by Leger, Lori
“Mom, please.” Annie breathed deeply, steadying her voice, attempting to project calm to her mother. A classic reversal, for sure. “Drake has everything under control. We have it worked out so that when I’m not at the office, he’s always with me. He won’t let anything happen to me. He …” She paused, thinking anything was allowable if it helped to calm her mother, who was clearly nearing a hysterical breakdown. “He cares about me.”
“He cares about you?” Vivienne’s voice quavered.
Annie stepped close to her mother, placed her hands on her face. “Yeah, he does. He won’t let anything happen to me. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. I’m not afraid with him around, honestly.”
Her mother stared at her for several seconds as the info seemed to sink in. “Annie, is he in love with you?”
“I-I don’t know, Mom. I doubt if his feelings are that strong. He’s just very attracted to me, and I know he cares about me.”
“And how do you feel about him?”
“I don’t feel anything about him. As soon as the cops catch this guy, if he’s even still around, Drake will be out of my house. I’ll be able to get back to my nice, normal life.” She fidgeted under her mother’s perusal. “What?”
“One of these days you’re going to have to let someone into your life.”
Annie picked up a dishcloth, and began to wipe down the spotless countertop. “Martin and Lewis are enough for me right now.”
“They’re pets, love. They can’t fulfill your life. You need to find your partner, your match to be happy. But in order to do that, you need to let your guard down a little. How will you know if a man is the one or not, if you don’t let him get close enough?”
“I can’t do that, Mom. I won’t.”
This time Vivienne placed her hands on Annie’s face. “You’re stronger than you were back then. If you could fight your way back from that, anything you face now will be a walk in the park for you. Please, don’t close yourself off to love because of something that happened twelve years ago.”
Annie squeezed her eyes shut. Thinking of that period in her life always made her so sad. Not so much because she’d lost T.J… . that pain had long dissipated into thankfulness, especially now that she’d seen the kind of man he’d become. It terrified her to think of what she’d nearly given up for one selfish boy who hadn’t been willing to sacrifice anything for her.
Her mother may believe she was stronger, but Annie wasn’t so sure. How could she know, when she hadn’t been tested all this time? She couldn’t take that chance. If she ended up a lonely old woman living with her cat and her bird, then so be it. At least she’d be living the life she chose.
By four o’clock they were on their way back to Kenton, carting three dozen farm fresh eggs, and plenty of leftovers. Drake inhaled loudly. “God, my mouth is already watering for another bowl of your mom’s gumbo. Hey, Annie, can you cook that recipe as well as she does?”
She turned toward him. “Of course I can.”
“What would it take to get you to cook that for me again? I’m willing to negotiate.”
Annie sent him a sly grin. “All negotiations should be in writing and duly witnessed.”
He nodded approvingly. “Smart girl.”
“My daddy taught me always to protect myself in business.”
“And your brothers goaded you into taking self-defense training to protect yourself physically.” He threw a glance in her direction. “I guess I have good old T.J. to thank for you protecting your heart the way you do.”
She stared out of the passenger window at the passing landscape. “That’s none of your concern.”
“It’s only fair to warn you. I plan on tearing down that wall of resistance you’ve built—brick by brick, if I have to.”
Her heart seized at his confession, though she didn’t dare face him. “How do you propose to do that?”
“With my charm and devastatingly good looks, of course.”
He spoke with such confidence that Annie couldn’t help but stare at him. “Jesus, you’re full of yourself.”
“We’ve had this discussion before. I told you then it’s called confidence.”
“We have had this discussion. I told you then you were a pompous ass. It seems you’re absolutely unparalleled at it.”
Drake chuckled. “Unparalleled? I don’t know about that. I think ole Tom should be in the running, don’t you think?”
Annie smiled. “I guess I can’t argue with you about that. I’d also have to add his fiancée, Britt, to the list, as well. If that’s even her real name, since you insist nothing else about her is.” A thought had her turning to face him again. “By the way, you just happened to notice she wasn’t wearing a bra when we were standing in a church. Have you no sense of reverence?”
He shrugged. “If she didn’t want people to notice, she would have worn a bra.”
She made a face. “But you shouldn’t have noticed in a church. It’s downright sacrilegious.”
“If she had introduced herself to your dad or the priest I bet they would have noticed too, Annie. It’s a guy thing.”
A surprised laugh burst through Annie’s mouth before she could stop it. “Don’t you dare bring my father into this conversation.”
“Which father?” His mouth twisted into a grin.
“My dad, of course,” she chuckled.
Drake laughed along with her. “Okay, then, your priest.”
“Our priest would not have noticed that, I assure you.”
“Your priest is just a guy under that robe. He’s human—we all have our frailties and weaknesses.”
Annie stared at his profile, helpless against her absolute attraction to this man, no matter how much she tried to deny it. Again, she found herself wondering how God could favor one man with such an excess of good genes. “Weaknesses? Is the great, confidant, Drake LeBlanc admitting he has one?” Annie caught her breath as he shot her another one of those sexy, crooked grins.
“Well, sure I do, hon. I thought you knew,” he drawled. “You’re my weakness, Annie Girl. You’re my kryptonite.”
They pulled into her driveway around five fifteen, after a quick stop at the grocery store for a few more perishables. Drake, being a total dairy food junkie, bought two containers of ice cream, along with a gallon of milk, and cheese cubes to snack on.
They unloaded the groceries and items they’d brought back from her parent’s house, then stepped into the familiar routine of feeding the animals.
Drake leaned close to the bird’s cage. “Hey Lewis, who’s the man?”
“Drake! Drake’s the man!” Lewis squawked excitedly.
Annie groaned. “That is so wrong.”
Drake was eating it up. “He’s such an intelligent creature, aren’t you Lewis? Lewis is a smart bird, yes he is.”
“Lewis! Sharp as a tack.” The bird cocked his head to the side as the large yellow cat sauntered into the room. “Heeerree’s Martin!”
“Yeah, there’s our fat cat.” Drake scooped up the animal. The cat placed both his paws on Drake’s face softly, as he’d done to Annie the previous day.
Annie watched him, growing more upset by the minute. “He’s not our cat. He’s my cat, and you need to remember that.” Something about seeing Martin being so affectionate with Drake made her nervous. Threatened her little bubble, somehow.
Drake placed the cat on the floor. “Well, I’m borrowing him for as long as I’m here. When I’m gone, you can have him back.”
She took a deep breath. When he’s gone. What if, when it was time for him to go, she didn’t want him to leave? What then? The thought made her chest tighten. “I’m going to shower. There’s something I want to watch on the tube tonight.”
“Great, what is it?”
“I don’t know the name of it, but it’s on the Lifetime network.”
Drake made a face. “Isn’t that the one that shows all of those made for television chick flicks?”
She smiled. �
��That would be the one. But there’s a television set in the guest room, so feel free to spend the remainder of the evening in that part of the house.”
Drake frowned. “I’ve seen it. What is it, a twelve inch? Is it even color?”
“Yes, it’s color,” she sneered. “It’s the one I had in my bedroom for ten years. We didn’t all grow up with silver spoons in our mouths like you did.”
He watched her through narrowed eyes. “I’ve just seen your family home, remember? You were hardly destitute, so don’t even try to play the sympathy card. That’s a great house and you have a great family. And you, being the baby of the family, no doubt got even more than your older siblings did, am I right?”
She made a face at him and turned to leave the room.
“Hey, hold off on that shower, would you? I’d like to go to my place and pick up a few more things I need.”
She gave him a long, suffering look. “Just go, Drake. I’ll be fine here.”
He shook his head. “Hell no, I made a promise to Mr. Pete, and I’m not leaving you alone. I need to call Red to help me move something.”
“What do you need moved here that’s so big you need help?”
Drake grinned at her. “My flat screen television. It’s too heavy to handle by myself.”
Her curiosity got the better of her. “How big?”
“It’s a fifty-two inch—the kind you can hang on the wall, but I have a stand for it.”
“I can help you,” Annie suggested.
He lowered his cell phone. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
“I can as long as you don’t drop your end of it.” She headed for the door, and left him staring after her.
Drake connected the last cable and slid the box into place. The credenza, holding the flat screen as well as his blue ray player and folder of discs, took up an entire corner of the spare bedroom. He watched Annie’s departure, noting the look of envy she gave the set-up on her way out of the guest room. He turned toward the too-short bed for a man of his size, promising himself to take the time to purchase a king-size mattress tomorrow. Drake smiled to himself, thinking maybe he could use it to his advantage. A large screen television hooked up with blue-ray … he’d seen her admiring his collection of movies. Maybe he could entice her to watch a few with him in his new bed. It might be the first time he’d get her into bed, but if he was patient, it may not be the last.
He smiled to himself, supposing he should be ashamed of his thoughts. But then, again, this was Annie and he wasn’t above a little materialistic bribery to get the woman he wanted. It’s not like he only wanted her in his bed—he wanted a hell of a lot more than that from his little spitfire.
He walked into the kitchen still wearing a grin, stopped to appreciate the sight of her standing at the stove stirring the pot of reheated gumbo.
She pulled two bowls from the cabinet and turned to catch him watching her. “It’s heated if you’re ready for supper.”
“I’m ready.” He kept the rest of the thought to himself. I’m ready for that—and a hell of a lot more.
“I’m hungry.”
Chad’s gaze settled on his teenaged son, standing in the bathroom door of their shared hotel room. “You must have gone through two family sized bags of chips and a six pack of cold drinks on the drive over here. Where the hell are you putting all that food?”
“I can’t help it if I have an overactive metabolism. Grandpa Pete says you can’t fight DNA.”
“Ah yeah, Grandpa Pete. The Sam Clemens of Gardiner, Louisiana.”
“Who?”
“Samuel Clemens—you know, wrote under the pen name Mark Twain?”
“Never heard of him.”
“Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn?” Chad prodded, hoping to open a window of understanding. What he got was an even more confused look from his son.
“What kind of name is Huck?”
“Short for Huckleberry, the character in the book was Huckleberry Finn.” He breathed a sigh of relief when his son’s face lit up.
“Oh, Huckleberry! He must have named the character after Brad Paisley’s son.”
“What? No!” Chad shook his head, feeling a cold dread wash over him. “Good God, I fear for your generation. What’s your required reading in high school these days—the Twilight Saga and Harry Potter?” He held his hand up when his son started to answer. “Don’t tell me, Jacob. I’m sure it’ll only send me spiraling uncontrollably into a deep, dark depression I’ll never be able to claw my way out of.”
He picked up the room phone and called Julia’s room. She answered, sounding tired. “Hey, your son is hungry again. I’ll treat all of you to supper tonight. The hotel restaurant is excellent.”
“I’m sure Miranda would enjoy it, but I’m not hungry, Chad. I’m still stuffed from Vivi’s good cooking.”
“I understand.” He paused a moment, waited until Jacob closed the bathroom door behind him. “I want to tell you again, Jules, how sorry I am for—”
“Stop. I don’t want to think about it, much less discuss it. I’ll tell Miranda to meet you in your room.”
“But, Jules—” A click and dead air space greeted him. He dropped his head back against the headboard, wondering if he’d ever get another chance with his wife.
Jacob patted his belly. “Dad, you were right about this place. That rib-eye was outstanding.”
“Yep, good food.” Miranda polished off her last fried shrimp. “Not quite as good as Maw Maw Vivi’s cooking, but plenty good enough.”
“Yeah Dad, you missed out on some primo grub today,” Jacob said, before wiping his mouth with a napkin.
Chad groaned. “So your mother said.” He pushed his empty plate away from him. “Maybe there’ll still be leftovers when I get there tomorrow.”
Miranda snorted daintily. “I wouldn’t count on it. Drake ate like he hadn’t had a decent meal in months, and I think Maw Maw sent the rest home with Aunt Annie.”
Chad shrugged before placing his elbows on the table, hands clasped tightly. “So, how’s your mom doing?”
“She looks great,” Miranda commented. “I think she looks younger every year. That new hairstyle is perfect for her.”
Chad’s eyes grew misty. “She’s more beautiful now than the day I married her.” He blinked twice then looked at his son. “Jake, she’s-she’s not … I mean-is she …”
“Is she seeing anyone?” Jacob finished for him. “Not that I know of, although there is this guy at the office, I think his name is Douglas. He’s always bugging her to go out with him. I heard her say once she was running out of excuses to turn him down.”
Chad panicked momentarily. “But she does turn him down.”
“Well, yeah … so far.”
“What do you mean, so far?”
“If nothing else, Douglas is persistent, and if she decides to take the permanent position in London, he may have more opportunity to wear down her defenses.”
Chad saw Miranda’s gaze dart to her brother, as though trying to warn him. Too late. Damage done. He felt the blood drain from his face. “What permanent position?”
Jacob’s gaze shifted quickly from his sister then back to his dad. “Well, I’m not sure, maybe I misunderstood—”
“Son! Was she, or was she not, offered a permanent position in London?”
Jacob took a deep breath and nodded, looking like he’d rather be anywhere than where he was at that particular moment.
“Son of a bitch!” Chad hissed under his breath. He threw his napkin on the table, called for the check, then turned to his kids. “You two go on up to the room. Miranda, not a word to your mother about this. I want you to get whatever you need for the night and go to Jacob’s room. We’re going to need some privacy—it’s time she and I had a talk.”
Miranda and Jacob looked at each other then turned to their father. “Actually, it’s way past time, Dad,” Miranda added. “I hope you didn’t wait too long.”
“Yeah, good luck,” Chad added as t
he two of them left the table.
Jules released a groan of appreciation as she sank into hot water up to her chin in the oversized whirlpool tub. Her eyelids fluttered open at the knock on the bathroom door. “Yes?”
“Hey, Mom?”
Miranda. “Yeah, honey. I had to soak for a while. I’ll be out in a minute then it’s all yours.”
“Take your time. I’m going to go visit at Jacob and Dad’s room for a while, okay?”
She closed her eyes, glad for the extra time to herself. She’d need all the relaxation she could get before facing Chad again. “Sounds good.”
Chad walked purposely toward his daughter, who exited the room carrying her purse, her laptop, and an overnight bag. He clenched his jaw tightly in anger, already planning his verbal rampage toward his wife. As he approached Miranda, she held out the room pass card.
“I’ll trade you.” She wore a smug look.
Unsmiling, he opened his wallet, handed her his card, and grabbed hers from her. “Did you warn her?” he asked gruffly.
“No. She’s soaking in the tub.”
He turned toward Julia’s room, but Miranda grabbed his arm.
“Dad!”
He turned, irritation at his wife setting him on edge. “What, Miranda?”
“If you walk in there like that, you’re going to blow it with her; you do know that, don’t you? She’s just about had enough of your attitude and ultimatums.”
“Miranda, I think I can handle your mo—”
“Oh my God! You’re going to do it, aren’t you? You’re going to walk in there, huffing and puffing, ordering her around, and you’re going to blow it for all of us. It’s been a year, and you haven’t learned a damn thing, have you?”
Chad gave his daughter a stern look. “Little girl, you’d better think carefully before you talk to me like that again.”
Clearly frustrated, Miranda shook her head slowly. She averted her gaze, laughing nervously before releasing a long sigh, as though accepting the inevitable. By the time her gaze returned to his, her eyes were brimming with tears.