Anna Meets Her Match (17 page)

Smiles and laughter erupted as the aunties rushed forward, babbling about weddings and what beautiful children they expected Anna and Reeves to make. Grinning, Reeves encircled his family with his arms, cat and all, his chest to Anna’s back. With his chin snugged against her temple, he let the three most wonderful old dears in existence tell him about God’s will for his life, just as if he didn’t already hold it in his arms.

“Thank You,” he whispered.

Anna put her head back and smiled before she lifted her gaze heavenward. “Me, too,” she said. “Me, too.”

H
ypatia watched Anna dip a finger in icing then dab it onto the tip of Reeves’s nose, laughing.

“Brat!” he growled over the fork with which he was trying to feed her a bite of their wedding cake. She was still laughing when he poked the cake into her mouth. With the other hand, he swiped the icing from his nose, and then, while Anna chewed, he smeared the remnants across her mouth. Swooping down, he kissed it away, to the applause and laughter of the guests gathered in the ballroom of Chatam House for the wedding reception.

Hypatia sighed. As beautiful a bride as Anna made in a floor-length, long-sleeved closely fitted sheath of Brussels lace, Reeves had never looked finer. He was not just the most handsome groom she had ever seen, he was also the happiest, most relaxed and confident. Gilli looked like a confection in her flower girl’s dress, even with Special trotting at her ankles and trying to rub off the pink bow tied around his neck. In a break with tradition, Myra had served
as ring bearer, with the rest of Reeves’s siblings performing various other duties.

To everyone’s relieved puzzlement, Tansy had not taken a large role in planning the event. She had, however, insisted on paying the cost of the hastily thrown together wedding. One could never tell with Tansy, though, which was why Hypatia stiffened when she saw the other woman march up to the happy couple with her shoulders back and her chin high.

“I have a gift,” she announced, shoving a fat envelope into Reeves’s hands.

Glancing warily at Anna, he opened the flap and took out the papers, unfolding them to study. After a moment, he looked up at Anna. “It’s the deed to Burdett House.”

Tansy lifted her chin higher still, ignoring Anna’s gasp. “It’s not Chatam House, but it has a long and gloried history.” She fixed Anna with a steely gaze, adding, “And room enough for a large family.”

Hypatia could see the war going on inside of Anna, and so could Tansy. “I’ve bought a little house on the other side of town, and I’ve already moved in. Burdett house would be yours one day, anyway,” she told Anna. “Who else would I leave it to? You’re all I’ve got.” Her chin wobbled, but she went on gamely. “I know I’ve been hard on you, too hard, maybe, but it’s because I was so soft with your father. After my husband died, I indulged Jordan. I made every excuse in the book for him.” She squeezed her eyes shut and her voice cracked when she said, “I’m the reason he died of a drug overdose. He thought life was one long party, and I let him think it.” Gulping, she looked at Anna. “I vowed not to make the same mistake with you. So instead I made others.”

Anna bit her lip and looked to her husband of some two hours. Would moving into the house give Tansy a way to control them? Then again, would a man who hadn’t blinked an eye at Tansy’s money allow such interference? Anna apparently knew the answer to that question.

“It is a wonderful old house,” she said with a slow smile.

Reeves folded the papers and stuck them back in the envelope. “The antiques that my aunts have given us would look good in it,” he allowed, sending a pointed glance at Hypatia. She sent another back to him. No, she had not known what Tansy was planning, but she could find no grounds for objection to Tansy giving her house away, especially as it seemed to signal a great turnaround in Tansy’s relationship with her granddaughter.

Reeves stashed the envelope in a pocket of his tuxedo and addressed Tansy, one arm pulling Anna close. “Thank you.”

To everyone’s surprise, Tansy’s face crumpled and she began to cry. “Thank you!” she wailed. “All I’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy, and now she is!” She looked at Anna, tears sliding down the crevices in her face. “I knew how badly I’d messed up when you almost let him get away just to keep from pleasing me!”

Reeves and Anna exchanged looks, and then, as one, stepped forward to lightly embrace and pat Tansy. Gilli rushed over then, that confounded Special now clutched in the bend of her elbow. She tugged sharply on the tail of Tansy’s stylish silk suit jacket.

“Wanna hold my cat?”

Tansy actually bent down to comply, and wonders of wonders, Special complacently allowed Tansy to drape him over her shoulder. Gilli followed them to a quiet corner, where they petted the cat and chattered happily.

Hypatia laughed, gazing with satisfaction at her nephew and his lovely wife. Just look, she thought, at all that God had done.

And just think of what He would yet do.

1. Reeves and Gilli were driven out of their home by a massive infestation of honeybees—and straight into the sanctuary of Chatam House. In real life, does God ever use calamity to send us into sanctuary?
   
2. The failure of Reeves’s marriage left him feeling inept and unloved, even by his three-year-old daughter. How did this affect his performance as a husband and father?
   
3. Anna rebelled at a young age out of blind resentment because of a feeling of emotional abandonment. Rebellion by children is often called “acting out” and acknowledged as normal, but it can have lifelong consequences. What could Anna’s grandmother, Tansy, a Christian woman, have done to prevent Anna’s rebellion from becoming a habit that tainted her whole life for many years?
   
4. What could lead a Christian woman to behave as Tansy did? Genuine concern? Emotional pain? A lack of faith? Misunderstanding of the parental or the Christian role?
   
5. According to Romans 3:6, “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” To Reeves, having a mind controlled by the Spirit meant dwelling on the things of Christ, rather than what had and could go wrong in his life. Do you agree or disagree with this outlook and why?
   
6. Reeves spoke about being “yielded” to the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? How is it accomplished? What benefits might be afforded the Christian who is truly
   “yielded” to the Spirit? Complete freedom from worry? Recognition of God at work in one’s life?
   
7. Is the fact that Anna prayed when she realized that she could be late for work after her run with Reeves significant? Why or why not?
   
8. Anna and Gilli seem to get along very well, despite Anna not being used to dealing with children. Why do you think this is?
   
9. Reeves came to consider Anna as the answer to his prayers. Why? Can one person be the answer to the prayers of another? Why or why not?
   
10. When did Reeves realize that Anna was no longer his enemy but someone he could spend the rest of his life with? Have you ever had someone in your life you thought you hated, but then fell in love with? How did it turn out?
    
11. The aunties not only discussed the possibility of a relationship between Reeves and Anna, they prayed about it and, at times, attempted to arrange for the two to bump into one another. Is this type of interference ever acceptable? Why or why not?
    

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3970-2

ANNA MEETS HER MATCH

Copyright © 2009 by Deborah Rather

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