It Takes Two: Deep in the Heart, Book 1 (7 page)

Oh, Zach thought he was ready to retire from the big business arena. But Carter knew ambition ate at Zach like a disease. He might run from it, but there was no cure, and sooner or later, Zach would return to doing what he couldn’t escape from—trying to prove himself. A short spell away from the monstrous company Zach had created, then who knew what creative venture might spark itself in him to make Ritter bigger and better than ever? He could return to Ritter with a position on the board with a higher title and salary. Zach thought his entrepreneurial spirit would be satisfied by trying to make a success out of the rinky-dink, million-dollar company LouAnn’s father owned. But the glamour, the allure of Ritter would be lacking. Zach would figure that out soon enough.

Carter, meanwhile, would be sitting firmly in the president’s chair.

Carter turned his attention to the white, silky woman lying beside him. He had never seen skin so alabaster in his entire life. She looked like she’d been carved from untouched winter ice, with no scar of mixed heritage.

Whether Zach would ever admit it to himself or not, LouAnn’s precious white skin and obvious blue-blood purity were what Zach craved so mightily. Befriended by the powerful, wealthy, and listed in the elite social register, LouAnn personified what Zach Rayez hungered for. Zach would spend the rest of his life trying to escape from the pain of half-breed illegitimacy, and marrying LouAnn was one way to rise above his birth. Gaining business clout was another. Carter hadn’t had to think too hard to figure out what was driving Zach’s behavior. Zach’s rudimentary motives would make matters that much easier for Carter in the long run.

“Come here, gorgeous,” Carter suddenly said, taking the blonde in his arms to feel the wonders of her white velvet body against his once more. “Ah, LouAnn,” he murmured, “let me make you speak in tongues again.”

Chapter Four

Annie watched the monitor above her father’s bed, unable to decipher exactly what the screen was revealing about his condition. Her ten minutes in ICU were almost up, but desperately she clung to her father’s hand, hoping he’d acknowledge her presence.

Unfortunately, the heart attack he’d suffered was severe enough to warrant a quadruple bypass, scheduled to take place as soon as the appropriate medical team could be assembled. Any minute now, they’d come to wheel her father away. Annie felt like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. Certainly she wanted her father to have the operation he needed to live—but would he live through the trauma of surgery? Although in her eyes Papa would forever be the tall, striking man who could pitch a softball with unerring accuracy and do more work in a day than Paul Bunyan, the insistent worry gnawed at Annie that her father just wasn’t as strong as he’d once been.

Annie pressed his hand to her forehead, trying not to allow freedom to the hot tears stinging her eyes.

“Annie.”

Annie glanced up instantly at the gruff, hoarse voice. “Papa,” she whispered, the held-back tears immediately spilling over.

“Don’t cry, gal.”

“No, no, I’m not,” Annie sniffled, wiping at her face with the edge of her dress. Selfishly, the tears wouldn’t subside, and she held her breath, trying to choke them back.

Travis sighed and shifted slightly. “Dammit,” he cursed. “Best fajitas we’ve had in a long time and I missed mine.”

“I’ll make you some more as soon as you’re feeling better,” Annie promised, fervently hoping there would be a next time.

“Yeah, but that steak had just the right texture to it. I told Cody he should just shoot that damn cow and put it out of its misery. He let the damn thing graze on his good grass and grain like it was some kind of Hindu religious object, some kind of frigging pet.” Travis sighed. “So the cow finally kicks off, and what do I get but Cody bringing around the best meat I’ve ever tasted to show me what I don’t know about cows. Boy howdy.”

Annie knew her father was trying to make her laugh, but all she could conjure up was a thin crook resembling a smile. “Rest, Papa. There’s almost a full side of that cow in the deep freeze. You have to get well first.”

Travis was silent for a moment, his eyes closed and his face so still Annie thought he’d fallen asleep again. Just as she started to reach up with her hem to wipe the tears away, his eyes opened again, piercing her with their glinting grayness.

“I’m worried about you, Annie.”

“Oh, Papa. You don’t have to worry about me. You’ve always said I had more stuffing in me than a scarecrow.”

The bright gray gaze intensified, holding her gaze. “Don’t let that city slicker get to you, Annie,” he warned. “I know you’re lonely, honey. I know there hasn’t been much for you since Carlos died.”

Her father stopped and heaved a sigh that sounded painful. Annie started to speak, wanting to deny the truth in her father’s words, but he shook his head. “You’ve been isolated, Annie, and Lord knows you’ve worked yourself to a frazzle with the farm. You should have an easier life. You and Mary should have pretty dresses and shiny shoes, and a life not worrying where the next dollar’s coming from. But Zach Rayez isn’t the man for you, honey. There’s something cold, something almost bitter about him. I’m afraid he wants to take more than your land.”

“Papa, you shouldn’t be upsetting yourself,” Annie interrupted, more frightened by her father’s waxy color than his words. “You know I wouldn’t sell out for anything.”

“I’ve seen you watching him, Annie. I know what you’re seeing. He’s not Carlos, baby, despite those dark good looks. That face has probably lifted a thousand skirts for Zach Rayez, Annie. Yours wouldn’t be the first—nor the last.”

The nurse came in and darted a measuring glance at the screen. “Mr. Cade should rest now,” she announced in a no-nonsense voice. “We’re going to prep him in about an hour.”

“Oh,” Annie murmured, relieved and frightened all at the same time: relieved her father’s surgery was imminent; frightened that he might not make it; relieved that she could leave the room and not hear words she feared to be true coming from her father’s lips.

“Don’t worry, Papa,” she whispered, pressing a last kiss against his harshly weathered cheek. He seemed so weak, so helpless lying there that the tears pressed against her eyes again. “Everything’s going to be fine,” she assured him. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

Hurrying from the room, Annie held on to the barrage of sobs located in the middle of her throat, clamoring for release. She had to find a ladies’ room, a broom closet, any place, so she could sit down and release the choking storm of fear threatening to lay waste to her self-control.

Strong arms suddenly circled her. Annie knew whose arms those were. Without hesitation, she turned and buried her face against Zach’s chest so hard she could feel one of his shirt buttons pressing against her forehead. Somehow, the discomfort kept her from completely falling apart.

Zach started walking and she did too, willingly propelled by his strength. Seconds later, he gently pushed her down onto a hard bench in an almost-deserted hallway. The only other people in the hall were an older couple locked in their own grief, completely unaware of their surroundings. Assured that her worries could be vented in the most privacy she was likely to find, Annie accepted Zach’s shoulder and let the tears quietly slip down her cheeks.

He said nothing until her grief was spent, for which Annie was grateful. His silent companionship was more bracing than any words of sympathy he might have offered. Now she felt up to dealing with whatever lay ahead.

“Buy you a doughnut and some coffee,” Zach offered.

Annie nodded. “Let me wash my face first.”

“I think there was a ladies’ room around the corner,” he said, helping her to her feet with a guiding arm around her shoulders. “I’ll wait here.”

“Thank you.” Annie was grateful for Zach’s solid presence. She needed to feel that something around her was strong right now, capable of bearing her up should she fall prey to anxiety. Funny that Zach would be the person comforting her right now, when his initial purpose had been to take her property, her strength. Why, why, did she have the insane feeling that Zach’s heart had never been in his mission? Annie wondered as she walked away.

Five minutes later she left the restroom and returned to the dimly lit corridor. The woman who’d looked back at her from the mirror had seemed distant and somewhat frail, with eyes haunted by worry. Annie had commanded that woman to be gone, and within moments of a briskly cold face-washing and replaiting of her long ebony braid, the confident and serene woman she was normally gazed out again from the mirror’s glass.

Relief showed plainly in Zach’s eyes at her approach. “You look like you feel better.”

“I do,” Annie assured him. “In fact, I’m looking forward to that doughnut and coffee you promised me.”

“Come on, then.” Zach jerked his head to indicate the hallway. “Cafeteria’s this way.”

They walked to the cafeteria in silence. The clatter of plates punctuated scattered conversations around the room, and the normalcy relaxed Annie. Following Zach’s lead, she selected a doughnut and a large plastic cup of coffee from the serving line. He was quick to pay for her food, and she let him without any protest. Ordinarily, she would resist accepting a meal from a man she’d known barely twenty-four hours, but at this moment, accepting his chivalry felt right. In fact, being with Zach made her feel better than she’d felt in a long time.

Zach nearly spilled his coffee as he sat down in one of the hard, orange chairs. Annie’s pallor had concerned him, and for a moment, he’d wondered if she herself was strong enough to survive her father’s heart attack. Guilt ground in upon him. Any minute now, her initial shock was going to subside and Annie was going to realize she wouldn’t be sitting in this hospital if it weren’t for him.

“Your supper was cut short, so you’re probably hungry. Let me know if you want anything else,” Zach said. He took a sip of the bitter coffee, watching Annie nibble at her doughnut. Obviously she wasn’t going to say much, but there was something he just had to make sure she knew. “Annie,” he began carefully, “I want you to know how sorry I am. I wouldn’t have wished anything bad—”

“I know,” she interrupted with a sad smile.

He was acutely uncomfortable. “Is there anything I can do?”

“You’ve done enough, Zach.”

There was a trace of cynicism in her gaze for a split second—or perhaps remorse was making him look for things that weren’t there. Zach wasn’t sure. She had resumed picking at her doughnut, but he doubted she’d ever get past the glazed frosting. His appetite was nonexistent as well. The best course of action would be to stand up, shake off the blame, and take a taxi to the Aguillar homestead to wait on the replacement rental car. Another glance into Annie’s deepwater eyes decided him. “Will you be all right?” he asked, suddenly anxious to be on his way.

“We’ll be fine,” she said. “We’ve hit hard times before and survived them.”

Zach went very still, his curiosity overriding his desire to escape. “Is there a problem?”

“Well,” she began, looping her fingers casually through her coffee mug, “we don’t have much health insurance, of course.”

Zach couldn’t pull his eyes away from her lips. Why was she telling him this?

“I wish I could say Papa’s heart attack was unexpected, but truthfully, it could have happened at any time. He’s had a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol. I should have increased our coverage…but foolishly, I didn’t.” Her voice faltered. “It’s hard for me to accept that my father is elderly, or in ill health.”

The fact that Annie felt her father’s heart attack could have occurred at any time washed a wave of relief over Zach. His portion of blame in the situation could be downgraded from major cause to unfortunate catalyst. The old man could have gotten angry tomorrow over birds pecking at the cornfields and the results might have been the same. Zach knew he was deliberately justifying his innocence in the matter. But he still wished Mr. Cade had waited just a little longer to have his coronary, even as he recognized the selfishness behind the thought. He’d have been back in Austin then, and Annie might have called him to say she’d experienced a serious financial setback and needed to sell. That was a situation he could have taken advantage of. But here he was, with a prime opportunity to make his case again—and yet he couldn’t do it. Something inside him wanted Annie to come out all right.

“Ah, well,” Annie said, appearing embarrassed. “I’m talking too much. My mind is running around in circles, and I guess my mouth just popped out with what I was thinking.”

“Annie—”

She shook her head. “I’d better get back to the waiting room.”

Annie stood up, and he followed her lead, not knowing what to say. They cleared away their trays before walking down the hospital corridor silently. The whole mess was so damned awkward, Zach thought, and there was no easy way out.

The waiting room was empty. Zach sat down but Annie paced around the room, shuffling through a magazine before tossing it back down. Plainly she was so distraught her concentration was shot. He wasn’t close to his own father—not that over the years he hadn’t tried to change the fact. Reaching out to his father was like reaching into a black hole in space—there was nothing there. But if he
had
ever been able to establish a bond, an emotional connection with his father, Zach knew it would have meant the world to him. Despite their lack of closeness, it would still hurt if anything happened to his father now.