“
Yes,
”
Annie agreed absently. She opened the French doors that led out to the porch. She wanted to cry she was so happy. When she felt the tears on her cheeks, she blamed them on hormones.
“
Don
’
t be sad.
”
Annie looked down at Rheenie and smiled.
“
I
’
m not sad, I
’
m happy,
”
she explained.
“
Tears, sad,
”
Rheenie said shaking her head at Annie.
Annie sat in one of the wonderful porch rocking chairs and lifted Rheenie onto her lap. She loved the feel of the little girl so close to her. She wondered if her baby was a boy or girl. Either way she
’
d be happy. Annie kissed the top of the little girl
’
s head.
“
I
’
m not crying anymore. You make me happy.
”
“
I don
’
t make people happy. People are always sad with me,
”
she said then sighed.
“
Mostly my
d
addy.
”
Annie
’
s heart lurched in her chest. She cuddled the child even more.
“
I
’
m sure that
’
s not true. I bet he
’
s very glad to have you.
”
“
You bet I am,
”
Clint agreed with a smile
, coming out to join them, y
ou two look like you
’
re getting along just fine
.”
Annie smiled back at him. She could see the sadness and pain in his eyes. He tried to hide it
, but
now she realized why Rheenie thought she made him sad. She hoped that this place would be a place of healing for all of them.
“
How
’
s the barn building going?
”
“
These guys are fast and efficient,
”
Clint said.
“
Van has really designed a state of the art breeding facility.
”
“
Yes, he is good. He said you did most of the
work though
.
”
Clint looked glad that she was pleased.
“
All we need is some thoroughbreds with good blood lines and we
’
re good to go. I
’
ve already found
a
stallion that would be a big moneymaker. I
’
m going to have to be quick on my feet
, but
I think we can buy him. There is a horse auction in Fort Worth this Saturday if you
’
d like to go.
”
“
I
’
ll leave the buying to you
, but
I
’
d love to go and Rheenie can join us.
”
Rheenie jumped out of Annie
’
s lap and jumped into her father
’
s arms. He lifted her up and she squealed,
“
Rheenie go! Rheenie go!
”
Clint hugged her tight.
“
Yes you can go, but right now Mrs. Harvy said she has milk and cookies for you.
”
He looked over the top of his daughter
’
s head.
“
I believe that Mrs. Harvy also mentioned something about tea for you
.
”
“
Sounds good.
”
*
*
*
*
Annie had never seen so many horses in her life, or so many cowboys and she just loved it. Wearing her new red cowboy boots and her tan Stetson, she felt a part of things. She looked down at Rheenie who wore a pink cowgirl outfit that Annie had bought her. She was as cute as a button. She didn
’
t wear boots because of her leg brace and special shoes she had to wear. Annie was very conscious of the stares that Rheenie got. She felt outraged on the girl
’
s behalf, but she knew that there wasn
’
t a thing she could do about it.
They made their way up the bleachers and sat next to Clint
, who
instantly picked Rheenie up and gathered her on his lap. Annie had noticed how much attention he gave to his daughter and it made her glad. Clint already looked through the catalog and had inspected the horses
on which
he planned to place a bid. Ironically, most of the horses he wanted used to belong to him, before the foreclosure. They had discussed the budget before leaving the house, and Annie was willing to pay top dollar. She wanted her dream of a horse ranch to come true.
Annie scanned the crowd, enjoying people watching, especially the families. She envied them
, but
she knew her time was coming. Looking straight across the arena, she was shocked to see Burke staring right at her. Her heart began to beat faster and she almost forgot to breath
e
. She hadn
’
t expected to see him so soon. In fact, she had been keeping close to home just to avoid him. She needed to tell him about the baby and she needed to do it soon. He looked good, handsome as ever. His brown hair could have used a trim, but somehow it made him look sexy. Her heart felt like it was in a vice and she began to tremble. She bit her lip so hard that she drew blood, yet she couldn
’
t look away. Clint ask
ed
her if she was okay, she turned to look at him and nodded. When she turned back, Burke was gone. Annie frantically searched the large crowd for him, but it was useless.
Annie tried to put up a good front for the rest of the day
, but
her mind kept going back to Burke. God help her
, but
she still wanted him. She was glad that Rheenie
was there.
S
he filled in all the silent gaps with her enthusiasm, managing to make Annie laugh a few times.
But a
ll the while Annie could feel her heart breaking all over again.
Chapter Ten
Annie heard through the local grapevine that Burke was in danger of losing his ranch. His divorce settlement with Alice had wiped him out and he was
never able
to regain his footing. It made Annie sick to know that he might lose it all. She knew how much the land meant to him. She had called his house and left messages
, but
he never called back. She wanted to tell him about the baby and to ask him about the divorce. She still hadn
’
t received any papers. Finally, she left a message telling him that he was to become a father
, but
she never received a reply
to that either
.
At first, s
he thought that maybe he wasn
’
t getting his messages. Alice probably erased them. Certainly, he would have contacted her about the baby. Annie
finally
decided to drive over to his house to confront him
directly
. She was almost four months pregnant and she knew that she would be showing soon.
T
hat trip to the maternity store was
getting closer and closer
.
Annie was disappointed as she drove up to his house and saw that his truck was gone. As soon as she stepped down out of her truck, Alice was right in front of her. Her angry look almost frightened Annie.
“
What the hell are you doing here?
”
Alice demanded.
Annie looked at her perfect hair, her perfect
nails,
and designer clothes and wanted to laugh.
“
I guess you don
’
t do much housework in those clothes.
”
“
Unlike you, Burke doesn
’
t want me to be his housekeeper,
”
she retorted.
Annie sighed. She had a feeling that things were going to get nasty.
“
Have you been deleting my messages to Burke?”
Alice laughed.
“
No! He’s listened to
each and every one of them. He
even
mention
ed
how pathetic you were.
”
Annie stood her ground. She wanted to leave and never come back, but she had promised Burke that she wouldn
’
t keep his children from him.
“
He knows about the baby then?
”
“
Oh
,
you mean the baby that
’
s not his? Yes, he knows all about it and wants no part of it. In fact we
’
re going to get remarried,
”
she said, her voice filled with malice.
Annie was stunned.
“
He doesn
’
t think the baby is his?
”
“
I think you heard me the first time. He knows what a whore you are. You
’
re not passing off another man
’
s baby on him, honey. He
’
s too smart for that.
”
Annie felt the color drain from her face. She held her hands together to hide the trembling.
“
The marriage?
”
she asked softly.
“
Does the word divorce mean anything to you?
”
Alice smiled triumphantly.
Annie turned and got back into her truck. She didn
’
t know what she had expected
, but
it certainly wasn
’
t this. How could he believe that the baby
wa
sn
’
t his? She was heartsick. She
got
halfway home
before she had to
pull over. She took a few tissues out of her purse and had herself a good cry. He thought she was a whore.
In all honestly, a part of her had been happy to see him at the stock show. She didn’t want to admit it, but there was still hope in her heart. At least… there was.
She hated that she still stupidly loved him. He wasn’t hers anymore.
She cried out her grief for quite a while before she
pulled
together. She didn
’
t want anyone at home to know she
’
d been crying
, but
she knew that there was no way to hide her red eyes. Luck was with her,
however,
since
somehow she manage
d
to get home and into her room without bumping into anyone.
Her mind whirled and whirled. She found it
all
so hard to believe that she
needed
to hear it from Burke himself. She
couldn’t
accept it until he told her. With shaking hands, Annie called Burke
’
s house
again
. She was hesitant when he answered the phone.
“
Did Alice tell you that I was there today?
”
“
She told me everything,
”
he said angrily.
“
Don
’
t call here again and don
’
t come here again. We are through. Do you understand?
”
“
Yes,
”
she choked out.
“
I understand perfectly.
”
She hung up the phone feeling numb,
finally
realizing she was on her own. She was going to be a single mother. Her child would never know its father. It was so crazy that Annie couldn
’
t comprehend it.
How did it all come to this?
She thought of a paternity test
and
of demanding child support
, but
in the end, she realized that if Burke married Alice, then Alice would be her child
’
s stepmother. There was no way she
’
d allow Alice to have access to her baby
, no matter what
.
As much as she wanted to lie in bed and tune out the rest of the world, she told herself to buck up. There was her horse ranch to build, a legacy to her child. She pressed a wet washcloth against her swollen eyes. It served Burke right to lose his land
,
she decided spitefully.
But a
s she calmed down, she realized that Burke
’
s land was
also
her baby
’
s legacy and she wasn
’
t going to let it go to strangers.
Maybe she could buy
the ranch from him, so he
’
d have something to live on. In the end, she decided to pay off his mortgage and his debts. Though there was a part of her that felt bitter, she
planned to
go to the bank tomorrow. Feeling a bit better, she
went
to
sleep.
* * * *
After her
cup of
coffee
the next morning
, Annie was off. She wanted to get to the bank early. She had a lot of business to take care of.
Mr. Todd the bank manager was happy to see her. She had deposited a large amount of money
when she first arrived back in Weltworth
.
The amount owed on the mortgage was staggering
, but
Annie didn
’
t blink an eye. It must have been a tremendous burden for Burke to carry.
S
he deposited twenty-five thousand into his account
to cover everything
.
Feeling better about things, Annie thanked Mr. Todd and left his office.
As s
he walked toward the bank door
,
Burke came
in
. Immediately she lowered her head
,
unable to look at him as she tried to pass by. Burke
blocked her way
and glowered at her.
“
I meant what I said last night; I don
’
t want to see you.
”
Annie hastily nodded
, and
q
uickly sidestepped him
,
hurr
ying
out the door.
She could st
ill
see
the anger in his eyes
as s
he walked half a block to the community garden. She had never been there before
, but
it looked inviting
after the bank episode
. It was deserted and Annie sat down on the wooden bench. The garden contained not only vegetables
, but
also an abundance of different flowers. She smiled as she recognized the vegetables, thanks to Sherry. The flowers had her guessing
since
she wasn
’
t very familiar with the different varieties. It was already getting hot
even though
it was still morning.
Unfortunately, sitting in the garden didn’t give her the relief she hoped for, so n
eeding to find some sort of comfort, she walked across the street to Noreen
’
s diner. She knew it was a mistake as soon as she saw Burke sitting at the counter. Noreen greeted her warmly and Annie tried to smile but couldn
’
t.
“
D
amn it!
”
Burke roared.
“
Are you stalking me now? I know what you did at the bank and I
’
m sorry, sweetheart
, but
I
’
m not for sale not at any price
,
especially not to you. So, paying off my debts didn
’
t buy me back. I don
’
t know how many times I have to tell you that I don
’
t want you. Stop following me, stop calling me, just leave me alone!
”
Annie
slapped him in the face. The violen
t
action
shocked her
, but
she wasn
’
t
sorry. She
turned and ran out of the diner. She could hear Noreen calling to her
,
but she couldn
’
t stop.
Right now, s
he needed to be as far away from Burke as she could get.
*
*
*
*
Noreen stood in front of Burke
.
“
You bastard. How could you yell at that little gal like that? I am so ashamed of you! You aren
’
t the only one
she has
helped with her money. Yes, helped not bought. She paid off this place for me and she gave Mrs. Harvy a home and started a retirement account for her. She took in Clint and his little Rheenie when they were homeless. Even old Rowdy has a few new trucks in his rental fleet.
”
Noreen
looked
like she was going to explode.
“
She
’
s done nothing but give to this community! She
’
s donated to the church and the schools. Why she even gave my nephew Jimmy a place to live and work. She has employed most of this town for one thing or another, now especially when times have been so hard
.
That bitch Alice has you all turned around
again
! Annie didn
’
t want to buy you. She wanted to give you the one thing you wanted most in the world, your ranch free and clear. And don
’
t tell me that it doesn
’
t mean anything because I happen to know that you were a month away from foreclosure!
”
Burke was astonished. He couldn
’
t believe what he was hearing. He hadn
’
t kept up with the Weltworth grapevine, so he didn
’
t know how generous Annie had been to those she cared about. She
’
d been generous to the whole community and he had yelled at her for it. He felt like a fool, a complete fool.
“
I
’
m sorry,
”
he mumbled to Noreen
, leaving the diner with his head low.