Annie took a deep breath, telling herself it was just Marti, or the wind. But she didn’t hear the wind, and Marti said she was going to stay at home that night. Hesitantly, she called out, “Marti? Marti is that you?”
For a moment the door quieted, but she didn’t hear Marti’s cheerful voice either. She tried to call out louder, but it just made her voice wobble more. “Marti? Hello? Girl, is that you?”
Nothing. After a long pause, where she barely dared breathe, the door rattled again. Annie screamed and ran. She suddenly felt trapped in the house, with its big picture windows and old creaky doors. She stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the door rattling, looking for somewhere to hide.
She jumped into the coat closet just inside the front door and pulled the thick oak door closed behind her. She couldn’t hear anything, so she quietly pulled her phone out of her pocket, and dialed 911.
“911, what’s the emergency?”
“There’s someone trying to get into my house.” Annie breathed heavily. “I live at Gibbon’s Ranch, my Grandpa’s old house. I don’t know where to go, what to do. I’m in the boonies. Someone is here, outside, trying to get in. Send someone, please.” Her heart was racing so fast, she could barely speak.
“I know exactly where you are. Someone is on their way. Please stay on the line until help arrives,” the 911 operator said calmly.
“Tell them to hurry,” Annie pleaded, trying to listen through the stillness for any crashes or bangs. Or Heaven forbid…footsteps.
The operator kept talking to her, trying to keep her on the line. Annie wished she would be quiet so she could hear what was going on outside.
After what seemed like an eternity, a police siren sounded in the distance, and a car pulled up on the gravel outside. Relief washed through her, and she dropped her phone as she burst out of the closet to the front door. “Dear Lord God Almighty! Thank you!” she cried and burst out through the front door just as the police officer stepped up onto the big wraparound porch.
“Howdy, ma’am. Are you—”
She jerked to a stop, too scared to even get a good look at him, pointing around the back of the house. “Someone was trying to get in my house; they were at the back door!”
He peered around the side of the house, nodding. “All right, ma’am. Calm down. I’m here now. Please stay here, and I’ll check around the back.”
The idea of returning to the house nearly paralyzed her. She grabbed his arm, it was huge and her hand was barely able to wrap around it. “Can’t I come with you?”
He put his hand on hers and held it for a second, the press of his skin warm and comforting. “No, ma’am.” He looked at her with the biggest brown eyes she’d ever seen, shaking his head. “That wouldn’t be safe. You stay here, and I’ll check out back. It’ll just take me a minute. I promise, you’ll be safe. Don’t worry and holler if you hear anything.”
Reluctantly, Annie nodded and stepped back into the house, her heart pounding as her rescuer disappeared around the corner.
Chapter 3
Annie paced the floor, nervous and scared. For a second, she thought about ducking back into the coat closet, but decided it might be worse for her if she did. She had no idea if someone had actually managed to get in, and she had no intention of going back into the kitchen to find out.
Where is he? What’s going on out there?
She squished herself down into a small gap between the old sofa and the corner of the wall. With the heavy couch next to her, and the wall surrounding her, she felt somewhat safe. Her breath came in ragged little panicked bursts as she sat alone in the dark room. She was positive any intruder would be able to find her just by the sound of her thumping heart.
After a long silence, the back door rattled again, and she gripped her legs closer to her, wishing she could melt into the wall. Where is the cop? She wished he would say something, or give a shout, because she was suddenly afraid he might be hurt. What would she do then? Where’s my phone? Crap! It’s still in the closet!
Just as she was trying to get up the courage to crawl over to the closet and get her phone, loud footsteps sounded on the porch outside. She held her breath, absolutely terrified, until three loud knocks struck on the door. “Ma’am, are you in there? Can you please open up?”
She rushed to the door, unbolting it with nervous fingers. The cop stood calmly in her doorway, his gun drawn.
She nearly yelped at the sight of the gun, but he smiled at her.
“Ma’am, your back pasture fence has been knocked down, and there are definitely marks on your door. Looks like an animal was here. Probably coyotes. ” He scanned the room behind her. “But your bolt held, and I don’t think they got inside.” He turned to smile at her. “Are you here all alone? Do you want me to check the house, just in case?”
Annie nodded, her eyes wide as she backed up to let him inside. He barely glanced at her as he moved through the house, scanning each room with his gun still drawn. After what seemed like forever, he finished checking all the rooms in the big house. Annie finally started to calm down. “Ma’am, I checked all the rooms in the house, and there is no one else here.”
She remembered Marti’s laughter over the coyotes. What if it really was some sort of animal? Annie felt a blush streaking over her cheeks.
For the first time, she noticed the policeman. He was a lot younger than she had expected, probably closer to her age, and absolutely beautiful. She figured he was about 6’2”. A lot taller than her 5’7” frame. Broad shoulders and a perfectly tanned body made her think all sorts of things. She could see his strong arms through his uniform. He must work out. With his strong jaw and big brown eyes, he could have been a model. She giggled. Do they have ‘policeman of the month’ calendars?
Annie was confused. She was sure Marti would have mentioned a stud-muffin like this moving to town, but she hadn’t. Annie grew up here, she knew everyone in town, but this policeman certainly didn’t look familiar. She watched him, wondering who he could possibly be. He was probably married, and that’s why Marti hadn’t mentioned him.
He double-checked the house, and then found themselves back in the entryway. He smiled softly at her, slipping his gun back into the holster. As he moved, his back and shoulders shifted gracefully, and Annie had to shake herself, focusing. Marti should have mentioned this guy even if he were a monk. Who is he?
“Well, everything looks secure, but it’s a big old house, with lots of empty space. You might want to stay in town until I can get back here in the daylight, just to be safe.”
Annie pictured Marti waving away the coyotes with a laugh. “No, I’m all right. Like you said, no one is here and no one got in.” She smiled, looking around the big house. “I’m just not used to this country living like I used to be.”
He grinned lopsidedly, and suddenly Annie felt a wave of recognition run through her. He looked so familiar. If only she could figure out how she knew him. “Well, ma’am, It certainly isn’t like L.A.”
She started a little, but caught herself. Of course he would know who she was. It was a small town. She was headline news. She had to expect him to know her. Was he at Grandpa’s funeral? Did I meet him there?
She wished she knew who he was so she could ask about his family. “Can you stay and sit a spell?” She felt a bit more nervous about it than she should have. If only he wasn’t so hot. “Just until my friend Marti gets here.”
A shadow seemed to pass over his face, but he nodded. “Marti? Marti Odell? Sure. She’s just up the road. She won’t be long.”
Annie nodded, confusion still sweeping through her as she tried to figure out who he was, but too embarrassed to ask him. “The kitchen is probably the brightest,” she said.
He nodded. “After you, ma’am.”
As they headed off toward the light of the kitchen, Annie rushed to pick up her phone and begged Marti to come over. Marti laughed, and Annie knew she had a long “told you so” conversation coming. She didn’t care. She certainly wasn’t goi
ng to try to stay the night alone again.
She turned into the kitchen to face the deputy. He grinned that same crooked smile, and she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. “Can I get you some tea?”
“Sure. I would appreciate that, ma’am. And I’m sorry about your grandfather. Ol’ Graham was a great guy. I’m really sorry.”
Annie turned to look at him. “You knew my grandfather?”
“Sure did, ma’am. He did a lot for this little town and the church. Everyone knew him. Never asked for any help, though. Proud old man. If I had known Gibbon’s Ranch was in this much trouble, I would have given him a hand. No one even knew he was sick.”
Annie nodded and busied herself at the refrigerator, pouring two tall glasses of tea from a large pitcher. “Thank you so much for coming out.” She glanced behind her to find his eyes dancing with laughter as he watched her. “I was freakin’ terrified.”
He nodded, still smiling. “That’s what we’re here for. I’ll come back tomorrow mornin’ when it’s light outside, and see if I can figure out what frightened you so much.”
She smiled at him, finally passing him a glass of tea, the ice cubes bobbing cheerfully. “Thank you, I would sure appreciate that.”
His fingers lingered just a moment over hers on the glass, and a shiver ran up her arm. She forced herself to look away and pulled up a chair across from him, her body still shaking a little. She needed to distract herself. She waved vaguely out toward the town, her voice light. “I guess I didn’t expect it to be so hard to come back. But I do remember a lot of things about this town.”
He took a long sip of tea. “Well, eight years is a long time, and a lot of things have happened. People move away, new people move in, folks grow up, have families. Lots of things change.”
She smiled at him, glad he understood. She waved at his uniform. “Like you.” She smiled, hoping her guess was right. “You’re a policeman now.”
He laughed, shaking his head a little. “More than just a policeman, ma’am.” He pulled at the uniform at his chest, showing off a shiny badge over his heart. “I’m actually the sheriff here in Mountain View.”
“Oops!” She giggled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”
He shrugged, looking away as though embarrassed. “No big deal, ma’am. In a small town like this, well, it’s not like there are a lot of criminals running around.”
Annie blushed, shaking her head. “That’s still pretty cool. I mean the town sheriff and all.”
He smiled, and she had to look away to take a sip of her tea as well. She felt embarrassed, not knowing who he was. If only she knew. She sat up, and finally decided to just ask. But, before the words could leave her mouth, there was a loud knock on the front door.
They both jumped, and then laughed as Annie hurried to the door to let Marti in. Marti scowled at her, shaking her finger. “I asked you how many freakin’ times, ’Are you sure? Are you okay?’ and all you did was say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ then you call me at this ungodly hour and need me to come rescue you from the dang coyotes.” She pulled Annie in close for a hug, “It’s all right, honey bun. I’m here for ya. Just glad you’re okay.”
Annie pulled away, feeling sheepish, shrugging. There was a soft cough behind her, and she suddenly remembered her manners. Turning, she smiled at the cop, but Marti noticed him first.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Tommy Donovan! You’re the cop on duty tonight? Well, thanks for taking care of my girl here. You can go now.” She waved her hand. “The cavalry has arrived.” She squeezed Annie tight, but Annie was too busy gazing at the cop to squeeze back.
Tommy? Tommy Donovan? The geeky kid from school? Surely this incredibly delicious man couldn’t be him. But Marti was sure, chatting him up, shooing him off, letting it be known, loudly, that he could leave. Tommy answered with a laugh, his eyes catching Annie’s. He had known she couldn’t figure out who he was and he loved it.
He bowed out, saying he had to get back to patrol. Annie watched him go, her mouth wide open. She turned to Marti, hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me Tommy Donovan had gotten so hot?”
Marti laughed, heading into the kitchen to pour a glass of iced tea. “It’s no big deal, Annie. It’s still Tommy. He’s an asshole. Finest asshole I ever saw in these parts, but nonetheless, an asshole. You don’t want him.”
Annie scowled and followed her into the kitchen. The night had been a hell of a lot more than she bargained for.
Chapter 4
Annie lay in bed, thinking about Tommy. They were back in sixth grade, on the big baseball field. The kids from her childhood were all there; Marti and her on the same team, Big Ernie, not so big yet, standing on the pitcher’s mound. Annie was already on third base, ready to run for home, waiting for the next kid on her team to get up to bat.
Marti, who was sitting in the pit, wailed, “Not Tommy!”
To her dismay, Annie watched as the skinny kid scurried his way up to the plate. He held the bat awkwardly in his grip, his eyes darting nervously as boos and shouts rained down on him. Annie groaned. They were so close to winning, but Tommy could ruin everything.
Big Ernie was thrilled. He knew exactly what was coming. He winked at his teammates quickly before launching a fastball even Annie would have had a hard time hitting. It flew right past Tommy, and by the time he’d swung, the ball was already in the catcher’s grip.
More boos from her team rained down on him, and cheers from the other team. Annie gritted her teeth. “Come on, idiot! Just hit the stupid ball!”
Tommy glanced her way, even more scared, before he turned back to face down the pitcher. His whole face was a mask of concentration. Once again, the ball sped right past him, and he missed it by a mile. Jeers sounded around him, and Annie and Marti joined in as they all yelled the familiar chant from elementary school. “Loser! Loser! Loser!”
Tommy already had tears in his eyes, and the bat wavered in his hands. This time, Tommy didn’t even swing at the ball, which sailed perfectly right past his bat. Tommy was out, and he marched quietly back to the bench, where he tried to ignore the jeers and boos from his teammates.
Annie groaned. They only had one shot left before the game was over, and they needed a solid home run. Then, there were cheers. She looked up to see Marti striding cheerfully toward the plate, swinging her bat like a pro. Annie joined in the cheers, as Marti stepped up to bat. Big Ernie scowled, and threw his fastest, but Marti was too good. She slammed that ball right out of the field, and Annie and the others flew over home plate.
Everyone surrounded Marti, cheering and chanting, “Marti! Marti! Marti!”
Tommy slowly trudged away. He was casting sad glances back to the field, shaking his head in dismay.
Annie sighed, her heart aching for Little Tommy. She glanced around her dark room, feeling horrible. She had always been so mean to Tommy just because the other kids were. What was she thinking? Poor guy. How awful.
She turned over to go to sleep, Marti already snoring softly in the bed beside her. She would show Tommy she wasn’t the same rude person she used to be, if only he’d give her the chance.
Chapter 5
Annie woke with a start. Marti was already long gone, off to get ready for her job almost before the sun had risen. Annie lay in her pajamas, wondering what had woken her, when she heard the knock again.
She ran down the stairs to the front door, flinging it open. To her surprise, Tommy stood there, still in his uniform, looking surprised when the door flew open so fast. He flashed his lopsided grin and Annie smiled back. Of course it was Tommy. How could she miss his crooked smile?
The cool morning air chilled her and she shivered. Her nipples hardened under her pajama top. He blushed and cleared his throat, his eyes taking in her pajamas, nervously. “I’m sorry if it’s too early, ma’am. I just thought I’d check things out before I start my shift this morning.”
“Oh! Call me Annie.” Annie blushed, crossing her arms nervously across her top. “Sure, let
me get my shoes, and I’ll go out with you.”
“Yes, Ma—er uh… Annie.” He nodded, smiling. His hands rested calmly on his heavy belt. Annie turned quickly to slip on a pair of heavy mud boots that were just inside the door. She followed Tommy across the porch and around the back of the house. He moved with confident grace, and Annie wondered what had happened to the clumsy kid she had once known.
They trekked through the mud and overgrown hedges surrounding the old house. “Hey, look! Footprints!” she exclaimed, pointing to the tracks.
Tommy laughed. “Those are mine, ma’am. From last night.”
“Oh, duh!” She smacked her forehead.
They went all around the outside of the house, back and forth, searching, looking for anything that might tell them who or what had rattled the door last night. Tommy looked close at the door and the ground around it. The fence had been knocked down, and they both walked over to look at it.
Tommy played a little with the short chain-link and the stubby post that held it up. Amidst all the green growth, it was a mangled half-rotted mess. He glanced back at her. “This old post needs replacing. It just collapsed. I don’t think anyone knocked it down.” He glanced all along the fence. “Actually, this whole fence needs replaced.”
She nodded. She believed him. She didn’t know anything about fences and old posts. “Are you sure? No one was here?”
He pointed out several small animal tracks in the dirt. They looked like dog-paws. “See this?” She nodded. “These are coyote tracks. There are a lot more over by your door.”
She turned to look over at the door in surprise.
“My guess,” he said, letting go of the post, and brushing his hands on his pants. “Is that you cooked some amazing, fancy food last night, the coyotes smelled it, wanted it and tried to break in.” He smiled at her, even though she felt silly. “Good thing your door was bolted. Coyotes can cause quite a ruckus, though they usually try to avoid people.” He pointed to the door. “You can see the scratch marks all up the door though; they were hell bent on getting in. I bet it was my siren that sent them away.”
Saddled On The Cowboy: A Hot Western Romance Page 18