Page 5 of Protecting Anna
* * *
A couple of hours later, Anna found herself wrapping a waitress apron around her waist and trying to settle her nerves. So far, the afternoon had gone well, with Ryan taking care of her employment paperwork and showing her the basics of the bar. She knew that once Ryan started teaching her how to work behind the bar, instead of just waitressing, the work would be a lot more complicated. She had met Jake, whom she learned was not only Ryan’s partner in owning the bar, but also his best friend. She was shocked at how quickly she found herself relaxing with Jake, but maybe it made sense given how close he and Ryan were. Objectively, she could see that Jake was an extremely handsome man, with dark wavy hair and warm eyes. But even his muscular body didn’t stir up feelings in her core like Ryan’s carefree Irish looks. His ginger hair and dancing blue eyes, that seemed to connect with everyone he spoke to, warmed Anna in a way she had not felt in a very long time. Every now and then she found herself gazing at him, and marveling at how lucky she had been to stumble into his pub when she arrived in Portland. Someday Anna hoped she would find a way to repay him for all his kindness.
Now, faced with the prospect of having to interact with strangers and put herself out there, Anna was wracked with fear and doubt. Tim had methodically cut her off from all her friends and had manipulated her with fear and false promises into only leaving the house to go to gatherings with his group of associates. Those men had scared Anna with their lecherous behavior, made worse by the awful, revealing outfits Tim had forced her to wear. Tonight would be the first time in a long time that Anna was in a social venue, without Tim hovering beside her.
At first everything went smoothly. Anna was able to remain calm and, she hoped, friendly enough with the customers. Her nerves bubbled to the surface if she needed to approach groups of men rather than groups of women, but she forced herself to keep her head up and work through it. Ryan’s warm smile every time she went to the bar to collect a drink order certainly helped. And even when she was not up at the bar, she could feel his eyes on her. Feeling how aware he was of her, how considerate he was, helped Anna relax as the evening went on.
Waiting at the bar for Ryan to finish with a customer and pour the drinks she was waiting for, Anna was caught off guard when a cold hand grabbed her waist and a man, whose breath reeked of alcohol, leaned in close. “Hey, hot stuff, how about you serve my needs next.” Anna was paralyzed by fear and couldn’t respond—couldn’t move away. Then, as quickly as the man had been there, he was gone, and Ryan was beside her, cautiously touching her shoulders to turn her toward him. She met his eyes and slowly the roaring in her ears died down enough that she could hear him.
“…God, Anna, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? As soon as I saw him head toward you, I came over. I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t there fast enough. You’re safe here, you know that, right? You’re safe with me.”
The concern on his face was matched by the fury in his voice, but Anna knew that his anger was not directed at her. She let him pull her into his strong embrace, chanting in her own headsafe, safe, safe, safe, safe.
Ryan led Anna into the small office at the back of the pub. He sat her down on the small couch, careful to give her space and not sit too close to her. “Anna, I know you’ve gone through something in your past, and I’m not asking you to tell me about it now, but I am telling you, you can trust me. You can trust Jake, his fiancé Callie, and our friends. We’re the good guys, and if you let us, we’ll be here for you.”
The release of adrenaline, combined with Ryan’s gentle but unwavering support, did more to help Anna relax than anything else. She slowly slid toward him on the couch and with a soft sigh, laid her head on his shoulder. Carefully, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and she let herself be tucked in close to his side, reveling in the warmth of the steady beat of his heart. They stayed that way quietly for a few minutes before Anna sat up. The trust and comfort she felt with Ryan was unlike anything she had ever felt, and she wanted to believe in those feelings, but she had seen too much and been hurt too badly to open up to him completely.
With a deep breath, she decided to share just a small piece of her story. “I know you’re a good guy. It’s crazy, we only just met, but I do know I can trust you. I can’t tell you everything just yet, but you deserve to know the truth, I saw some bad stuff happen back in California. I guess it spooked me a lot.”
Ryan looked deeply into her eyes for a minute, so deep she felt he could see the truth etched on her soul. But instead of pressing her further, he simply nodded and pulled her back in for a hug.
“Thanks for telling me, Anna. I’ve got to get back out there, but take as long as you need before you come back out, okay?”
Anna nodded, relieved to hear she didn’t have to go back to work right away. When the door closed softly behind him, she sagged back into the couch. The weight that had been lifted when she had opened up to Ryan was only a fraction of the burden she carried, yet she felt lighter than she had in years.
* * *
Out in the main bar area Ryan was relieved to see Jake had things under control. He realized the bar had been the last thing on his mind when he had taken Anna to the office. He had been singularly focused on her comfort and safety, and his need to comfort her. The intensity of that emotion made him pause for a moment, as he let it sink in. Okay, he had been starting to feel a desire to settle down and maybe try his hand at a real relationship, but never in a million years had Ryan anticipated ever falling so deeply and so quickly for any woman. Especially one he had yet to even kiss. As Ryan stood by the bar, deep in thought, he didn’t notice Callie walk up to him until she touched his arm, a concerned look in her eyes.
“Ryan, is everything alright? You look lost or something.”
Ryan startled then quickly recovered with an easy grin and pulled Callie in for a hug. He loved her like the sister he never had, and he was so happy she and Jake had found their way to each other. Callie was a badass doctor who had chosen love over her messed up family, who valued appearances more than their daughter’s happiness. She had stayed true to who she was and built a career and a life doing what she loved, with the man she loved.
“Hey, Cal. I’m fine. Are you here for the night? I just replaced the peach ale keg if you want a drink.”
Callie’s eyes were examining him closely, and Ryan had to fight not to take a step back from the intensity of her speculation. “We’ll get to the beer later. First, why don’t you man up and tell me what’s got you so deep in thought with that troubled look on your handsome face. Is everything alright with the bar?”
With a flash of inspiration Ryan realized that Callie might be just what Anna needed. Maybe it would be easier for her to relax and open up to a female friend.
“Yeah it’s fine. Nothing to worry about. I just, well, I met this girl, and I think she might be in trouble, but she’s scared and doesn’t want to tell me why. I don’t want to push her, but damn I can’t help wanting to protect her. It’s fucked up.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair, making it even messier than before.
Callie laughed gently before pulling Ryan in for a hug. “You big softy. I knew it would happen someday; you’ve fallen for someone! She must be amazing.”
Ryan chuckled. “Yeah, I think she is. But she’s spooked, especially around guys. Some drunk grabbed her tonight and she freaked out. She’s in the back office calming down now.”
Callie frowned. “That poor girl. I have seen far too many women come into the ER, scared to see a male doctor so they wait for hours to see me or Mel. Most of them have some big scary dude pick them up, and it breaks my heart to see them leave, knowing they might be in danger at home. But I can’t help them if they don’t want help, and it might be the same with your girl. When she feels safer around you, maybe she’ll tell you what happened. Look, why don’t I go back and talk to her? Let her know you’re not the only good person in Portland.” Callie gave him a gentle nudge. “You get back to work before Jake goes nuts.”
Ryan breathed deeply and smiled his agreement. He hoped that Callie would be the perfect person to help Anna believe she was safe around Ryan and Jake and their friends. Maybe a female friend was exactly what she needed right now. With a grateful nod to Callie, he headed back behind the bar, but his watchful gaze kept going back to the hall that led to the office, hoping to see Anna walk through it soon.
* * *
Anna had managed to calm her nerves and pull together the conflicting emotions of fear and desire that Ryan’s closeness had sparked. She was shocked, and more than a little confused at how she felt around him; it felt strange to trust a man so easily and even more so to be attracted to him. Her relationship with Tim had turned her into a shell of her former self, scared of everything and everyone—except for Ryan it seemed.
A knock on the office door was followed quickly by it opening, and a beautiful woman with blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail, poked her head through. “Hey, Anna. I’m Callie, Jake’s fiancée. Can I come in? Ryan mentioned you were back here and could maybe use a friend.”
Anna stood dumbfounded, looking at Callie with what she was certain was a stupid look on her face. This woman wanted to get to know her, be her friend, just because of something Ryan had said? How was this happening, how did she go from scared and alone, to surrounded by people who wanted to help her, in just a couple of days? Recovering from her surprise, she quickly smiled and gestured at Callie to come in.
“Umm, hi, nice to meet you. Of course you can come in.” Anna blushed, uncertain if Ryan had shared why she had needed to hide in the office. “I just got spooked by some creep, but I’m okay now, really.”
