“Yes, sir. Bear likes his in garlic butter, and Chris says they need to be smothered in the hottest sauce you can find. I like mine naked. Not a blessed thing on them—except salt and pepper, of course. Lots of salt.”
Cash called himself every kind of fool.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I am.” He let out the breath he’d been holding. “And I agree with you, Norm. That’s how I like mine, too. Excuse me. Got to go give my mom a hand.” He walked away kicking himself for being an idiot. He’d fully intended to rip out Norm’s heart first and ask questions later.
Guess he didn’t have himself in hand yet.
He walked to the edge of the pasture.
As always, he’d invited his Little League team. They were on the field, whooping and hollering and having a grand time. Rufus, as third-base coach, waved a runner on, while Silas squatted behind home plate playing umpire. And right in the middle of it all was Annie. Surrounded by his team and his family, she held a baby on her hip while pumping a fist to cheer on the runner. She was positively radiant. Beautiful beyond description. Her smile could have lit the field at night.
Oh, yeah. He could come home to that every day.
Totally at ease, she was unaware of a thirty-second video intent on destroying her world. He needed to stay clear of her till he could make sense of things. Till he decided how to tell her.
Vivi chose that moment to sashay past, winking at him over her shoulder, and his jaw tightened.
Again, he wondered what his grandpa had been thinking. Hell, what had he been thinking just a little while ago? Marriage?
He didn’t find the institution itself horrific. What he found mind-boggling was the idea of being forced into it in a set period of time. Marriage was something two people entered into because they loved each other, not something you dove into because you had a deadline and had to grab the first girl you bumped into.
It would be like running bare-assed naked from something, forced to pull the first piece of clothing off a laundry line, then having to wear it all day whether it fit or not. You could end up riding the range in a pink bathrobe.
He didn’t intend to do that grab-bag choosing with his life partner. Grandpa and Grandma Edith had been happy. His mom and dad were happy. His sister Babs was happy in her marriage. He wanted to be happy, too, and he seriously doubted he could pull that off if he simply picked a mate because the calendar was running down.
The big countdown.
Heck, if he needed to pick a mate by the calendar, maybe he’d better run into town for the latest Playboy magazine. He could find out who this month’s babe was and marry her. The babe of the month.
He glanced across the field, saw Annie walking toward him, and his mouth went dry.
Playboy babes were overrated.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Despite the fact that Cash had all but dragged her here, despite what she had to do tomorrow, Annelise couldn’t ever remember having a better time. Stopping in front of one of the fans, she let the breeze play over her.
Cash leaned against a fence post. A long, tall Texas cowboy. A great fitting pair of jeans, cowboy boots, and a Stetson. Whew! She grew warmer, even in front of the fan. Real men and big belt buckles.
He bent down to help a small child over the fence, and his hat fell off. He scooped it up and slapped it against his thigh before setting it back on his head, shadowing his eyes and hiding his expression.
Still a little miffed with him, she veered off in the direction of the food table. Rosie could use some help. It was time she took a break and enjoyed the day.
Hank beat her to the table, and Annelise watched the red bloom across the housekeeper’s cheeks. Even after years together, years of sitting in the kitchen eating pie, they sparked each other. The two were still sweethearts.
Annelise went to the opposite end of the table and cut a coconut cake into individual serving sizes. She plated a few pieces, making it easier for people to handle.
At the other end of the table, Hank asked, “Want to dance?”
“I can’t, you old fool,” Rosie said. “I’m busy.”
“I’ll wait while you finish up whatever it is you’re doing.” He waited all of three seconds. “Want to dance?”
Rosie rested her hands on her ample hips. “You hard of hearing?”
Hank grinned. “Nope. Just ain’t heard the right answer yet.”
Annelise laughed. “Go on, you two. I’ve got this covered.”
“There you go,” Hank said. “That song they’re singing reminds me of our senior prom. We danced all night.” He swung Rosie out onto the dance floor.
Annelise was still smiling when Maggie came up beside her. “They make a cute couple.”
“Yes, they do.”
“You and Cash looked pretty good together, too.”
Annelise frowned.
“Don’t give me that look.” Maggie grinned. “I saw the two of you dancing. On TV. I love the gossip shows.”
“You wouldn’t if you found yourself featured on them.”
Maggie scrunched her lips in thought. “You know, I’m not so sure of that.” She picked up a brownie, took a bite, and rolled her eyes in appreciation. “You looked so gorgeous, Annie. And my dress. It’s splashed all over the news. I can’t thank you enough for putting my name out there, telling everyone I designed and made it. I have to keep pinching myself to prove it’s all real and that I didn’t dream it.”
“Have you had any calls?”
Maggie hugged herself. “Yes. I have a couple orders.” Her grin grew bigger, then disappeared. “I saw Brawley Odell was there, too, with some plastic-looking woman hanging all over him.”
“A Dallas cheerleader.”
“Figures. He always was too good for the rest of us.”
Oh, ho. Something going on here, Annie thought.
Then Maggie caught Annie’s hand. “Come on. The table can take care of itself. Let’s get some watermelon.”
So Brawley Odell thought he was too good for the rest of us. Had Maggie included her in that group? And why should that make her feel almost giddy? Yet it did.
Before they could head off in search of the watermelon, though, Maggie’s grandfather muttered, “My toast burned pretty near to a crisp while she sat glued to that TV, watching you and Cash at the shindig the other night. Could have sworn I saw Dottie Willis there, too.”
“You did, you old geezer.” Dottie came up behind him.
“Gotta hand it to you, woman,” Fletch said, “you were a sight for sore eyes in that pink outfit, even if my granddaughter didn’t make it.”
“Flattery, Fletch. Flattery.” Dottie scooped up two pieces of apple pie, and they left the food table together.
While Annelise and Maggie enjoyed a piece of juicy watermelon, Doc Gibson came over to them.
“Hey, Maggie. Annie, how’s that little filly I treated the other day doing?”
“She’s almost as good as new.”
“You sure look different than the last time I saw you, Annie,” another male voice said.
She turned to see Brawley Odell.
“Brawley, how are you?”
“I’m good.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Doc and I have been sharing vet stories. City people are crazy when it comes to their pets.” His eyes moved from her to the woman beside her. “Maggie.”
“Brawley.” Her green eyes frosted over. “I need to check on Grandpa. Excuse me.”
Annie stared after her new friend. What had just happened? She turned back to Brawley, saw his eyes had taken on the same coldness.
She decided not to ask. Some things were better left alone. Her phone rang. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”
Walking toward the barn, she answered. “Thelma?”
“Cornelia called. She wants to talk to you again.”
“She does?” Hope fluttered in her stomach.
“Said so, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Annelise stuttered,
feeling chastised. Thelma put the fear of God in her.
“Can you stop by her place tomorrow around nine?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Good.” And the phone went dead.
Slightly bemused, she rubbed at her forehead.
“Headache?” Cash asked.
“I don’t know.”
He frowned. “How can you not know if you have a headache? I’ve got aspirin in the barn.”
“Yes, that’s probably a good idea.” She caught his hand in hers. “You’ve been avoiding me for the last hour. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he answered quickly. “I’ve been busy playing host, that’s all.”
“Hmm.” Something was off. She knew it as well as she knew her own name. He was distracted looking, as though his mind was a million miles away.
“Who was on the phone? Who upset you?”
They walked into the shade, and Annelise squinted after the bright sunlight. The barn felt cool. She followed Cash to the back where they kept the first-aid kit.
“Thelma, but she didn’t upset me. She…Cornelia wants to talk to me again.”
Digging in the kit for aspirin, Cash looked up quickly. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I think so. Yes.”
He got a bottle of water from the small fridge. “Here you go.”
She took a couple tablets and washed them down.
Cash reached out and caught her empty hand in his. He pulled her to him, ran his hand over her back. “Don’t be mad at me. Please.”
“I’m not.”
He drew away and gazed down at her, skepticism in his eyes.
“I’m not really mad.”
“Miffed?”
“A little.”
“Hurt?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t share. Especially after I got angry when you didn’t.” His eyes clouded.
Unease stirred in her. “Anything you need to tell me?”
“Why would you think that?” He sounded defensive.
“A feeling, that’s all.”
He shook his head. “Today’s for celebrating.”
She said nothing, but snuggled against him. They were a mess. Guilt about tomorrow’s plans nagged at her. Plans that, after Thelma’s call, she’d have to change, she realized. She wouldn’t be hopping on that plane after all.
He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll tell you what’s not okay, though. All those other guys making moon eyes at you and stealing your dances. I think every man here is smitten with you.”
“Smitten. I like that word.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “So let’s dance.”
A song about loving in the moonlight filtered through the open door, and they slow-danced right there in the hay, with only horses for an audience. She laid her head on his chest and relaxed into the moment. The hand he placed on the small of her back threatened to brand her right through the cotton of her shorts.
But then he didn’t want to brand her, did he? Didn’t want to make her his. A sigh escaped, and Cash tightened his arms around her.
What was she going to do with this cowboy? Where would they be if it wasn’t for his grandfather’s will? Did that have him balking at commitment? Did he feel hedged in?
Why was he so edgy today, though? A casual observer would see a laid-back, easygoing Cash. But she knew him too well. Knew that attitude was a façade today. He was wound tighter than a seven-day clock.
Of course, she wasn’t in a much better position.
“We’d better get back outside.” She threw him a grin and headed toward the door. “People are going to talk.”
He snagged her hand. “Wait, Annie. You were right. There is something I need to say. Something we need to talk about.”
She started to make a flippant remark until she saw the absolute dejection on his face.
“I was going to wait, but it’s best you know.”
“Know what?”
Before he could say another word, all hell broke loose. With all the fanfare of visiting royalty, a cavalcade of black limos, kicking dust in their wake, made its way down the long drive.
The music stopped, the dancing stopped, the clatter of silverware on plates stopped. Conversation ceased as all eyes turned toward the newcomers.
Annelise groaned as she watched from the barn door. Her worst nightmare had come true. Her family had arrived in Maverick Junction.
“I think our conversation’s going to have to wait, Cash.”
He nodded.
The cars stopped and uniformed drivers hopped out to open doors. Two bodyguards exited the first car. After a quick visual, they opened the door again. Her father, dressed in a dark blue suit and tie and a pair of his favorite Italian shoes, stepped out. His dark hair, now gone gray, was cut close to his head.
He turned to help his wife out. Georgia Montjoy, tall and in great shape, made quite a statement in a perfectly tailored, pale yellow silk suit and six-inch heels. They’d both die of heat inside half an hour, Annelise thought. And the shoes. The first time her mom stepped on a cow paddy in those—Well, it should be interesting.
Her cousin Sophie, her mother’s hairstylist, and another bodyguard exited the next limo.
When she saw who climbed out of the third, she groaned. By this time, Cash stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder. “Your family?”
She nodded silently.
“So who’s the guy in the last car? The one who made you whimper.”
“I didn’t whimper.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“You’re wrong. And that would be Douglas DeWitt.”
He stepped to her side and slid an arm around her in what she assumed to be a show of unity. God bless him for it, because she’d need support.
“That the Douglas DeWitt your folks think you should marry?”
“Yes.”
His hand tightened on her waist, and she felt him stiffen.
“Isn’t that a little archaic?”
“A lot archaic,” she agreed. “And very much a part of my life.”
“You’re not who you were when you left Boston, Annie.”
No, she certainly wasn’t. No longer the pampered, sheltered, and very naïve woman she’d been, she was also no longer a virgin. And she was far closer than she’d ever been to knowing the real her, knowing what she wanted from life. Understanding that was the man beside her.
“Cash, promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t let them kidnap me.”
His brow arched practically into his hairline.
“I’m serious. I can’t go back to Boston yet. They’ll have no compunction about strong-arming me, and I have to talk to Cornelia again.”
“In that case, darlin’, I promise.”
And he would, she realized. Cash would willingly step in and run interference for her with her family. That gave her a warm feeling that had nothing to do with the smoldering Texas sun beating down on them.
She felt protected, but not in the smothering way of bodyguards and security systems. He had her back.
Together, they went to meet her parents.
“Annelise, honey. God, I’ve missed you.” Her mother wrapped her in a genuine hug, then stepped back to look at her. “What are you wearing?”
“The same thing I wear every day here. Well, not exactly. I dressed up a bit today. After all”—she waved a hand to take in the festivities—“we’re celebrating the country’s birthday.”
She ran a hand over the Armani suit’s sleeve. “You’re the one who’ll have trouble with the dress code. You’re a bit overdressed. And the shoes. They’re going to give you a problem.”
“I’ll be fine, honey.” Georgia patted her daughter’s cheek, smoothed the dark hair so unlike her own blond. “I always am.”
Her father, stocky at five-eight and pushing two hundred, scooped her up in a bear hug.
“Daddy!” She threw her arms around his thick ne
ck. “I’ve missed you.”
Her father held her tight. “We’ve missed you, too, sweetie. I ought to take you over my knee for putting us through this scare.”
Annelise laughed. “You’ve never done that, and I can’t imagine you’d start now.”
He sent her a stern look. “You’ve never deserved it before now.”
“Touché.” She took Cash’s hand. “Daddy, Mom, this is Cash Hardeman. He…Whispering Pines is his grandfather’s ranch. He’s running it.”
The men shook hands, then Cash turned to her mother. “Mrs. Montjoy, I see where Annie gets her looks.”
Her mother patted his cheek. “Annelise, I think I like this boy.”
By now, her cousin Sophie and Douglas had joined their group. Annelise made introductions. Around them, the festivities picked back up, but she was aware of the eyes still watching them. Curiosity was a powerful force, and the Montjoys’ showy entrance had created lots of it.
Leave it to her folks to grandstand. No simple slipping in for them. Oh, no. Everyone knew they had arrived.
Douglas caught her hand in his and raised it for a kiss. Beside her, she felt the heat emanate from Cash.
“I’ve missed you,” Douglas said.
“It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Annelise withdrew her hand and barely restrained herself from wiping it on her shorts. She craved a cold drink.
DeWitt, usually cautious, ignored Cash. “I saw the photos of you and what’s-his-name here in Dallas. Actually, I saw quite a lot of you.” He smirked.
Cash’s eyes went hard.
Annelise said a prayer for Douglas’s soul as Cash shifted. “I—”
“The name’s Cash Hardeman, DeTwitt.”
“The name’s DeWitt.”
“Yep. Got that, Twitt.”
“You’re mispronouncing it deliberately to provoke me,” DeWitt said between clenched teeth.
“Is it working?”
Douglas, in his city clothes, his expensive TAG Heuer watch prominently on display, made a disgruntled sound beside her. “I don’t understand you, Annelise. You’re looking at that man like you want to crawl in bed with him.”
“That man?” Cash turned his head to the right, the left, then swiveled on his heel to look behind him. He pointed at his own chest. “Are you talking about me?”
Somebody Like You Page 29