Texas Haven (13 page)

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*
*
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Alice was shocked. She really didn
’
t believe that Burke would actually kick her out.
She shrieked, cried, begged, pleaded, and demanded, but Burke stood firm. He told her that she had three days and that was it.
She felt panicky as she watched him march away from her. Her tearful pleading hadn
’
t worked. It usually worked for the curvy blonde. She stamped her feet as she watched him get in his rusty old truck. She
’
d been so certain that causing Annie to fall would prolong her stay one way or the other. Now she wished she
’
d caused a fatal accident. Her eyes narrowed and her resolve firmed. She had a plan for her and Burke, a plan that involved millions of dollars, money that Annie didn
’
t even know about.

Sonny had originally hired Alice to come back to Weltworth and make sure that the marriage didn
’
t take place.
They met when she had sold Sonny the piece of Burke
’
s land she received in the divorce. After the sale, they had spent a nice long weekend together. The
y
really did have a lot in common. They were both savvy in the ways of money.
He was desperate to maintain control of Annie
’
s money,
t
rust fund money that Annie didn
’
t even know about. She
’
d been too late to prevent the marriage, but she planned to break it up and marry Burke. His divorce settlement would be worth millions and she planned to get a portion of it for herself.

Alice calmed herself. Her goal was in sight and she wasn
’
t going to let that little nothing ruin it for her. She smiled wickedly as she started to plan. They would never know what hit them by the time she finished. Alice patted her blonde hair in place and walked into the house. If they wanted her to be a nursemaid to that tramp, she would. She needed to keep her eye on the prize.

Chapter Eight

Annie felt a bit suspicious when Alice brought her a cup of tea. She anticipated having to wait for Burke to come home, but here was Alice being as pleasant as she could be. Something didn
’
t feel right, but Annie accepted the tea
gratefully
.

“
I
’
ll be in the kitchen if you need anything,
”
Alice
said sweetly.
“
Why don
’
t you take a nap? You look done in.
”

“
I think I will, thanks,
”
Annie responded hesitantly, eyeing the blonde beauty.
“
Have you seen, Cat?
”

“
No.
”

She didn
’
t know what Alice
’
s new game was
, but
she was too tired to worry about it. Drinking the tea, she thought it had an odd taste.
“
Alice!
”

Alice
looked
into the room.
“
What now?
”
T
he impatience in her voice was grating.

“
This tea tastes a bit off. What kind is it?
”

“
What do you mean what kind? You only have one kind
,
and that is what it is. I
’
m sorry if I can
’
t even make a cup of tea to please
you.
You know
,
I
’
m beginning to wonder if the fall wasn
’
t done as an attention getter.
”
Alice
’
s eyes narrowed.
“
I think you were jealous that Burke and I were getting cozy again, making a connection. You
’
re pathetic and now you have the nerve to complain about the tea? Oh please
,
give it a rest!
”

Alice
’
s outburst astonished Annie. None of it made any sense. Alice was unbalanced. Annie felt suddenly very groggy. She heard Alice puttering around the kitchen as she fell asleep. She slept soundly.

Annie stretched her arms above her head trying to work out the stiffness from sleeping on the couch. In pain, she reached toward the coffee table for her
medication
and was surprised to see that
it was
gone. The table was empty. Her glass of water was also missing. Slowly, she sat herself up.
“
Alice,
”
she called.
“
Alice, I need my meds and some water please.
”
It killed her to have to say please to that witch
, but
she needed her.

Silence again greeted her.
At
first
she
thought that this was Alice
’
s revenge for making her leave, but Annie was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She called for Alice two more times before giving up. The pain became unbearable and she urgently needed to empty her bladder. She couldn
’
t stand it anymore; she had to get to the bathroom.

Gingerly she propped herself up to a standing position. It was very tricky with her right wrist and leg out of commission. Finally, she felt balanced enough that she took an awkward step toward the bathroom. She took one-step, then another before falling, face first onto the floor. Annie saw stars as she hit the wooden planks. If she had thought that the pain was bad before, it was substantially more so now. Annie swore as she felt her bladder relieve itself. Tears streamed down her face in pain and humiliation.

Just how long she lay there, she didn
’
t know. It was unbearable to lie in her urine. She tried breathing exercises that she had read about to try to manage the pain. It didn
’
t help much
, but
it gave her something to concentrate on. She worried about who was going to find her. Being helpless, she felt embarrassed. She tried to turn over and move away from the moistness but her pain was
all-encompassing
. She couldn
’
t move.

Finally,
there was a knock on the kitchen door. Annie heard Sherry calling out a hello.

“I’m in here.”

She
rry walked into the family room and
immediately got down on her knees
brush
ing
the wet, tear
-
plastered hair away from Annie
’
s face.
“
Annie, can you hear me?
”
she asked.
“
Let me help you up,
”
she offered.

“
No!
”
Annie cried in panic.
“
Get my pain pills first.
”

Sherry hurried back with the pills and a glass of water. She helped Annie to move her head enough that she could swallow them.
“
Better?
”
She stroked Annie
’
s auburn hair.

“
I am, now that you
’
re here, thank you.
”
Annie reached out and squeezed her friend
’
s hand in gratitude.

“
How long have you been on the floor?
”
Sherry inquired.
“
Where is every one?
”

“
Burke
’
s working and Alice was supposed to take care of me
—
”

“
What?
”
her friend interrupted. Sherry was indignant.
“
Who allowed that to happen? My God the woman hates you, I just don
’
t understand.
”

Annie gave Sherry a ghost of a smile. She gazed lovingly at her friend. Her only friend it seemed. Annie liked the way her brown eyes looked murderous, and it was all in defense of her. It had been a long time since anyone was on her side. It gave her a warm feeling,
though
it
might have been
the pain pills kicking in.
“
I think it would be ok
ay
to move me now, if you can.
”

“
Let
’
s do it slowly, one step at a time,
”
Sherry suggested, gently rolling Annie onto her back
.

Annie grunted and turned bright red.
“
I was on my way to the bathroom
—
”
she started to explain.

Sherry squeezed her hand.
“
Accidents happen. Besides this wasn
’
t your fault. Where is the witch from hell anyway?
”

Sherry carefully lifted Annie to her feet,
winding them both too much for
any
more
conversation. Slowly, Sherry helped her to the bathroom and cleaned her up. They laughed a time or two trying to get her clothes off and on over her cast. By the time they were done, Annie seemed to be in better spirits.

Step by slow step, they finally made it back to the couch. Annie sighed as she sank back into the soft cushions.

“
I don
’
t know how to thank you, Sherry. I
’
d still be on the floor if you hadn
’
t stopped by.
”

“
I
’
m just glad that I did come over.
Ted and I were supposed to go to Oklahoma to visit his sister but he couldn’t get away at the last minute. I’m still holding out hope for a small vacation.
You never did say where your so called caretaker is.
”

Annie shrugged her shoulders.
“
I woke up to find my pills and water gone. I called out
, but
she wasn
’
t here,
”
she explained.
“
If she went somewhere
,
why take my pills away? It makes no sense to me.
”

“
She probably did it to be spiteful,
”
Sherry conjectured.
“
Burke told Ted that he gave her three days to get out.
”

“
That
’
s the plan,
”
Annie agreed.
“
Mrs. Harvy should be back by then.
”

“
Are you two country bumpkins gossiping about me again?
”
Alice asked cattily, making her entrance into the family room.

“
Where have you been?
”
Sherry demanded.
“
I found Annie on the floor when I got here.
”

“
Oops,
”
Alice replied, putting her hand over her lips in fake dismay.

“
Annie needed your help this afternoon.
”

Alice shrugged her shoulder as if she didn
’
t care.
“
Like I said
,
‘
oops.
’”

“
You are the sorriest example of a human being I
’
ve ever come across!
”
Sherry hissed.
“
Annie fell while you were gone and lay there for hours until I came along. Where were you?
”

Alice barely blinked.
“
I was out.
”
She picked up her packages. They were shopping bags from high-end stores. Annie and Sherry exchanged puzzled glances.

“
What did you do, go all the way to Dallas to buy clothes?
”
Sherry asked in outrage.

Alice smiled at the brown-haired woman.
“
Where I go is none of your business. However, since you asked, a friend gave me money to spend. As you probably know, you can
’
t buy anything decent around here.
”
She smiled maliciously. She made an overt scene of studying the other two women
’
s clothes.
“
Oh, I suppose you
don
’
t know that.
”

“
By the way Alice, Where is Cat?
”
Sherry asked accusingly.

“
Will you two give up on that damn cat?
”

“
Please, both of you just stop,
”
Annie pleaded.
“
My head hurts from listening to you.
”

Sherry bent down and touched Annie
’
s forehead checking for fever.
“
I don
’
t want to leave you alone with her,
”
she whispered.

Annie smiled
.
“
Burke will be back in an hour,
”
she gazed solemnly at Sherry.
“
Go, I
’
ll be all right.
”

“
If you
’
re sure…
”

“
I
’
m fine now thanks to you.
”
Annie gave her a weak smile.
“
I
’
ll just lay here and before I know it Burke will be home.
”

Sherry hesitated finally she nodded to Annie.
“
Call me if you need me.
”

Annie reached up and hugged her.
“
I will, and thank you for helping me.
”

“
I
’
m just glad that I stopped by when I did,
”
she said as she gave Annie a quick hug back.
“
Take care.
”