Anna Leigh holds the rag loosely in her hand as she watches the dust motes dance in the silence of the sun beam falling into the now deathly silent building. Harlow had blown through the building like rolling thunder, silencing any and all.
Anna will never admit it but Harlow is something of an idol of hers. Most woman are raised like cattle, born to be bought by some wealthy man, used, abused and left to fade. Not Harlow though. From the day Anna meets her she has something that burns in her like the last embers of a dying cigarettes in the night. That woman waltzes in any room with an effortless saunter that makes her glide like a damnable spirit. Her eyes scan every inch of every room with an intense precision, in search of any threats to her or her loved ones. Something radiates from within her that make Anna want to hang around her. Ugh she admires the woman and it makes her s i c k.
Anna stays quiet as a mouse and as out of the way as she can possibly be as Harlow gives Boone a lickinâ he aintâ likely to forget any time soon. She waits about thirty seconds before she finds Boone again. Poor kid, bad luck followed him around like the depraved stench that clings to a carcass. Maybe thatâs why she herself plays at being his shadow. Mightâ be that she is a buffer of sorts for Boone, countering some of his shit luck, all the while he is her penance for her own sins.
âBoone you gitâ Anna mutters lightly, her concern leaks into her voice despite her best efforts to remain neutral. She attempts to clean him up again. Wasnâ her job really but she damn well wasnâ gonâ let him bleed all over the place.
âSpeakinâ of jobs.â She thinks suddenly as she turns to the bearcat.
âHarlow, donâ suppose you might be needinâ and extra hand âround the stopâŠâ Anna Leigh asks as she presses the rag against one of the numerous scrapes and open wounds on Booneâs face. She has had it up to her eyebrows with his bull shit but damn it she isnât about to run out on him, not now, not ever. If nothinâ else, she would die a fool, but a loyal fool.
âI need somethinâ other than Booneâs trouble to fill my days.â Anna Leigh says with a small grin, again tryinâ to make light of the fight.
âAnâ that handsome Sherriff of yours hangs âround here. Its nice to have somethinâ p r e t t y to look at occasionallyâ She says with a toss of her hair and a grin in Atticusâs direction. Truth be told she is not really looking for anything in particular, maybe a few connections here and there.
She needs to start putting down roots somewhere, and here seems good enough. She knows she canât live out of a suite case forever, and she damn well isntât interested in trying to start over again in another town, despite the trouble attracted by her accomplice Boone. For some reason, she gets the odd sensation she is going to regret puttinâ her lot in with these folk. She hears her mamaâs voice in her ringing in her ears, something about tastinâ her words before she spit them out. To hell with it. This town has been as kind to her, if not more than any other, she is in for the long hall.
She pulls out a cigarette and lights it. She inhales slowly, letting the heavy smoke thoroughly penetrate her lungs before she exhales slowly. She watches her companions with a small smile as she waits for a reply.