Anna grabbed a hold of him and laughed at his response. When he finally set her down, he held her in his arms and locked gazes with her.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered then kissed her cheek.
“Let me get a look at her, you hog!” Charlie exclaimed, pulling her out of Ben’s arms and into his own. He held her at arm’s length and slowly took in the sight of her from head to toe. “Stunning, Anna. Absolutely stunning,” he whispered then kissed her lips softly and so quickly she didn’t have time to let his action sink in.
“Give the woman some room. We have to leave now,” Stacy exclaimed, grabbing Anna by her hand and pulling her out the door.
* * * *
They headed into town, and Anna touched her fingers to her lips. She felt her cheeks burn, and her stomach quivered.
“What’s wrong, y’all feeling nervous about the interview?” Stacy asked as she exited the Triple C Ranch.
“What the hell just happened back there?” Anna whispered, still caressing her lips and feeling Charlie’s touch. Ben had kissed her as well, and she was shocked.
Stacy looked over her shoulder and pretended she didn’t understand, but Anna knew she did.
“Don’t play dumb with me. You saw them back there. Ben and Charlie…”
“Kissed you. So what? Didn’t you like it?”
“Stacy?”
“Oh, come on, Anna. I know you’re a virgin in the bedroom, but a woman’s intuition should be kicking in. They’re hot for you, and so is Wyatt.”
“Wyatt?” Anna felt her insides coil up tight, and her hands began to sweat. She was having trouble breathing and wondered if this was a panic attack. She figured at some point she would have a nervous breakdown. Why now? Why on the way to the potential job. She needed this. She needed to make money to buy clothes, to find a place to live.
She lost all focus as she felt the truck stop and Stacy grab her hand.
“Calm down, honey. Just relax and breathe. Little breaths then release.” Stacy kept talking to her until finally Anna was breathing normally.
Her eyes filled up with tears.
“I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can, honey. You’re going to grab that inner strength of yours, put on your tough girl confident face, and land you a job. Then you’re going to take things slow with the men. I’ve already had Eric and Max talk to them. They know to take things slow.”
“A talk with them? About me? Why?” Anna asked, feeling the panic attack begin again.
“Calm down, and just focus on the job. The men won’t hurt you, honey. They were attracted to you immediately. The more that they’re around you, the more their attraction grows.”
“Oh, my Lord. They’re so…they’re so big and gorgeous and older. Much older than I am. They could have their pick of women. Look around you,” Anna exclaimed, encompassing the town with a hand gesture.
“Nonsense. They want you. Now hush up and fix your eyes. I’ll introduce you to Mary and Jack then, when you’re done, you can meet me at Doc Jones’s office.”
“You didn’t say that you had an appointment.”
“I didn’t want the men to fuss. They would get all serious and wind up following me here. No worries. Everything is fine.”
Anna fixed her lip gloss and eyes then exited the truck. This was it. It was time to take control of her life, her destiny, and make a new start.
* * * *
“There’s no time like the present, doll. Why don’t ya show us what ya got?” Jack Boslow, the owner, stated as he crossed his arms over his large chest. His wife, Mary, gave Anna a wink before she stepped out of the kitchen to seat more people for lunch.
Ann looked around at the unfriendly faces, taking notice that they were all men. No problem for her. She was used to running a kitchen. Male or female, as long as they did their job, it was fine with her.
“What’s your favorite dish?” she asked Jack as she grabbed an apron and washed her hands by the sink. Lunch orders were being called out around her.