Free Sunset Rivalry: The Caliendo Resort (By The Lake: The Caliendo Resort Book 2) by Shannyn Leah Page B

through the busy tables. At the doorway he turned to look at her.
    She didn’t flinch.
    He didn’t flinch.
    Even across the room his stare was so solid, so serious...so gorgeous.
    Anya looked back at her mom with a smile that dropped quickly at her mother’s arched eyebrow stare.
    “I think we are going to cut through all the small talk and not deny that you had planned on leaving this morning,” Eliza said.
    Her mother hadn’t always been so outspoken and direct to the point. Slowly, over the years, her forthright manner had amplified, and finally now she was flat out calling it as it was.
    Today, Anya wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. 
    “So, you’ve been having an affair with Uncle Carl since before Marc’s birth,” Anya observed, purposely trying to show her mother’s actions weren’t perfect either. 
    “So, you’ve been sneaking around with Mr. Barker.” 
    Ouch.
    Eliza continued. “Two years ago and more presently, two days ago.”
    They could play this game all day.
    Eliza reached across the table and took Anya’s hand. “Anya, I’m not here to diminish whatever relationship you had with Quinn or will have in the future. Right now, that doesn’t concern me.”
    Good. Conversation over?
    Not so lucky, her mother continued. “I know that you were close to your father. Closer than any of your siblings. I’m particularly troubled about the time you spent together at the end of his life. I fear maybe you were mixed up in something that you can’t outrun.”
    I am. But I can’t tell you. 
    “It’s alright, sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me.”
    Had Anya voiced that out loud?
    “But when you need me, I am here for you. You don’t have to run from your family. We have all evidently had our share of mistakes in the past and no doubt there are more to come in the future. That is life Anya. I cannot stop the mistakes you or any of my children make, but I can promise you that I am here when you need me. We can sit in the past and blame your father for our lives, heaven knows the man was selfish and deserves our blame, or we can accept that there is nothing more to do about the past except move on, together. This family loves each other through our flaws, and we stand by one another through our mistakes. I love you.” 
    Anya squeezed her mother’s hand fighting the battle with the tears that threatened. Her mother didn’t fight so hard and let a few droplets fall down her cheek.
    They had made a lot of mistakes, but none of her family, except for Robert...and herself, had hurt other people.
    Anya wanted to tell her mom. For a moment she felt the words pile up on her tongue, but she couldn’t force them out. She noticed a touch of additional worry came over Eliza’s face.
    “Thank you Momma. I love you too.” 
    “I can’t force you to stay, but at least give us your cell phone number if you choose to leave. Talk to us. Do what you have to do, but don’t shut us out again. Please.”
    Shut them out? Is that what it felt like she’d done to her family?
    Anya had been only trying to fix her wrong without involving them.
    Shame consumed her and she was even more saddened at how familiar the emotion felt.
    When Anya hid from happiness, concealing the new life of what she truly believed she deserved, she’d unintentionally been hurting her family along the way. They’d all suffered fear and worry at Anya’s absence.
    She could scream.
    How did she fix this without telling her mother what she had done? She couldn’t, but she could give her mother reassurance and hope.
    Anya held her hand out. “Give me your phone,” she said. 
    Eliza’s eyes lit up and she dug her cell phone out of her purse with lightning speed passing it to Anya. 
    Anya added her phone number to Eliza’s contacts and handed it back.
    “I will stick around for a couple days, but then I have to leave again.” There was no getting out of it. Once she found Rebecca’s family, she would be flying back to