Burke simply nodded, bracing himself.
“
I locked her out while you were away. It was storming something awful. One of the worst I
’
ve seen before. I saw her run into the barn and I put on your rain gear and slipped the bar on the door locking it. I heard her crying, trying to get out. I waited a few and unlocked it, but I guess she didn
’
t try it again until later. By that time, you and I were cozying
up
by the fire. If not for her
,
we could have had mad
e
passionate sex in front of the fire place.
”
“
I never suspected you.
”
“
I know! I
’
m that good!
”
she said smiling brightly. Alice got up and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“
Want some
,
Burke?
”
Burke shook his head. The way she said his name was like fingernails on a blackboard. He wanted to squeeze her neck until she quit breathing.
“
A special delivery came for her from her lawyer and I opened it and hid it. That part had been Sonny
’
s idea. He hoped that she wouldn
’
t find out about the
trust fund
at all. But I realized that if I could convince her that you married her for her money, it would make her doubt you.
”
“
Well,
it obviously worked,
”
Burke replied bitterly.
Alice smiled.
“
Oh no, even then she wasn
’
t convinced that you were a cad. I had to come up with an even better plan. It was such fun planning the next part. It wasn
’
t until she found us in bed together
—
”
Burke shot out of his chair. He couldn
’
t contain his building anger anymore.
“
We were never in bed together,
”
he ground out.
“
I d
id
n
’
t cheat on my wife.
”
Alice
w
ent on, taunting him.
“
I
had to mak
e sure that you couldn
’
t sleep together, so she had a little fall. It was quite easily accomplished with a few nails and a bit of fishing line. It was brilliant
,
actually.
”
“
Damn you!
”
Burke shouted, as he remembered the pain Annie had been in when he had found her at the bottom of the stairs.
“
You could have killed her!
”
“
That would have made everything easier. Since she didn
’
t die, I drugged you and I made sure she saw me going into your room. She didn
’
t come up the first night.
”
“
There was more than one night?
”
he asked incredulously.
“
Oh honey, it wasn
’
t until the second night that we were together. I heard her pathetically limping up the stairs with her giant cast and I went into action.
”
Alice smiled brightly at Burke.
“
I made you so hard that I was able to climb aboard and ride you. It felt so good to have you inside me. It was like old times. Annie walked in as we were going at it. You should have seen her face it was priceless. She looked shocked,
stricken,
and sick all at the same time. I relive that repeatedly and I have to admit it was one of my finest moments
.
”
“
And Cat?
”
he asked.
“
Dead of course. I couldn
’
t have cat hair on my clothes.
”
Burke groaned in disgust. Alice was sick in the head. It was going to take a lot of persuasion to get Annie back. No wonder she shot daggers at him. Placing his Stetson on his head, he went to the back door. He pulled open the screen door and turned around.
“
Be gone from here by the time I come home, or God help you,
”
he warned letting the door slam louder than usual. He got on his horse. He needed to
think this all through. He
was in complete shock. If only he hadn
’
t let Alice stay
.
Annie would never forgive him. Why should she?
From what Alice had said Annie
went
through hell.
He didn
’
t know how to
begin
apologizing
to her. How could he possibly make things right between them? Maybe he should just wait until the baby was born. He had equal rights to the child
—t
heir child. Burke cursed as he looked to the heavens. He felt his face grow wet and realized that the wetness was from his own tears. He quickly wiped them away. A coward would wait and he wasn
’
t a coward.
*
*
*
*
The next day Annie received roses. She didn
’
t want to open them; she already knew who sent them. Sitting there gazing at the box, curiosity finally got the better of her. She struggled to get out of her chair and she waddled her way to the kitchen table. She laid her hands on the box, feeling the silky smooth texture. There was a big red bow on it and it reminded Annie of better times. It reminded her of when Burke had proposed to her by
flowers
. A secret smile stole across her face as she remembered how happy and anxious she had been. The baby kicked and she laughed. Suddenly
,
she decided to open the box. As she lifted the top off, the scent of roses hit her. It was her favorite scent. The long stemmed red roses were perfect. She stroked the satiny petals as she admired their flawlessness.
There was a
card
,
but
she
was reluctant to ruin the moment by reading it. Finally, she couldn
’
t wait any more she had to know what it said. It simply read;
I was a fool, forgive me?
Annie smiled sadly. Tucking the card back into the box she walked away, needing some fresh air. Yes, he was a fool, she thought, but she felt as though she was the bigger fool.
A
bruptly
,
she
sto
pped herself from thinking
negative thoughts. She just didn
’
t have the energy to think about the past.
It
couldn
’
t
be
change
d,
so she just wouldn
’
t think about it. Annie laughed at herself. It was so much easier said than done
,
but she was determined to try.
She walked slowly and cautiously to her garden, feeling warmed and comforted by the Texas sun. It gave her pleasure to see that the acorn squash, the butternut
squash,
and her pumpkins finally taking shape. She wasn
’
t able to do most of the gardening herself anymore. The last time she tried, she had the hardest time getting back up from the ground. Now she decided to forgo it
for awhile
. One of the men Clint had hired was blessed with a green thumb, so Annie knew that her garden was in capable hands.
She made her way to the corral to see the mares. They were beauties all right. Clint had a keen eye for horses and Jimmy McKeegan seemed a natural with them. Clint and Rheenie had finally moved into their new house. Annie had found a young girl to help him with Rheenie and to do some housekeeping. Noreen had mentioned to Annie that a girl in town needed her help. Apparently, her father had battered her and now he
’
d thrown her out into the street. The poor thing had nowhere to go, so naturally Noreen figured that Annie would take her in.
Her name was Ryelee and she was all of twenty years of age. She was all legs and limbs, a bit like a new filly. Her penny
-
bright hair was curly and it seemed unmanageable but it fit her, just as her freckles did. She was a bit awkward but she took to Rheenie right away and Rheenie was her constant shadow. Annie had a long talk with Clint about Ryelee and the living arrangements. He promised Annie that he wasn
’
t in the market
,
wasn
’
t even looking
,
and he would be the perfect gentleman.
Annie knew all that before she approached him. It was good to know that her faith in him was well
-
placed
though
.
She laughed as one of the mares named Sybil came right to her nickering, nudging Annie hoping for a sugar cube. Clint didn
’
t really approve
, but
Annie always brought her
girls
something. She looked as far as her eyes could see, loving her land and was surprised to see a lone cowboy silhouetted against the horizon watching her. He was far away
, but
Annie knew who it was. She would always be able to recognize her first love.
Annie greeted the other five mares
,
giving them each a sugar cube. Every time she looked up, Burke was still there, watching. Annie was trying to decide whether it gave her the creeps or made her feel good when Clint walked up to stand next to her.
He had been working desperately all week trying to negotiate a deal for a prize-winning stallion, to cover the mares.
“
Someone outbid us on King
’
s Crown,
”
he said disappointedly.
“
You did your best. Clint. I don
’
t doubt that. We
’
ll just keep our eyes out for another stallion.
”
Clint gave her a weary smile.
“
I really wanted that horse. You
’
re right
though,
we
’
ll look for another.
”
“
So who ended up with King
’
s Crown?
”
Annie inquired.
Clint shook his head.
“
I don
’
t know. I tried to find out, but I didn
’
t have any luck.
”
She looked into his deep brown eyes and smiled.
“
How
’
s Ryelee working out?
”
Clint smiled as he watched one mare after another nudging Annie.
“
Giving them sugar again?
”
Annie laughed there was no sense denying it. She just simply nodded her head. She enjoyed Clint
’
s company.
“
Ryelee and Rheenie are like two peas in a pod. She does a good job, but she won
’
t even look at me. I think I make her nervous,
”
he said
“
Well,
she
’
s been through a lot,
”
Annie answered, stroking Sybil
’
s nose.
“
I see you have a secret admirer,
”
he stated nodding his head toward Burke.
Annie blushed.
“
Not so secret. He sent me roses this morning.
”
“
And?
”
Clint prodded.
“
And I don
’
t know. I just finally made peace with myself. I
’
m sleeping better; I
’
ve stopped brooding over him. I just don
’
t know if I can go there again. There was too much pain involved.
”
“
I can identify with the pain part
, but
maybe you could give the guy a break. I
’
ve met him and he seems like a nice guy.
”
“
Most guys are until they show their true colors,
”
she commented bitterly.