Rena appreciated the fact that instead of backing down and seeming put off by her comment, she seemed to empathize with her emotions. In fact, some of the things she said hit close to home, almost too close to home. Rena's smile seemed to falter a moment as she felt that pang of sadness, remembering her home. "It's hard," she agreed, taking a breath. "But life moves on. And I'm happy here, really, which is why I got defensive but you make Thomas happy. I can honestly say, I've never seen him look at any woman and, well, you were willing to fight for him. I underestimated you. I'm glad."
Talking about her sister made Rena uncomfortable, like she was bare in front of Abby and despite the fact that she had a new appreciation for the woman, she hated to feel exposed. It was then that Rena realized that Abby had mistaken Bridget for her daughter. "Oh, oh!" she gasped, realizing why Abby might have been so uncomfortable with her. "No, it was never like that! I helped take care of her, I love her but Thomas never looked at anyone like that and, truthfully, it was the furthest thing from my mind." It was true; running from an unwanted wedding, the last thing she wanted was to run into another relationship. Hiding who she was had become a habit; it was too difficult to imagine letting someone in.