Loving You: A Cowboy Romance (Texas Hill Country Romance Book 1) (29 page)

Chapter 31

Calista gave Annie her car to drive herself to Cord’s house that Friday night. Calista was going to dinner with Rory and his brother and his brother’s wife so she didn’t need the car.

She walked up the stairs to Cord’s porch and rang the bell before going in with the key he’d given her. He was walking down the stairs as she entered. Her heart beat faster at the sight of him. It wasn’t just the black jeans and tight Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt he wore which made his biceps, triceps and forearms stand out but always when she got that close, her heart beat faster.

He smiled when he saw her and quickly walked to her.

“You look beautiful,” he said right before he took her in his arms and kissed her. He loved kissing her.

“You sure you want to go? I wouldn’t mind taking you upstairs, removing your clothes and fucking your brains out all night.”

“Now that sounds like a plan,” she said as a thrill shot through her.

Cord smiled because he saw that thrill in her eyes.

“Nah, we can’t. We have to go,” he said.

“Yeah, I know. I’m really nervous though.”

“Don’t be. No need to impress them on my account.”

They pulled up to Cord’s parent’s house in Cord’s pickup. His father was on the porch and watched as his son got out of the truck and went around to the passenger side to open the door and help Annie out of the truck.              

Shane walked out of the back door, eating a piece of bread.

“Hey, Shane. I didn’t know you were home. Everything good?” Cord asked as he ushered Annie up the stairs.             

“Hi, yeah, just feeling homesick so I took another week off. I’m going to meet up with the organization in Sacramento next week. Hi, Annie.”

“Hi, Shane,” she said as she leaned in to kiss him.

Cord’s father came over and Cord shook his hand.

“Dad.”

“Son.” To Annie, he nodded his head.

“Hello, Mr. McCreedy,” she said.

“Please call me Cal.”

“Thank you, Cal,” Annie said, right about the time Kimmie came flying out of the house and into Cord’s arms.

“Hey, princess. Plant one right there,” Cord said as he pointed to his cheek and she smacked a kiss on it. Then Kimmie leaned in to Annie who knew to lean in to her with her cheek and Kimmie kissed her too.

“Grandma made lasagna and I helped,” Kimmie said to Cord.

“Oh, yeah? Did you help make it or eat it?” he asked her, poking a finger in her belly.

Kimmie giggled and said “Uncle Cord.”

“Let’s go say hi to my mom,” Cord said to Annie as he put Kimmie down. Annie nodded and Cord took her hand and led her through the door and into the kitchen.

“Hi, mom,” Cord said to his mom and he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

Evelyn looked to Annie and warmly smiled at her.

“Hi, Annie.”

“Hello, Evelyn,” Annie said as she placed two dessert boxes on the table. “It smells so good in here. What can I do to help?”

“Oh, wrong thing to say,” Cord said, laughing. “She’ll find something for you to do now.”

“Tsk, Cord,” Evelyn said as she playfully swatted him with the towel that was in her hands.

“Cord, get the wine and open it, please. Annie can you cut the bread and put it in the bread bowl?”

“Of course.” And Annie took the knife that Evelyn held out for her.

Cord chuckled and went for the wine.

Dinner was uneventful. Kimmie made them all laugh with her antics. The men talked about bull riding and ranch work. Annie and Evelyn talked about fashion and recipes as Annie helped with the serving.

After dinner, Shane and Cord went to the back porch with a beer in their hand and a few minutes later, Annie walked out. Cord opened his arms and she went right to him.

“Hey, baby. Wasn’t that bad, was it?” He chuckled

“Brutal, huh?” Shane said jokingly. And they laughed.

“Cord!” Cal yelled from inside. Cord looked at Annie who shrugged.

“Be right back,” he said and he went inside.

Shane sat on a porch swing behind Annie who was leaning against the rail looking out.

“He’s crazy about you, you know?” Shane said.

“Yes. I know. I’m crazy about him, too,” she said as she turned around and leaned her back on the rail and studied him.

“I’ve never seen him in love before. He hasn’t been this happy since before our brother died.” He paused and looked around at the scenery beyond the porch. Then he brought his eyes to hers. “He’s a good man, Annie. Don’t hurt him.” And Annie looked up to his intense stare then sighed and looked to her right, in thought.

“Coffee’s ready,” came Evelyn’s voice from inside the house. Annie fixed her stare back on Shane. He rose and opened the door.

“After you,” he said.

Cord and Annie said their goodbyes just as soon as Annie helped Evelyn clean up.

Cord threaded his hand in Annie’s and placed them on her thigh while he drove them back to his house.

He told her that his father called him in to tell him he needed to go with him to Sacramento next Friday on bull riding business. Rebel was still unridden and they were very excited. He told her he didn’t want to leave her but he couldn’t refuse his father.

She told him she understood and she would miss him.

When they got home, they ran upstairs and fucked hard and fast. Then they made love nice and slow.

On Thursday night, Cord came by to see Annie. He had an early flight in the morning so they weren’t spending the night together like they usually would have.

They went for a quick bite then hung out with Jake and Jennie who were by the pool. When it got late, Annie walked Cord to his truck and they held each other a little longer and kissed a little deeper than normal, before he got in and rode away.

Cord and Cal were loading up their luggage in Cal’s truck. It wasn’t as new as Cord’s so they were going to leave his at the airport. Evelyn was there saying her goodbyes when the black Mercedes Benz pulled up. Jamerson got out of the driver’s side and Lisa got out of the passenger’s side.

Cal and Jamerson shook hands. Jamerson put his hand in Cord’s direction. Cord just tipped back his Stetson and nodded. Jamerson put his hand down.

“Evelyn,” Jamerson said and she nodded his way. Lisa said hello to them all. Cal and Evelyn said hello back. Cord just glanced her way then continued to load up the luggage.

“What brings you out here this early, Jamerson?” Cal asked.

“Lisa has something to say to Cord.”

At the sound of his name Cord picked his head up to look at Lisa.

“Go ahead, darlin’,” Jamerson said.

Lisa paused and then smiled.

“We’ll go wait inside-” Cal started to say as he grabbed Evelyn’s arm.

“No, Cal. You two need to hear this, too,” Jamerson said.

Cord got a sinking feeling.

“Go ahead, darlin’.” Jamerson prodded.

Lisa looked into Cord’s eyes. “I’m pregnant,” she said, patting her belly.

Cord froze.

“Oh, dear-” Evelyn started to say something.

“It’s not mine.” Cord spoke over his mother while still looking at Lisa.

“Yes, it is.”

“No.”

“Yes, it is, Cord. I’m three months along, do the math, and I haven’t been with anyone else since then,” she said, more determined.

Cord turned around and sat his ass down on the lift gate of the truck with a stunned look on his face.

“I expect you to take care of my grandchild and my Lisa, young man,” Jamerson said.

Cord was speechless.

“Yes, of course he will,” Evelyn said and both Cord and Cal looked to her.

“Mom?” Was all Cord could get out.

“Jamerson, we’re late in getting to the airport. We’ll discuss this when we get back,” Cal said with an air of finality.

“Yes. Yes, that’s fine,” Jamerson said.

Cord walked over to Lisa. He wanted to yank her by the arm but settled on gently grabbing her and walked her a few feet away so that no one would hear them.

“Did you tell anybody else?”

“No, silly. You were the first, well other than my father, of course.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“But, I’m so happy. We have to share the news.”

“Lisa, do not tell anyone, at least until I get back. Is that clear?”

“Cord?”

He squeezed her arm and she struggled to get out of his grasp.“IS THAT CLEAR?” he repeated, his voice rising, and Jamerson and his parents turned their way.

“Okay.”

“Promise me.”

“Cord?”

“Damn it, Lisa. Promise me.”

“Okay, okay. I promise,” she said and he let her arm go and walked back to his parents.

“Let’s go,” he said to his father as he got into the driver’s side of the truck.

At the airport Cord took out his cell phone and called Annie. It went straight to voice mail. He called three times without leaving a message.

On the fourth time, he did leave a message. “Hey. It’s me…. I love you. We need to talk when I get back.” He paused. “Um…uh…hey, don’t listen to anything you hear, okay? I have to board the plane now. I’ll call you later. I love you,” he repeated. He hung up and in a disheartened state walked onto the plane.

Annie finished the morning ritual at the B&B and turned on her phone to see that Cord had called and she had a message. She called Cord but got his voice mail. She hung up and played the message. It was from him. She smiled when he said he loved her but as the message went on she detected something in his voice that wasn’t right. She played the message again and then pressed nine to save.

Cord called Annie again when he got to his hotel room. He was relieved she answered.

“Hi, baby,” he said but Annie noted it came out sad.

“Hi, Cord. Is everything all right?” she asked.

Cord hesitated.

“Cord?”

“Yeah, baby, I’m just missing you already, is all,” he said. He wanted to tell her, but he knew that was something that he needed to tell her in person. He needed to hold her, to gauge her reaction. He didn’t want to lose her. He couldn’t lose her.

“I miss you, too,” she said so sweetly, which made him feel guilty for not saying anything.

“I gotta head out to the arena.”

“Okay.”

“Annie?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t listen to anyone.” Was all he could say because he got a sinking feeling Lisa was not going to wait. She was going to spill and he was fourteen hundred miles away and not a damn thing he could do about it.

“What do you mean?”

“I have to go. I do love you.”

“I love you, too.” Before she got the words out he had hung up.
Hmm, what the hell was that all about,
she thought. She looked at her phone.             

That afternoon, Annie came back with packages from the market and heard Calista by the pool. Upon further inspection, she saw that Lisa was there.

Her first reaction was who cares, but Lisa hadn’t been around since she was arrested for causing Cord’s accident. Her father paid her bail and now she had a court date for the first week of September, right before Annie was to leave for Paris. At that thought, it saddened her that Cord hadn’t asked her to stay. She thought he would have.

Her second reaction was to go over there and make Lisa’s life miserable. Yeah, that’s what she would do.

She walked to the pool area. Calista was tanning herself on the lounge and she had an annoyed look on her face. She saw Annie and that look turned to one of shock, then, what was that, sadness?

Lisa on the other hand was beaming.

“Hi.” Annie addressed Calista and not Lisa.

“Hi.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, honey-”

“I’m pregnant with Cord’s baby,” Lisa wasted no time saying, sounding all happy and giddy and shit.

Annie did a double take, looking from Lisa to Calista to Lisa again.

“Come again?” She asked.

“Didn’t Cord tell you? He and I are going to have a baby, together.” Lisa repeated.

Annie became so light headed and her legs weakened. She sat in the chair next to Calista. Calista sat up and reached out her hand to Annie.

Annie recoiled and got up. She couldn’t breathe even though that day was a nice, warm, not a hot as hell, for once, dry day. She had to get out of there. She walked then ran to the stairs of the B&B but not before hearing Lisa laugh and Calista telling her to leave.

Once in her room, Annie fired off a text to Cord.

Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me? Something you forget to tell me?

Sent: Fri. 5:45 pm

By: Annie

Five minutes passed then ten, then fifteen. Annie waited with her phone in her hand for a half an hour. Still no reply from Cord. She called him and it went straight to voice mail. She flung her phone against the wall and something broke off of it.

The knock at the door told her it was Calista. She always knocked a certain way.

“Come in, C.” Calista came in, sat down and put her arms around a sobbing Annie.

“How could he do this to me? He said he loved me.”

“Oh, honey. I’m so, so, sorry,” Calista said as she tried to console her even though she knew it was useless.

“He was just stringing me along. He didn’t mean anything he said to me. I was just a fling to him. I knew it. I knew it,” Annie said between sobs. “That’s why he never asked me to stay.”

Later that night, Annie called her mother and told her she was flying to Paris in the morning. Her mother was ecstatic to have Annie with her. Their whole family would be together for good now.

Annie glanced down at her cell and noticed a missed call. She saw there was a text from Cord but without reading it, she hit delete. She didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say. It would all be lies, wouldn’t it?

She sat down with Joan and thanked her for everything and told her she would be leaving for Paris in the morning.

Gretchen, the woman she was filling in for at the B&B, was due back in another two weeks and Annie felt bad about leaving but she couldn’t stay, she couldn’t face Cord on Sunday. She needed to be far away from him as soon as possible.

Jake tried to talk her out of it. He said Cord called him and asked him to ask her to call him. When Cord found out she was leaving for Paris, he begged Jake to hold her there. Jake knew he couldn’t do that and Cord did too. He was being irrational.

“Annie, he’s begging me to have you call him. Please don’t do this to him. He loves you, he told me so,” Jake said, while he waited with her at the airport. Calista was there too, on Annie’s other side.

“Don’t do this to him? I didn’t do THIS to him.” She emphasized the word this. “He did THIS to him. I can’t face him now. I feel like such a fool, Jake,” she said as the tears started rolling again. He hugged her to him to try to console her and she cried so much that his shirt at the shoulder where her face rested was soaking wet. It broke his heart to see her like that. It broke his heart that his best friend didn’t tell her Lisa was pregnant with his child. That she had to find out from Lisa instead, but he knew he would accept whatever Cord did because they were tighter than brothers and that made him feel worse for Annie.

Her flight was leaving in a half an hour, just enough time for her to get through security and to the gate. She hugged and kissed Jake and wished him and Jennie well.

“I love you, you know?”

“I love you too, Annie.”

“Thank you for being a big brother to me. Thank you for everything, Jake.”

“Just because you’ll be a world away, you won’t stop being my little sister. Any French man that fucks with you, you tell me and I’ll make him eat dirt,” he said with a small smile.

She smiled at that, too.

Then she turned to her best friend. They embraced and Calista said. “Don’t forget to call me when you get there.

“I won’t.”

“Give me the address so I can come and see you.”

“I will”

“I miss you already. I wish you weren’t leaving.”

I miss you already, too, but I need to go. You better come see me and not forget me,” Annie said, while the tears came down hers and Calista’s faces as the both of them wiped each other’s tears away.

They laughed and kissed and then Annie walked away.