As his feelings began to settle into a mellow satisfaction, Quint held Annie to him in the tiny bedroom but neither person slept. There wasn't time to settle in and just enjoy the lingering feelings. No time at all. When the storm rumbled outside, he knew it was an echo of what was going on inside himself. As lightning crashed, the naked light lighted the world and he made himself shift away from Annie.
He didn't look back at her as he stood by the bed and found his jeans, then tugged them on. They were cold and damp and their feeling, as he pushed his legs into them, was a help. Then he turned and looked at Annie sitting up in bed, naked, watching him. As he did up the zipper, he turned away from the sight of her. Even with the wet, cold denim on, he could feel a response to her coming again.
"I'll get your bag out of the car," he said over his shoulder and left the bedroom to go back through the house and out the front door into the rain.
By the time he got back with the luggage and a change of clothes for himself, he was wet again and Annie was in the living room wearing a navy terry cloth robe that looked ten sizes too big for her. But thankfully it covered her from her neck to her calves.
She tugged at the tie at her waist. "I think this is Charlie's. I found it in their room."
He put her bag on the floor, then held up his duffel bag. "Where can I change?"
She motioned behind her with her head. "The room. Use it."
Annie moved to one side, and they made no contact, not even eye contact as he went past her into the hallway. She waited until she heard the door to the bedroom close, then she released a breath that she'd been holding.
She hugged her arms around herself, then crossed to the front windows and stared out at the night being torn by the lightning from the storm. The rain finally stopped, but the lightning persisted, and every bolt of electricity seemed to rip through her.
What she found with Quint was full and complete, but as soon as he moved away from her, she felt fragmented again. And no matter how she hugged her arms around herself, nothing made her feel whole. Not the way she felt when she was in Quint's arms.
Lightning ripped through the heavens again, then the world went black outside at the same time she saw a light down the driveway. Then it grew and she knew they'd made it. "They're here!" she yelled as she ran for the door and flicked on the porch lights.
She heard him come running into the room, and she looked back as she grabbed the doorknob. He was in fresh clothes, a dark T-shirt and dry jeans, but his feet were bare and his hair loose. "They're here. They made it."
She pulled the door open and went out onto the porch, soft yellow light barely penetrating the darkness around the house. She stayed in the shelter of the overhang and watched the car come closer. But it wasn't Jeannie's car, and for a horrifying second she thought she was standing there in the light while Trevor, or someone he'd sent, was coming to the house.
There was no point in going inside and hiding, so she stood there by the steps and prayed that it wasn't Trevor. The car stopped by the Corvette, the engine stilled and the headlights clicked off, then a man got out of the driver's side.
Her prayers were answered. "Charlie I—" she called as the man turned to look at her on the porch.
He waved, then hurried around the car and opened the back passenger side door. He ducked inside, then came out carrying Sammi snuggled into his shoulder. Not caring that her feet were bare or the ground was cold and wet, Annie ran down the steps and met Charlie halfway between the drive and the house.
"Oh, Sammi," she said as she took her sleepy daughter in her arms. When the baby's arms went around her neck, Annie felt a dark void that had been in her disappear, and she knew that this made everything she'd been through worth it. Everything.
Quint stood in the doorway and watched from a distance. He saw a tall, thin man get out of the car then hurry around and go to the back to take out the child. He had a flashing glimpse of Sammi before Annie had her in a tight hug, a tiny, towheaded child. Then a woman got out of the passenger side and hurried over to Annie.
Jeannie and Charlie … and Samantha. He watched them as Jeannie urged Annie back to the house, helping her avoid puddles on the ground. "It's too damp out here for the two of you," she said.
Quint backed up a bit as the group came toward the house and into the glow of the porch lights, then up the steps. Jeannie was tiny, with dark hair, and a quick, urgent way of moving. She was dressed in dark pants and a light sweatshirt. Charlie, thin and ambling, wearing chinos and a polo shirt, seemed to be hovering over the two women and the child.
"I'm Annie's ride," Quint said as both people paused at the top of the steps and looked at him.
Jeannie smiled, then moved toward him with her hand outstretched. "I'm Jeannie and this is my husband Charlie. Thank you for everything you've done for our Annie," she said as she shook his hand.
"No problem."
Then Annie was there with Samantha in her arms. If Quint had been asked to pick Annie's child out of a crowd of other children, he would have chosen Sammi right away. She was tiny and delicate, with a fine, silky cap of pale hair that curled softly around her ears and at her neck. Her sleepy face had a tiny nose with a brush of freckles, and eyes the color of her mother's.
She looked up at Quint but never let go of her hold on her mother or took her head off Annie's shoulder. Then she frowned at him. "Mommy? Man?"
"Yes, this is Quint."
"Kint," she repeated solemnly.
"Quint," Annie said softly as she looked at Quint, her face tear streaked but beautifully touched with a happiness he wished he'd put there. "This is my Samantha, but anyone who knows her calls her Sammi."
He looked from Annie to the child. "Hi, Sammi," he said, and she gave him a smile that showed a faint dimple on her right cheek.
He moved to one side to let the people pass into the house, but he was dealing with another experience he'd never had before. He accepted the fact that he'd fallen irrevocably in love with Annie. He accepted that as a done deal, something he'd have to live with. But he'd never dreamed he'd look at her child and feel a connection that came from nowhere.
He watched them go to the couch and chairs and settle in front of the hearth. How could it be possible? Both the mother and the child had some sort of secret weapon that went straight to his heart and he didn't have any idea what it was. All he knew was that it was there, and it was producing an insanity in him that was making him start to think of things that couldn't possibly be. That shouldn't be.
He moved into the room and closed the door, but didn't go closer to the others. He stood by the windows with his back to the night and couldn't take his eyes off Annie and the baby.
On the couch, Annie held Sammi on her lap, and as the baby snuggled into her, Annie stroked her silky hair. Charlie settled in one of the chairs and Jeannie went toward a doorway on the right. "I'm making coffee. Any takers?" she called over her shoulder.
"Make a pot," Charlie said. "We all need it." He smiled at the baby in Annie's arms as he settled with his legs stretched out and his hands resting on the chair arms. "She's something. Never complained a bit. Did what we asked. She's a doll."
When Quint saw Annie press a kiss to her daughter's head, he turned to look out the window at a darkness he'd have to go out into alone.
He heard Annie speaking. "She's a doll, all right. Now, tell me what happened?" Charlie must have motioned to Quint because Annie said, "Quint knows everything. He's the only reason I'm here right now. Without…" He heard her sigh and he closed his eyes as she continued. "Let's just say that he got me here. You can say anything in front of him that you'd say to me."
"All right, that's good enough for me," Charlie said. "I'd taken the baby to the park for a break, and when I got near the house when we were going home, I saw a car parked in the driveway. I didn't recognize it, and something stopped me from going home. I guess I figured that Trevor would pull something.
"So, I headed in the opposite direction and got
to a phone to call Jeannie. She let me know not to come back, so I told her I was going to Sandy's – our bookkeeper – and we waited there until Jeannie could call me.
"I guess the guy stayed for a long time, then sat out in front of the house for two hours. Jeannie finally called and we decided to meet at Sandy's, then head out from there. We didn't want to take the chance that they'd know our car, so we borrowed Sandy's." He exhaled harshly. "Damn, I felt like I was in some sort of James Bond movie."
"This isn't make-believe, Charlie. Trevor wants Sammi so he won't lose his inheritance. That's the only reason."
"We figured it had to be something pretty serious for you to take off like that."
"Here's hot coffee for everyone," Jeannie said, and Quint turned as she came into the room with a tray holding a coffeepot and four mugs. "I didn't buy what that guy Trevor sent was saying, either. He was trying to tell us that you attacked Trevor, that he was desperate to find you. He wanted to take the baby back to the ranch so she'd be safe, and if you came back, then she'd be there. It sounded so … out of character for Trevor to worry about anyone but himself."
"You never liked him?" Annie asked with a touch of surprise in her voice.
"No, but I bit my lip. I knew you thought you were doing the right thing." Jeannie put the tray on the table in front of the couch, then looked at Sammi.
"She's asleep again. Do you want to put her down in the back bedroom?"
"No," Annie said quickly. "I never want her to be out of my sight again. She can sleep here for now." Annie eased the child down onto the couch and Sammi stirred.
She opened her eyes and held out her hand to her mother. "Hand, peeze," she whispered, and Annie took the child's hand in hers. As soon as the contact was made, Sammi settled back into sleep.
Quint looked at the tiny fingers wrapped around Annie's. A connection. A connection of the heart. He looked at Charlie, who was pouring coffee into the mugs.
"Want some?" Charlie asked him.
Quint shook his head. "I need to get going."
Annie looked at him. "You can't."
He braced himself, then met her gaze. "I have to."
"Quint, you need to lay low."
He almost smiled at that expression. "What?"
"You know, get out of sight, stop and wait until you've got a chance to get past the law."
"Yes, I know," he said softly.
"Then you have to know that you need to stay out of sight for a while longer. They know your car. They'll be looking for it, and I'm sure you don't want to leave without that car."
"I can't stay."
She kept her hold on her daughter's hand. "Quint. Just stay long enough to rest and find out the best way to make it out of New Mexico. Charlie can help you. He travels all over the state."
He knew he should grab his things and leave, but everything had begun to shift for him. What had seemed an absolute before they got here had changed. And he wasn't sure when it happened. He looked at Annie and actually wondered "what if." What if he stayed? What if he tried to give her a life, a good life for her and the baby? A "stupidity response," maybe, but part of him wanted to try.
Maybe if he stayed a bit longer he could figure out what was the best thing to do. "I am tired."
Charlie stood. "Then it's settled. You can stay here as long as you need to."
"Thanks," he said.
"Come and I'll show you to your room."
Quint nodded. "Thanks," he replied and crossed to follow Charlie into the hallway, but Charlie passed the door of the room Quint and Annie had been in earlier. He stopped by a closed door on the opposite side of the hallway and looked at Quint. "Just one thing?"
"What's that?"
"I don't know what's going on between you and Annie, but I want you to know that she's like family to Jeannie and me. She's been through more than enough for any one person to take."
"Yes, I know," Quint said.
"I'd hate to see her get hurt."
"Me, too."
"Good, we both want the same thing."
"It looks that way," Quint said.
"Then you're very welcome here." He opened the door and stood back. "Get some rest."
Quint went into the darkened room and closed the door behind him. The room was small and for a moment, Quint felt as if he couldn't quite breathe. His lungs were tight and the air seemed thin. But it had nothing to do with the altitude. He crossed to heavy drapes on the far wall, pulled them back, then slid the window open. As he drew cool, rain-fresh air into his lungs, he watched lightning far off in the distance cut jagged forks in the night.
He should have gone. He should be in the car now and leaving this all behind. But no matter what he'd thought he could do, he couldn't leave. He pressed his hand flat on the glass and knew that he was either in the process of destroying his life, or he was finding a life he never suspected he could have.
* * *
Annie slept with Sammi that night in the room she'd shared so briefly with Quint. She held her daughter close, listening to her soft breathing and relishing her closeness. But she listened for other sounds, too. Something in her fully expected to hear a bedroom door open and close, then the front door open and close, and the Corvette start and drive off. But there were only night sounds when Annie finally fell asleep.
She woke when she felt something hit her in the stomach, something soft and small, and when she opened her eyes Sammi was sitting up beside her. A furry ball was lying on Annie's stomach. "Mommy, up, up."
Annie smiled at her daughter and held out her arms. "I'll get up, but first Mommy needs a big hug," she said.
Sammi fell into her arms. When she thought about what Trevor could rob her of, it made her heart ache. "Mommy loves Sammi," she whispered unsteadily.
"Me, too," a little voice piped up.
Annie held Sammi back and smiled up at her. "What did you say?"
Sammi smiled at her. "Me, too. Me, too. Me, too," she chanted as she wiggled to get free of Annie's hold. She squirmed free and stood in the middle of the bed. "Mommy, come, come."
When Annie sat up, Sammi scrambled back, shinnied off the bed and she ran for the door. "Hey, you, don't go out until Mommy gets up."
Sammi stretched to try to reach the knob, but she could barely touch it with the tips of her fingers. She turned to Annie who was slipping out of bed. "Peeeze, peeze, open, Mommy, open."
Annie grabbed the navy robe and slipped it on while she crossed to the door. "Are you hungry?"
"Huh," Sammi said with a nod of her head.
"Good." She put out her hand and Sammi took it. But Annie wasn't hungry. She was tense and almost afraid to go out in case she'd missed Quint leaving and she'd see the Corvette was gone.
"Fooot Woops," Sammi said as Annie opened the door.
"I don't know if Jeannie will have Froot Loops, but I bet she's got Cheerios."
"Fooot Woops, Fooot Woops," Sammi chanted as they went down the hallway to the kitchen.
When Annie stepped into the kitchen, Jeannie was already there and miraculously had a box of Froot Loops on the table. Annie smiled at her. "You remembered Froot Loops."
"I grabbed a few things before I left. Top of the list was the Froot Loops, number one survival ration."
Sammi ran across the Mexican tiled floor and threw herself at Jeannie, wrapping her arms around the woman's legs. "Fooot Woops, peeeze."
"Yes, sweet, you can have some," Jeannie said and picked up Sammi to slip her onto a wicker chair at the glass-topped table. She took a handful of the cereal out of the box and laid it on the table. "Help yourself while I get a bowl and some milk."
While Sammi picked out the pink ones, Jeannie looked at Annie and both women looked dead serious. "You're going to have to leave, aren't you?"
Annie nodded. "I'm afraid so. I hate to, but Trevor won't stop until we're back together or he's got me in jail."
"I know. I figured as much, but I hate to see the two of you going off alone." She looked at Sammi wh
o was totally involved in making a small pile out of all the pink Froot Loops. "What about the man who brought you here?"
"Quint?"
"Was there more than one?"
Annie couldn't muster a smile. There was only one Quint in this world. "Just Quint."
"What's the story with him? You sounded pretty frantic on the phone."
"He's the only reason I made it this far. He beat up a trucker who was making a pass at me, and he outran the police."
Jeannie was getting a bowl out of the cupboard, and she stopped to look back at Annie. "He what?"
"Trevor got the state troopers after me. Now Quint's in trouble because he's been with me and they've got a make on his car."
She put the bowl on the table and crossed to the refrigerator. "So, what's his stake in all of this if he's put himself on the line like that?"
"He was coming this way, and—"
Jeannie carried milk over to the table. "He just happened to get in a fight and just happened to evade arrest?"
Annie wrapped the tie of the robe around and around her finger. "Jeannie, I can't talk about this now. But I need to see him. Is he still here?"
As Jeannie made a dish of cereal for Sammi, she said, "He and Charlie were out on the porch last time I looked." Annie's relief was overwhelming. Quint was still here. "For what it's worth," Jeannie said, "Charlie likes him."
"That's easy to do," Annie said.
"What's easy to do?" Quint asked from behind her. Annie closed her eyes to try to center herself, then she turned to Quint. She couldn't look at him without her heart racing and her mouth going dry. He was in the doorway to the room, dressed in a dark T-shirt and jeans, and his hair was pulled back from his face.
"Good morning," she said softly.
He met Annie's gaze for a long moment, then said, "I'm glad you're up." But before she could ask why, Sammi spotted him.
"Kint, see Sammi's Fooot Woops."
He looked past her at the child and his expression was unreadable. She didn't know what she'd hoped for, maybe that he'd take one look at Sammi and fall in love, or maybe at least look as if he were put off by her presence.
THE BRIDE WORE BLUE JEANS Page 16
