Rodeo potential?
Strange question, coming from Jonathan, whod never made it a secret he thought rodeo was the biggest waste of time and livestock on earth.
Spirited, Wade replied. Lots of explosive power, probably be fast out of a chute. Good heart, seems eager to please.
But?
Easily distracted. Shies at anything.
Shes still young. She might get over that.
With the right training, Wade agreed. Another pause. You want to work with her? Wades heart leaped at the chance to train such a fine-looking horse. If he could turn a mutt like Traveler into a champion, just imagine what he could do withHe stopped his runaway imagination, spotting the trap.
Ah, no, no thanks. I start working your stock, next thing you know Ill be out castrating calves.
Jonathan abruptly shut off the television, silencing the Duke midsentence. You ungrateful little
What? Just because I dont want to work as an unpaid ranch hand? Why do you think I left here in the first place?
If youd listen once in a while instead of jumping to conclusions, you might not be such a hothead.
Hothead?
I thought if you worked with the mare, and you liked her, I might give her to you. I was not plotting to turn you into slave labor.
Well, that took the wind right out of Wades sails.
You might say thanks.
Yeah, thanks. Amazing how hard that one word was to push past his teeth. I dont need two horses, though.
Travelers competition days might be over. Wades jaw tensed, and he consciously relaxed it. Hell be fine.
Jonathan shrugged. This time, maybe. But what about next year?
Ill worry about that when the time comes. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldnt have to worry about it.
So where were you, really? Jonathan asked. I was at the barn till eleven-thirty. You werent with Traveler.
Its been a lot of years since anybody kept tabs on my activities.
Just curious.
I was with a woman.
Jonathan looked his younger brother up and down. You work fast. Youve been here, what, three days?
We were just talking.
Who? Or am I being too nosy?
Too nosy. He wasnt ready to talk about his Annie to anyone yet. Especially not when shed just shot him down so thoroughly.
He wasnt done with her, though. She might not know it yet, but she needed him, and not just for a weekend. Somebody had to put a smile back on that girls faceand keep it there.
Chapter Three
Well, Anne, everything looks great, Jeff Hardison said, closing the folder that held her chart. Your weights almost back to normal, theres no sign of infection, and youve even smiled at me once or twice.
She appreciated his vote of confidence. Jeff had seen her at her worst, and it was partly due to his conscientious care that she was looking and feeling so much better. Not back to normal. Shed been broken and glued back togethershe probably would never be exactly the same person she was before. But at least she was in one piece and moving forward.
Im feeling great, she confirmed. So why do we have to do the blood tests?
Anne, weve been over this.
But Im not sure theres really a point. Id like to move forward, not dwell on the past.
This is looking forward, he insisted. If theres a problem, it could affect your ability to have children in the future.
I dont plan to have children.
You might change your mind. Youre only twenty-five.
He had a point. For the next five to ten years she would not have the time to devote to raising a family. Her law career would demand 100 percent of her concentration. If she had a husband, kids, they would only end up neglectedand what was the point in that?
But once she was established, once shed paid her dues, she might want to switch gears. She wasnt dumb enough to believe a career could answer all of her needs.
All right. Might as well get it over with.
Ill have Molly draw the blood. Shes so gentle, itll feel like a butterfly kiss.
Yeah, right. Anne laughed despite her concerns.
Its good to hear you laugh. Keep it up, huh? In a treatment room a few minutes later, Anne determinedly studied a spot on the wall while Molly, Jeffs nurse, deftly inserted a needle into Annes arm. As long as she didnt look at the needle or see the blood, she would be okay. At least, that was what she told herself.
Shed put off her follow-up visit to Jeff for several days, until Jeff himself had called the house and reminded her. Even knowing he wanted her blood, she hadnt been able to come up with a graceful excuse. So here she was, letting Molly torture her.
Theyre having a sale over at Hollywood Lingerie, Molly said, continuing her nonstop monologue. Anne didnt know if Mollys chatter was designed to distract patients from the procedure or if she just liked to talk, but it did help.
Ive never been there, Anne made herself answer. What kind of stuff do they have? Ouch.
Sorry. Well, a lot of real naughty stuff, thats what. Negligees with cutouts in places you just cant believe, and panties so sheer you might as well not be wearing any.
Anne didnt own any sexy lingerie. Shed been raised in practical white cotton, which her mother insisted was the only sort of underwear a real lady would wear. In college shed branched out to pastels, but that was as wild as shed gotten.
Shed never thought much about it until her weekend with Wade. Shed been wearing all those provocative outer clothes, which Wade had taken a great deal of pleasure in removing. But then came her underwearthey were so dull! They didnt fit the Annie image at all.
My Tom can be the most boring man in the world, Molly went on, but show him a pair of black lace panties and he turns into Casanova.
So you actually wear that stuff?
Honey, nothing makes you feel sexier. And Im telling you, men can sense it when youre wearing a hot-pink teddy, even if you have all your clothes on. Sexy underwear gives you an attitude.
Maybe Ill stop by and take a look. Her mother would have a conniption if she found hot-pink anything in the laundry. Then again, Deborah didnt do the laundryshe had a housekeeper for that.
Ordinarily Anne wouldnt worry so much about upsetting her parents. But the past couple of months had shaken both of them to their foundations. She had promised herself she would make it up to them by being their ideal daughter, at least while she was living under their roof.
All done, Molly said, pressing a cotton ball to the inside of Annes arm, then folding the arm to hold the cotton tight against her traumatized vein. That wasnt so bad.
Not for you, Anne quipped.
Dr. Jeff wants to see you again before you leave. Let me see if I can catch him between patients, and Ill send him in. Now, you just drink that orange juice and rest.
Molly left with a whole trayful of blood-filled test tubes. The sight of all that red made Anne light-headed, so she was happy to sit still for a few minutes and recover from the ordeal. She wondered why Jeff wanted to see her again. Hadnt they covered all the territory?
Almost immediately someone tapped discreetly on the treatment-room door.
Come in, Anne called.
Jeff entered, looking tall and reassuring in his white coat. I see you survived. A butterfly kiss, was I right?
Molly is a charming little vampire. Was there something else?
Im heading next door for coffee. You want to come?
Sure, I could use a coffee.
Jeff took off his white coat, stashed it in his office, then led Anne past the receptionist with a wave. Back in a few.
They walked next door to a little take-out café that served coffee and bagels and not much else. With cappuccinos in hand, they settled at a little table in the corner.
Your mother tells me you havent been getting out much, Jeff mentioned casually.
Mmm, too busy. She took a sip of the rich coffee drink. Heaven.
You know thats not healthy, right? Im asking as a friend, not your doctor. Physically youre recovering nicely, but Im a little worried about your mood.
Oh, Jeff, dont be silly. Im okay. You heard me laugh a few minutes ago, remember?
Im serious. I know youve been hurt recently, and it takes time to get over that. But I dont want you to dwell on it.
Jeff assumed shed been dumped by the babys father, and she hadnt set him straight. He had no idea she and Wade even knew each other outside their brief, childhood acquaintanceand she wanted to keep it that way.
The best tonic for a broken heart, he continued, is to just get right back out there, you know, come up swinging. Its like falling off a horse. You want to get right back on before you build the fear up in your head so much that you can never
Jeff, what are you saying?
Im saying, why dont we go to a movie or something?
Youre kidding. Realizing how rude she sounded, she quickly backpedaled. I mean, oh, Jeff, thats really sweet. Im so flattered, I mean What did she mean? This was so weird, so unexpected. Jeff was considered the town catch. Every single woman in town had made a play for him at one time or another. Why would he make a play for her, the town brain? Shed never been anything to him except a little sisterand a patient.
You can change to being Dads patient, if youre uneasy about dating your doctor, he said, as if reading her mind. Dad would welcome you back.
Im not ready to date, she said, in no uncertain terms. Anyway, Im so busy Oh, did that sound lame. In a few weeks Ill be taking a job in another city. It wouldnt make sense for us tostart anything.
He flashed her his most winning smile. Im talking about dinner and a movie, not some great love affair.
At some other time in her life, she might be tempted. Jeff was movie-star handsome, charming and a good friend. But not now. She just couldnt wrap her mind around dating, even a casual evening.
Oookay, I get the picture, he said when she didnt respond. How bout them Cowboys, huh? He drained his coffee in one gulp, then flashed a grin, letting her know she hadnt wounded him too seriously.
I appreciate your concern, I really do. And if my parents start driving me crazy, maybe Ill call you and we can go to a movie.
He nodded, seeming to understand. Deal.
She stood up, grabbed her purse.
Ill call when we get the test results back, he said, as if their previous conversation had never happened. It could take a while.
Okay, no problem. She headed for the café door, in desperate need of fresh air. Bye, now.
But a hasty escape wasnt in the cards. As she exited, she ran smack into Edward, Jeff and Wades father.
Whoa, there, whats your hurry? he said with a laugh, steadying Anne.
Shed always adored Edward Hardison, or Dr. Ed, as most people called him. With his silver hair and his round, jovial face, hed always seemed very safe to her, a safe person to take care of her health. But when shed realized she was pregnant, shed deliberately made an appointment with Jeff, not his father. The idea of kindly Dr. Ed knowing such a dark secret about her hadnt seemed right. It would have been like telling her father all over again.
Of course, in the end, Edward had found out. As luck would have it, he was taking calls for Jeff when Anne had lost the baby. Hed been just as kind and sympathetic as Jeff, in no way judgmental.
She murmured a greeting, then something about having an appointment, and got out of there, Jeffs invitation still burning in her brain.
She felt badly that she hadnt handled things better. Fending off handsome men wasnt exactly her forte. In fact, shed seldom had to fend off men at all, handsome or not. Now, in the span of just a few days, shed turned down two.
She wasnt terribly pretty. Shed learned that lesson well in her teenage years. Skinny, freckled redheads werent the stuff of any mans dreams. Shed compensated by being the class brain, the one with the quick wit and the acid tongue. Shed played down her femininity, believing her intelligence would take her a lot further than batting her eyelashes and showing cleavage.
That was before Annie. When shed adopted her alter ego, shed tapped into a well of femininity she hadnt known existed. And though after her weekend with Wade shed gone back to her conservative clothes and no-nonsense manner, maybe, just maybe, some essence of Annie remained.
Why else would Jeff suddenly take an interest, even a casual one, in her?
The idea that Annie might be peeking through Annes hard-fought control both thrilled and frightened her.
She didnt feel like going home, even though she had a stack of applications to fill out and a list of follow-up phone calls to make. Her father had helped her put together an exhaustive list of every large, prestigious law firm in the country. A few of them had already approached her, but Milton had insisted she leave no stone unturned. He didnt want her to miss her golden opportunity simply because she hadnt been thorough enough.
Hed also encouraged her not to jump to any decisions.
Anne had followed his advice to the letter. Right after graduating, shed gone on several interviews with the firms who had courted her. Despite a few very attractive offers, shed put them all on ice while she explored other possible options.
Then shed found out she was pregnant, and all bets were off.
Predictably, her mother had cried and her father had ranted and raved. Anne had simply become paralyzed. The life of an associate in a huge law firm was not compatible with single motherhood. She would end up shortchanging both her employer and her childand there was never any question about her keeping the child. Shed put all her career plans on hold and focused on preparing for a baby.
She had tried halfheartedly to locate Wade, figuring he had a right to know. But at that time hed been moving around so much he was impossible to pin down. Shed left a message here and there, but if hed gotten them, he hadnt responded.
Then shed lost the baby, and her whole world had turned inside outagain. She hadnt thought it possible to love a child so much when she hadnt even met it. Having the baby ripped from her so cruelly had left her crushed and aching, physically and emotionally.
Shed seen no point in sharing that pain with Wade. She still didnt.