Burke held Annie close to him, his eyes narrowed on Alice
’
s smiling face.
“
Did you need something?
”
he asked nonchalantly as if he didn
’
t have a care in the world.
Alice pasted a false smile on her face.
“
I was just lonely and thought you might be in here,
”
she replied in a sugary voice.
“
I
’
m here as you can see, but at the moment you
’
ll have to entertain yourself. My wife and I were just on our way to take a nap,
”
he said casually, enjoying the hatred she spewed with her steel gray eyes.
“
Maybe you could use this time to make a few phone calls so you know where you
’
ll be living by the end of the week,
”
he suggested.
Annie giggled against Burke
’
s neck. She held
on to him
tightly
as he made his way across the yard to the house. He carried her up the stairs and gently placed her on their bed.
Burke slowly undressed her, kissing her all the while,
eager
to get her naked. He wanted her. It scared him just how much he wanted her. It wasn
’
t the path he thought their marriage would take
, but s
omething inside him felt glad that his plan to keep his distance had somehow failed. He stared at Annie
’
s body in rapt appreciation loving the silky softness of her skin. She looked so young, so beautiful, and so happy.
Her nipples hardened under his intense scrutiny. She nearly jumped off the bed when he rubbed her beaded nipples between his fingers. It felt like heaven. She tried to grab his head for a kiss
, but
he kept himself at arm
’
s length, giving her a wolfish grin all the while.
“
Please,
”
she pleaded in a taunt whisper.
Burke pushed both of her luscious breasts together and kissed both nipples at once, laving both with his tongue, making her cry out. He heard her plea and could feel her grabbing at his hair. He wasn
’
t finished feeding off her, not yet.
L
ook
ing
up
, he
saw her green eyes filled with passion. He kissed her stomach
,
making her squirm and cry his name as he rained kisses lower until he found the exact spot he looked for. She shuddered and screamed holding tighter against him as she rode out her wave of pleasure. As she calm
ed
a bit, Burke shucked his clothes and kissed his way up to her speechless lips.
“
I don
’
t want this to end too soon,
”
he said, his husky voice straining.
“
Why would that be?
”
“
I can
’
t hold on much longer, if you keep touching me like that,
”
he ground out.
Burke put her legs over his shoulders before he plunged into her. He was in her so deep it was pure heaven.
Burke thrust for all he was worth. She was made for him, he decided. He saw her eyes flar
e
as she took her pleasure yet again. He groaned aloud
and finally
finished.
It was
hard getting his breathing back to normal
afterward
. Annie constantly amazed him with her willingness to try new things. Her passion was unequal to any other. Maybe city girls weren
’
t so bad after all.
Burke smiled as he looked down at her. Her whole body was a rosy pink from their lovemaking and it made Burke pr
oud
that he
was the
caus
e
. Her cheeks were red, her lips swollen, and she looked like a woman thoroughly loved. Her eyes
were
heavy lidded
,
so
he knew she was ready to take that nap. He slowly got out of bed, so
as
not to wake her and got dressed. Ranch work never waited.
*
*
*
*
Burke came home earl
ier than usual. “Where’s Annie?” He asked Alice who was sitting at the kitchen table.
“
I know you want to punish me,
”
Alice whined.
“
I knew it before I got here
, but
for you to be so blatant about it is just plain cruel! Using that plain wife of yours to make me angry and sorry isn
’
t fair. It
’
s not fair to her or me. She must know how you still feel about me. I see it in your eyes every time you look at me,
”
she cried.
“
I
’
m married to Annie, not you.
”
“
Tell me that you love her,
”
she challenged.
“
Tell me and I
’
ll go.
”
Burke turned from her and looked out the window. His silence was deafening.
It was especially so to Annie who stood at the kitchen door witnessing the whole conversation. Her face grew hot in humiliation as he refused to answer Alice. Her heart sank into her stomach.
She held her head up as she walked through the kitchen and grabbed her vegetable basket, not looking at either one of them as she slammed out the back door. She walked to the garden, knowing that Burke probably watched her. She refused to let him see her cry anymore. Hearing the backdoor slam, she expected Burke to come apologizing
, but
she heard the truck leaving instead.
Annie felt numb. Somehow, she had lost him to that witch inside. Her eyes filled with tears
, but
she quickly brushed them away. No more crying, she admonished herself. Enough was enough she finally knew the score. Now all she had to do was make a plan to leave. After her moving expenses, she only had about three thousand dollars to her name. She knew that she was a stronger person now than she was when she lived in the city. She could handle the future.
She quickly picked the vegetables she needed and walked toward the house with the painful knowledge that she and Sherry would not be canning them together. She was glad that Alice wasn
’
t in the kitchen. Annie put down the basket and decided to take a hot shower wanting to remove all traces of Burke off her body. He repelled her. Somehow, he
’
d managed to make her feel dirty and ashamed.
Annie scrubbed and scrubbed
, but
she couldn
’
t get the feel of him off her. Her skin was rubbed red
when
she finally got out and dried herself. She pulled on a pair of faded cutoff jeans and a teal T-shirt then walked to the stairs. She hesitated not knowing whom she
’
d encounter downstairs. She planned to make dinner and eat alone.
Certainly, s
he wanted nothing further to do with either Burke or Alice. Their little game of punishment had cost her dearly leaving her feeling shattered inside. She knew that Burke had never said that he loved her, but she had somehow let her imagination run away from her.
She sighed. Once again, her instincts about men were terribly wrong. Burke had used her to get back at Alice. She felt so stupid, so pathetic.
Annie started down the stairs and suddenly she flew through the air to the floor below. She
’
d felt something trip her
, but
she
didn’t remember seeing anything on the stairs.
Her pain
intensified
as she lay there and she knew that her leg was broken
. Assessing the rest of the damage was out of the question since it hurt too much to move.
She closed her eyes as her head began to throb
and
tried yelling a few times
, but
no one answered. She didn
’
t remember seeing Alice before she went upstairs. Maybe she
had
left with Burke.
It seemed as though she
was
there for hours before
she
heard the back door slam. Her hair wet from her tears, she moaned pitifully. Cat had faithfully stayed by her side meowing in commiseration.
She didn
’
t even have the energy to yell anymore, her voice had grown hoarse from her earlier attempts. She really didn
’
t care who found her at this point.
*
*
*
*
Burke saw the vegetables on the counter. He didn
’
t see any dinner, though he didn
’
t expect to. He was upset and ashamed by his fight with Alice, only because Annie had suffered for it.
W
hy
didn’t
he just didn
’
t claim to love Annie
?
He thought that he did, but he couldn
’
t seem to say it, not to his ex-wife. He should have gone after Annie realizing that she
’
d heard the whole conversation and would naturally leap to the conclusion that he didn
’
t love her.
Now h
e felt like a first class jerk. At the time, his need to get away
had been
so great that he had forsaken Annie.
Sitting at the table, he put his head in his hands.
He didn
’
t even know what to say to Annie and he felt sure that she wouldn
’
t believe him at this point. He didn
’
t want to lose her. He straightened as he heard a groan. Quickly he jumped to his feet, looking for the source. Finding Annie at the bottom of the stairs, he
ran over,
knelt down and kissed her forehead.
“
Easy Annie, I
’
ll call an ambulance
. J
ust hang in there baby,
”
he said as his heart twisted painfully.
Burke ran to the kitchen and called 911 requesting an ambulance. Just as quickly, he ran back to Annie to be by her side. He didn
’
t like the look of her skin, ash white in some places and a splotchy red in other places. By the twist of her leg, he knew that it was broken. Her pitiful groans ate at him. If only he hadn
’
t left.
“
Burke,
”
Annie whispered, in a hoarse voice.
“
Time,
”
she managed to say.
“
It
’
s about six, honey,
”
he replied. Cat looked at him with disdain.
“
Two hours,
”
Annie managed, looking at him.
“You’ve
been
here for two hours?”
Closing her eyes, she turned her head away.
“Annie
,
I’m so sorry.” He brushed her wet hair away from her face with his fingers. Everything he did lately
was
wrong. It didn’t matter what he did, he only ended up hurting
her
.
“Honey, I hear the sirens.” He took her hand
,
afraid to let go.
Annie opened her eyes and stared at him. The pain she felt was evident in her expression, but it was the sadness that touched him the most.
Just as help
arrived,
she passed out.
*
*
*
*
Waking was a painful process. Annie
’
s eyes felt as dry as sand. She winced at the bright sunshine that flowed through the hospital window into her room. She was thirsty
,
so thirsty. Her throat hurt, in fact all of her hurt. She felt the splint on her right hand and tried to wiggle it
,
wincing
.
H
er right wrist was sprained. She groaned, spotting the seemingly giant cast on her right leg. Annie heard someone clearing their throat and she slowly turned her head, not really wanting anyone to be there.