Her sigh wasn’t one of affection or comfort. She sounded frustrated and the look she gave him was one he never hoped to see again. “You’ve already helped me enough.”
“I never would have—”
Annie held up her hand. “Stop. I don’t want to hear it. I understand you were trying to help your brother.”
“That’s partly true.”
Her eyebrows went up.
“I hardly know Christian. But my mother has been drowning in guilt for losing him in the custody battle. She’s been trying to make up for it since my dad died. My adopted father. He’s been gone eighteen months, and the only thing keeping my mom going is the chance to make amends to the boy she gave up.”
“I’m reasonably sure she has something else worth living for,” Annie said, the sudden gentleness in her voice making him swallow hard.
“But I’m not a mission,” he said. “She’s already got me in her corner.”
“I’m sorry your family’s screwed up. So is mine. But my mission is to keep Safe Haven safe. What are the chances these guys will find me here?”
“I don’t know. But any chance is one too many.”
“So why don’t you just go home? Leave here, don’t come back? What do you need me for?” She stared at him, her expression flat, her hands still.
He thought he saw confusion in her eyes, but he couldn’t be sure. Of anything. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
“I’m not your responsibility.”
The hell with giving her space. He had to make her understand, so he leaned over far enough to take her hands in his. “Yes, I knew the minute I saw you that you were Leanna. But I also knew within the hour that you weren’t guilty. I didn’t understand any of the connections then. Only that no one would ever convince me that you had freely embezzled that money.
“I think I couldn’t exonerate you completely because I didn’t want to think Christian had committed the crime and blamed you. So I stayed to make sense of things. The longer I knew you, the more convinced I became that not only were you innocent, but that I had developed feelings for you. When I said I believed in you, I meant every word. I need you safe, Annie. I need you.”
He’d never looked at anyone so intently in his life. And when her eyes softened, he felt he could breathe again.
“I understand,” she said. “This has been painful for you. You would drop everything to save your brother, to be a hero for your mother. But it doesn’t always work out that way. You have to understand that I feel the same way toward this place. If there’s a chance the authorities or these bookies can find me, I have to leave. I can’t risk it.”
“I’ll help you—”
“By doing what? I’m not willing to run any longer. That leaves me turning myself over to the district attorney.”
“No, it doesn’t. At least, not yet.” He pulled his chair closer to her. “Let me get my attorney on this. He’s a very influential man, and he can help with the D.A. His firm is based in New York, and he’s got the kind of access we need. With the new information I can give him, there’s a chance we can make a difference in the case against the bookies. Can you call Shea and Jesse to come back? I have to go to the hotel and check out, get my things.”
Annie stared at him for a long moment, and he didn’t even try to hide his anxiety, how badly he wanted her to be safe. Without a word, she got up, went to the counter to fix a pot of coffee. After she’d turned the machine on, she said, “They don’t need to come back tonight. And neither do you.”
He went to the counter, needing to say this face-to-face. “I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t here alone while I’m gone. As for me, I know I don’t need to come back. But I’d like to.”
“For all I know, you’re lying about everything. You could come back with a police escort.”
“You don’t believe that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. She stared back without so much as blinking. “I’m not lying. I’m not hiding a thing. Not anymore. Not ever again.”
She continued to study him, but gave him no feedback. The past couple of years had probably taught her how to do that. To push everything down. Trouble was, he’d seen the true Annie, the joy of her, the passion.
Her gaze dropped, as did her shoulders. “I suppose I have to trust someone,” she said.
Tucker wanted to kiss her as badly as he’d ever wanted anything. For now, though, he made do with a simple, “Thank you.”
16
LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, Annie explained the situation to Jesse and Shea as Tucker brewed a second pot of coffee. Before they’d arrived, he’d made sandwiches and ensured Annie ate by silently pushing food in front of her until she did something about it.
Despite the seriousness of the conversation and her own disquiet, she couldn’t help but find his actions thoughtful and sweet. Each kind or protective thing he did or said kept tipping her more toward his side. The lie rankled—of course it did—but it wasn’t easy to keep throwing stones from her own glass house.
“I’ll be just outside,” he said. “I need to make a couple of calls.”
“More secrets?” The words were out before she could think, but she was still hurting and she wasn’t sorry she said them.
“No, Annie.” He touched her shoulder, gave it a squeeze. She felt it all the way to her toes. His pull on her was stronger than she knew how to handle. It scared her as much as it comforted. “Want me to call from right here?”
She shook her head sadly. She’d agreed to trust him.
When he closed the door, she turned to her friends. Real friends. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Jesse asked.
“Involving you. If what Tucker believes is true, someone could come looking for me.”
He smiled at her with that slow McAllister grin. “They’d have to get past a whole lot of cowboys first.”
Was it foolish that her heart seemed to swell in her chest? Probably.
“You should listen to Tucker,” Shea said. “Let his attorney advise you.”
“I don’t want to be in his debt. I’ll have no way of repaying him.”
“You think he’d want you to worry about that?”
The way Shea looked at her made Annie pause. When her friend was being truly herself, she hid very little. The question she asked wasn’t nearly as telling as the surprise in her expression. “He’s not Prince Charming, Shea. We barely know each other. Whether he worries about it or not, I pay my debts.”
Shea turned to Jesse, then back to Annie. “If his lawyer didn’t have New York connections, I would have suggested mine. I still might. And I wouldn’t take a penny from you.”
Annie didn’t know what to do with herself. Friends weren’t this overwhelmingly wonderful. Not in her experience. Even before all of this, she’d had girlfriends. She missed her roommate from college, and Annie had been the maid of honor at her high school BFF’s wedding. This was in a different league. “Thank you,” she said. “But I don’t get it. None of you seem to realize that I’m in this terrible situation because I was too focused on getting ahead. Why are you being so nice?”
“Your actions,” Jesse said. “Everything you’ve done since you came to Blackfoot Falls has been admirable. We’re not just hicks with rose-colored Stetsons.” He smiled, even made her lips tilt up a little. “You made some mistakes, but you’ve sacrificed enough, Annie. Let us help you. Let Tucker help you. He’s a decent man.”
“You barely know him.”
Another one of those sly grins stole over Jesse’s face. “But I know people who know him. Who’ve done business with him. I checked him out every way but Sunday before you got to Kalispell. That wasn’t just about you, either. Safe Haven means a lot to Shea. To this community.”
With that little nugget, Annie was officially dumbfounded. She appreciated everything being offered to her, but she wasn’t about to let their generosity make up her mind for her.
Shea and Jesse assured her they didn’t mind
taking care of the sanctuary until things got straightened around. They’d even promised to line up more help, swearing that everyone who knew her would lend a hand.
As for what she was going to do about lawyers and district attorneys and Tucker... She had no idea. What she wanted to do was crawl into bed and pull the covers up over her head. The problem was, she wanted Tucker to be in the bed with her.
The man himself chose that moment to come back into the cabin. “I spoke to Peter, my attorney. I’ll email him what I can, but the quicker I can courier the rest of my files to him, the better. I won’t be long. Maybe four hours total.” He looked at Shea, then Jesse. “You guys okay with that?”
“No problem,” Jesse said. “I’ll call the Sundance so nobody worries.”
“Great.” Tucker pulled his car keys out, and Annie had about enough.
She stood, her body thrumming with electricity. “Wait a minute. Just...wait. Quit making decisions for me, all of you. I’m not a damsel in distress. I need time to think. So just quit it. I need to do my evening rounds, and I’m late for that already.”
“Maybe I could do your rounds with you?” Shea asked after a very awkward silence.
Annie’s self-righteous anger withered, replaced by weary confusion. “Sorry. It’s just... It’s a lot to take in, and the last time I made a rash decision I hurt a lot of people.”
Shea nodded. “So we’ll talk. As long as you want.”
“I’ve got you covered outside,” Jesse said.
Tucker moved closer to her, but he didn’t touch. “And I’ve got to leave. Please, just hang tight. We’ll work things out, I promise.”
Annie thought of not saying anything, letting Tucker believe what he wanted, but she couldn’t. “I’ll give it twenty-four hours. You know my priorities, and if we don’t have more information by then, I’m going to the D.A.”
He opened his mouth, but Annie’s raised hand stopped him. “I know you mean well. But this is my mess.” She closed the distance between them and put her hand on his chest. “Turning myself in would solve a lot of problems. You know that.”
“If Christian is at the bottom of this—”
“Then the authorities will take care of it. But I can’t sit back and watch you twist yourself in knots to save my hide.”
“Twenty-four hours?”
She nodded.
His pursed lips told her he didn’t like it. She could tell by his jaw the moment he decided not to argue with her. When he leaned down to kiss her, the touch of his lips was as wonderful as it was puzzling. The chaos she’d created kept on growing, spreading over people she cared too much about. When Tucker pulled back it was clear he didn’t want to leave. But he let her go, then held the door for Jesse.
Annie slowly turned, meaning to get another cup of coffee. Meaning to have a heart-to-heart with Shea. What she did instead was sit down on the nearest chair and fall apart.
* * *
TUCKER HATED LEAVING, BUT AT least Annie wouldn’t be alone. He knew nothing was going to happen to her tonight, but that didn’t lessen his worry.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” Jesse said, stopping near the Land Rover.
Nodding, Tucker met Jesse’s gaze, surprised at the ease between them. It felt as if time had accelerated since he’d arrived in Montana. “You know what’s odd? Annie’s become really important to me. I hate that my brother’s involved in this, and God knows it’s going to hurt like hell to tell my mother, but I need to make sure nothing happens to Annie.” Exhaling, he shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t mean to sound like an uncaring bastard. My mother’s been depressed since my father died, and of course I’ll continue to be there for her....”
“But you keep circling back to Annie?”
“Yeah. As if we’d been together for years, not days. Listen.” He looked at the cabin, then back at Jesse. “This is going to sound nuts, and I swear there isn’t anything to make me believe she’s in danger here, but if anything should happen while I’m gone—”
“I’ll take care of it,” Jesse said. “Don’t worry.”
“It could mean getting her out of here. Maybe all the way out. I mean, north.”
“I understand. And I’ve got it covered. But nothing’s going to happen. Do me a favor and focus on driving, huh? She needs you back here.”
Tucker stuck out his hand and they shook. “Thank you. For everything.”
“I’ll see you later.”
Tucker got in the SUV and took off. Carefully. It would defeat the purpose if he got himself killed in a traffic accident. Didn’t mean he’d stopped thinking about Annie. Or his mother. With Annie it was about protection, with Irene it was concern. When he thought of his brother, there was only uncertainty. Why leave the seed money? Why not take everything? Unless he got into some trouble he couldn’t get out of. He might have stolen the money as a Hail Mary pass. Which would mean he didn’t go into the partnership with the intention of making Annie the fall guy.
The end result was the same, but it made it easier for Tucker to swallow. Christian was still Tucker’s brother even though they’d been barely more than strangers for so much of their lives.
The drive passed more quickly than he’d assumed it would, and then he was on the phone, cursing under his breath because Kalispell was too small a town to have a courier at the ready. Something he would’ve anticipated if he wasn’t so distracted by worry. He’d started to panic when he finally found someone who’d do it for triple pay. But it was still going to take longer than he’d like.
For a few moments he thought about flying it out himself, but that meant leaving Annie behind and he couldn’t do that. Better to bargain with her to extend the deadline she’d imposed on him.
As he went through his files, he made a couple more calls. He’d already put a lot of the videos on a flash drive, so he completed the set, then went down to the hotel’s business center. It was closed, but the manager opened it for him, and by the time he’d copied his case file, the courier had arrived.
George was doing the same thing with his files. There would be duplicates, but Tucker didn’t care. The more information, the better. Though he worried there wasn’t going to be enough time for his attorney to read through everything, let alone make any cogent suggestions.
When Tucker got back, he’d just have to make Annie see reason. Jesse and Shea were on his side. He’d shamelessly use them to make Annie listen if he had to. Especially since there was another issue besides the time constriction. It made sense for her to go back to Dallas with him. To wait there where he could keep an eye on her while the lawyers slugged it out.
The thought of her facing this alone made him irrational, so he’d have to watch his words. That’s what happened, he supposed, when a man fell in love. Jesus. Somehow, he’d thought it would be simpler.
His laughter surprised him. None of this was funny. Especially that no matter what Annie decided, he wouldn’t be able to let her go. Not that he’d force her into doing something she didn’t want. He just knew walking away wasn’t an option.
* * *
SHEA HAD BROUGHT A ROLL of toilet paper and a glass of water to the table. It took Annie a minute to remember she hadn’t bought tissues in a while, and that made her smile, even though she was still blubbering away.
She wiped her face, though, and looked at her uncomfortable friend. “Sorry,” she said, sniffling grossly. “It’s been a tough day.”
“I can only imagine,” Shea said. “Do you need anything?”
Annie shook her head. Blew her nose. Then sniffed again. “You were right.”
“About what?”
“I’m in love with him.”
“Oh.”
“You can’t tell him,” Annie said. “I can’t let my feelings for him change anything.”
Shea blinked at her and frowned. “It’s already changed everything.”
“No. It hasn’t. He’s just being nice. Don’t you see, he’s only in this because of his brother.
And his mother. I can’t make him choose me over them. That would be horrible. I’d never forgive myself.”
“Annie—”
“I’m serious, Shea.” She pulled off another bunch of paper. “It’s bad enough that I’ve disappointed my family. Hurt my friends and ruined my own reputation. You think I want to take him down with me? I should just leave. Go find somewhere else I can hole up. Only this time, I won’t make so many mistakes.”
“Like having a friend who puts your picture up on the internet?”
Annie stared. “How did you know?”
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. He was very clever. If he’d approached us any earlier, it would have been obvious, but he waited a while. Remember?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know. But it’s not your fault, either.”
Annie shook her head, frustration making her clench her fists. “People keep saying that when it’s not true. I can’t sit in this cell a minute longer. Walk with me?”
“Sure.” Shea got up, headed for the door, then backtracked until she could grab the toilet paper. “I’ll bet Jesse is almost done. Do you want to avoid him?”
“No, of course not. Thank you, by the way, for keeping my secret. It must have been difficult.”
“Not so much,” Shea said, closing the door behind them. “I can’t tell him anything about my classified contract work, either. But he understands.”
“Of course he does.”
“Just like Tucker understands your situation.”
“You may be right, but that doesn’t mean I should take advantage of him.”
The walk got quiet except for the sound of their boots on gravel. The crunch sounded like home to Annie. How strange. Even when she’d worked at the stables in Central Park, there hadn’t been gravel underfoot like this. Home used to sound like the click of high heels on a sidewalk. Of taxis and diesel engines, and the buzz of Manhattan.
“For the first six months I was away, I dreamed about New York every night.”
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