Hey all! Hope you had fun celebrating Father's day with your dad, hubby, uncle, brother, or whoever else has served that roll for you. At this point, I think I may be writing this for myself, which is ok. If you're still reading; I appreciate it and hope you enjoy! :)
I spent the drive home and then the following thirty minutes on the phone with Rachel. She filled me in on bits and pieces of what happened to Collin Baker. She didn't elaborate much on the circumstances that brought Anna back to Senoia; she told me that was Anna's story to tell. Rachel's main reason for calling me was due to a conversation she had with Andy. He had told her that he knew I would never go after a married woman and thinking that she was was probably causing me issues.
She could tell by the way Anna was looking and acting around me that she was interested, but Rachel also knew that she was working through some things with Collin's one year anniversary. She told me that Anna was more flirtatious and bold around men when she had been drinking, and she had a feeling that Anna may say or do something when I drove her home. Rachel didn't want me feeling guilty; she was a sweet girl. She told me usually she would let Anna tell me in her own time, but by judging by the way I acted around her, I deserved a little upfront information.
I collapsed on my bed and let my mind go over everything that had happened today. There was no way that I could be this into a woman I barely know. But somehow I was. "Anna's not married." I let myself say out loud. A small smile came across my face and I drifted off.
The alarm on my phone pulled me out of my sleep much too early. I realized I had left it set for if I was meeting Anna at the bakery. I ran my fingers through my hair. I had two choices. I could get up and go by the bakery to see if she happened to be there, or I could back off for a few days, see if she got in contact with me. "Fuck." I said and grabbed my phone and dialed Andy's number.
"Well to what do I owe this early call?" Andy said.
"Dude, what do I do?" I asked not bothering to answer him.
"About Miss Annalise, I presume." he said. I grunted in response.
"She kissed me last night. Just a small one, and she was drunk. I was supposed to go over and pick up things to bring to set, but she said maybe she needed to sleep. Should I stop by anyways?" I asked.
"I'm guessing the kiss got to you, or you wouldn't be calling me." I didn't answer. "She's conflicted, Mate. Her husband was killed a year ago, she's raising 3 kids on her own, and she likes you but doesn't know if she should. I think you should go by and if she's there, stop in. Don't push the conversation, just be there with her."
"Yeah." I thought about what he said, "Yeah. Okay, man. Thanks. I'll see you later."
"See ya." Andy said.
I jumped in the shower and ran over what I might say to her if she's at the bakery. I was hoping she'd bring up the kiss from last night and what happened with her husband. I couldn't stop thinking about this woman. In the two days that I've known her, she's gotten into my head more than anyone else. She was constantly making me smile. I had to get to know her, but I had a feeling that this wasn't going to be easy. She was a widow and a single mom, and it was exactly a year ago that her husband was killed. This had complicated written all over it. I ran my hands down my face and grabbed a towel.
I hurried to get dressed so I could make it to the bakery in time. My phone alerted me to a tweet. It was Anna. 'WTF did I do' 30 sec ago.
I cringed. No doubt she meant me. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Guess I was just going to have to find out. I got on my bike and headed towards Senoia.
It was early, so the town was pretty quiet. This time I didn't have to search for a parking spot. The light to the bakery was on, and I could just see Anna back in the kitchen. I hopped off and knocked on the glass. She peeked out the kitchen, saw me, and ducked back inside. I couldn't help but laugh. She definitely wasn't expecting me. I took a step back when she headed my way.
"Norman. I wasn't expecting you. I thought we agreed on another morning." she said not looking at me.
"Oh we did. I forgot to change my alarm, so I thought I'd come and check on you. How are you feeling this morning?" I asked.
She just laughed. "Uhh...why don't you come in." she turned and headed back to the kitchen. "Honestly, I have a killer headache, and I'm feeling a little stupid. I decided that I was going to bake you something and bring it by where you were filming. A peace offering if you will."
"Peace offering?" I said sounding a little confused.
"You know, for assaulting you last night." she said with a laugh, but her blush showed her embarrassment.
"Anna, I hardly call a little kiss an assault." I reassured her.
"Physical and verbal. I do believe there was forearm groping and porn mentioned." she laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm a terrible drunk." She still wasn't looking at me.
"Anna, look at me." she looked up through her lashes. Shit Norman, hold it together. "Do I look bothered to you?" She shook her head.
"It's cause I'm not. The kiss was nice." I said taking a step closer to her. I brushed her hair from her face. "And I don't mind you touching me." I took a step back to show her that she could set the pace. "The forearm porn thing was kinda funny though."
She smiled at me. "Yes, well, it's a real thing. Ok then. We should probably talk about some stuff. Want to come back and help me?" She nodded towards the kitchen.
"Yeah. Put me to work." I said.
" I already have the donuts done. They just need iced. I don't sell donuts cause you have to bake them so early, but I really like making them sometimes. I'm also making me turnovers, chocolate croissants and danishes." she said. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah I bake when I need to think. Why don't you finish up the donuts; ice them however you want."
"Ok, but they won't be as pretty as yours would be." I said grabbing a spatula.
We worked in awkward silence for about 5 minutes.
Finally she stated talking.
"I got married pretty young; like a year after high school. I had known Collin since middle school, and we had been together most of high school. He was my first and only love." she kept her hands busy while she talked, so I kept working too, but I stopped to watch her occasionally.
"I was in my second year of college when I got pregnant with Liza. Collin was in the police academy at the time. His instructor had a friend on the force in Tupelo that said they were looking for some new officers, so Collin applied when he graduated. I was 6 months pregnant when we moved. Leaving my family was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I soon settled into our new home. I made new friends, and before I knew it Colin was being promoted, and I was pregnant with our third child. We were happy." I saw a tear roll down her cheek. I stopped what I was doing and moved closer to her. She gave me a small smile and waited a bit before she continued.
"It was about a month after Caster's third birthday that I got the call from his partner saying Colin had been shot and that I needed to get to the hospital. He wasn't even working that day. He had been out with some guys celebrating a friends retirement. When I got there, they wouldn't let me see him. I was told that they were in a gas station when some kid tried to rob the place. Collin tried to keep things from escalating, but when the kid heard the sirens, he shot Collin twice in the chest. He died before I ever got to see him."
The silent tears were coming down now. I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. After a few moments she rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm not that person, you know. The one who cries about the hand they're delt. I've had some crappy things happen, but this, this fucking took the cake for me."
"I'm so sorry, Anna. I wish that never would have happened to you. You deserve your husband, and your kids deserve their dad." I said into her hair. And I really meant it. She wrapped her arms around me, and I rubbed my hands down her back.
She pulled away slightly and wiped the tears from her face, "Damnit, I'm sorry. What a terrible way to start the morning."
We both laughed. "What's terrible is my icing hack job. Geez." I said pointing to the poorly frosted donuts.
She laughed and smiled at me, " You're right. Those are terrible."
We settled into a comfortable silence and finished up the rest of the sweets.
"Want some coffee?" she asked as she put the last of the turnovers in the oven. I nodded.
She poured two cups and motioned for me to follow her to the front.
"You know, I've always wondered how Norman Reedus took his coffee." she said with a laugh.
"Lots of creamer and sugar." I said
"Noted." she replied. "Soo..."
"So..." I repeated.
"I'm kind of a mess." she stated.
"Me too." I replied.
"No, I'm like stages of grieve, chasing kids around, bakes cupcakes so I don't freak out kind of a mess."
"Anna, I spend more time away form my home than actually in it, have fans who follow me around and are willing to wait hours to see me, and I'm a 45 year old never married man with a 15 year old son. I'm just a different kind of mess. I'm not going anywhere." I said reaching for her hand.
"So..." she said again.
"So, we can take this slow." I said and Anna nodded.
"Slow?" She repeated.
"Slow." I assured her.
"Would asking you to be my date to Travis' wedding this weekend qualify as slow?" she asked. "Are you even going to be in town?"
"Actually, I will be." I said with a smile. "And I think that definitely qualifies as slow."
"Judging by what I saw last night, I'm guess that Rachel will be asking Josh. Do you think anyone else would be interested in going?" she asked hesitantly. I raised my eyebrows.
"It's just that I don't know if I'm ready for people to be asking questions. You know what I mean?" she said looking at our hands. I squeezed her's.
"I do. And I think Andy and Steven would be happy to come; they both really like Travis. I'll check with them." I said. The timer to the oven brought us back to the present.
She got up and headed for the kitchen. Once everything was out, we started boxing them up so I could take them to the set.
"Shit. I brought my bike. I didn't really think you'd be here this morning." I said.
"Oh that's ok. My mom actually stayed last night, so I'll just follow you with them, if that's ok?"
"Yeah, that would be great." I said giving her a kiss on the cheek. She blushed, and I smiled.
We loaded everything into her Traverse, and I hoped on my bike.
"You know," she said walking over to me. "I always thought the pictures of you on a bike were the sexiest, but pictures just don't do you justice. Maybe we can go for a ride sometime?"
"I thank... Yeah, I'd like that." I stumbled through my words. Why does this woman get to me so much?
She followed me to the set, and I told the security there that Anna was to be cleared and anytime she shows up, someone should let me know. We walked over to the trailers and caught Andy walking out.
"We come bearing gifts," I said holding up the boxes.
"Excellent." he said.
"Please keep in mind that I did not ice those donuts." Anna said nudging me.
Andy just smiled, took the boxes, and walked off.
"I uh should get into wardrobe." I said looking at my watch.
"Right. Right." Anna said sticking her hands in her pockets.
"Are you free tonight? We could have dinner. You could bring the kids?" I suggested.
"Umm..actually the kids are staying with Travis tonight. Final overnight with Uncle Trav." she said. "So I'm free for dinner."
"Great. How about 7? I'll come pick you up." I said taking a step towards her.
"Sounds perfect." she said closing the gap and giving me quick kiss. This time I was ready.
"I'll see you later." she said turning around.
"Slugger?" I said causing her to turn around. "Thanks for opening the door."
She smiled and said, "Thanks for coming."
