Loving Annie

by Anna Huckabee

  He spread his hand flat on the door. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you like this.”

  A realization dawned on him then. It filled his mind and his heart with a quiet, confident knowledge. He was in love with Annie. He didn’t know when it had happened but there it was, a sure, flickering flame that hadn’t been there before and refused to die.

  He loved her, and he was determined he’s show her how much in the following days.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  A cold front came through and dumped several inches of snow. It turned the yard into a soggy mess. Danny couldn’t play outside because of his shoulder and none of the other children wanted to. So Annie kept everyone inside for the next several days.

  She felt jumpy every time Coren came into the room and tried to avoid spending time with him. She spent her evenings in her bedroom reading or writing letters. It was lonely and miserable and Annie hated it, but she couldn’t see another way to handle her fragile emotions around him.

  Several times, she caught him watching her, sadness and regret written all over his face. He wasn’t usually around during the day, between house calls and emergencies. Over the next few days, whenever he was home, he helped her watch the children. He would reach for her, or try to start a conversation, but Annie would walk away, or respond with as few words as possible. She knew she was being petty, but she was still hurt and angry.

  Danny’s arm stayed in a sling for two weeks. The third week, Coren only allowed limited movement. Danny didn’t complain. He watched the rest of the children playing and sulked on the kitchen steps. Annie did her best to cheer him up, but she could tell something was still bothering him.

  “Did you ever talk to your papa?” she asked one afternoon, taking a seat next to him on the step.

  “No,” said Danny. “He was mad at me. I could tell.”

  “He wasn’t mad at you. He was mad at me,” said Annie. “You should try to talk to him.”

  “Have you talked to him?” Danny asked.

  “No,” Annie said with a sigh. “I should probably try to talk to him, too.”

  But she put it off several more days, even though she could tell Coren was trying to make things right.

  The afternoon Danny got permission to use his arm, he organized a baseball game in their yard. Several neighbor kids showed up, including Bobby and his younger brother. Annie watched them play and was troubled when Bobby bullied the younger children and didn’t play fair. She watched from the drawing room window, unaware Coren had walked up behind her.

  “Is that Bobby?” he asked.

  Annie jumped, startled, and took a step away from him. Coren caught her waist. “Annie, wait. We need to talk. Please don’t walk away.”

  “I didn’t know you were home,” she said. She folded her arms over her chest.

  “I just arrived. Is that Bobby?” He tried again.

  “Yes. He and his younger brother came to play ball with the children. I haven’t sent them home yet because I wanted to watch how they acted around our kids.”

  “Our kids. I love it when you say that.”

  Annie felt the warmth from Coren’s body on her back as he stepped closer. Part of her wanted to move away from him, put distance between them. Part of her wanted to lean into him and feel his arms around her. Instead, she held herself stiff, aloof, fighting back tears.

  “Annie, I’m so sorry about what happened weeks ago. I should never have behaved the way I did or treated you so horribly. I was overreacting and taking out my fear on you. Will you forgive me? Can we go back to being friends and talking to each other and spending time together?”

  She stifled a sob. “You frightened me. You treated me like I’m nothing more than a live-in nanny that you married to keep things right and proper and so the neighbors wouldn’t talk.”

  Annie felt Coren’s groan in his chest. “I know. I know, and I’ve regretted it ever since. I regretted it the moment I did it. I…” he hesitated, “I’ve realized I can’t manage without you. Not just with the children, because you fill a very important role for them. But personally, too. I need you, Annie. You’ve helped me more than you’ll ever know.”

  Then his arms did wrap around her and he drew her against him. Annie relaxed her crossed arms and leaned against his chest. She felt the anger and hurt ebb away.

  “I can’t promise I won’t ever act that way again,” said Coren. “But I can promise I will never physically harm you.”

  “I know,” Annie said. “You didn’t harm me that night. You made me angry. I thought you’d moved past all those demands. You made me think you’d been putting on an act for all those months to draw me in.” Annie turned in his arms until she faced him. She rested her hands on his chest. “I’ve missed you, too.”

  Coren’s eyes dropped to her lips. He was going to kiss her. Annie supposed that’s what married people did. They kissed and made up. She wanted it, but she wanted him to make the first move.

  Shouts dragged her attention from Coren and back to the children playing outside. Bobby had Ezra on the ground. He was sitting on Ezra’s chest, fist raised to punch him. Danny stood to one side, making no move to stop the bigger boy. Ava yelled at Bobby. She had him by the other arm, trying to drag him off.

  Annie darted away from Coren and out the front door.

  “Get off Ezra right this minute, Bobby,” she called.

  Bobby twisted to look at Annie. A sneer spread across his face. “Or what? Are you going to make me?”

  Annie flew across the yard, almost before she realized she’d done so. She grabbed Bobby by the ear and lifted. He scrambled to his feet to keep pace with his upward moving ear. Annie didn’t loosen her grip. She marched him to the street and turned his face toward her.

  “Go home, Bobby.” She didn’t yell at him. Her voice was low and threatening. “I don’t want to see you in my yard again until you’ve decided to behave. You will not treat younger children that way. If I see you treating any children this way again, I’ll be coming to your house and having a talk with your mother about your behavior.” She released his ear.

  “You can’t make me go home.” said Bobby, every fiber of his young body defiant.

  Annie stepped closer, leaning into his space until he leaned back to get away from her. “Do you want to push me and see if I can make you or not?”

  Bobby turned on his heel and sauntered away from their house. Annie watched until he’d disappeared around the corner. She turned back to the yard to check on Ezra.

  All four of the older Winslow children were staring at her, eyes wide, and Coren watched from the front porch. Bobby’s younger brother edged his way to the street and took off running before Annie could say anything.

  Annie hurried to Ezra. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He nodded, eyes wide.

  “You’re scary when you’re protecting your children,” came Coren’s voice from behind her on the porch.

  Annie flinched. “He can’t beat up younger kids and get away with it. Danny, this is why I told you I wanted to meet his mother. Why didn’t you try to stop him? Bobby isn’t a good influence on you. I don’t want him playing here again. Understand?”

  Danny’s face had grown hard. Annie could see he was upset, but she couldn’t understand why.

  “What happened to make him jump on Ezra like that?”

  “Ezra hit him with the baseball. Bobby said he did it on purpose,” Ava explained.

  “He shouldn’t have knocked him to the ground and tried to hit him,” Annie said. Her eyes met Danny’s. He looked away.

  Annie knew she wasn’t getting anywhere. She heaved a sigh. “Let’s go inside and get cleaned up. You all need to finish your chores before supper.”

  They scattered to pick up the toys in the yard. Annie returned to the house.

  Coren followed Annie to the kitchen. He led Darren by the hand to the toy box in the corner and stood with him until he was playing with the toys. “I’m glad you d
idn’t march me to my office by the ear a couple weeks ago, though I probably deserved it.”

  Annie tried to glare at him, but couldn’t hide the twinkle in her eye. “You better be careful, mister. You don’t want to make me mad.”

  Coren chuckled. He crossed the kitchen, wrapped his arms around Annie, and pulled her against him. She could feel the laughter rumbling in his chest. He was so handsome when he smiled like that.

  “Where were we when Bobby so rudely interrupted?” Coren murmured. He tipped her face to his with a finger under her chin.

  Annie’s breath caught. He hadn’t tried to kiss her in a long time and she’d missed it, longed for it. So when his lips touched hers, she kissed him back, relishing the feel of his mouth against hers.

  “Dadadada,” came Darren’s voice from around their knees.

  Coren pulled away and looked down at his son. “I think he wants in on the action.”

  Annie’s heart was racing. She wanted to throw her arms around Coren’s neck and kiss him again. Instead, she stepped back and picked up the toddler, who planted an open mouthed baby kiss first on Annie, then on Coren.

  Coren chuckled. He wrapped his arms around both of them and brushed a final kiss across Annie’s lips. “I love you,” he whispered, his words so soft Annie didn’t know if she’d heard him correctly. Then he stepped back and took Darren. “Let me keep an eye on him so you can do what you need to do in here. I’m useless in a kitchen.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  The tension of the last couple weeks had dissipated and it was as if the house breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone’s attitudes improved. They cooperated better, got their schoolwork done faster, were more thorough with their chores.

  Everyone, except Danny.

  Annie watched him with concern. He’d grown sullen and distant. He’d never been eager for affection from anyone. Now he actively sought to avoid it. He refused to participate when they shared memories every evening and insisted it was stupid and he hated doing it. Coren tried to talk to him without success.

  One afternoon, Annie sent the children outside to play, then joined them to hang a load of laundry from their seemingly endless supply. She watched them kick a ball around the yard. Slowly, the realization dawned that she couldn’t see Danny anywhere in the yard. She looked up their tree. He wasn’t there. A quick scan told her he wasn’t in any of the neighboring trees, either. She hurried to the front of the house to see if he was near the road. She’d noticed Bobby hanging around several times. Danny was no where to be seen.

  “Ava. Ezra. Vivian,” she said, walking up to the children. “Do you know where Danny is?”

  Ava glanced around the yard, surprised. “I haven’t seen him in a few minutes. Maybe he’s in the garage.”

  Annie hurried to the open garage door. Coren had left and taken the car and Danny wasn’t inside the large, empty room.

  “Mama,” said Vivian from behind her, “he left.”

  Annie felt panic growing in her chest. “He left? When did he leave? Do you know where he went?” She couldn’t leave the rest of the children alone but she needed to look for him.

  “Bobby came. He left with Bobby.”

  Annie groaned. She felt like she’d driven him to this. She ran over and knocked on Mrs. Norrington’s front door. The old woman took forever to answer. When she finally did, she greeted Annie with a frown.

  “Mrs. Norrington, could you watch the children for a few minutes? I need to go fetch Danny from a friend’s house.”

  “So, you’ve lost one of them now, have you? Sure, I’ll come over. But I can’t stay long. It’s not my job to babysit these kids, it’s yours.”

  Annie glared at Mrs. Norrington’s back as she made her way down her front steps and across the yard to the Winslow house.

  “Ava, I’m taking Darren with me,” Annie called over her shoulder. “You show Mrs. Norrington into the house.”

  Annie walked the direction she’d seen Bobby take when he left their house. She had no firm idea where he lived and part of her felt she was on a wild goose chase. She turned the corner and hurried up the road, hesitating in front of each house, looking for signs it might be the right one.

  Far ahead, she noticed a small figure walking her way. As they drew nearer one another, Annie recognized Danny. Annie wanted to laugh and cry with relief. She rushed toward the boy. The closer he came, the more his steps dragged.

  When Annie reached Danny, she caught him in a side hug. “I’m so relieved to find you,” she said and pressed a kiss to his hair. Danny squirmed to get away. He stalked ahead of her. Annie caught up to him without any trouble.

  “What were you thinking, Danny?” she asked. “You know you weren’t supposed to leave the yard.”

  “I never get to do anything,” he grumbled.

  “Why did you go with him?”

  “Bobby’s dog had puppies. I wanted to see them. But they were scrawny and the mother dog growled when I got close. Bobby said his brothers and sisters were sick, so I came home.” He glanced at Annie out of the corner of his eye. “Are you going to tell Papa what I did?”

  “I don’t have a choice, Danny. You disobeyed your papa and me.”

  “I knew you’d turn out to be just like him. You’re no fun, Miss Annie.” They’d reached their block. Danny took off running for home.

  Annie knew she shouldn’t care what he thought. Her job was to teach him, help him learn how to be a functioning member of society. But she couldn’t help feeling hurt by his words. “You think I’m fun, don’t you little one?” she whispered to Darren. He responded by patting her face and wiggling to try to get down. Annie set him on the ground as soon as they reached the house. He ran as fast as his short legs would carry him to the front steps and climbed up the way Annie had shown him so she wouldn’t have to worry about him falling.

  Mrs. Norrington met them on her way home. “I see the prodigal has come home. You’d better get these kids under control or you’ll live to regret it.”

  “He’s a young boy, Mrs. Norrington. He still has a lot to learn.”

  The woman stomped to her house. Annie wondered how anyone could be so perpetually cranky.

  The rest of the children were waiting inside the house, sitting on the chairs in the drawing room. Annie shot a questioning glance at Ava, who shrugged. “Mrs. Norrington told us we had to sit here until you got home. She said she wasn’t going to chase after us the whole time you were gone.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “You can get up now. Run upstairs and finish the assignments you started this morning. Where is Danny?”

  “He already went upstairs,” said Ezra.

  Annie found Danny curled in the window seat.

  “Why do you have to tell him, Miss Annie,” he said. “Papa is going to be upset.”

  Annie wanted to cry. “Danny, what you did was wrong. You shouldn’t have left. I have to tell your father because I don’t know what to do about it. What did you think was going to happen? That you’d leave and come back and we wouldn’t notice? You should have known better than that. But right now, you need to finish your school work.”

  Danny crawled out of the window seat and sat at his desk.

  ∞

  Coren arrived home as Annie was setting supper on the table. All the children were sitting at the table waiting for him. He washed and joined them.

  None of the children would talk. Anytime their father asked a question, he got a word or two of response before they fell silent again. Annie hadn’t intended to talk to him about Danny right now, but she could see Coren knew something was wrong.

  “Everyone is quieter than usual today,” said Coren. “What happened while I was gone?”

  “Danny left without telling Mama and went to Bobby’s house,” Vivian blurted. She clapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide.

  Coren turned to Annie. “Is this true?”

  Annie felt tears spring to her eyes. She looked at Danny. He squirmed in his seat, his eyes pleading w
ith her. When he saw the look on her face, he dropped his gaze to his plate.

  “Yes. Bobby came over and talked Danny into coming to his house to look at their puppies.”

  “Danny.” Coren’s tone held a rebuke. “You know better.”

  Danny squirmed some more. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet,” said Coren.

  The telephone rang. Coren stood. “We’ll continue this conversation later.” He hurried to the office to answer it.

  He returned a few minutes later, bag in hand, pulling his coat on with the other. “I have to go. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Danny, you get to go to bed as soon as you’ve finished cleaning up from supper. We’ll talk about this more tomorrow.”

  He pressed a kiss to Annie’s temple and hurried out the back door.

  Chapter Thirty

  Annie was still awake when Coren arrived home later that night. She heard him clattering around the kitchen and went to see what he needed. When she arrived she found him in his stockinged feet, removing each article of clothing carefully. Annie gasped and whipped around to leave.

  “Wait! Annie, I need your help,” Coren called after her.

  Annie pivoted to face him, her face red. He was wearing only his undershirt and shorts.

  “What…what happened?” she stammered.

  “You’ll need to wash all these clothes I was wearing right away. Tonight if possible. I’ll help as soon as I’ve bathed.” He took in her red face and the fact she wouldn’t meet his eyes and chuckled. “You can look at me. We’re married.”

  Annie lifted her eyes to his. She saw a warmth behind the laughter that made her flush an even deeper shade of red. She crossed the room and reached for the pile of clothing. “What happened? You’ve never come home and needed everything washed like this. What about your coat?”

  “My coat is on a hook in the garage. I’ll hang it in the sunshine tomorrow. The family I was with has the scarlet fever. I didn’t want to bring it home to the children, though I fear it might already be too late.”