“Thank the Lord.” Anna shuddered. “I’ve been around the oil business all our married life. More than forty years, but I don’t know jack squat about any of it. I can throw a party, flutter my eyes, and help talk a deal, but if I had to fill out a single form, I’d probably be signin’ the whole business over to a swindler. I’m glad you’ll be there, Clancy.”
He took a step back. “Is the new office very far from Conrad Oil?”
“A block down and across the street. We bought the old bank building. His staff is in there right now moving all our stuff in.”
“I know exactly where that is. I’ll show you.” Angel let go of his hand and wrapped Anna up in her arms before stepping back. “I’m so relieved. I’m going back in there with him now, but neither of you can know what a burden you’ve taken off my shoulders.”
“We’ll be going. If you need us for anything,” Clancy said, “just call, and we’ll be here as soon as we can. If we don’t hear from you, we’ll be back in the morning. How long do you think they’ll keep him?”
“Couple of days, the doctor says—if Red promises not to go to work for two weeks when he gets out. And don’t forget to call your mother and tell her Red’s okay. Today was a special day for her and Tom. I’m so sorry we interrupted it.”
“No problem,” Clancy said.
“If you need a place to stay or to freshen up, my apartment is just minutes from here,” Angel said.
“I’m not leaving his side.” Anna hurried out of the room.
“I want what they’ve got,” Clancy said when she was gone.
Angel sighed. “Me too.”
***
“Welcome to my city home.” Angel opened the front door when they arrived at her apartment and stepped inside. She flipped the light switch and motioned toward the dining room. “Just set those groceries on the table.” Then she pulled the drapes to let in light through the balcony doors.
Clancy put the bags down just as rain began to beat against the doors. “Looks like rain follows us wherever we go.” He walked up behind her and circled her waist with his arms.
“Sure looks that way.” Angel covered his hands with hers. “It’s just rain. I command that cloud, if it’s planning to produce a tornado, to go tear up something a hundred miles away from me and you.” She waved her hand toward the dark masses.
“If I were those clouds, I wouldn’t test you.” He grinned.
She turned around and slipped her arms around his neck. “I was so scared, Clancy, and now that we know Red is all right…”
“I know.” He pulled her closer to his chest. “Seems like we’ve faced enough storms for a lifetime, but you know what they say… What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger..”
“If that’s the truth, we should be able to bench press an Angus bull.” She laid her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.
“We’ve got a lot to do in the next few days. I need to call my boss and turn in my resignation, find an apartment, and…”
“You don’t need an apartment. You can stay with me,” Angel said. “I’m goin’ back to Conrad Oil tomorrow morning for some peace and quiet. We’ll both be busy, and I want to see you whenever I can, so living here with me seems to be the answer.”
“Thank you, Angel,” he whispered into her ear.
“We’ll see how we get along when we have to work and come home cranky,” she said. “Which reminds me. I get cranky when I’m hungry, and neither of us got more than a couple bites of food down before we got the call, so are we going to order out or cook?”
“You said you don’t cook.” He began to massage the knots from her back.
“I can make a mean ham sandwich, and I know how to heat up a can of bean with bacon soup to go with it, but if you want cooked food, you’ll have to do it.” She turned and laid her face on his chest.
“I can cook, but it’s not gourmet,” he admitted.
“Then tomorrow night, when we’re sure that Red is completely out of the woods, we’ll go to the farm and Hilda will feed us. When she sees how happy I am, maybe she won’t put rat poison in your potatoes. You’ve got two hours to stop that wonderful massaging on my back.” She wiggled in appreciation.
“We would really be starved in two hours if I keep this up, because it would lead to the bedroom,” he said. “If you’ll make the entree of ham à la sandwich, I’ll make the side dish of soup à la bean with bacon.”
“Deal.” Angel reached into the first grocery bag and pulled out a loaf of whole grain bread and a package of ham. “Let the gourmet cookin’ begin.”
“Why in the world do you live in two places?” Clancy opened the can of soup and rummaged around in the cabinets until he found a saucepan.
“Because I wanted two places. Sometimes I didn’t feel like driving to the farm when we got home from a gig. Sometimes one of the girls needed a place to sleep if they didn’t want to go home. So, I bought this apartment for those times.”
“It’s a lovely place, Angel.” He scanned the apartment. “But I’m surprised you don’t have a porch swing here.”
“I’ve got one ordered. I had to have it custom made to fit on the balcony,” she admitted.
“Angel, what are we going to do about us?” Clancy asked as he heated the soup.
“What about us?” she asked. “We’ll both work. We’ll come home either here or the farm. Red’s office staff will take you under their wings and smother you half to death. Those women have been with him since I’ve known him. Some of them are probably the same people you used to visit when you and your daddy came down here on Saturdays. The geologist and the lawyer are pretty new, but they’re friendly. You’ll like them. In a couple of weeks, you’ll fit right in. Don’t worry. You’re smart, and you’ll learn fast.” She finished making two sandwiches and carried them to the kitchen table.
“We need to talk about us,” he said.
“I’m in love with you, Clancy Morgan. I loved you from the first day of kindergarten.” She stopped to kiss him on the cheek as she passed by the stove.
“I wanted to court you like a lady. I wanted to take you everywhere I didn’t take you all those years ago, and then when you had fallen in love with me, I wanted to ask you to marry me.” Clancy turned to face her. “You deserve all that and more.”
“But what I want is just you,” she told him. “I want to feel you near me, even when we’re too tired for sex. I want to fall asleep in your arms and wake up to find you beside me, but before I do it, I want to hear you say—”
“I love you, Angel. I’ve loved you for ten years.” Clancy’s next kisses were long, lingering, and steamy hot.
“We might fight,” she purred.
“We’ll make up,” he said.
“We might disagree. I’m obnoxious when I argue,” Angel said.
“So am I, but we’ll work that out when the day comes.” Clancy smiled.
“I like the way you think.” She pulled his lips down to hers for another long kiss.
Chapter 16
“Mornin’, Angel,” Patty greeted her with a big, innocent smile.
“Call them all in,” Angel said. “Just us girls, in the conference room in three minutes, pronto.”
The grin faded from Patty’s face in an instant. She pushed the red button on the intercom sitting on her desk and said, “Angel’s home, ladies. She says meet in three minutes in the conference room, and I think we’re in trouble.”
Angel walked over to the window and looked down at the main street while she waited for her friends to assemble behind her. She wanted them to think she was so angry she didn’t want to face them, but it was hard to keep a smile off her face. Especially when she thought about Red in his hospital bed trying to act sicker than he really was, and when she thought about waking up beside Clancy that morning.
Patty cleared
her throat, and Angel turned around to find all five sitting in their places around the conference table. “I ought to shoot every one of you for the stunt you pulled, but your intuition was better than mine. I have to thank you.”
Patty wiped her brow with the back of her hand in a dramatic gesture.
Mindy sighed.
Allie rolled her eyes to the ceiling, and Susan giggled.
“Want to tell us about it?” Bonnie asked.
“Nope.” Angel shook her head. “After what you did, not one of you deserves to hear the details. But Clancy and I intend to put the past behind us and get on with the future. I finally have closure,” she managed to say and hoped her expression didn’t give anything away. “Susan, bring me up to date on what’s going on in the front office. The rest of you can meet with me at thirty-minute intervals—”
“Hey…” Bonnie stopped her midsentence. “We’re your friends. We’ve shared everything from busted fingernails to divorces. We only did this to help you get over the sorry sucker who made you walk around here all down in the mouth.”
“I’m over the past. I told you that.” Then she started to laugh.
One minute everything was as quiet as a prelude to a funeral, the next minute Angel was wiping tears from her face and hiccuping. “You are all a bunch of devils, and I love every one of you—horns, pointy little tails, and all.” She pulled a tissue from a box in the middle of the table. “Clancy is moving in with me. We’re goin’ to make it this time! I’ve realized anything worth having is worth fightin’ for, and no one is getting between me and Clancy Morgan again. Maybe I should have fought for him all those years ago, but then if I had, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Clancy and I needed ten years to grow up enough to realize what we have, and I thank all of you for seeing that when I was blind.”
“Hot damn,” Patty swore loudly. “Is there goin’ to be a weddin’?”
“Maybe someday.” Angel nodded.
“Someday…” Allie drew out the word and raised an eyebrow.
“Let’s get back to business,” Angel said. “And you should know that Red has hired a new man who’s pretty sharp. His name just happens to be Clancy Morgan, and I don’t think even I will be able to blink my pretty lashes and get him to give me a good deal.”
“Well, isn’t it a small world,” Mindy said. “Angel, it might take a while for us to forgive that man, but we promise to give him a chance. Right, girls?”
“Right,” they chorused.
“Now, let’s get back to work. I’ll be in when you and Susan get done.” Mindy headed for the door.
“Nothing much has happened since you’ve been away,” Susan said when she and Angel were alone. “Except for Red’s heart attack. Shook us all up. We reckoned he’d be around until eternity.” She toyed with a lock of her hair. “Life sure don’t offer any guarantees, does it, Angel? I’m goin’ to tell Richie to set the date. Maybe a Thanksgiving wedding would be good. Bonnie will be married by then. I want us to fly to Jamaica and tie the knot down there.”
“If that’s what you want, then go after it.” Angel led the way from the conference room to her office and sat down behind her desk. “I’m hoping that Clancy and I will just wake up some morning and know that it’s the day and find us a judge.”
“I’m really happy for you,” Susan said. “Guess he turned out better than we expected. We shouldn’t punish him forever for a mistake he made ten years ago, but if I’m honest, it might take me a while to get over still wanting to shoot him.”
“I understand.” Angel opened a portfolio on her desk and reviewed Susan’s proposition for a new advertising campaign. “Looks really good,” she muttered, turning the pages. “Let me know when you’re ready to spring it on the oil industry.”
“Will do, and it’s good to have you home. Gotta run. Never know what might come walkin’ in the front door.” Susan stood up.
Angel had barely gotten through her mini-meetings with each of her friends when Patty buzzed to tell her Clancy was on the phone.
“I need a refresher course,” he moaned. “They’re talking drillers and roughnecks and rigs and casings, and I’m having trouble keeping up.”
“You’ll learn. Old dogs can be retaught if they want to learn,” she said. “Remember, anything worth having is worth fighting for. Like Red told you last night, half of Texanna Red is yours right now. If you want to keep it, you’ll learn.”
“How can I learn this and court you too? I can’t think about business for thinking about you,” he said.
“Then you better learn to control your thoughts a little better. From nine to five only think about Texanna Red, and from then on you belong to me.” Angel laughed.
“Are we still going to the farm tonight? Are we going down that curvy back road?” he asked.
“Clancy, it’s twice as far to go the highway, and it only takes thirty seconds to cross the bridge over into Hendrix. You should have had to cross the old bridge. It looked and felt like it might collapse anytime. The new one is concrete and sturdy,” she said.
She couldn’t imagine anyone being so afraid of heights. How in the world was he ever going to put on a hard hat and climb to the top of a rig for an inspection?
“Are we fighting?” he asked just as shortly.
“Who knows?” she said. “But we’ll talk about it later. I’ve got a meeting with Margie this afternoon, and I’d rather do battle with the Hendrix bridge any day than that old barracuda. You better hope Red is up and well by the time she knows you’re a new person in the office. She’ll eat you for lunch and lick her fingers afterward.”
“You think I can’t hold my own with her?” Clancy’s voice held a challenging edge.
“Not if you don’t learn the difference between a rig and a casing,” she threw right back at him.
“I’ll see you at five. And I’ll drive. We’ll take my Bronco,” he said.
“Anything you say, sweetheart. Have a good day,” she said.
She was still thinking about work when she got home that evening. Clancy’s Bronco sat in the driveway beside her parking place. She opened the door and found his bags packed beside it, but he was sleeping soundly on the couch. She sat down on the floor beside him and stared at him for ten minutes, trying to figure out what she should do. If he was her competitor forever, would it cause trouble between them?
That old familiar feeling tickled the inside of her mind, and Angel knew without another thought what she was going to do. Clancy was going to face some difficult times as he learned a new business and had to face more responsibility than he’d ever had before. She’d be there for him, and if they fought along the way, then they could damn well make up afterward, because she was committing herself for the long haul right now.
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, sleepyhead, we’ve got to go see Red, and I called Hilda. Supper will be on the table at seven, so you’d better wake up.”
He didn’t open his eyes, but he did smile. “You know how afraid I am of heights. Always have been. Couldn’t even dive off the dam in Tishomingo because it looked like it was six miles to the bottom.”
“I know.” She kissed his eyelids and his cheeks, rough with a five-o’clock beard. And then his mouth. “But you’ll get over it.”
***
They found Red sitting up in bed with a cell phone and a yellow legal pad in front of him. Anna’s jeans were creased perfectly, and she’d visited the hairdresser that day.
“Hey, how’d the first day go? Dennis, the geologist, said you were frustrated but determined.” Red smiled at them. “By the way, I want the offshore drillers to start spending three weeks out and three weeks in. Give them more time at home with their families at a stretch.”
“He’s back to wheelin’ and dealin’,” Anna groaned. “He’s being released today, and the doctor says he can work from home, but on
ly for half a day this week. Doc says it’ll be two weeks before he can go all day. You’ll do fine, Clancy. In a while, you’ll know as much about it as us old dogs. You young’uns learn fast.”
“Now, talk to me about you two,” Red said, setting his legal pad and cell phone aside. “I want to know why neither of you ever mentioned the other’s name in all these years.”
“Wasn’t any reason,” Clancy said. “I didn’t know Angel was in the oil business, and I figured she was married to someone else.”
“I thought he and Melissa were married and living happily ever after, amen,” Angel said. “And my intuition didn’t tell me different.”
Red chuckled. “Must be the only time it’s failed you. I’d still pay you big bucks to sit behind a desk and tell me when that crazy feeling hits you. Clancy, if you don’t take advantage of this girl’s sixth sense, you’re a lunatic.”
“Yes, sir.” Clancy nodded. “And I’ll sure be glad when you’re back on the job to answer all my questions, because she’s the competition, and she’s pretty closemouthed when it comes to information I could use.” He shot a slow wink over at Angel.
“Good for you.” Red looked at Angel with pride. “Keep him on his toes and make him work for what he wants. In the business and in the bedroom.”
“Red!” Angel blushed.
“Get on out of here.” The older man waved them away. “I’ve got a decision or two to make, and I don’t have your smarty pants instincts. I have to think about things,” he told her. “Let me know when you decide to tie the knot. I’ve got a great honeymoon in mind. Hell, me and Anna just might go with you.”
“No, we will not!” Anna exclaimed. “The doctor said no honeymoon activities for a while.”
“See you.” Angel kissed Red on the forehead. “But when and if Clancy and I decide to waste time and money on a honeymoon, we’ll go alone.”
“If you two are even thinking about a honeymoon, just remember that the wedding has to come first.” Red tucked his chin in and studied her over the top of his gold-rimmed glasses.
Secrets in the Sand Page 15