Chapter 181: Red Flags

“Hey, Mom? I’m popping out early.” Anna approached her mother as the older woman surveyed the dining room.

“Are you feeling okay, hon?” Teresa fixed Anna with concerned grey eyes so much like her own.

“Yeah, I just…” Anna hesitated. “I told Bruce I’d have dinner with him in town.”

At that moment, Simone walked by with baskets of dinner rolls in each hand. “You have a date?”

Anna blushed as she glanced at Bruce, who stood talking with her father across the room. “It’s not a date. We’re just catching up. He’s off to Idaho tomorrow.”

“I was hoping you’d go out with Mr. Tall, Redhaired, and Gorgeous.” Simone sounded disappointed.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Anna hissed. “I’m not going out with anybody. I’m just having dinner with an old friend.”

Simone raised an eyebrow. “Out. You’re having dinner out.”

Teresa hooted with laughter. “Go on, hon. Lord knows you could use a night off.”