Loving Annie

by Anna Huckabee

  Danny groaned. “You aren’t being fair, Miss Annie.”

  “Fairness has nothing to do with it. I’m worried for your safety. Come on. Your father is in his office. We can talk with him now.”

  “No, wait.” Danny grabbed Annie’s arm as she picked up the empty laundry basket and walked back to the kitchen. “I know Papa’s going to say no. Can’t you talk to him about it later?”

  “I happen to agree with your papa this time. But I’ll wait to talk to him until after I’ve met Bobby’s mother.”

  “Okay,” Danny said. Annie could see in his eyes he already knew how the conversation would go.

  “Go get your sisters and brother,” Annie said. “I want you all to play outside until lunch is finished. You’ve been cooped up in the house all winter. It’s not good for you.”

  Danny dragged his feet all the way to the house. Annie heard him stomp up the stairs. He came back down a few minutes later, followed by his siblings. Ava handed Darren to Annie and they all ran outside. Annie could see them from the kitchen window. She was thankful Coren had relaxed his rules enough so she could send the children outside on their own when she had work to do inside.

  Darren toddled around the kitchen, eventually finding his way to the blocks piled in a basket next to the table. He grabbed two blocks and smacked them together, laughing at the noise they made.

  Annie checked the food in the oven. She set the table, making frequent trips to the window to check on the older children. She couldn’t see Danny or Ezra anymore. Had Danny disobeyed and gone to Bobby’s house anyway?

  The back door eased open and Ava stuck her head inside. “Miss Annie, you’d better come quick.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  Annie grabbed Darren and followed Ava out the door. “Where are your brothers, Ava?”

  Ava pointed at the huge tree in the back yard. Danny stood perched on the smallest branch that would hold him, near the very top. Ezra was still climbing, not to be outdone by his big brother.

  Annie gasped and clutched her chest. “Danny! Ezra! Come down this very minute!” She whipped around to face Ava. “How did they get up there?”

  Ava led the way to the back of the tree. The boys had propped a ladder against it. It had allowed them to reach the lowest branches and begin their climb. “Danny got it out of the garage when you weren’t looking.”

  “Ava, I was watching the whole time!”

  Ava shrugged. “He said he thought you weren’t nice anymore and he didn’t like you. He said he was going to do something he knew Papa wouldn’t like and he didn’t care if he got in trouble or not.”

  Annie lifted her gaze to the top of the tree. Danny was sitting on the branch swinging his legs. Ezra stood on a branch above Danny and bounced. It swayed but didn’t break. Yet. Annie felt like her legs were going to give out from underneath her. She wanted to cry. How could she get them to come down?

  “Look, Miss Annie!” Ezra called. He leaned between two branches precariously. “We can see all the houses in the neighborhood. I can even see your mama and papa’s house.”

  “Take Darren,” Annie commanded Ava and handed her the squirming boy. Annie realized she’d been squeezing him tighter than he liked and he was trying to get away. “Watch him. I’m going up after those boys.”

  Mrs. Norrington’s face appeared over the hedge dividing the two yards. “Did those hellions finally get the best of you, Mrs. Winslow?” She cackled. “Boys will be boys. You might have to wait for them to come down on their own. I’m sure they’ll get hungry eventually. Hopefully they don’t fall on the way down.” She stopped talking when she saw Annie, half-way up the ladder and gripping the lowest branches on the tree.

  Annie pulled herself up, one branch after another. Ezra climbed down to meet her. “I didn’t know you could climb trees, Miss Annie. Our mama never climbed trees.”

  Annie felt breathless from exertion and fear. “Ezra, you need to climb down right now. Please. Come with me. I’ll help you so you don’t fall and die.”

  Ezra giggled. “I’m not going to fall and die.”

  “That’s what they always say. Come on now. Let’s get down from here. You already climbed higher than Danny.”

  Ezra sat on the branch, swinging his legs and thinking about what Annie had said. “You’re right,” he said. He slipped down to the next branch. Annie followed him. She made sure his feet were securely on the ladder before she started back to the top once more.

  “I’m not coming down until you promise Bobby can come play.”

  “I won’t promise any such thing. Bobby tries to get you to do things you know you shouldn’t. You never stand up to him. Why would I allow a young man I love to be around people who tell them to disobey me?”

  Danny faced away from Annie. “Then I’m not coming down.”

  Annie leaned against the tree trunk and wrapped her arms around it. She felt shaky, like her legs would give any minute. She didn’t dare look down. The ground wavered beneath the tree. A wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. Annie squeezed her eyes shut and hung on to the tree for dear life.

  “Your papa is never letting you out of the house after this. Nothing I say will influence him otherwise.” Annie’s words weren’t spoken in threat. It was a statement of fact.

  “You’re going to tell him I’m up here.”

  “I have no other choice, Danny. You know what you’re doing is wrong. I have to climb down now. Being up here is making me dizzy.” Annie sank onto the branch and hung on until the dizziness eased.

  Coren chose that moment to exit the back door. “Annie? Are you out here? I think the food is done. It might be burning.”

  Annie groaned. She climbed down one branch, then another.

  “Ava, where is Annie?” Coren asked.

  Annie watched Ava lift her eyes to the tree. They’d been found out. There was no turning back now. She climbed down another branch, then another. Each one was easier than the last. It helped they now felt big enough to hold her weight without breaking.

  “What are you doing up the tree?” Coren yelled loud enough Annie was sure all the neighbors could hear.

  Annie winced. She looked up at Danny. The boy was scrambling down as fast as his legs could carry him, a look of guilt plastered all over his face. Before long, Danny had passed Annie and had reached the lower branches.

  Time seemed to stand still when he tried to lower himself to the ladder, missed, and fell the fifteen feet to the ground. Annie heard someone scream. The sound must have come from her own mouth. All her fear dissipated. She needed to get to the ground as fast as she could without falling.

  Danny lay on the ground holding his arm. He rolled back and forth moaning in agony. Coren reached him long before Annie could get to the ladder and climb to the ground.

  “Ava, take the others inside,” Annie commanded. Vivian was clinging to her big sister’s skirt. Ezra stood frozen at the bottom of the tree.

  Ava nodded once and, carrying Darren in one arm, dragged Vivian to the kitchen door.

  “Take the food out of the oven,” Annie called. She dropped to her knees next to Danny and Coren, fighting back tears.

  “His spine and neck seem to be okay. He can move his legs. Help me get him into the office so I can check him properly,” said Coren.

  “What do you want me to do?” Annie asked.

  Coren scooped his son into his arms. “Open the doors and clear a path.”

  Annie jumped to her feet and ran to the house.

  Danny cried out when he was moved, but he refused to let any tears fall. Ava stood in the kitchen with the younger three. Their somber faces broke Annie’s heart.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. Let me help your papa get Danny settled.” She grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch in the drawing room and carried it to the office.

  Coren had laid Danny on his examination table. Annie handed Coren the blanket.

  “Do you need my help?” Annie asked.

  “Not
yet. I’ll let you know when I do.”

  “I’m going back to the kitchen. The others are worried.”

  Annie didn’t know if Coren heard her or not. She didn’t care. Three pale little faces watched her from the kitchen door. Annie could hear Darren banging blocks together somewhere behind them.

  “He’s going to be fine,” she tried to assure them. “He can move his arms and legs and he’s awake. Those are all good signs. Your papa is the best doctor. He’ll take good care of Danny.”

  “I told them not to go up the tree,” Ava said, stifling a sob. “He wouldn’t listen. He waited until it was my turn to hide and got the ladder. Ezra went up after him.”

  Ezra’s eyes were huge. “I shouldn’t have climbed. I knew Papa wouldn’t like it.”

  Annie shook her head. “Boys climb trees. It’s a normal thing to do. Even girls climb trees sometimes.”

  “Like you, Mama,” said Vivian.

  “Yes, well, it wasn’t as easy as it used to be when I was a little girl.” Annie shook her head trying to rid herself of the dizzy feeling she got at the memory alone. “The problem wasn’t climbing the tree. The problem was Danny did it because he was angry and was being selfish. He disobeyed.”

  “Is that why he fell?”

  “No, that was an accident. Danny was rushing because he knew he was in trouble from your papa. You got down fine, Ezra. So did I.”

  “So God punished Danny for disobeying Papa,” said Ava.

  Annie smiled. “No. God isn’t vindictive. It wasn’t a punishment. It was an accident because he wasn’t being careful. He would have been fine if he’d slowed down.”

  “He still would have gotten in trouble.”

  “That’s up to your papa. But he wouldn’t have been hurt. Understand?”

  Three sober children nodded. Annie situated everyone at the table for lunch. She tried to choke down bites of her own food. It felt like hours had gone by, but a check of the clock revealed only minutes had passed.

  Finally, they heard the office door open and footsteps walk toward the kitchen. Coren appeared in the door. “I could use your help, Annie. He dislocated his shoulder when he grabbed that branch as he fell. It could have been so much worse. I can get it back in, but I need someone to help me hold him.”

  Annie nodded, unsure of whether she’d be able to handle it or not. “Come feed Darren, Ava,” she said. The girl switched seats without a word, her eyes huge and full of worry.

  Annie followed Coren to the office.

  Danny’s red-rimmed, pain-filled eyes met Annie’s. Her heart broke for this little boy in so much pain. Then he turned away from her, refusing to look at her again.

  “Miss Annie is going to help me hold you. It’s going to hurt very badly for a little while, then we’ll wrap it so you can’t move it. You’re going to be stuck in the house for a few days. I hope that climb was worth all this.”

  Annie wrapped her arms around the boy. He buried his face in her shoulder. The only sound he made was a moan when Coren pulled his shoulder back into place. A few large bandages and a sling later, and they were done. Danny joined the rest of the family in the kitchen to poke at his lunch.

  Once lunch was finished and Darren was down for a nap, Annie found Danny sitting in the window seat in the school room. The others were reading in their favorite spots. Annie sat across from him but he still refused to look at her.

  “Want to talk about it?” Annie asked.

  “You’re mad at me. Papa is mad at me. What’s there to talk about?”

  “I’m not mad at you. You about scared the life out of me. I thought you were going to be hurt far worse than you were.” Annie leaned forward and cupped his cheek, forcing him to face her. “I love you, Danny. I want only good things for you.”

  “It doesn’t seem like that. It seems like you’re trying to keep me from doing things I like.”

  “Like playing with Bobby?”

  “Yeah. And climbing trees.”

  “You were up so high. It didn’t look safe to me. I’m just thankful you’re not hurt any worse than you are.”

  “You aren’t angry at me?” For the first time all afternoon, Danny’s eyes filled with tears.

  “No, Danny, I’m not angry at you.”

  “What about Papa?”

  “You’ll have to talk to him to find out.” Annie leaned over and pressed a kiss to Danny’s forehead. Then she rested her forehead against his. “The next couple weeks could be pretty boring for you, until you heal. It’ll give us a chance to talk about this Bobby thing. Now, why don’t you read your book for a while. You need to rest.”

  Danny opened his book and settled back into the window to read. A little while later, when Annie gathered everyone for their afternoon lessons, she found Danny sound asleep. She draped a blanket over him and let him rest.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “We need to talk about what happened this afternoon,” Coren told Annie when the children were in bed.

  Annie was ready to go the bed herself. The day had been exhausting and she was tired. “What do you want to discuss?” She already knew the answer and braced for the discussion she knew was coming.

  “What on earth happened so those two boys were able to climb the tree? I thought we’d agreed you’d watch them every time they were outside.”

  Annie glared at Coren. She’d hoped they’d moved past these silly ideas of his. She thought they had. She’d told him she couldn’t be outside with the children every single time they played and he hadn’t said a word about it.

  “I was watching them. Danny was angry at me when he went outside and acted out because of it.”

  “Why was he angry at you?”

  “He wanted his friend Bobby to come over to play. I told him I needed to meet Bobby’s mother and talk to you about it first.”

  “He could have been killed, Annie. I don’t want them up the trees. You should know this by now.”

  Annie was furious. “Don’t talk down to me, Coren! It is not my fault he fell. For one thing, I think little boys should climb trees. I’ll bet you did when you were a boy. Danny fell because he was trying to climb down too fast and got careless.

  “For another thing, you’ve put me in an impossible situation. I can’t keep them fed and do all the housework and watch them every second they’re outside. If you’re so concerned about someone being with them outside, you watch them.”

  A cold fury settled over Coren’s face. “Fine. They can play inside from now on.”

  “You know that’s a terrible plan. They need to play outside. It’s good for them.”

  “I can’t watch them. You won’t watch them. They are my children, you will do as I ask. They will play inside this house from now on.”

  Annie was so angry she was shaking. “Why are you taking your worry about what could have happened to Danny out on me and the rest of the children? I will not keep them cooped up in this house all the time.”

  Coren stepped close, his face inches from Annie’s. “How dare you defy me?”

  Annie had never seen him so angry. Who was this man? The person who had been emerging over the last few months was gone. In his place was the same controlling man she’d met the first day she came to his house. Tears sprang to Annie’s eyes. It was too late now. She was married to him. She ducked her face in an attempt to hide her emotions.

  Coren’s eyes widened as he realized his error. He stepped back and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Annie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…” He reached for her, then changed his mind, spun on his heel, and disappeared into his office.

  Annie wrapped her arms around herself. She took several deep breaths before going upstairs and preparing for bed. But once she was finally under the covers, she found it didn’t matter how tired she was. She couldn’t go to sleep.

  Annie thought back to the long talks they’d been having in the evenings. She thought about the times he’d held her hand, wrapped her in his arms, kissed her. She’
d fallen in love with that Coren, not the angry man she’d spoken to tonight. Annie knew she was still in love with him. But it might take time for her to trust him again. Tears came, tears of relief and worry and hurt. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and cried until she had no more tears. Then she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  ∞

  Coren sank into his desk chair and buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t get Annie’s face out of his mind — her shock, horror, anger, and behind it all, fear. He had frightened her. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He’d never hurt her. Never. But he had.

  Coren knew he was being unreasonable. He knew he’d overreacted. He knew Annie was right. Boys climbed trees. He’d done so as a boy. Children needed to play outside. Annie watched his children like a hawk. She had stepped into the role of their mother without a word of complaint. She deserved more than threats and impossible rules.

  The thing Coren liked best about Annie was that she refused to back down from him. She challenged him in the best way. She made him face the fact his demands were often based in fear or worry. She helped him see around the fear and worry and face the realities of life. She was sweet and kind and he enjoyed spending time with her.

  They’d come so far in their relationship. In one awful moment, he’d managed to undo every bit of that progress.

  Coren stood and paced the office floor. It wasn’t a large room, and he covered the distance between the couch and examination table repeatedly. He’d have to start all over again. He’d have to show her he was sorry, that he really had changed.

  He wanted to try to talk to her again before she fell asleep. He needed to apologize one more time, make sure she heard him this time. He hurried upstairs and stood outside the closed guest room door, hand poised to knock. That’s when he heard the heart-wrenching sobs issuing from inside the room. Coren dropped his hand. He leaned his head against the closed door, eyes squeezed shut as he listened. He’d done that to her. It was his fault.

  Part of him wanted to push the door open and rush inside, sweep her into his arms. Then he remembered the look of hurt and fear on her face and it gave him pause. She wasn’t ready for that yet.