It Takes Two: Deep in the Heart, Book 1 (28 page)

“I don’t think I want to.”

“No, you probably don’t, city boy.” Annie grew serious. “I’m glad you came to see me.”

“I’m glad too.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“I wasn’t feeling bad.”

“What about the dream that woke you up? Is it all gone?”

He thought about the sensation of something chasing him that he couldn’t escape from. He thought about the miracle of waking up safe in Annie’s arms. Zach moved against her, his intentions clear. “I think it’s almost all past. Maybe I should make love to you one last time, just to be certain.”

Annie lowered her lips to Zach’s, flattered by his arousal. “Maybe you should,” she whispered, before melding her mouth to his.

“It’s lunch time,” Travis Cade said from his spying nook by the window.

“So it is,” Gert replied placidly. “What of it?”

“They’re still in there.” He knew Gert was aware of what he was talking about, and she also knew it was worrying him. Her calmness about the whole matter infuriated him even more.

“If you’re that hungry, Travis, make yourself something to eat. Annie doesn’t need to fix everything you put in your mouth.”

“That’s not what’s bothering me and you know it, Gert!”

She spared him a frustrated glance while continuing to fold clothes on the kitchen table. “Travis, come over here and sit down, for heaven’s sake. All that stewing ain’t going to get you what you want, so you may as well cool it.”

“Easy for you to say. Annie oughtn’t to be alone with that man.”

Gert let the T-shirt she was folding droop in her hands. “She’s thirty years old, been married, has a child. Old enough, I think, to make her own decisions about whom she wants to be alone with.”

She saw the hurricane coming and blew it out with one sentence. “Is some time alone with him too much for Annie to ask for?”

Travis shook his head, not liking it one bit. He knew Gert was right, but his every instinct was still to protect his only child from harm.

“I know you love her, Travis, but you can’t decide what makes her happy, even if it doesn’t suit you. And I know the fatherly feelings are running fast inside you right now, but Annie’s got enough on her hands trying to take care of this farm without you prying into her business. I’m sure she’d die of mortification if she knew her daddy was eagle-eyeing her from a window.”

Gert went back to folding clothes. Travis scowled at her, coming to ease himself down carefully on the plank bench. In disgust, he picked up a piece of laundry and began helping to fold. “Oh, hell. To me, Annie’s my little girl. And I can’t think that city slick means to do right by her. He’s just too damn cocky.”

She raised her eyebrow at him. “Ain’t up to you, though. Besides, who’s cocky? Are you wearing shorts, like the doctor told you, so those veins would heal, or long trousers?”

“Ain’t worn short pants since I was a boy. I’m not aiming to start now.”

“See, now, if I was taking your parental tack, I’d come after you with a pair of scissors and say, ‘Yes, by God, you are going to wear the shorts because that’s what’s best for you.’ Instead, I’m saying to you, ‘Travis, you’re a grown man. If you want to have to go back to the hospital because you haven’t followed the doctor’s orders, then that’s a choice you’ll have to live with.’ Make sense?”

The sound of a car door slamming rendered them silent in their bickering for a moment. Travis stood slightly to peer out the window. “He’s leaving.”

“Well, fine, then. And Annie’s still in one piece?”

He shot her a baleful look. “Hush up, Gert.”

She grinned and started stacking the clothes. “Where are you going?”

Starchily refusing to let Gert see how much consideration he’d given her words, Travis didn’t pause. Nor did he want to witness the serene smile he knew would be on her face as he called over his shoulder, “I’m going to put on some of those short pants you keep babbling about, woman.”

Chapter Eighteen

Right away, Zach could tell Cody’s farm was in a hell of a lot better shape than Annie’s, and it wasn’t just the stark blackness the fire had left compared to the gently waving green leaves in Cody’s fields that told the story. Cody’s redbrick farmhouse, though it lacked the gabled charm of Annie’s, appeared newer and sturdier. A late-model truck was parked in the front next to Cody’s hearse, and a modern harvester was under the shade of a nearby pecan tree.

Three running vehicles to Annie’s zero. Zach had figured Cody for a man of achievement, in spite of his lackluster attention to dressing for success. He tried to picture Cody in a board room, brawny arms akimbo, jet braid hanging, feather earring accenting blazing eyes—and failed. Just as with Annie, Zach recognized this was a setting that suited Cody perfectly. Knocking loudly, Zach waited on the wide porch, hoping Annie’s brother-in-law was at home.

“Come on in,” Zach heard a voice holler, “but if you’re selling something, I ain’t buying!”

It was safe to say he wasn’t in the door-to-door sales category. Zach pushed the screen door open, poking his head around to peer into the hall. “Cody?”

The big man stuck his head out from another doorway. “Slick! What the hell are you doing here?” His surprise quickly turned to concern. “You’re not going to make me an offer, too, are you?”

Zach laughed. “No. I’m out of the business now. I stopped by to say hello to Mary. Is she around?”

“Annie know you’re here?” Cody asked suspiciously.

“How do you think I got your address?”

“Oh. All right, then. Yeah, Mary’s here. Come on.” He motioned Zach into the kitchen and gestured out a window. “There she is, happier’n a flea in a dog’s ear.”

Mary sat in a sandbox under a shady tree, intently scooping brown sand into several plastic toys and containers. An older woman, whom Zach assumed was Mrs. Aguillar, sat with a sun hat on her head and her feet buried in the sand at the other end of the box.

“That looks inviting.” Zach was glad to see the peaceful happiness on Mary’s face. Now she looked like any normal six-year-old girl might who was enjoying a day at her grandmother’s.

“Well, it’s fun if you don’t mind sand all over the place. Ma wanted Mary to have something special for the times she’s here, so she talked me into putting that thing in. Mary’ll even have sand in her hair by the time she’s finished, and Ma’ll spend half an hour getting her clean, but as you can see, they’d both raise hell if I tried to dismantle it.” Cody shrugged. “Ah, hell. You’re only young once, I guess. Besides, I think Ma gets as big a bang out of sitting in the sand as Mary.”

“It does look like she’s enjoying herself.” Zach thought Cody sounded like a proud papa over the sandbox himself, despite his grumbling. Briefly, he wondered why Cody and Annie had never developed their obviously close relationship into anything more serious. A cold sensation instantly shot into his stomach at the thought. Zach decided it wasn’t a scenario he wanted to linger on.

“So, been to see Annie, have you?”

Zach turned his head to meet Cody’s gaze. “Yeah.”

“She didn’t seem positive you were coming back.” Cody’s expression was laconic.

“I told her I would,” Zach said in some surprise. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Cody shrugged “Why would you?”

“Because I…” Zach stopped, somewhat uncomfortable with Cody’s questioning.
Why would he come back?
That was a stupid question. Anyone with two eyes could see how he felt about Annie. Zach registered the concern in Cody’s expression and told himself to relax. He should be able to recognize purely brotherly concern when confronted with it, though momentary sparks of jealousy were blinding him. “I always keep my promises,” he said simply.

Cody seemed content to let the matter drop. “So, you heading back over there after you see Mary?”

“No. I had an errand I needed to attend to in town. After I see Mary, I’m going back to Austin.”

“I see.” Cody nodded his head toward Mary, who was now industriously burying her grandma’s toes in deeper piles of sand. “Ladybug’s getting attached to you. Could be you doing the do-drop-in occasionally might put dreams in her head.”

Zach jerked his head around. Though he sensed Cody wasn’t criticizing but trying to alert him to something, it still stung. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You just gonna keep waltzing in and out of her life? And Annie’s? Annie, she’s a grown woman, better able to handle the situation. But a little girl like Mary, now, she needs regular people in her life.”

Zach snorted. “Like you.”

“Keep your dander down, Slick. Didn’t you mention once that your daddy hadn’t been any ribbon-winner for putting security in your life? All I’m saying is that Mary’s been through a lot in her childhood, more than I’ve liked to see her go through. It isn’t any of my business, because Annie’s the one to tell you, but you need to be doing some serious thinking here, friend.”

“Cody, I don’t like the direction this is heading.”

The man pulled at his earring, pursing his lips. “Look, Slick. I’m beholden to you for pulling my ass out of that fire. And I think you’ve got your heart in the right place about a bunch of things. But that white box you dragged into the house and set on the table wasn’t a hostess gift for me, was it?”

Zach shook his head. “Hell, no.”

“Well, then I suspect it’s for little Mary. And she’s going to love it, ’cause it’s from Mr. Zach. And she’s already got stars in her eyes about getting a new daddy, if you get my drift. What do you think your unexpected call out here and that present’s going to do to those stars?”

“I think she’ll be very happy,” Zach said tightly, his voice defensive.

“Sure she will. This time. But if you keep dropping in, and bringing doodads for her, there ain’t no way she can help from getting dreams in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. And Slick, I just can’t bear to see her be disappointed.” He shot Zach a keen look. “Reason I’m telling you this is because I don’t think you want that, either. I believe that you’ll think about what I’ve said, and you’ll know I’m right.”

“You’re telling me I either step up to the daddy plate or hit my ball on out of the park.”

Cody frowned. “It ain’t as pretty as I’d say it, but you got the gist of it.”

Zach felt two emotions roaring through him hard enough to make him feel queasy. One, he knew Cody was probably right. Two, he wanted to knock the farmer clean to the ground for having so much common sense, and having the guts to tell Zach how he felt.

And fast on the heels of those thoughts was that Cody was suggesting Zach should marry Annie Aguillar. The realization made him turn his head back to the window, mouth open, as he stared at the tiny, wonderful girl in her sand playland. Son of a gun. He’d be a husband and a father all at once—pretty amazing stuff. Except that his father credentials were sorely lacking. Pop hadn’t been a shining example of what a father was supposed to provide, emotionally or otherwise, to his offspring. Would Zach fare any better?

“Need a beer, Zach?” Cody asked kindly. “You’re looking a bit peaked. It’s hotter out here than in Austin,” he continued in a conversational tone, which Zach knew was to save his feelings, “’cause you city folks are used to air conditioning. We don’t seem to notice the heat so bad. Our skin has learned to perspire more.”

Hell, yeah. Only Zach felt like he was sweating bullets. “Have you got some tea or water?” he managed to croak.

Outside, Mary looked up, catching Cody and Zach staring at her. Her bare feet burst into action as she flew around the side of the house and into the kitchen. Flinging herself at him, she gleefully yelled, “Mr. Zach! You did come back! I knew you would!”

Zach gathered Mary into his arms, accepting her delighted hug. “I saw you playing in the sandbox. It looked like fun.”

Mary nodded enthusiastically. “It is. How’d you know I was at Grandma’s?”

“Your mother told me.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“Your Uncle Cody’s got a nice place.”

“Mmm-hmm. No snakes.” Mary got down from Zach’s lap with a pensive look. “I was supposed to wash the sand off before I said hello to you. I’ll be right back.”

Zach smiled, even as he realized there were sprinkles on his jeans, and his shirt collar felt a little gritty where some sand had shaken in during their hug. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mary turned around, amazed. “You mean, you’re staying for good this time?”

His smile suddenly became an effort. “No. I meant that I’m not leaving yet.”

“Oh. Okay.”

The disappointment on Mary’s face was deep and heartfelt as she left the room. Zach didn’t dare glance at Cody. He concentrated instead on drinking the iced tea Cody had placed on the table in front of him.

Cody sat down silently at the table, allowing Zach to absorb his thoughts. Suddenly, Zach wondered if he was in way over his head here. Part of him thought the whole idea of getting hooked up permanently with Annie was pretty wonderful.

The other part of him was whispering, “You bastard. Why didn’t you think this through before you seduced Annie?”

Because that’s what he’d done, plain and simple. Wanton seduction. He’d admitted as much to her.