Escaping and Finding My Salvation

Brody

Ann Marie

“Ann Marie, could you go tear out the frame from cabin 6? Mr. Monroe is out hunting, and I promised him I’d have his door in place by the time he got back,” Carl asked.

“Sure, Carl.”

I left with my tool belt around my waist. I'd been helping Carl repair cabins and build cabinets and small tables for them for two months. On bread day, I wake up in the morning and help. I also help Martha with the breakfasts for the women’s place and the community kitchen. Then I help with the morning chores. I harvest vegetables, check traps, and mend clothes. In the afternoon, I go to the woodshop and work with Carl. Carl has taken me under his wing and helped me hone my woodworking skills. I am as in demand as he is. It was work I loved doing.

I ripped out the framing in cabin 6. I went back to the shop and sanded a cabinet I was making for the community kitchen, then put legs on a small table I made for Tanya's birthday that will go next to her bed.

At night, I would eat dinner with my friends either at the community kitchen or the women’s place. It depended on what we all wanted to do and whether we wanted to cook. Tonight, no one wanted to cook, so we went to the kitchen.

“Look, there’s that cute security guy,” Bethany whispered to me as we walked into the building.

Two tables to the right of the serving line, a group of men sat. Most were from the community's security detail. One was a tall, muscular man with dark hair and brown eyes. His skin was slightly tanned from the sun, and his teeth were bright white. I knew this because he was looking at me and smiling. I quickly looked away.

“Why are you blushing?” Eden asked me.

“It’s that security guy, Brody. He’s been looking at our Ann Marie,” Sammy giggled.

“Stop it. He just looked over, that’s all,” I said as I put baby potatoes on my tray.

Mitzy snorted. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

“He’s really cute,” Allie mumbled.

A tap on my shoulder made me look back.

Do you like him? Tanya wrote.

“I don’t know him. I’ve only seen him around a few times. I don’t really notice boys much.”

“That’s because you’re too busy sanding wood,” Mitzy said.

“You should sand his wood,” Bethany said.

The girls laughed, and I blushed furiously.

The next few days, I saw Brody around. He walked the wall line or stood at the gate checking vehicles. He had a gun strapped to his leg every time I saw him. Today, he was helping unload a truck from a supply run. I had just left the tool shed with a bag of screws. I watched him while he picked up a box. His arms bulged. He looked over at me, caught me staring, and smiled. I gasped, looked away, and hurried to the woodshop.

“Hey,” Mitzy said as I came barging into the shop.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Martha wanted me to bring you some lemonade. Why are you all flushed?”

“I saw Brody. He caught me looking at him.”

She smiled. “Nathanial said Brody asked Carl about you.”

“He did?”

“Yep. Carl gave him your name and told him you did good work with wood.”

“He knows my name?” I whispered.

“Uh huh. And I heard him say something about the Fall Festival. Maybe he’s going to ask you to dance there.”

“No, he can’t. I don’t know how to dance.”

After that confession, Mitzy, Bethany, Sammy, Allie, and Eden took it upon themselves to teach me slow dancing while Tanya wrote down her own instructions. Matha chuckled at us and shook her head.

On the night of the Fall Festival, we each took a big bottle of Matha’s apple cider. We put the bottles on the drink table. Then we all stood to the side.

I looked around and thought everything was nice. Fairy lights were strung across the ceiling and around the room in the community building where the dance was being held. Two tables held a lot of food. Besides apple cider on the drink table, there was also water, punch, and buckets of ice with beer bottles buried in them.

In the middle of the building, a cleared space for dancing was surrounded by circular tables and chairs. Kendal Washburn, his brother Jonah, and their sister Kayley made up a little band. Kendal and Jonah played guitars while Kayley sang. She had a very pretty voice. Sammy and Bethany got asked to dance. Tanya hid at a far table with a plate and a cup of apple cider. Eden, Allie, Mitzy, and I swayed to the music as we talked and watched others on the dance floor.

“Look who just walked in,” Eden whispered. “He walked up to Martha today and asked if you were seeing anyone.”

“What?” I asked a little too loudly. She nodded.

“She told him no. I think he likes you.”

“I don’t know him,” I said.

“Well, he’s walking over here, so you’re about it.”

My eyes widened.

“Ann Marie?”

I took a breath and turned around. I gave him a small smile.

“Hi, I’m Brody Dane. I was wondering if you’d like to dance?”

I swallowed and nodded. His smile got bigger, and he held out his hand. I looked at Mitzy. She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

The music turned slow. He put his hands on my waist, and I put mine on his shoulders.

“I hope you don’t mind that I asked around about you. That’s how I found out your name. I’ve seen some of your woodwork. You make nice tables and cabinets.”

“Thank you. I’ve seen you around. Do you like working security?”

He told me he did. He said he tried joining the military, but he got injured in boot camp and washed out. When he recovered, he felt restless. He left his family in Montana and drifted around for a while before coming here. He’s been here for a couple of years. Mostly just hands with the security guys. He likes this lifestyle. He asked if I liked it too, and I told him I did.

He said he was 26 and liked hunting with his buddies. I told him I liked hanging with the girls and learning everything I could about living off the land. I never told him about my life before coming here, and he never asked. We danced four more songs, and then he brought me back to Mitzy and Eden.

“Can I call on you tomorrow? Maybe we can go for a walk after I get off security detail?”

“I’d like that.” He smiled, bent his head towards me, and kissed my cheek.

“See you later, Pretty Ann.” He turned and left with some of his friends. I knew I was blushing because my cheeks felt warm.

“Well, it looks like our Ann Marie has a handsome beau,” Martha said, walking up behind Mitzy, Eden, and me.

“He’s taking me on a walk tomorrow night.”

“That sounds nice. He seems like a nice man. I’ve never heard anything bad about him. You just be careful. Handsome men like that can steal a girl's heart.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” I said, smiling. She winked at me and went to go talk to Carl.

“A heart's not all a handsome man can steal,” Mitzy said.

Eden and I laughed. Allie, Sammy, Bethany, and Tanya came over. We all went on the dance floor and danced until it was over.

That night I lay in bed and thought about Brody Dane. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.