Annie's Song

by Cate Dean

  “I don’t deserve you.”

  “Oh, I beg to differ.” He startled a laugh out of her. “That’s better. Now that we got that out of the way, I am going to say this only once: you put our baby in danger again, and I will lock you in the bedroom and hide the key.”

  “Threat received.” With a sigh, she laid her head on his shoulder. “We’re going to have to put the wedding on hold.”

  “What?” He pulled away, studied her. “No—oh, no. You’re not getting out of it so easy.”

  “Eric—I’m not trying to get out of it. Claire and Zach both need to recover, I need to put what happened in that castle behind me,” she stopped him before he could protest. “And you need to be able to stand upright at our wedding. Which means we have to wait until you recover.”

  “Quite a few needs going on there.” This time he stopped her protest. “Let’s do this—let’s sleep on it. We don’t have to make a decision tonight.”

  “Fine. It will give you time to see I’m right.”

  He grinned at her. “Of course it will.”

  “Oh, stop.” Laughing, she climbed on to the bed, watched Eric carefully slide up, flinching. “I thought Marcus took care of that.”

  “It was a bad break, Annie. And he came after it started healing. He told me that can hinder his ability.”

  “Great excuse. I’ll stop,” she said, hunching her shoulders at his disappointed look. “I’m just feeling—off.”

  “It’s called hormones, blondie. You’d better get used to it.”

  “Terrific.” She flopped back on the pillow. “Who knows how much disaster that will rain on my power.”

  Eric lowered himself to the pillow, tucked hair behind her ear. “And we will deal with it. Together.”

  “Damn.” She kissed him, brushing her fingers along his jaw, and smiled at the low hum in his throat. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad I did it.”

  “Stop talking, and show me.”

  Her smile widened. “With pleasure.”

  *

  A knock on her door had Annie rushing to button her shirt. “Coming, Claire! I’m running a little late. As usual,” she muttered, heading for the door. Two weeks of forced rest and she was ready to climb the walls. The suggestion from Claire to look for a wedding dress had her feeling relieved, and terrified at the same time. Grabbing her purse, she swung the door open. “Sorry. I hope I didn’t keep you . . .”

  The purse slipped out of her hand. She stared up into the face of the last person she expected to see.

  Simon smiled, amusement clear in the green eyes. “Hello, Annie.”

  “I—you came.” She touched his arm. Real. Her brain finally began to work again. “So, did Hell freeze over?”

  The smiled wavered. “Not that I know of. But then, I have the ear of the other side.” He ran one hand over his hair. A sure sign of nerves.

  Annie needed to sit down. She found the nearest chair, watched Simon come in, closing the door behind him. “And you’re here,” she said, letting the anger that burst through her leak into her voice. “After tossing us out of your life like so much garbage, you come waltzing back, expecting us to—”

  “I expect nothing, Annie.” He kept eye contact, and she gave him points for that. “I had time to think after Claire’s visit. And more time, when I arrived here two weeks ago.” She raised her eyebrows. “Yes, you can add that to your list of grievances. Too much time, too much thinking. Once I knew you were all right, I retreated, like a coward. I ran my mind in damn circles, trying to figure out what I already knew.”

  The door opened behind him. Claire froze, pain and hope flaring in her blue eyes. It tore at Annie. His fists clenched, Simon closed his eyes briefly, and turned around.

  “Hello, Claire.”

  “Simon. What are you—”

  He moved forward and caught her in a hug, nearly lifting her off her feet. “I missed you, Claire. God help me, I missed all of you.”

  After an endless second, she slid her arms around his waist. Annie saw his muscles unclench when she returned his hug, and realized he was scared of rejection. He had every reason to be.

  Claire touched his face. “How did you know—”

  “Annie called me, asking for help finding Zach.” Tears filled Claire’s eyes. She’d been emotional since her resurrection, especially with anything concerning Zach. Or the baby. Or Annie. Oh, hell—she was weepy about everything, and it was completely freaking Annie. “When you came to see me, it cracked the wall I’d built, the wall I needed to keep myself from hurting every day.”

  “I didn’t mean to turn your life upside down.”

  “And I never expected to see you standing in my church, and understand you had every right to be there. I was wrong, Claire. And I am sorry for what I put you through because of my stubbornness.”

  Holding his hand, Claire turned to Annie. And she knew what was coming. “You called him.”

  Okay, that wasn’t what she braced herself for. “I was desperate. He’d understand what I needed without having to explain.” She turned on Simon. “That doesn’t mean I’m even close to forgiving you. And I didn’t invite you to my wedding.”

  “Annie.” Claire looked shocked. And once the words were out of her mouth, she felt like the heel in the room. “I thought you missed him as well.”

  “I did. Damn it—I’m not going to forgive you just because you flew a few thousand miles and apologized. Stop looking at me like that, Claire. I don’t have your generous heart.”

  “Annie—”

  “I need time, Simon. Stay, because I won’t ruin what you and Claire have gotten back. But don’t hang around with those sad eyes, expecting me to . . . damn.” Hormones had tears stinging her eyes now.

  She turned away, trying to compose herself, and froze when warm hands closed over her shoulders.

  “Claire told me about the baby. Congratulations, Annie. You will make a fine mother.” He leaned in, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “And your heart is bigger than you think.”

  “Damn you, Simon.” With a sob, she turned around, straight into his arms. And made a fool of herself by crying like an emotional idiot.

  Claire rubbed her arm, and she knew whatever stupid thing she said had been forgiven. It only made her cry harder. By the time she came up for air, Simon was sitting with her on the bed, Claire on her other side, holding her hand. She smiled at Annie.

  “You’ve needed to do that for a while now.”

  “I guess so.” She wiped her eyes, horrified by her breakdown. Simon handed her a box of tissues. “Thanks.” She mopped at her face, her skin hot from crying, blew her nose. “I can’t shop for my wedding dress looking like this.”

  “You can, and you will. Eric has waited long enough.”

  That hit the guilt button. Annie had been putting it off, claiming exhaustion, recovery time, lack of a wedding gown. The last excuse prompted their shopping trip. Every time she put him off, the pain in Eric’s eyes twisted through her heart. And she couldn’t understand why she kept pulling back.

  “Fine,” she said. Pushing off the bed, she stomped into the bathroom, needing to splash some water on her face, and get out from under Claire’s accusing gaze. The woman could cut metal with that look. The cool water calmed her, and washed away her anger. When she walked back out, all she felt was shame. “You’re right, Claire. And I’m sorry. God.” She pushed hair off her face. “I feel like all I’ve done lately is apologize.”

  “You had a rough time. Beating an elemental is no small feat, Annie.” Claire took her hand. “Doing it with no preparation, that is a monumental victory. You should be proud. And I will be eternally grateful that you saved Zach, protected him when I could not.”

  “That’s a story I want to hear,” Simon said. He stood, leaned in to kiss Annie’s forehead. “I will leave you to your shopping. If you need anything, I’m staying one floor down.”

  “Don’t you have to get back to your congregati
on?”

  Simon shook his head, and Annie almost missed the pain that flared in his green eyes. “I took a leave of absence. To think, and give me the time to do it.”

  “Simon—”

  “Hush, Claire. The decision was mine.” He kissed her cheek. “Enjoy your shopping.”

  He left them, closing the door to the hotel room. Annie stared at Claire, knowing she had the same shocked look on her face, and let out her breath. “That’s not how I planned to spend my morning.”

  Laughing, Claire took her hand. “I’m right there with you.” She pulled Annie to the door. “Now, my friend, let’s go find your dress.”

  They had zero luck, and after three hours of frustration she could see Claire was dragging. Annie stopped at a small café and with a grateful sigh they both dropped into the chairs of the closest table. On top of not finding a dress, they discovered that the local churches—all of them—were booked with events for the next month. Annie propped her elbows on the table, depressed and hungry.

  “You’d think they’d have something here. Don’t the women in this town get married?”

  “Why don’t we eat, then we can . . .” Claire covered her eyes, started laughing.

  Annie leaned forward. “Are you okay, honey? We can go back to the hotel if you need to rest.”

  “I’m fine. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.” She looked at Annie. “Who do you ask when you are new in town, and need something?”

  Annie wanted to slap her forehead. “Someone who lives here.” A new surge of energy had her on her feet. “Ready to get some useful advice?”

  *

  Frustrated with his slow progress, Zach followed the two men down the sidewalk. Eric had graduated from crutches, but he still limped, and Zach was grateful for the slower pace. His leg flared hot when he spent too much time on it, so crutches were a necessity. But he refused to be left out.

  They turned into the jewelry shop, and Eric headed for the first female sales rep he saw. “I need a wedding ring.”

  “Isn’t that lovely?” She led them to a case, pulling out some trays with winking diamonds. “These are our most popular—”

  “Sapphire,” Eric said. “I would like a sapphire.” He smiled at the woman, and she blushed. Zach wished he knew how to do that. Most girls just looked at him funny. “My fiancée is a colorful woman, so I want something to reflect that.”

  “That is simply beautiful.” She let out a sigh, replacing the trays with one filled with sapphire rings. “If these do not suit, I have more in the back.”

  Zach and Marcus crowded around Eric as he studied the tray. If Zach was picking, he already knew the ring he wanted. It screamed Annie. If Eric didn’t notice it, he’d be happy to—

  Before he could finish the thought Eric pulled that exact ring out of the tray.

  “This one,” he whispered. Light caught the sapphires circling a rich red garnet, blue petals of a small but perfect flower. “This is Annie.” He glanced over at Zach. “What do you think?”

  “It’s the one.” He leaned his crutches against the counter, reached over to touch the garnet, startled when the heart of it glowed under his finger. He let his hand drop away, hoping no one else—especially the woman helping them—noticed it. Falling back on his almost freakish knowledge of stones, he let the words flow, let them steady him. “The garnet is for love, and friendship. The sapphires are already her, um, favorite.” He almost tripped up on that one, blurting out that it was her focus. Taking in a breath, he looked at Eric. “It’s perfect for her.”

  “Yeah.” Eric couldn’t take his eyes off it, but Marcus glanced over at Zach, one eyebrow raised. And Zach knew he’d seen. It would take some fancy talking for him to convince Marcus not to tell his mom. “What size is this?”

  “May I?” She took the ring, used a jeweler’s loupe to study it. “Beautiful clarity, of both the garnet and the sapphires. You have a good eye, lad.” She smiled at Zach, and to his horror he felt his face heat. She moved her gaze to Eric. “Size six and a half. Will it need to be resized? Engraved?”

  “No,” Eric said, his fingers reaching for it. “I’ll take it now.”

  “Are you certain?” She pulled the ring out of range. “We have a lovely engraving service. You do want to make the ring your own, after all.”

  “Thank you, but no.” Eric took out his wallet, signaling the end of the negotiating. “I’ll take it now.”

  “As you wish.”

  She rang him up, tucking the ring in a white velvet box, then in a matching gift box. Eric thanked her, almost as an afterthought, and clutched the box as he limped out of the shop. He looked shell shocked.

  “This makes it real for you, then,” Marcus said.

  Eric glanced over at him. “Yeah. I love her, and I want this, more than ever. But, man—I’m terrified.”

  Marcus laughed, patted his shoulder. “Welcome to the ranks of the soon to be married.”

  “Did you feel like this?” Marcus looked surprised. Zach was stunned by the revelation. “Claire told me you’d been married before—I hope I didn’t betray some deep secret.”

  “No secret, my friend.” Marcus stared straight ahead. But Zach knew that look. He was not happy. “Merely a part of my life I wanted to put behind me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “No apology necessary.” Visibly relaxing, Marcus draped one arm over Eric’s shoulders. “I believe it is time for a celebration. What do you call them here—ah, bachelor party.”

  Eric smiled. “Annie would hate the idea. Where’s the pub?”

  They both laughed, and Zach lowered his head, feeling like the kid in the corner. Not welcome, never welcome.

  “Hey,” Eric said. Zach looked up. “That invitation includes you, punk.” He ruffled Zach’s hair. “I bet we could even sneak you a drink or two.”

  “Really?” He was excited, and terrified. Mom would ground him for life. Or kill him.

  “You’re part of the wedding, aren’t you? That gives you an instant in.”

  “I’m part of the wedding?”

  “Did I not speak English?” Eric slid his hand around the back of Zach’s neck. “You’re family, kid. It wouldn’t be complete without you there, standing up for me.” He smiled when Zach just stared at him. “What do you say? Will you be my best man?”

  “I—wow.” He shifted on his crutches, studied the ground while he fought the emotions raging through him. Finally, pretty sure he could talk without embarrassing himself, he looked at Eric. “Okay.”

  Laughing, Eric led him into the pub. Oh, man. He just hoped no one lost something they desperately wanted found.

  *

  Michelle insisted they have the wedding in the back garden. And sent Penn threatening looks until she agreed.

  Claire watched Annie tear up again, then throw her arms around Michelle. “Thank you. Oh, God—I thought we were going to have to get married in the local equivalent of the judge’s chambers.”

  “Right—that’s not happening,” Michelle said. She took Annie’s arm, led her through the shop. “I hope it will suit.”

  She opened the back door. Annie let out a gasp, stepping outside, and into a fairy garden. Claire didn’t think she’d seen her friend so completely speechless. And with good reason.

  A stone path meandered through glorious garden beds. Even this early in the season, the flowers were gorgeous, the surprisingly warm day bringing out their heady scent. She followed Annie down the path, and halted when it opened up into a deep, rich spread of lawn and pavers. Annie practically sprinted to the arbor in the corner, classic white lattice, covered with ivy.

  “Oh, my.” She touched the arbor, turned her tear blurred gaze to Claire. “It’s perfect. It’s what I always pictured for my wedding . . .” Tears choked her. She ran to Michelle, hugging her, and moved on to Penn. “Thank you, for offering all this. I just—I don’t know what to say.”

  “You can say yes,” Michelle said. She looked as teary as Annie. And P
enn stood next to her, just as moved by Annie’s emotional reaction. “There’s room for a small wedding, and we have more tables we can bring out for a reception.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because you’re fellow Yanks. Because I like you.”

  “Because she likes happy endings,” Penn added, looking at Michelle. Claire bit her lip on a smile. Annie had been right; they were the England equivalent, right down to the tight friendship, and the acceptance of each other’s needs. “And you’re all welcome. I may not want to ever get married, but that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy myself when two people I’m fond of want to pledge to each other. True facts.” Annie let out a watery laugh, and Penn smiled, obviously satisfied.

  Claire cleared her throat. All three women turned, each one at a different stage of emotional meltdown. She wanted to smile, but she forced herself to look serious. “We really came here to ask your advice on a shop where Annie can find her wedding dress. We’ve had no luck on our own.”

  Penn and Michelle looked at each other. After a long moment, Michelle nodded, and Penn took off, headed for the shop.

  “I might have something that would work,” Michelle said. “It’s not conventional—at all, actually, which is why I still have it. I do a little designing on the side.” She smiled. “I couldn’t get arrested in LA after finishing design school, so when I met Penn here during a ‘get over it and get on with my life’ trip, I decided to stay.”

  Penn returned, a garment bag draped over her arm. “I think it will fit. You look about the same size.”

  Michelle held the hangar while she unzipped the bag. Instead of the classic, creamy white, it revealed a deep, rich green dress. Where the sun caught the fabric, it glowed a subtle gold.

  Annie moved forward, her fingers brushing over the fabric. “An unconventional dress, for an unconventional wedding.” She wiped her eyes, smiled at Michelle. “I’ll take it.”

  “Without even trying it on?” Claire touched her arm. “It may not—”

  “I can fit it for her,” Michelle said. “I have extra fabric, if it’s needed. No,” she touched Annie’s wrist when she pulled out a wallet. “Consider it my wedding gift.”