, when Anna offered what money she had stashed to the men to let her go, her father called her a bitch and struck her as well.”

“That bastard!” Ben stated as Wyatt stood and paced the room. He looked like a caged animal.

“How did she escape, Stace?” Charlie asked.

“She climbed out the window and down the fire escape. She grabbed a cab, then headed to the airport and straight here in all that pain.”

“My God! It’s a miracle she’s even alive,” Charlie added.

“She was running on pure adrenaline. She was running for her life,” Wyatt whispered as he looked toward the empty doorway and the hall as if he could see Anna sleeping in the bedroom upstairs.

“She’s safe and sound asleep. Doc Jones gave her something to help her sleep better because of the nightmares,” Stacy added as she held Eric’s hand. Max kept his hand on her knee and caressed her thigh as she told Anna’s story.

“She told you everything today by the river?” Charlie asked.

Stacy nodded.

She glanced toward the screened porch and the direction of the river. It was dark outside, and all she could hear was the crickets.

“She was so quiet. She said she felt as if she could finally breathe without feeling anxious or worried about looking over her shoulder. She expressed her fears of men, of being controlled.” The men listened to her every word, and she was grateful. Especially if her gut was right and Charlie, Wyatt, and Ben were interested in Anna.

“It’s important that you understand something. All of you,” Stacy whispered as she took a moment to lock gazes with the three men before her.

“She feels defeated, unsure, and intimidated. Her experience with men that have entered her life has been of abuse, neglect, and control. She’s twenty-three, she’s had to financially support her family, care for her mom until she died and support her father, pay the regular bills and medical bills. She’s never been taken care of.” Stacy swallowed hard, then began to cry.

“On the walk back from the river, sh

e said…she said the only love she ever had that she could count on was…was…my friendship.” Stacy felt Eric wrap his arms around her shoulders.

“It’s okay, honey. You’re a great friend,” Eric whispered. Max squeezed her knee.