It Takes Two: Deep in the Heart, Book 1 (11 page)

He popped the top, setting the drink in front of her. “Now that we’ve hashed that to death, why don’t you go take that shower? It’ll be shorter than you might have wanted, since the water’ll be cold, but maybe you’ll feel better. Or you can get a change of clothes and shower at our house.”

Annie jumped up from the chair. “No, that’s all right. The water won’t be too cold if I’m fast. I’ll be right back.”

Cody moved around the kitchen, guiding himself with the lighter. “Take the flashlight. I can find food in the dark.”

With uncertain fingers, she picked up the flashlight and walked slowly down the hall. Annie knew she’d feel more comfortable bathing in her own home, despite chilly water. She felt suffocated, as if it were almost a fact that she was going to become a philanthropy of the Aguillars’. A charity case. Annie knew Cody didn’t intend to make her feel that way, but she also had a funny feeling that her check was never going to be the one cashed by the electric company. Yet she’d acquiesced, realizing the fight was slowly ebbing out of her.

Ten minutes later, Annie made her way back into the kitchen with her mind and body stingingly refreshed. Cody had dug out an old kerosene lamp from somewhere and was opening a jar of salsa. Tortilla chips were in a bowl on the table, next to some cut vegetables.

“It’s not much,” he said, jerking his head toward the table, “but I’m afraid to make sandwiches. I don’t know how long the electricity’s been off.”

“It’s okay. I’m not that hungry. What you’ve put out looks great,” Annie said. She sat down at the table and shot a pointed look at Cody. “When you run that errand for me tomorrow, be sure you use my check,” she instructed.

“What are you saying?” Even in the dim light, she could see he appeared confused.

“I don’t want you paying my bills, Cody. Please understand that I have to be responsible for my own family.”

“I was planning on it.” He sat down across from her. “But I hope you realize what a long haul you’re in for.”

Annie picked up a carrot and munched it absently. “I think I do.”

Cody stared at her. “I talked to the doctor myself at one point. Even though your father came through his operation fine, he’s still got a long way to go. The doc says the recovery side is the hard part.”

Awareness crept into Annie’s brain. Cody was talking rehabilitation, which she’d figured meant working with her father some to keep his muscles fit. But the way he was talking, it sounded like money might be involved. “What else did he say?”

“You’re going to need some physical therapists to come and help you, Annie. You can’t do it all.”

“I always have,” she replied tartly.

“Okay.” Cody picked up a chip and dipped it into the salsa before eating it. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to raise Mary, take care of your invalid father, and bring in those crops all by yourself. Just trying to get Travis to do his exercises is going to be a major chore,” Cody said with a grin. “He’s not going to let you tell him what he’s supposed to do, Annie, and you know it. And did you get the part about your father having to wear shorts so his legs can heal where they stripped the veins for the bypass?” Cody broke into a snort of laughter. “I’ll be older than your father before I ever see him wearing anything but jeans for work and trousers for church.”

He shot her a wry glance. Annie sat still, feeling glued to the chair. Somewhere in her mind, she knew Cody was making sense, but didn’t want to acknowledge it.
I can do it
had always been her motto. It hurt not to be able to say it now and know it to be true.

“As I said earlier, I haven’t thought much past the urgency of the moment,” she said, feeling very weak even as she fell back on the truth.

Cody ran a hand through his hair before giving her a searching glance. “I know, Annie. God knows you haven’t had time to do much of anything. But your pride may cost you if you’re not careful. You’re going to have to let Ma and me help you out.”

Her shoulders sagged. “Maybe you’re right. But how are you going to run two farms?”

“I have some help I can spare. Plus my farm’s in good shape.” He stopped a moment, dragging his hand through his hair once more.

“You’ll run yourself ragged going back and forth,” Annie pointed out. “And you’re talking about a lot more than just helping me over a rough spot.”

Cody leaned back in his chair, studying her by the soft yellow light of the kerosene lamp. “It won’t be too much of a problem. But I’ve thought about this a lot, and getting married might make matters easier on both of us.”

Chapter Seven

Zach ripped a check out of his checkbook, stuffed it into an envelope with his father’s name on it, and tossed it on the edge of his desk for the secretary to mail. It was insanity, plain and simple, but after all this time he still felt responsible for Pop. A vision of the man he’d grown up with, hungry and without basic necessities, haunted him into writing that check.

Zach glanced around the office, noticing with relief that the calendar on the desk showed there were only a few days left until he was a free man. Two weeks after that, he’d be married and on to a new, better phase of his life.

The door opened and Carter poked his head in. “Got a minute?”

Zach nodded. Something his father had said was bothering him, and he wanted to ask Carter about it, so the visit was timely. “Sure. What’s up?”

“I just got a phone call that the bank is going to foreclose on the Aguillar land if the taxes aren’t paid up by the end of the year,” he said, strolling confidently into the room.

Carter paused, obviously expecting some reaction from Zach. When he didn’t respond, Carter sat down in a leather chair facing the desk and leaned forward. “This is a hell of an opportunity for us. It could be the sale we need in that area to put Ritter in a direct position to compete for commercial real-estate deals along the new state highway placement.”

Zach shook his head. “No. Fortunately for the Aguillars, they’re sitting on a bumper crop of corn. They’ll make their taxes. And anyway, I’m out of it.”

“You’re giving up on an opportunity Ritter should have.”

Zach shrugged.

Carter held up a hand. “Let’s talk about this.”

“I have nothing to say. Wrapping up my client load will keep me busy enough for the next three days. Someone else will have to go out there.”

Carter pursed his lips, studying him silently. “You’re awfully opposed to this. Did something happen out there you’re not telling me about?”

“Hell, no.” Zach wasn’t about to sit and have a tête-à-tête about the effect the Aguillar family had on him. “I’ve got a lot to do, and I wasn’t hot to take on another deal in the first place.” Zach met Carter’s eyes firmly. “LouAnn and I have a lot to do to get ready for the wedding, and it’s nearly impossible for me to be away now.”

That was all very true, but it wasn’t the real reason he wanted to wash his hands of the Aguillar deal. The whole thing had been a mess from start to finish—he’d never had a deal go south on him as fast as that one had. And he’d never expected to find a ravishing, courageous woman on a run-down, dusty little farm in the middle of nowhere. The desire to bed her had risen up out of some primal place inside him he couldn’t name, nearly blinding him to common sense and decent behavior.

Hell, no. He wasn’t going back there.

He shook his head decisively. “LouAnn and I’ve got some details to iron out, so I’m taking her to dinner tonight. I may be in a little late in the morning,” he added.

Carter ignored that comment. “Let’s not be hasty. You might change your mind.”

Don’t hold your breath
, was Zach’s immediate thought. Aloud, he merely said, “I don’t think so. And while we’re talking, what were you doing at my father’s house the other day?”

For a moment, Carter eyed him thoughtfully. Then he picked up the envelope Zach had finished addressing to his father, studying it for a moment. He looked at Zach, then purposefully held the envelope up to the hot, bright light streaming through the office window. Even Zach could clearly see the outline of a check through the paper.

Carter put the envelope back on the desk. “I wasn’t far from his neighborhood, so I stopped to let him know you’d been held over in Desperado. I didn’t want him worrying about you.”

Zach snorted. “Cut the crap, Carter. He hasn’t worried about me since day one. Pop told me you’d mentioned the land deal to him, and that it had fallen through. And you also told him about the earrings I gave LouAnn. Since when did you two become such bosom buddies?”

Carter gazed at him with soulful gray eyes. “Your father’s lonely, Zach.”

“Oh, jeez. Give me a break.”

“Well, he is. What does it hurt me to stop by and spend a few minutes with him?”

“What does it
gain
you, you mean. You told my father more about my life than I ever have. What I can’t figure out is why.”

Carter stood up. “I like your old man. And as I said, I was in the neighborhood.”

They stared at each other silently for a few minutes. Then Zach said, “Getting my father to goad me into finishing that deal isn’t going to work, Carter. I’m way past caring what Pop thinks about me.”

His vice president appeared to think about that for a moment before shrugging and ambling to the office door. “It wasn’t my intention to try to sway you by using your father. I’ve known you long enough to know that wouldn’t work. Though I do hope, selfishly maybe, that you’ll change your mind about the deal.”

Zach took a deep breath. “And I hope that this conversation doesn’t surface between us again, or you may find that my last act as president in this company is to make sure you no longer work here.”

The threat was clear.
Don’t try to screw me, Carter.

After several shocked moments, Carter moved past the door frame and closed the door. Zach had a feeling Carter wasn’t telling the truth about the visit to Pop. Something else was going on, but he sure as heck didn’t know what. The only thing he was certain of was that Carter didn’t make friends unless he needed them. What possible motive could Carter have for getting buddy-buddy with Pop?

The phone rang, startling him. He picked it up. “Hello?”

“Darling, I’m downstairs at the curb, if you’re ready to go to dinner.”

Despite the static of the car phone, Zach could hear the anticipation in LouAnn’s voice. Well, dammit, he was going to be excited about their dinner plans too, and he wasn’t going to let Carter ruin it for him. “I’ll be right down,” he said.

“Hurry, darling.”

The phone went dead and Zach hung up, shrugging into his suit jacket. He started to pick up the envelope containing his father’s check, then stopped. Why was Carter so interested in his correspondence with his father? Since the beginning, when Zach had met the struggling law student, his associate had known of the difficult relationship he had with his father. At some point, Carter had taken it upon himself to fill a void in Pop’s life. Now Carter had gone too far in his friendship with Zach’s father and something felt sinister about it.

Zach had made it to the door when the phone rang again.

“Dammit,” he murmured. The last thing he needed was to get held up on a business call. If LouAnn was at the curb, she’d have to keep circling the building or risk a ticket. Too many times having to circle would take the curl right out of LouAnn’s blonde hair, and they’d start the evening off at odds.

“Hello?” he said briskly.

“Zach? Zach Rayez?”

He frowned, not recognizing the voice although it sounded familiar. “Yes?”

There was silence for a moment before the quiet voice spoke again. He had to press the phone hard to his ear to hear. Then he knew that voice, knew it like he’d heard it all his life. “Annie? Has something happened?”

“No.” She sounded like she was at the point of tears. “But I wondered if you had a moment to talk.”

Zach was speechless. The one thing he’d never imagined happening was this. Annie sounded so distressed that he was worried. “Are you all right?”

He heard a sniffle before she said, “I’m fine.”

“Nothing’s happened to your father, has it?”

“No; he’s doing much better.”

So it wasn’t urgent, although he certainly wanted to talk to her and make sure she really was fine. “Listen, I really do want to talk to you, but I need to leave the office now. How about if I call you back tonight? Will you be home?”

She was silent. Zach wondered if she’d heard him, but then Annie softly replied, “I’ll be home after nine.”

He wouldn’t be home quite that early, but maybe he could call her from the restaurant. Suddenly, he remembered LouAnn was waiting on him—impatiently, no doubt. “All right. I’ll call you back this evening.”

It sounded like Annie said thank you, and then the phone went dead. Zach tossed it down and strode to the door. He caught the elevator as it was closing. Quickly, he got on, hoping to catch LouAnn before she had to move out of the way of traffic. Her little white sports car was just pulling up to the curb. He squeezed himself into the car, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

“I got caught on the phone. Sorry about that.”

LouAnn smiled, obviously in a good mood over something. “It’s okay. I’ve got something special planned for you tonight.”