But…she’d endured enough phone time for now, especially since the messages were from her family and maybe some of the Shadowlands members, including—she winced—Z. She’d already listened to two messages from Travis and Harrison. With each punch of the play button, she’d held her breath, hoping the caller was Ben, and then suffered through the pain when the voice hadn’t been his.
She couldn’t take more right now.
* * * *
In the deepening twilight, under the rumbling sound of thunder, Anne heard someone walking the stone path that ran beside her house. Her heart leaped. Ben?
From her sprawling position on the lounge chair, she pushed up on one elbow.
The tops of three heads showed, coming around the front of her high deck. Not Ben. Women. She exhaled in a sad little huff.
She recognized her visitors just from their hair. Sleek hair so black it glinted blue—Kim. Thick, wavy blonde hair—Jessica. Gleaming black with crinkles—Uzuri.
The Shadowkittens were here to…to what? She frowned as they came up her steps.
“Hey,” Jessica called. “Will visitors be forced to walk the plank, Ma’am.”
Anne’s lips curved…slightly. “This isn’t a ship; it’s a deck. But come on up. I’ll decide about the plank after hearing what crimes you’ve committed recently.”
Only Uzuri looked worried. Kim actually laughed.
Anne felt like pouting. Her rep as an evil Mistress had just plain gone to hell. Then again, that was what happened with good friends, wasn’t it? “To what do I owe the honor of this visit today? And how did you know I’d be here?”
No one knew she’d be here. Well, aside from Joey. Come to think of it, at one time, he’d been the token male submissive in the Shadowkittens. “Joey called you,” Anne said flatly.
The three exchanged glances, silently electing Jessica as spokesperson.
“Everyone was worried when you disappeared.” As the gusting wind whipped at her clothes, Jessica perched on a chair, her hair gathered in one hand.
Kim said, “Raoul and Cullen are really upset with themselves. Cullen says he stuck his foot in his mouth. Again. He’s trying to think of ways to apologize.”
“No apology necessary.” Anne felt the pang of loss as she added, “I’m not liable to see them anyway.”
“No!” Uzuri pushed past Kim, and suddenly Anne had a submissive kneeling at her feet. “Please, Ma’am, don’t let a quarrel change your life for the worse.”
The memory of Ben kneeling…right there…stabbed into her heart.
“It’s more than a quarrel.” She’d thought she’d moved beyond their betrayal, but…it still hurt. “They thought I was dishonest and cheating on Ben.”
“Anne.” Kim’s soft voice held the sweet stubbornness that Raoul adored. “They were just guys rallying to defend their bro. We women do it all the time. And Raoul realized even before you walked away that Ben wasn’t the only person in your relationship who was hurting.”
Anne blinked. Replayed the conversation. Yes, Cullen had been protective of Ben. And they hadn’t heard any of what she and Joey had said, had just seen her with him, and how Ben had stormed away. They’d jumped to conclusions.
Stupid, true, but hey, males, right? Apparently, they’d bought into the cold-hearted Mistress image she’d created.
The ugly coil of pain in her chest unwound. “They rallied, and I lost my temper.” She helped Uzuri back to her feet.
“Actually, I thought you held it together pretty well,” Jessica said and settled further into the chair as Kim took the one beside her. “I’d say you had just about the worst evening known to womankind. Your job, your family, and then the club.”
True. Anne observed them for a moment. “How do you know about my evening?”
“Oh, girl.” Uzuri sat on the swing. “The Shadowlands is even gossipier than the little town where I grew up. Your brother talked with Ben, who talked with Z who told him what Cullen and Raoul had said.”
“I called Joey,” Kim said, “and he added in the rest.”
Travis had told Ben what had happened? Head spinning, Anne held up her hand. “I got the picture.”
“Ben’s worried about you,” Jessica said.
Would it matter? He cared about people. Just because he’d broken it off with her wouldn’t make him stop caring.
Someone should let him know she was fine. Kind of fine. “Did someone inform him that I was home and all right?”
“No. We wanted to talk with you first.” Jessica gave her a soft smile. “You might be a Mistress, but you’re also in our gang. And a woman needs her posse around her when things go bad.”