"Fooot Woops?" he asked.
"Dis," Sammi said earnestly and held up a handful of the pink pieces.
"Oh, cereal."
"Huh," the baby said.
"It's her favorite," Annie said.
His dark eyes came back to her. "Can we talk somewhere?"
She hesitated, but didn't have an out when Jeannie cut in. "Go and talk. I'll make sure Sammi gets fed." Annie fiddled with the tie on her robe again. "Let me get dressed, and we can talk," she murmured, then went past Quint without looking at him again.
* * *
Annie hurried back down the hall to the bedroom and went in where she could take a deep, calming breath. She dressed quickly into jeans and a loose white shirt, then went back down the hall. As she stepped into the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway. Sammi and Quint were at the table, and on the glass top in front of them, the cereal had been segregated into piles according to color. Quint was arranging all the red pieces in a circle.
"Red," Sammi said and clapped her hands.
"Excellent," Quint said.
The vision of the tiny towheaded child with the lean dark man looked too appealing to Annie, and too right. She steeled herself against the dreams that came without warning. Don't dream, she told herself. Don't do that to yourself. Not now. Not here. Not with Quint.
* * *
Chapter 14
« ^ »
"Quint?" Annie finally managed to say.
He spoke softly to Sammi. "Thanks for letting me do the reds," he said as he patted her head, then he got up and turned to Annie. "Outside?" he asked.
"Sure." She nodded and led the way into the living room and across to French doors on the side wall. She could sense Quint behind her, and when she stepped out onto the clay-tiled terrace, she stopped in the shade of the ancient olive tree.
When she turned to face Quint who stood by the doors in the bright sunlight, she knew without a doubt that what he was going to say would change her life forever. She clasped her hands in front of her and waited. Whatever happened, she knew she couldn't change it. This was Quint's decision.
Quint stood by the doors, then turned and closed them before turning back to Annie. The sun was warm, but the breeze kept it from being hot. The thin air of the high altitude was fresh and touched with a blossom sweetness that he couldn't place. But nothing was sweeter than the sight of Annie three feet from him in the partial shade of the olive tree.
The night had been long and one not given to sleep. It had been almost dawn before he finally knew what he was going to do. His choices were to drive away, leave this all behind and hope Annie found everything she wanted with someone else. The second choice was to bring her out here and tell her that he loved her and that he'd do whatever it took to make her and Sammi happy.
When it came right down to it, he knew as he looked at her, that he really didn't have a choice.
"I didn't know if you'd be here when I got up," Annie said. A slight paleness touched her skin, and her eyes were partially hidden by the lacy shade of her lashes. "I expected to find you gone."
"I thought about it," he said with all honesty. "But I couldn't just take off, not any more than I could have taken off after the roadblock. I needed to talk to you then, and I need to talk to you now."
Her hands tightened until her knuckles were white. "What about?"
"You were right. We need to talk and figure out what's going on here."
"Figure out what?" she asked in a soft voice.
He shrugged. "Everything." He couldn't keep the distance between them, and he closed the space with two long strides. She was inches from him, her fresh sweetness filling his senses. "I need to explain things."
Her tongue darted out to touch her lips before she said, "What?"
"When I was in prison, I just about gave up believing in anything. Oh, I dreamed about getting out, being free, taking off and never looking back. I could taste freedom in my dreams. But I forgot just about everything else."
"What?"
He let himself touch her chin with his index finger. "Beauty, goodness, gentleness." He exhaled. "Things I thought were lost to me forever. And that's everything you are. Everything you and Sammi embody. Everything I've lost."
She slowly lifted a hand and touched him on his chest, her palm pressed to the area of his heart. "You didn't lose it. It's there."
He looked down into her eyes. "Annie, I know what I am, what I can do, but—"
His words were cut off as Jeannie came rushing out onto the terrace with Sammi in her arms. "He's here, Annie. God, I don't know how, but Trevor's here."
One look at Annie's face and Quint knew what he was going to do. "Stay here. I'll take care of him," he said and jogged past Jeannie into the house. The front door was open and Charlie was blocking the entrance physically.
"I don't give a damn what you want, Raines, you aren't coming in my house. It's my property and you're trespassing. Your money can't buy you access—"
Quint came up behind Charlie and got his first look at Trevor Raines. The man was tall and blond, dressed in tight, black leather pants, a white silk shirt and boots that Quint didn't doubt cost upward to a thousand dollars a pair. One look at the smug smile on the man's face, and Quint could feel his adrenaline pumping.
"Let me in or I'll bring the cops. Besides, I want to see my kid. I've missed her, and I've been worried."
"You son of a—"
Quint cut off Charlie's oath with a hand on his shoulder. "Charlie, let me take care of him," he said.
"No," Annie said from behind him. "This is my problem. I'll talk to Trevor."
Quint turned and saw Annie in the middle of the room holding Sammi in her arms. He'd never seen her look like that, with her jaw set and her eyes narrowed. But even so, there was something so vulnerable in her that it made him ache. Any of his "protect the underdog" impulses paled at the strength of his need to protect this woman.
"You don't have to, Annie," Quint said.
She never looked at him. Her eyes never left Trevor. "Yes, I do. I need to tell him exactly what's going on."
Trevor pressed his advantage when they were distracted and went past Charlie and Quint into the house. "Samantha," he said as he strode across the room to where Annie stood with the baby. He held out his arms. "Come to Daddy."
Sammi cringed back against Annie, her arm going around her mother's neck. "Go way, go way," she said, a whine in her voice as her tiny hand waved at him.
"Sweetheart, Daddy came to see you," he said and reached out to take Sammi. "Come see me."
"Go way, go way," the baby sobbed, but Trevor managed to take her out of Annie's arms. Then Sammi started to scream and frantically fought against Trevor holding her. "It's all right, Samantha, Daddy came to see you."
"Mommy, Mommy," she sobbed.
"Trevor, give her back to me," Annie said tightly.
Jeannie stepped closer. "Trevor, don't do this. She's just a baby, and she doesn't even really know you. She's terrified."
He looked at Sammi's contorted face, then at Jeannie. "That's just it, she needs to learn who her father is."
Annie's face was ashen, and the pain in her eyes was too much for Quint to endure. Quint stepped in and reached for Sammi. He had her in his arms before Trevor knew what was happening, then turned and handed the crying child to Annie. The baby scrambled back to her mother and held on to her for dear life.
When Trevor grabbed Quint by the arm, Quint spun around and he knew he could kill the man.
Trevor backed up, both hands up in front of him, getting out of reach, but he wasn't backing down. "Who in the hell do you think you are? That's my kid."
"And she's upset," Quint said, his hands so tightly clenched that they ached. "Everyone is. So, why don't you go, and you can talk to Annie later when things are calmer?"
"I'm not leaving," Trevor said, then looked at Annie. "You're in real trouble … unless we can work things out."
She smoothed Sammi's fine blonde hair wi
th a hand that was shaking. "You know I didn't assault you, Trevor."
"You left me for dead."
"You stumbled and passed out. You were drunk."
"Not that drunk."
Annie glanced at Quint, her eyes wide in her pale face, and he had to force himself not to grab Trevor and throw him out bodily. Then Annie looked back at Trevor. "So, you called the cops and—"
"That's not important. What's important is I'm here and we need to work things out." He almost sounded sincere. "Come back with me, and maybe we can make this work."
"How can we work out anything when you sent someone to Jeannie's to take Sammi?"
"I just wanted to have her with me, to protect her." He had an answer for everything. "I wanted her with my folks." He moved even closer and his voice dropped a bit. "And they want us all together."
Annie's paleness was increasing at an alarming rate. And even Sammi was feeling it. The crying started again, and nothing Annie did could soothe her daughter. Jeannie went to Annie. "Let's take her back in the kitchen to calm her down. Then you can talk with Trevor."
Annie looked from Trevor to Quint. Quint wanted to hold her close and tell her everything would be all right. But instead, he nodded to her to leave.
"I'll … I'll be right back," she said and left with Sammi and Jeannie.
"Don't you try anything," Trevor called after her. "I've got people watching the house."
Quint wanted to hit the man, but he made himself stay still. Charlie's the one who spoke up. "Who've you got out there?"
"Mason Downs, my attorney. I didn't want to bring a squad of cops, but I wasn't about to come here without backup or an impartial third party."
"Your attorney's impartial?" Charlie said.
"As much as anyone is around here."
Charlie stared at Trevor, then unexpectedly excused himself. "I've got something I need to take care of. I'll be right back."
Charlie left the room in the direction of the bedrooms, and Quint looked at Trevor. All he wanted to do was hit hard, hit quick and hit dirty.
"Just you and me. This is actually perfect," Trevor said.
"What?"
"We need to talk."
"You know, there is something I'd like to say to you."
Trevor cocked his head to one side. "What's that?"
"Back off, drop the charges and leave Annie and the baby alone."
"Or?" Trevor asked as a smirking smile tugged at his lips.
"Or I'll make you wish you were never born. It won't be pushing over a drunk, either." His hands clenched at his sides. "And trust me, all the Raines money isn't going to help you if I ever start on you."
"Oh, you're wrong. Money does help."
"You can buy the cops—"
"Oh, that wasn't for money, that was for my family. The Raineses are held in high esteem in and around our county. I don't know if Annie mentioned it, but my father's being recruited to run for governor by one of the major political parties. Most people know my family's good for the county and the state."
"Do I applaud now, or later?"
"Why don't you save that until I tell you some information I was able to get?"
Quint stared at him. "What information?"
"When the cops found out Annie was in the Corvette, they ran a check on the plates. Guess what? They found out you're a convicted felon who was thrown into prison for beating the hell out of a talk show host in Boston. A felon released on parole just days ago. A felon who evaded arrest, lied to the cops … you name it. I'd say you're a man who's up the creek without a paddle. Hell, you don't even have a canoe."
Quint kept his gaze steady even though his stomach was clenching. "You did your homework. But it doesn't mean a hell of a lot."
"You don't get it, do you?"
"Then spit it out."
"I can understand you picking up Annie on the road. You've been in prison. She's not hard on the eyes. And if she wants to pay her fare with you by sleeping with you, to tell you the truth, I don't give a damn."
"You son of a bitch," Quint rasped as he took a step toward Trevor.
He could see Trevor brace himself, but the man kept his voice level. "I've seen the way you look at her. Don't tell me you aren't getting what you want." He held up both hands, palms out. "But, listen to me. I'm taking both Anne Marie and the kid back with me, and you're left with two choices."
Even this man could see what was happening, and that made Quint feel sick. He kept silent, waiting for Trevor to finish.
"If you leave right now and don't look back, I'll take the heat off you. I'll tell the cops to forget you were ever involved in this mess. And they will."
"I don't give a damn what you tell the cops."
"Your second choice," he said as if Quint hadn't interrupted, "is to stay with Annie. Actually, that's probably my preference. Because if you do, I'll go to court and get full custody of my daughter once her mother's behind bars. I'll press charges and throw in the fact that she's been consorting with a known felon. I'll make sure you get thrown back in prison, and I'll get custody of Samantha. Anne Marie gets nothing except to experience what you just left."
If the man had hit Quint in the stomach with his fist, he couldn't have devastated him more. He didn't care about himself anymore. But he wouldn't let this man destroy Annie by locking her up or by taking her child. The pain on her face when Trevor had pulled Sammi out of her arms still haunted him. "Damn you, Annie's a good mother. She doesn't deserve this."
"Who cares? One way or another, I'll make sure she never sees the kid again."
Coldness began to creep into Quint's being and the dark loneliness of the prison was coming back with insidious determination. "What happens to Annie and Sammi if I get out of your way?"
"I'll take Anne Marie back, get married and make everyone happy."
"And what if Annie won't marry you?"
"I think once she sees what I can do for her, she'll agree to come back. She came once. She'll do anything for the kid, and I can do everything for the kid. Plus I'll keep Anne Marie out of jail. Then my folks will have their family all together. They can be very generous when they're happy."
"I bet you make sure Mommy and Daddy are damn happy with you," Quint muttered.
"They like the idea of me being a married man and giving them their only grandchild." He eyed Quint. "So, what's your choice?"
Quint knew he could take Annie and Sammi and run, but it would never stop. And sooner or later, everything would catch up with them and Annie would lose Sammi. He loved her too much to do that to her. And he loved her too much to let Trevor tear Sammi away from her. Not when he had the power to stop it from happening.
"All right, you've got all the cards." He took a half step closer to Trevor. "But, know this. If you ever try to take that child away from Annie, I'll come back and kill you."
Trevor's smile faltered just a bit. "You're crazy."
"No, I'm a man who doesn't have a damn thing left to lose."
"Get the hell out of here now," Trevor blustered, "or all bets are off."
Quint relished the touch of fear in the man's eyes, but nothing could make up for what was ahead. How could he just walk away? He'd thought he could before, but now he wasn't sure at all.
Then Charlie came back into the room and paused by the door. He eyed Trevor. "What's going on?"
"Mr. Gallagher's just leaving."
Charlie looked at Quint. "Is that true?"
Quint took a rough breath. "I have to, but would you do me a favor?"
"Anything," Charlie said.
Quint crossed to where the man stood, then reached in his pocket and took out some folded bills that he held out to him. "Give this to Annie for me. Tell her it's just something for her to have for a rainy day."
Charlie took the money and pushed it in his pant pocket. "Are you sure you can't stay?"
"I can't. One more thing?"
"Sure."
"Would you tell Annie—"
"Tell me what?"
Annie asked.
He turned and she was at the kitchen door, tension in her expression and a vulnerability in her stance that tore at him.
"The man's leaving," Trevor said before Quint could say a thing.
Annie came slowly into the room, but stopped with the couch between herself and the men. She never looked at Trevor or Charlie. "You're going?" she asked Quint.
Quint wished that the light in here wasn't so good that her image was burning into his mind and soul. God, he knew this would be hard, but he never thought it would feel as if it were going to be fatal.
"It's time," he said simply.
"But you said we needed to sort things out."
"There's really nothing to sort out between us," he said, the lie all but choking him. "You've got your hands full here. And I've got a life I've put on hold for too long."
The paleness was there again making her wildly curling hair all the more brilliant. Her eyes darted to Trevor. "What did you say to him while I was gone?"
Quint never looked away from Annie when Trevor spoke. "Nothing. I was waiting for you to come out so we can talk."
She moved abruptly, coming around the couch and Quint almost stopped breathing when she got close to him. "Why are you leaving now?"
He narrowed his eyes, trying to take the edge off the impact of her closeness. "I told you, I'm short on time. I need to get out of here and deal with my own problems. I hope things work out for you and Sammi."
She didn't cry or beg or even yell at him in anger. Instead, he could see her literally tightening from the inside out and her arms went around herself. She'd told him she'd dealt with life on her own for years, and he realized that part of that strength came from her willing herself to deal with whatever came. And he wanted nothing more than to hold her to him and make that go away.
"Thank you for all you did," she said in a flat voice.
"Sure," he said. Then he foolishly allowed himself one last luxury. He reached out and touched her chin with the tips of his fingers. The touch was slight and barely qualified as contact, but it sent a shock wave through Quint. He caught his breath when she jerked back to break the touch almost immediately.
THE BRIDE WORE BLUE JEANS Page 17
