by Tina Leonard
After a moment, Mary pulled back slightly and stared into Annie’s eyes. “The snake got away.”
“What?” Annie was shocked. She glanced toward the mesh-and-wood box, remembering that she’d assumed Cody had taken the snake away. She glanced at Cody for confirmation. “What happened to it?”
He shrugged and shook his head. Annie looked back to Mary. Solemn indigo eyes gazed at her. “Will it ever come back, Mommy?”
Annie was perplexed. She was certain she’d securely closed the box. That had been one of the fattest rattlers she’d ever seen, and she wasn’t sure she could comfortably allow Mary to play outside, knowing the granddaddy of all snakes was on the loose.
“I don’t know, sugar,” Annie said with a frown. “But if it ever does come back, Mommy’ll kill it. I won’t let it get away again, I promise.”
“You’ll kill it dead?”
“Dead.” Annie nodded decisively.
“And we can bury it in a really deep hole?”
Annie smiled. “After we make your grandpa the fanciest hatband and boots he’s ever seen.”
Mary clapped her hands. “For when he comes home from the hospital!”
“Exactly. Now don’t you worry about that old snake again. Likely, he’s so glad to be free, he’s gone back to wherever he belongs and he’s never coming back.”
“Good.” Mary tucked her hand inside Annie’s, and together they walked inside the house. “He was really scary.”
“I have to agree with you about that.” Annie went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. New jars that had never been opened sat in neat rows inside the rail. Several bottles of juice stood beside a new jug of milk.
Slowly, she turned to look at Cody, who’d followed them inside. “You didn’t have to do this.”
He shook his head, appearing vaguely uncomfortable. “Just about everything spoiled in the refrigerator when the electricity went out. Fortunately, the deep freeze stayed fairly cold, so you just needed some little odds and ends.”
Annie started to protest, but Cody waved her silent. “When do you have time to go to the store? Every one of your waking minutes is spent at the hospital, as it should be.”
She bowed her head. Cody was right—and yet she felt so impotent. Never had she needed to rely on other people for so much.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied, his voice very gruff and not welcoming further comment.
“Can I have a grape soda?” Mary asked, pointing to the purple cans on the bottom shelf.
“Sure, sugar.” Annie popped the top and handed the can to her daughter. Mary took it happily and climbed into a seat at the table. “The least I can do is offer you a drink, Cody. What’ll be?”
“I’ll have one of Mary’s grape sodas.”
“Yuck.” Annie grimaced and Cody laughed. Annie’s awkwardness fled. Deftly, she pulled out a can and tossed it to him. “I can see you and your mother have been spoiling my daughter.”
Cody caught the can, grinning. “You betcha. And having a heck of a time doing it.”
A sudden snapshot in time flared in Annie’s mind. Cody, Mary, herself—the three of them a family. The image was grainy, distorted. As much as she liked Cody and, yes, even loved him, she loved him like a brother. Carlos’s brother. In her heart, there was no way she could ever love him the way she’d loved Carlos. Maybe Cody didn’t expect her to, but she couldn’t accept his marriage proposal without loving him. Hers and Mary’s life would be a lot easier, but Annie would always know that she’d cheated Cody of experiencing the joy of a woman who loved him with all her soul.
Cody was a good man who would shoulder family obligations without complaint. But being an obligation was more than she could bear.
She’d have to tell him, soon. “Cody,” she said, forcing her mind to another pressing matter, “there’s a chance the hospital may release Papa tomorrow.”
Cody crushed the soda can between his palms and tossed it into the trash with a smile. “That’s great news! Good for the hospital, because they’re probably ready to see the last of that ornery cuss.”
“What’s a cuss?” Mary asked, her eyes rounded.
Annie laughed. “Cody is saying that your grandfather is stubborn, kind of like that mule we had once that kept getting into the corn.”
“That’s not very nice, Uncle Cody,” Mary admonished.
Annie and Cody shared a laugh. Cody crossed the room and hunkered down in front of Mary. “I’m teasing, ladybug. It’s not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. Like when I call you ladybug. You’re not really a ladybug, are you?”
Cody tickled under Mary’s chin when she tried to answer, and Annie was relieved to see the solemn expression on Mary’s face lift for a moment. “No,” Mary said, between a gale of giggles.
“And you’re not really a bag of sugar, either, are you? You’re sweet, but you’re not really sugar, or what’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know!” Mary managed between delighted shrieks, as Cody continued tickling her.
“Well, I know. The horses will think you’re their treat, and they’ll want to nibble on you!”
Mary squealed with laughter. Cody gathered the little girl into his arms and slid onto the plank bench, brushing the ebony hair out of her eyes while she caught her breath. Happiness shone in her deep blue eyes, and Annie felt gratitude to Cody well up in her heart.
Gratitude, but not love.
Mary looked up at Cody’s face, adoring. “I guess Grandpa was only teasing then when he called Mr. Rayez snake-eyed vomit.”
A tiny smile hovered at Cody’s mouth. “Surely he didn’t say that about Mr. Rayez,” he said with a grin Annie’s way.
“Uh-huh, Uncle Cody.” Mary’s voice was certain. “Grandpa said, ‘If that damn fool, snake-eyed vomit—’”
“Hang on a second, Mary,” Cody interrupted. “I believe you, honey. There’s two things we gotta get square here. I’m teasing you when I call you a ladybug, because I love you. You know that, don’t you?”
Mary nodded and waited.
“I don’t reckon your granddaddy loves Mr. Rayez, though, do you?”
“No,” Mary answered, the solemn shadows back on her face.
“So, I guess I have to say he wasn’t teasing when he called him a snake-eyed varmint. However—and I believe Travis would agree with me here—your granddaddy was very upset that day, and I think he said some things he probably didn’t mean. Probably he was so angry, he wasn’t thinking before he said them, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good. Now, why don’t you run into your room and get a few more of your stuffed animals to bring to Gran’s house tonight?”
She slid down off his lap. “Sure, Uncle Cody.” Before she could leave the room, Cody said, “And, Mary…”
“Yes, Uncle Cody?”
He bent close to Mary’s ear, but whispered loudly enough for Annie to hear. “I don’t think Travis meant to say damn, either. You don’t want to be saying that around your mother, okay?”
“Okay.”
She skipped out of the room and Annie smiled gratefully at Cody. “You handled that like a real parent.”
“Well, I love Mary like she was my own.”
The statement was true, had always been a fact. Yet it hung heavy upon the air, and Annie knew she had to clear away the question that was certain to come up again. “Cody, I think the world of you. You’re everything good a woman wants in a man. I wish I could make myself feel differently, but as much as I care about you, I could never feel the way about you that I did about Carlos.”
“I’m not asking you to,” Cody said softly.
It was the answer she’d expected and prepared herself for. “He’d always be between us, Cody. I’d always feel like I was betraying him somehow. I can’t live that way—and it’s not fair to you.”
An eternity of silence met her words. Cody ran a hand over the long black braid of his hair, automatically
checking for the feather at the end. He stared at her with bright, knowing eyes, seeing much more than Annie wanted revealed.
He sighed deeply, getting to his feet. Shaking his head, he appeared at a loss for words. Finally, he said, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you, Annie. There’s got to be a way to get you out of this mess that I haven’t thought of yet.”
Annie was relieved. Cody didn’t really love her. Oh, he loved her like family, but she wasn’t breaking his heart with her refusal. She’d been right: he’d been offering out of a feeling of family loyalty. And that wasn’t a sound enough reason for him to hitch himself to her forever.
“I don’t know the answer, Cody. But with good friends like you, I know we’ll make it through this.” The phone rang, and Annie turned to pick it up. “Let me get this real quick, and then we’ll get on our way,” she said. “Hello?”
“Annie, it’s Zach Rayez.”
“Oh.” Annie’s startled gaze skittered to Cody. She’d put the fact that she’d called Zach out of her mind. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. The question is, how are you?”
“Oh, I’m about the same.” She shot a rather guilty look at Cody. How she wished she could talk to Zach without Cody hearing every word of their conversation!
“You had me worried last night. I wish I could have called back, but…I had a dinner obligation.”
“Oh, it was no problem. I went to sleep as soon as I got home, anyway,” she fibbed.
Cody shrugged and left the kitchen. She heard his boots on the floor as he headed down the hall toward Mary’s room.
“Still, you sounded upset, or something. I was afraid your father’s condition was on the decline.”
“No,” Annie said softly. What the devil was she going to say her reason for calling him had been? “I shouldn’t have called. I don’t know what I was thinking about.” There. That was close to the truth.
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
“You are?” Annie asked.
“Sure. I’ve been wondering how you were getting along. How’s Mary?”
She smiled. “Today is the first day I’ve spent any time with her. She wants to come home, and I think she’s ready for everything to get back to normal.”
“Well, that sounds like a little lady who knows what she wants.”
“I think so, too.” Annie thought about Mary’s quiet, almost sad, demeanor and decided to change the subject. “Well, I—”
“How’s your father, by the way?”
Was there the slightest echo of concern in his voice? Annie was surprised, since her father had done everything he could to bait Zach while he’d been at their house. “He’s getting stronger. The doctors may release him tomorrow.”
Zach let out a sigh. “I’m glad to hear it. When he started clutching at his chest, I thought—well, hell, it doesn’t matter now. Suffice to say I’d rather Travis be fit enough to curse me again than turning bluebonnets up with his toes.”
Annie smiled. “Shall I convey your sentiments to Papa?”
Zach chuckled. “No, thanks. Let’s just let sleeping dogs lie, all right? Or should I say, sleeping snakes?”
“Our snake got away, so we’re back to regular farm animals around here.”
“You’re kidding! How’d that happen?”
Annie shrugged, though Zach couldn’t see it. “That snake was old, old and wise enough to have learned a few things about survival. I should have set something heavy on top of the cage.”
“You’re giving me the creeps. Not that it’s any of my business, but I guess you’ll keep an eye out for Mary when she’s outside for a few days, in case that thing’s still slithering around?”
His concern for her daughter warmed her. “Mary’s staying at her grandmother’s, but yes, I’ll be keeping a sharp eye out.”
“Good.” He sounded gruff. “Keep your boots on, Annie.”
Was he worried about her? Zach would be shocked if he knew that her call to him hadn’t been merely social, if he knew the real reason she’d called him in the first place.
The fleeting thought that, if Zach knew she’d considered selling a portion of the land, he most likely would pay another visit to Desperado flew across her mind. She closed her eyes, remembering Zach’s determined eyes. The memory of his mouth, pressed hard against her lips, flared her nostrils. She thought about him in his stiff business suit, and knew their lives were too different to intersect.
“I’ll keep my boots on, Zach,” Annie murmured. “Thank you for returning my call.”
“You call me if you need anything, all right?”
She opened her eyes a bit sadly. “Sure thing. Well, good-bye.”
“Good-bye.”
Hanging the phone up, Annie allowed herself to feel regret. What was it about Zach that made her turn all quivery inside? What was it about him that made her feel like she’d met her match, the other half of her soul?
It was so impossible it was ridiculous. With a curious sense of longing, Annie turned to start tidying the kitchen so they could leave for the hospital.
“Mary’s about got her toys packed,” Cody said, coming back into the kitchen. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Annie replied, keeping her expression bland.
“I take it that was the snake-eyed varmint.”
Annie smiled at Cody’s blatant use of Travis’s words. “How did you guess?”
“Well, you looked startled when you answered the phone. Then you looked like you wished I’d get the hell out of the kitchen.”
He smiled, but Annie could tell Cody was probing out of a sense of protectiveness. “It’s okay, really. That was Zach Rayez, and he was calling to see how Papa was doing.”
“Clearing his conscience, I guess.”
“Cody! You know as well as I do that Papa hasn’t obeyed any doctor’s orders in the last ten years. He’s too stubborn to change, despite numerous warnings about his health. Zach may have ignited the situation, but then again, it could have happened the next time a snake appeared on our porch.”
“One and the same, to my mind,” Cody grumbled.
Annie laughed and finished wiping the counters. “Nobody around here is going to claim Zach as their best friend. He was doing his job, and that’s the end of it, okay?” Cody nodded reluctantly, and Annie couldn’t help teasing him a little. “Zach wasn’t real impressed that you dismember reptiles for a hobby, either, so you two are about on equal ground.”
She could tell Cody was trying to hide a smile by the wry twist of his mouth. “Okay, enough said about Zach Rayez,” he agreed. “Shall we go pay a visit to Travis?”
“Absolutely. Mary, honey, it’s time to go.”
“All right, Mommy.” Mary’s voice filtered down the hall.
“Do you mind stopping at the mailbox at the end of the drive so I can get the mail?” Annie asked. “I forgot it yesterday, and was too chicken to walk down there in the dark.”
“That’s showing good horse sense. No telling what might be out there,” Cody said, his tone stern. “It’s no trouble to stop.”
“Thanks.” The three of them walked to the car, and after Annie strapped Mary safely in, Cody started down the road.
Dust plumes flew up as the hearse crunched over the small rocks. “We could use a good rain,” Annie murmured.
“I know. I’m getting worried about the crops,” Cody confessed. “It’s been years since we’ve had this hot and dry a summer.”
She glanced out at the miles of untouched earth that ran east and west of her home. “Surely we’ll get some rain soon. I’ve spent so much time in the hospital, I guess I hadn’t noticed the weather.”
“Well, it’s been hot enough to bake beans, I can tell you.”
Annie looked at him. “I know you’ve been coming over to water the animals and check my crops. You’re a good man, Cody.”
“Yep.” He shot her a grin. “Grab your mail.”
She rolled down the window and opened th
e mailbox, snatching out the single long, white envelope sitting on top of a pile of junk mail. “Hmm, this looks official.”
“Maybe you won the lottery,” Cody joked.
“I don’t think so, but I sure could use it,” Annie replied. A small thread of uneasiness tightened her abdomen. This couldn’t be more bad news. It didn’t look like an overdue notice—and yet, something told her it wasn’t anything she wanted to read.
“Well, open it, so you won’t sit and worry all the way to the hospital.”
“You’re right. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Annie slitted the envelope with a fingernail and pulled out the paper inside. Her heart suddenly felt shriveled and cold.
Cody put a hand on her shoulder. “What is it, Annie?”
Her lips felt numb. She could hardly press the words out. Tears filled her eyes so that she could hardly read.
“I’m overdue on my taxes, as usual,” she whispered. The fear became full-blown. “But this time the bank wants to take my land.”
Zach hung up the phone, dissatisfied. Something told him that Annie hadn’t called for social reasons. There had been an underlying strain in her voice, very different from the confident demeanor he knew Annie to have. He’d waited, paving the way with idle chitchat should she decide to unburden herself to him.
Yet she hadn’t, and he’d known she probably wouldn’t. Annie might have a heavy load to bear, but he was not the person she would choose to confide in. She was strong, she was determined, and she would overcome her problems with courage despite the sinkhole beneath her feet. And he would cheer her on, admiring her from a distance.
Zach glanced out the window, absently noticing the cars on the ribbon-shaped highway many stories down. From his high perch, they looked like ants scurrying to get wherever they needed to go, determined in their blind, yet driving need. He ground his jaw, his teeth tight together. Should he have hinted to Annie about the newly precarious position Carter had mentioned she was in? Would a warning have helped a woman who was already struggling to do the very utmost she could to save herself and her family?
Most likely he would be stretching an ethical boundary by telling Annie that the bank was seriously considering her land as a foreclosure. On the other hand, Zach sensed Carter wasn’t dealing with an honest pack of cards on this deal. The man was far too interested, far too keen on the Aguillar land. He’d always been just a cut above dishonest, but never before had Carter displayed the slavering intensity he was showing for this particular deal. Zach’s mouth curled. Could it hurt to stack the deck a little in Annie’s favor, or would he be doing more harm than good?