He sat in his truck staring at the steering wheel,
thinking what
a fool
he
was
. How could he have yelled at Annie that way? Ever since he
’
d seen her at the horse show with Clint and his little girl, he had been looking for a fight. He
’
d felt gut kicked seeing her with another man. When he mentioned it to Alice, she told him that they had been living together for a while. She had led him to believe that they were
“
together.
”
Now he had a lot of thinking to do. He hit the steering wheel with his fist. He needed to get on his horse and ride until he dropped.
Driving home Burke
’
s heart felt as though it was twisting inside him. He felt as though he had been gut punched and kicked around the yard.
Now he
had serious doubts about what Alice had been telling him. Why hadn
’
t he given Annie the benefit of the doubt? She was his wife
,
for crying out loud! Was she still his wife or had the divorce gone through? He couldn
’
t get his head on right. He pulled his truck up in front of the barn, saddled his favorite horse, and took off as though the devil was after him.
*
*
*
*
Annie sat rocking on her front porch with Rheenie on her lap. Rheenie had become a balm to her heart. At least she had closure. Burke said he didn
’
t want her, now she finally believed him. Her brain had known for a while, but finally her heart knew it too. It was almost unbearable. She felt as though she was mourning a death and perhaps she was. She was mourning her first and only love.
She looked down at the precious girl sleeping on her lap and sighed. In so many ways, she was blessed. She knew that. She just wished that she could concentrate on the positive instead of a dead relationship.
S
ince she was carrying his baby
, she thought of Burke constantly
. She almost laughed aloud at the ridiculousness of the situation. She just couldn
’
t believe that a man who still felt responsible for his ex-wife had no problem denying his own child. What happened to the integrity she had so admired?
Out the window when
I
saw them in bed together
, she reminded herself.
Maybe she shouldn
’
t have paid off his debts. She probably hurt his big male ego, but there was no way she could stand by and let his place fall into foreclosure. She had no regrets doing that. Hopefully someday he would see it as an act of kindness. For now, she had a baby to bring into the world and a ranch to build.
Clint walked
over
softly, bent over, and kissed his sleeping daughter on the forehead.
“
Want me to take her?
”
he whispered.
Annie shook her head no. She need
ed
the closeness right now.
Clint nodded back with a grin and walked toward the barn.
She wondered about him. There was sadness in his eyes that never seemed to go away.
Annie
’s eyes followed Clint to the barn, where
watched
him talk to Van
. They were going over the plans for the barn, although it was practically finished. She admired both
of them
. Maybe if things were different or if she had met either one of them first, before Burke… Speculation was foolish. She had enough to do without making herself crazy with what ifs.
Clint
’
s house was almost finished and Annie was feeling a bit sad that Rheenie wouldn
’
t be living with her anymore. It had been a
week
since she had last seen Burke
, but
as always he was on her mind. She hadn
’
t called her friend Sherry since she
’
d come back to town because she didn
’
t want to put her between
herself and
Burke. Finally, she decided enough was enough. She missed her friend and she needed someone to talk to. Sherry didn
’
t have to pick sides. As far as Annie felt there were no sides, not any more. She
’
d faced up to her reality.
Sherry
sounded
thrilled to hear from
her
.
The reunion between friends was full of hugs and tears.
“I can’t believe how much you’ve done. This place is great.
So when is the little one due?
”
“
Talk about the elephant in the room
,
”
Annie laughed
,
“
I
’
m almost six months
.
”
“
Does Burke know?
”
“
Yeah
,
he does,
”
Annie
said
,
her voice full of sadness. Annie
’
s face lost its glow and her eyes filled with sorrow.
“
He says it
’
s not his.
”
“
You
’
ve got to be kidding me?
”
Sherry demanded.
“
What universe does he live
i
n?
”
Annie gave her a sad smile.
“
If you could have Ted send me a copy of the divorce papers I
’
d appreciate it
. I need
a copy of the prenup too.
”
“
Ted didn
’
t take care of the divorce,
”
Sherry informed her.
“
We don
’
t know who he used, but I
’
ll have Ted get you a copy of both items. I just don
’
t know what Burke
’
s problem is. He needs his head examined. What he really needs to do is get rid of that blonde snake.
”
Annie sighed.
“
It is what it is.
I have
spent whole nights lying in bed wondering why he denies this child is his. I have no answers.
A
DNA test could prove it to him
, but
I
’
m no
t going to bother. It
’
s his loss
.
”
Annie looked out at her land and smiled.
“
I
’
m going to raise this little one alone, but I have tons of support. The people living here on the ranch have become like family to me and of course I know that I can always count on you.
”
Annie smiled at Sherry and she took her hand.
“
I don
’
t want to ruin your friendship with Burke. I know that you and Ted mean the world to him. He doesn
’
t let many people close to him.
”
Sherry squeezed her friend
’
s hand in reassurance.
“
It
’
ll be hard not to give him the stink eye from time to time
, but
I
’
ll try,
”
Sherry teased.
“
See you soon?
”
Annie asked.
Sherry hugged her and was startled to feel the baby kick.
“
I
’
ll be around, you can bet on that.
”
Annie watched Sherry drive away and felt much better about things. She didn
’
t have any power over Burke
’
s actions and she had to let
that
go. There were times she thought that maybe she had, but inevitably, some small thing would remind her of his smile or his touch.
Smiling, she watched Clint take time out of his busy day to push Rheenie on the tire swing. The more she saw him the more she wished that she knew what his story was. She wasn
’
t going to pry. She was just glad to have him for a friend.
Later that evening Annie received a call from Ted. He told her that he hadn
’
t handled the divorce and couldn
’
t find it filed anywhere. As for the prenup, her money was definitely still her money. He did say that he had talked to Burke about the divorce and Burke didn
’
t even know the name of the lawyer. Alice had offered to take care of it for him. Ted
also
told her that it looked like they were still married, but Burke was going to confront Alice
about it
in the morning.
Annie thanked Ted for all of his efforts and gently hung up the phone. She was puzzled, deeply puzzled. Burke didn
’
t marry her for her money
or it would have been in the prenup,
and shockingly there was no trace of the divorce papers. Alice had
even
told her that she and Burke planned to remarry. Something was fishy. It didn
’
t make any sense, but with Alice, it never did. Annie shook her head as she realized that she had been foolish to let Burke handle the divorce. Hopefully she would have some hard answers tomorrow.
If he hadn
’
t handled it, she would have to.
Everything was turned upside down with Alice the one constant, and if he didn’t see it then the hell with him. He didn’t deserve to be in their lives.
What she needed was a good swift kick. Allowing her
thoughts to
go there was foolish. It only added up to heartache.
*
*
*
*
Burke was confused when he got off the phone with Ted. Annie had been on the level
.
S
he wanted no part of his ranch. Somehow she
’
d inherited a large amount of money and was benevolently giving it out to those in need right here in Weltworth. He was glad to know that Mrs. Harvy was going to be taken care of. He would have offered himself
, but
he really thought that he would be homeless in another month or so. The price of beef had gone down and his profit margin was gone. He should have thanked Annie instead of humiliating her and yelling at her. Ever since she had left him, for no apparent reason, he
’
d painted her with the wrong brush.
When she
’
d left, he was so angry. He worked from sunup to sundown and then some trying to tire himself out each day so that he could sleep. The more he thought about her the more bitter he became. He had this done to him once before
, by Alice
. He
’
d waited for some word from her
, thinking
that she would at least want alimony. What a fool
he had
been
.
S
he was worth millions.
What surprised him the most was that she had come back to Weltworth to live. She could live anywhere in the world, but here she was. He wondered why. In the back of his mind, he secretly had wished it
was
because of him, but now he knew better. Burke cocked his head as he heard Alice walking around in her bedroom above. He hoped she wasn
’
t going to try to seduce him yet again. He had already told her that he
’
d never touch her
—
ever. Sometimes she pouted and sometimes she gave him a secret little smile as though he didn
’
t know the whole story.
H
e didn
’
t care. He hardly saw her, working long hours.
But n
ow he wondered what her part in all this was. She said she
’
d take care of the divorce and at the time, he was too hurt and angry to think straight. Ted mentioned that the divorce wasn
’
t on file
, but
Alice had told him that he was divorced. He really hoped
now
that he wasn
’
t. As hurt as he was by Annie
’
s leaving, he realized something. He still loved her.
Sure, he
’
d been enraged when Alice left. He felt used and had taken a huge blow to his ego. This time
,
Annie leaving him was different. He missed her constantly and felt as though half of him was gone.