Burke’s heart turned over. “Annie, please don’t take on so.”
“Take on so? Take on so? What is that even supposed to mean?” Sighing, she put her hand up to stop him from answering. “I just want to go and lay down in my bed.”
Burke stood up and bent to grab her up into his arms, intent on taking her to their room, but it seemed that Annie had other ideas. She pushed him away as though his touch repulsed her. Burke watched her limp out of the room, his heart heavy. He’d handled it all wrong. Sitting back on the couch, he ran his hand over his face. Annie was right; he should never have told her that he doubted her. She was his wife and she was entitled to a certain consideration.
*
*
*
*
Annie stayed in her room for the rest of the day. It didn’t surprise her that no one bothered to check on her. She wasn’t as important as the ranch. Burke had made that abundantly clear. In fact, she was not as important as Alice either. He must still have had feelings for that witch. It wasn’t fair. She had wholeheartedly believed that this was her turn for a bit of happiness.
That night, Burke slid into bed and pulled her close. It was late and she didn’t even know what time it was. No one asked if she wanted any dinner. She never thought she could feel so hurt by this man. She had trusted him. She’d given him her heart and lately it seemed as though he wanted to give it back. The pain in her heart became excruciating.
Burke held her as she ignored him, stroking her back and murmuring to her. She just lay
there in the circle of his arms wondering how much longer he would be coming to her bed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered brokenly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, honey.”
Annie shook her head. “I’m not the wife you want. I’ve been such a fool. I wanted something so badly that I imagined it to be true.”
“What would that be?”
“I thought that you were happy with me. I thought we’d be able to build a life together, to have children.”
“Annie, I am sorry about today. I have been so focused on finding out what happened that I didn’t even consider your feelings. What I should have done is let you know that you come first, before the ranch and anyone on it. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as happy as I am with you. We are going to build a life together, we will have a family, and we will be happy. I know I hurt your feelings and when you refused to come down for dinner I felt awful.”
“I didn’t refuse dinner, it was never offered.”
“Alice… I’m such a fool.”
Annie leaned over and kissed him. “Make love to me, Burke. Make my doubts go away,” she pleaded.
“Woman, it would be my pleasure.”
Annie could feel her worth in the tender way he made love to her. He almost brought her to tears with his gentleness. Everything was going to be okay she knew it. She could feel it.
*
*
*
*
“Mrs. Harvy doesn’t work here anymore?” Alice questioned the next morning after breakfast.
“Not since I’ve been here,” Annie replied.
Alice laughed as though she had shared a private joke with herself. “Oh, darling. This is rich!” she exclaimed, as she got up from the table towering over Annie. “It all makes perfect sense. I just wish I had known about it when I got here, and then maybe my feelings wouldn’t have been so hurt.”
Annie was perplexed. Alice talked in riddles, and she didn’t want to know what it all meant.
“Well?” asked Alice. “Oh,” she said as she placed a hand over her heart in mock compassion. “You don’t know do you? You poor dear, you see it’s obvious that Burke married you as the unpaid housekeeper.” She shook her head and
tsked
a couple of times. “How utterly embarrassing for you dear,” she patronized.
Annie was about to lose her temper when she heard a truck drive up. Quickly, she went to the front door, hoping to escape Alice. To her relief, Sherry got out of the truck. Annie limped out of the house to greet her new friend. “I’m so glad to see you.” She gave Sherry a big hug.
Sherry hugged her back and gave her a big smile. “I did promise to help replant, didn’t I?”
“You most certainly did and you couldn’t have come at a better time,” Annie assured her.
Sherry looked toward the front door and her jaw dropped. “Surely I’m seeing things,” she said, in a whisper.
“Afraid not.”
“Well, well, if it isn’t Ted’s wife. Cher, isn’t it?” Alice asked, in her superior voice.
“No Al, its Sherry not Cher,” Sherry replied sarcastically, obviously hating the sight of the other woman. “It’s very surprising to see you here. I thought with all the money you wrung out of Burke you’d be living the high life somewhere… else.”
“Burke never did have much money,” Alice retorted.
“Certainly not after you got your hands on it,” Sherry shot back angrily.
Annie could feel the tension rising. She turned to Sherry “Let’s get started on the garden.”
Sherry gave Alice another disgusted look and turned away from her. “Sure. Let me show you all the veggies I brought,” she said, in false cheerfulness.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the house, Sherry grabbed Annie. “What in the name of God is going on here?” she demanded.
Annie felt extremely grateful to have a friend to confide in. “She drove up two days ago,” she explained. “She told Burke that she was broke and needed a place to stay for two weeks.”
Sherry’s eyes grew wide. “He agreed to let her stay?” she asked incredulously.
Annie nodded. “He said he still felt an obligation to her and hell I don’t know. She’s supposed to be out of here in two weeks. I hope I can take her that long.” She gave Sherry a sidelong look. “She isn’t the nicest woman I’ve ever met.”
“Oh, Lord.” Sherry laughed. “She’s a viper.”
“Yeah I found that out first hand. She told me about a litter of kittens in the hayloft and I stepped on a land trap. Needless to say, there were no kittens.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Are you okay? Is that why you’re limping?”
Annie was appreciative of Sherry’s show of outrage on her behalf. “Yes my ankle is cut and bruised, but I’ll be fine.”
“What is she still doing here? Surely Burke wouldn’t want her here after that!”
“It seems that there is no way that Alice could have set the trap. She’s not strong enough. I’m just going to do my best to ignore her.”
“Well, if things get too bad, then just come over for a cup of coffee,” Sherry offered.
Annie gave her friend a hug. With that, they each grabbed a flat of plants and headed out back. Annie briefly went inside to grab her gloves, hat and sun block and was extremely grateful that Alice was nowhere around.
Annie and Sherry worked side by side with Sherry explaining the finer points of gardening all the while. Annie drank in all of Sherry’s advice and knowledge. She was determined to have enough vegetables to can. They laughed and joked, avoiding the topic of Alice for about an hour until they heard the screen door slam.
They both looked up to see Alice coming off the porch, sunglasses and drink in her hand. They watched Alice set up a poolside type of reclining chair, and both women stared. Annie felt a bit envious of the blonde beauty’s figure. Her skin was already a soft bronze. Obviously, Alice didn’t burn.
The sound of an approaching truck and subsequent slam of the door drew all three of the women’s attention. Annie had an urge to get up and run to her husband, despite her leg, needing to feel his reassuring arms around her. Watching as he walked toward the trio, she couldn’t help but admire how handsome he was. Even sweaty and dusted from head to toe in ranch dirt he was the sexiest man she had ever seen. Her stomach began to quicken as he moved closer to her. She smiled at him.
Alice stood up and called out to him. Burke stopped and Annie could see them talking. Next thing she knew they went into the house.
Annie felt as though she had been kicked in the stomach. She glanced at Sherry, and the pity she saw in her friend’s eyes was almost more than she could take. Her eyes misted as she pretended to be preoccupied with planting her carrots.
Loud laughter came from inside the house. Annie waited for it to stop, but it continued until she lost track of the time. She picked up all of their gardening tools. She couldn’t even look at Sherry, feeling too humiliated. Burke hadn’t even gree
ed
either of them. He only had eyes for Alice. Annie felt sick to her stomach. With her hand over her mouth, she rushed inside the house. She felt bad about not saying good-bye to Sherry, but her need to be sick was too great and she needed to lie down.
Annie ran upstairs and dropped onto her bed, burying her face. When she felt like she could finally get up again, she looked in the mirror and her reflection horrified her. Once again, she was streaked with dirt and sweat. Her hair looked like a rat’s nest and her clothes were stained by her day’s labor. Sitting on the edge of the tub she wondered whether the physical abuse she felt as a child made her feel any worse than she did now. This was supposed to be her house, her husband, her chance at having a family and her soft place to fall. Burke didn’t love her as she had hoped he would. Last night he had almost convinced her with his sweet lovemaking, but he was just fooling himself and her. His heart was otherwise engaged to that blonde bimbo.
Looking in the mirror again, she couldn’t blame Burke. She’d always known that she was no prize. Hell, her own family hadn’t wanted her. Annie felt so tired and so defeated. Usually she could shake things off, but not this. The worst part was that she had nowhere else to go. She thought about taking a shower and changing but decided against it. It didn’t matter anyway.
Slowly she made her way downstairs to be sure that Sherry had left and all the tools were put away. She could hear more laughter coming from the family room as she walked through her kitchen. She went out the back and made her way to her garden. On any other day, she would have taken great delight in her accomplishments in the garden. Sherry had taught her a lot and they had worked hard, side by side. Despite herself, she smiled a little as she thought of her friend’s fury at Burke on her behalf. It felt wonderful to have someone in her corner for a change. Sherry was the type of friend that wouldn’t lie or try to deceive her. She had thought that she’d put those types of people behind her, but now there was Alice. As hard as she tried, she just couldn’t ignore that woman. She didn’t even know how to fight back. She didn’t even know if it was worth the fight. If Burke didn’t want her… The pain in her heart was too deep. She couldn’t think about it anymore.
She watched from the garden as one of the paints rolled on his back. She didn’t know that horses even did that. Annie could feel Burke’s heat as he stepped behind her. She hoped he wouldn’t touch her, but he did, putting his hands on her shoulders. Quickly, she shrugged his hands off and took a few steps away from him, refusing to look at him. His words had a way of melting her heart and right now, she didn’t want to hear it.
“Annie, I know that Alice can be a trial. I’m sorry if she did something to upset you.”
Annie turned in a flash. “You are so mule headed if you really think that it was Alice that made me so upset. I expect her to try to get to me at every turn, but not you, Burke. Never you.”
“If I’ve done something to upset your delicate sensibilities just say so,” he growled.
Annie’s angry eyes held Burke’s furious ones. “Oh, Burke,” she sighed painfully. “Is that what you really think of me, a person with delicate sensibilities?” She pulled her eyes away from his and looked at the horizon, knowing that she didn’t expect an answer.
“Maybe I am sensitive,” she finally agreed. “If seeing my husband greet his ex-wife and ignore his present wife wasn’t enough, then hearing you laugh and joke with your ex-wife was. Did you even know that Sherry and I were right there in the garden? You only had eyes for her and Sherry pitied me for it.”
“Annie, I’m so, so sorry. Alice needed help with the dryer. It wouldn’t turn on.”
Annie looked at him finally and could tell that he was sorry, but somehow it wasn’t enough. She turned and walked into the house, took a hot shower and went to bed. She cried herself to sleep that night and she hoped that she cried silently enough, she didn’t want Alice to know just how much she was hurt.
*
*
*
*
Burke stood outside and waited for the bedroom light to go off. It amazed him how much work she and Sherry had done in one day. It pleased him that Annie was a real partner in his ranch, their ranch. He admired her work ethic
He didn’t know what to say to Annie and she sure as hell didn’t want his comfort. Didn’t she know that he’d take her, scarred back and all, over the viper he’d married before? His best guess was that she didn’t know, he hadn’t told her that he loved her. He hadn’t wanted to before, but he knew he couldn’t help it now. His heart twisted as he recalled Annie’s pain filled eyes looking at him accusingly. He wasn’t sure how to make things right, but he was going to make sure that Alice didn’t get in their way again. He had to admit to himself that it was his fa
ult. He shouldn’t have let her
entice him. Laughing to himself in disgust, he realized that it was Alice’s plan all along. She was poison and he knew it.