Bree... I mean, Anna!”
That was the alias they’d decided on—Anna Lowery—using the second half of her actual name and her mother’s maiden name. A new name for a new woman. Tammy slid into the booth across from Bree and next to her daughter, her hazelnut hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Ty delivered three plates of burgers and chips to the table, shaking his head. “Tell me again why you decided to come out dining and dancing when you’re supposed to be in hiding?”
“Oh, Dad, who could possibly recognize her now? I wouldn’t even know who she was if I didn’t watch it all happen today.” Emily grinned proudly. “And the clothes I picked are perfect, don’t you think?”
Ty looked at each of the three women, stopping to give his wife a warm gaze that seemed to contain an unspoken question. Tammy barely nodded, and Bree remembered the silent conversations that went on between Ty and his brother. The Caldwells were men of few words, but plenty of communication. He shrugged and walked away with a final word to his daughter.
“You just remember that your friends can’t know anything about ‘Anna’ being here. I don’t want to see a bunch of high school kids trying to sneak into the bar tonight.”
“I promise, Daddy! I’d never do that to my good friend, Anna.” She giggled as Ty continued to walk away, still shaking his head.
They talked about the events of the day as they devoured their burgers. Tammy looked down at Bree’s legs and started to laugh. “You are rocking those boots, girl.”
“I suppose I should have worn something less flashy if I wanted to stay under the radar, huh?” She frowned at her outfit.
“Bree, it’s not the clothes that are going to get attention. Trust me, there’ll be women here wearing a lot less than you are.” Tammy shook her head. “It’s the body beneath those clothes that will have the boys jumping to dance with you. They won’t have a clue that you’re hiding some secret identity.”
Bree started to answer but stopped when a noisy group of women walked in from the bar. They were led by a striking woman with waist-long raven hair and brilliant blue eyes. Tall and slender, she wasn’t walking as much as she was strutting, gazing around coolly as if she owned the place. She was wearing a snug blue knit dress that showed every curve. When she turned to say something to one of her friends, it was obvious she was wearing a thong under the thin fabric of her dress. So was Bree, but she wasn’t advertising it like this girl was.
The brunette was the country version of the woman Bree had been in Hollywood—the queen of the room. She admired that kind of confidence, but her admiration faded when the dark-haired woman made eye contact with her. She sighed as the woman’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She looked Bree slowly up and down, and obviously tagged her as an adversary. Bree had seen that look all the time at parties in LA. There was nothing some beautiful women hated more than seeing another woman in the room who might steal their limelight.
The woman left her group and walked boldly to their booth. For a minute Bree thought she’d been recognized, and she took a deep breath to brace herself. The woman’s heavily made up eyes didn’t leave Bree’s face, but she spoke to Tammy.
“Great to see you, Tammy. Hi, Emily. Who’s your friend?” Bree couldn’t help but notice that Tammy’s whole body had stiffened. These two weren’t friends, and that came as a relief, because, while Bree didn’t know this woman, she certainly knew the type.
“Amber.” Tammy’s voice was cool. They not only weren’t friends, but sweet Tammy clearly didn’t like Amber one little bit, either. “This is Caroline’s friend Anna. She’s staying at Nell’s cottage this summer.”
Amber’s eyes went wide and she kept her gaze fixed firmly on Bree, but continued to speak as if she wasn’t there. “Caroline? Oh, how lovely. I adore Caroline. Anna looks familiar, though. Have we met?”
There was a quick inhale of breath around the table, but Tammy jumped in to deflect the conversation.
“I don’t remember you and Caroline being all that close in high school, Amber.”
“Don’t be silly. Caroline Patterson and I have always been great friends...”
“Caroline McCormack, actually.” Bree’s voice was a lot more level than her heart rate.
“Excuse me?” Amber finally addressed her directly.
“Caroline’s last name is McCormack. She was married recently. I don’t recall seeing you at the wedding, considering you’re such good friends.”
Bree knew how to put it in bitch-mode when required. Tammy was trying to hold back a smile. Emily didn’t bother making the effort, and just looked up at Amber with a big grin. Amber paled slightly under all of her heavily applied makeup.
“Oh, of course. Yes, I wasn’t able to attend, but she’ll always be a Patterson to everyone here in Russell. Isn’t that right, Tammy?” Amber’s mistake was in recruiting the wrong ally.
“Actually, I think of her as Caroline McCormack now. I heard she married a charming man, and Anna tells me they’re madly in love with each other. They run a business together.”
Amber stuttered for a moment then gathered herself together and walked away with a brittle nod to join her posse of friends at a table near the dance floor.
“Holy cats, what was that?” Bree started to laugh. “I thought we only had vipers like her in Hollywood!”
Tammy shook her head. “Amber and I used to be friends in school, but she hurt someone I care about. She thinks she’s better than Russell, but she won’t leave town long enough to prove it.”
Emily spoke up. “She broke Uncle Cole’s heart.”
Tammy poked her daughter in the ribs with her elbow. “Emily, be quiet!”
Bree had already learned quite a bit about Cole’s past today when Tammy and Emily brought her new wardrobe to the cottage. While Bree tried on outfits, Emily, clearly enamored with her uncle, made a point of stressing that he was single. Bree had guessed as much, figuring there wasn’t a houseful of grumpy little gray-eyed children after all. Emily had the openness of a teenager with no filters, and she’d rattled on for quite a while about Cole before her mother finally shushed her.
He’d done three tours in the Middle East and had been injured several times. The last time was the worst, and ended his career. Emily proudly proclaimed him a hero. Bree didn’t doubt that, but Tammy’s troubled expression told her there was more to the story.
Bree couldn’t stop herself from asking the question. “What happened between Amber and Cole?”
Emily answered in her characteristic jumble of hurried words. “Uncle Cole and Amber got engaged before he left the last time, and then she dumped him. She dumped him by email, after he’d been injured. There he is in a hospital in Germany, and he gets an email from her saying she’s found someone else and wishes him the best. But she found someone else long before that—turns out she’d been cheating pretty much the whole time he was gone...”
“Okay. That’s enough gossip for tonight, Em,” Tammy cut her off.
Bree leveled a cold look at the back of Amber’s head. She shouldn’t care if the woman hurt a man who insulted her at every turn. But right now the thought of someone breaking Cole’s heart made her blood boil just a little.
After they finished dinner, Tammy’s sister stopped by to pick up Emily for an overnight babysitting job. Tammy and Bree were ready to party, country-style. The band was setting up and the room was packed. There were families and older couples in the restaurant area, while the bar sported a younger crowd of singles. Amber and her friends pulled several tables together on the opposite side of the floor.
The band leader’s sandy hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he had piercing blue eyes. His smile was brilliant, and he kept aiming it at Bree. As