“
I will.
”
Annie made sure that Sherry had left before she turned a vicious stare at Alice.
“
You had no business leaving me like that,
”
she cried.
“
Why did you take my pills and water away? I woke up in such pain that I got up by myself to use the bathroom and you weren
’
t even here! I fell flat on my face.
”
“
I
’
m here now,
”
she said dismissively. She walked right past Annie and went upstairs with her many packages.
Annie wondered where she had gotten the money to shop in such expensive places. She
’
d made it known that she was broke. Alice was up to no good, that much Annie knew to be true
, but
just what
Alice
was up to she didn
’
t know.
“
Annie.
”
Alice came back down the stairs.
“
I have something I think you should see. I cleaned Burke
’
s office and I found these papers, dated a few weeks ago. It
’
s addressed to you and already opened.
”
“
Here I think you should read it yourself.
”
She handed the letter to Annie.
“
I couldn
’
t for the life of me think of a reason that Burke kept this from you.
”
Annie wasn
’
t in the mood for any of Alice
’
s phony concern
, but
she took the letter from her. It was addressed to her and the return address was that of her mother
’
s lawyer, Charlie Banks. Her fingers trembled slightly as she opened the letter and began to read. Her heart beat faster as she realized that she was a woman with quite a bit of money. She closed her eyes remembering her stepfather always calling her
his duty
,
his obligation
,
his waste of money
. He would beat her for
it
, and the money had been hers to inherit on her wedding day. Tears fell down her face as she remembered Sonny calling her nothing but a millstone around his neck. She also remembered how he would hit her. She nearly laughed as she recalled him saying that she was nothing more than a poor relation that he should kick to the curb.
She grew deathly white and wanted nothing more than to run into the bathroom and get sick, but she didn
’
t have that choice. She wouldn
’
t be running anywhere for quite a while. She really couldn
’
t wrap her mind around just how much she was worth. It was in the millions. Then her heart twisted looking at Alice who said that she had found it in Burke
’
s office. Annie looked at the date of the postmark and it was indeed weeks old. Burke had kept this from her and she had no idea why.
“
Why didn
’
t Burke tell me?
”
“
I don
’
t know. He never said a word to me. I know that he
’
s been having money problems and he might even lose the ranch. Maybe he didn
’
t want you to know that he married you for your money. Maybe he was going to wait a while, when you were too in love with him for it to matter.
”
Annie was heartsick.
“
We signed a prenup,
”
she said shakily.
“
It was his idea.
”
“
Who wrote up the prenup?
”
Alice asked.
Annie closed her eyes. She didn
’
t want Alice to see her downfall.
“
It was Ted,
”
she replied bitterly.
“
Did you read it?
”
Alice prodded.
“
No
,
not the second one. I only read one page of it. The page I wanted changed.
”
Annie shook her head at her own stupidity.
“
Maybe he has a perfectly good explanation,
”
Alice offered.
Annie shook her head. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“
I can
’
t think of one,
”
she said sadly.
“
If you don
’
t mind, I
’
d like to be alone.
”
“
Of course, I understand. I
’
ll just go to bed.
”
Annie nodded absently. Her mind was on other matters. She couldn
’
t believe what her life had been like since her mother
’
s death. She wondered what role Alice played in all this, since she always had an angle and she certainly
hadn’t told
Annie out of the goodness of her heart.
The worst was Burke
’
s part. Whatever his position was, he had lied to her. He had deliberately kept her mail from her and he had the nerve to open it. The only conclusion she could come to
was that
Burke already knew what was in the letter. Alice was probably right, he married her for her money, money that she didn
’
t even know she had. He hadn
’
t even told her how bad his finances were. He never mentioned losing the ranch. She knew that they were tightening their belts to get through until he sold his cattle
, but
why did he tell Alice and not her? She was his wife. They were supposed to share their problems
.
Being married for her money was humiliating. He certainly played his part to the hilt. He got his wish; she was very much in love with her husband.
She didn
’
t know what to do. She really needed to stay until her leg was a bit better. Already the pain in her wrist was lessening and Annie became determined to try out her crutches tomorrow.
Annie dozed on and off all night and never heard Burke come in, but he had left his Stetson on the coffee table, so she knew that he was home. She was still very troubled by everything she had learned. Looking above to the balcony, she had a perfect view of each room. All the doors looked closed and she almost closed her eyes again, but she
suddenly
heard laughter. Her senses honed to Burke
’
s door and she was surprised to see Alice sneaking out wearing a see-through yellow teddy, smiling as she tiptoed to her own room.
Rage slammed Annie back to her pillow. She wished that she could run up those stairs and give them both a piece of her mind. How dare they? They must have known that there was the possibility that she would see Alice running around half-naked. She felt so helpless.
Her first instinct was to confront them both in the morning
, but
she really wanted to know what they were planning. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions. She felt deep in her heart that Burke was not the type to cheat on her. However, lately the honesty and integrity that had attracted her to him seemed to be false. Tomorrow she would call her mother
’
s lawyer and find out the details of her inheritance.
S
ighing
heavily
,
she
buried her face in her hands. She felt her foundation slip away. She no longer had anything or anyone to hang onto. Her whole life seemed like a gigantic lie, one big fat lie. Annie clenched her fists and pounded silently on the couch. What was it about her that made everyone feel as though they could take advantage of her?
Annie was so angry. She was angry with her mother, her stepfather, and her stepbrother. She was livid at Burke and his role in all of this. However, most of all she was angry with herself for being so stupid, so naive, so
…
She couldn
’
t think
o
f anymore words to call herself. It shamed her that she gave her trust and love so easily. Everyone must have thought she was desperate for attention, for affection, for love. How humiliating to know the truth. Most people would be thrilled to discover that they were suddenly very wealthy, but it was a small consolation prize as far as Annie was concerned.
Pathetic was the word for it, she thought.
But t
hey always sa
id
that what d
id
n
’
t break you ma
d
e you stronger. She reached out and grabbed onto th
at
ideal. It would become her mantra. Right now, she needed a backbone and thicker skin.
The next day went painfully slow. Somehow, Annie wasn
’
t surprised that she didn
’
t lay eyes on her husband all morning. She
’
d been waiting for a return phone call from Charlie Banks and it made her restless. Alice had been somewhat pleasant to her all day. It made Annie sick to her stomach just to look at her. She glanced at her crutches leaning against the coffee table. The sooner she got better, she thought as she reached for them
, the sooner she could take back her life
. It took a bit of finagling and practice
, but
she finally got it down.
The
pain
was still there
, but maybe the pain would make her stronger
too
. It definitely made her more determined to be independent.
Tomorrow was supposed to be the big day. Alice was supposed to leave. Annie wondered what would
really
happen. She really didn
’
t think that Alice would leave
, but
she was anxious to see how it all played out. It amused her to wonder what lies they would feed her this time.
Annie painstakingly circle
d
the room again
, aware that Burke watched her.
“
Wow great job!
”
Burke praise
d.
“
Why don
’
t we go sit on the porch and get some fresh air?
”
Annie gave him a quick
glance
and then looked away.
“
No thanks,
”
She made her way to the couch. She gingerly seated herself and promptly ignored
him
.
“
We could sit here and talk if you
’d
like
.
”
Annie
w
ouldn
’
t look at him. She stared down at her wringing hands. She couldn
’
t seem to still them.
“
No
I would rather be alone.
”
S
he didn
’
t want to talk to him, he just had to accept it, for now.
“
Day
’
s a
-
wastin,
”
he said as he left
‘
Watching him leave left a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. How dare he pretend to be concerned?
The phone rang and Annie waited for Alice to answer it. Instead she heard a familiar voice on the answering machine. Struggling to get up, she picked then picked up the phone and began to dial.
Annie hung up the phone after her talk with Charlie Banks.
He had
been trying to get a hold of her for the last few weeks but he
’
d been told that she was unavailable. She had her suspicions about that. The amount she stood to inherit was staggering. She was worth over forty million, more if Sonny hadn
’
t been siphoning off some all these years. Her resentment toward him and her stepfather knew no bounds. Annie really didn
’
t care so much about the money
, but that didn’t change the fact that they had been stealing from her while making her believe she was worthless.
The most interesting part of the conversation was that Burke had never contacted him about the inheritance. She puzzled over for most of the afternoon
, but
she just didn
’
t know what to make of it.
She was getting around on her own now and it felt great not being dependent on Alice for her every need. She even was so bold as to ask Alice where she would be going tomorrow when she moved out. To Annie
’
s pleasure, Alice sputtered and stomped out of the room.
S
he was finally getting a backbone, and she liked it.