“No. I was an only child.”
“As we were telling you before, Stacy and I are both from New York,” Anna chimed in.
“So we understand the whole shock of moving from the city to the country,” Stacy added.
“Oh my God, I remember when I first arrived in Pearl and then went to the Triple C Ranch. Boy did the size of the men intimidate me. They grow them big out here,” Anna stated.
“Wyatt is very big. I guess it took some time to get used to?” Abigail added.
“Everything around here took some time to get used to. Everyone was so friendly and nice I wasn’t sure if I could trust them or not. I came from an abusive household, Lena,” Anna offered, and Abigail watched Lena’s eyes widen.
“Really?” Lena asked.
“Yeah, and besides that, she was on the run from New York gangsters out to abduct her and prostitute her out to pay back her father’s gambling debt,” Stacy added.
“Oh my God, they followed you out here?” Lena asked.
“Sure did. It was not a happy time in my life,” Anna added.
“You did meet Wyatt, Charlie, and Ben and fall in love,” Abigail said with a smile.
“Of course,” Anna said then smiled wide.
“I was scared out of my mind about the entire ménage relationship thing around Pearl. But it just kind of happened. I love the three of them so much,” Anna stated.
“Well then you all should start working on having a baby,” Stacy teased as she cradled baby Hope in her arms.
“You know I want to try and open up my own business. I’m still trying to get the funding,” Anna added.
“What type of business are you opening?” Lena asked.
Stacy and Abigail chuckled.
“She’s not sure yet,” Stacy told Lena.
“Well, I want to open a business that helps people, mainly women like myself who were alone, abused or just down and out and need some help getting back on their feet again. Maybe something that can offer them work, lodging, and a chance to start a new life.”
“That sounds great. Back in Detroit there were battered women shelters, but they had to pay for security because men would come looking for their women to get them back,” Lena told them.
“No way. That is terrible,” Abigail stated.
“It was really bad, and eventually the shelters closed. There wasn’t enough funding, and local government mandated that these women were to live in the regular shelters. Those were definitely terrible places,” Lena told them.
“Did you live in a shelter?” Stacy asked.
“For about two days when I was sixteen. But it was unsafe.”
“How so?” Abigail asked.
“Oh, there were all types of creeps, crooks, and bad people there. A lot of the workers were mean and some were even scouters.”
“Scouters? What are those?” Anna asked.
“Oh, those are either men or women that look throughout the shelters in the city for merchandise that can be taken and sold to the highest bidder or turned,” Lena told them.
“I’m sorry, honey, I just don’t get what you mean.” Abigail looked at Lena and felt a tiny bit of anxiety.
“I’m sorry, Abigail, I’m used to street talking sometimes, and I assume others know the lingo. Basically, there are people in the shelters looking to turn young women into hookers, sex slaves, or to star in some of the black market pornography videos.”