I'll Be There: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 5)

by Shanade White

  “Oh, these are really nice and so soft.” Annabelle said, picking up a pair of the pants.

  “And they’ll keep you warm.” Sarah said, starting a pile. “We can open you an account if you like since you’re working for the Terrells.”

  “I’m actually good, but that’s really nice of you.” Annabelle said, realizing just how nice it was not to worry about the cost.

  Several hours later, Annabelle emerged from the dressing room for the last time, her hands full of clothes. In the time she’d been in the store it had stopped snowing, then started up again, the sun shining long enough to melt the little that had fallen in between. At the moment, the sun was shining brightly but the next round of snow could be seen coming over the mountain in the form of some very dark clouds.

  “Is this how it always is?” Annabelle said, gesturing to the clouds on the horizon.

  “Sometimes, but mostly in the fall and spring, in the winter when it snows, it snows. But you’re prepared now.” Sarah said, carrying another stack of clothes to the front. “I think you’re going to want to wear one of the new coats now.”

  “Yeah, I agree. I’m not going back out there in that.” Annabelle said, pointing to her thin coat.

  “Save it for spring.” Sarah said, laughing. Then began to ring up her purchases.

  Annabelle stumbled out of the store clutching three huge bags stuffed with her winter wardrobe, wearing the purple coat she’d fallen in love with at first sight. It was late afternoon by this point and she was exhausted from shopping, but then she got a whiff of coffee. Looking around her, she realized that the café was only a block away. The lure of coffee was too much, turning in the opposite direction, she headed for the café and the promise of caffeine and sugar.

  *****

  Michael watched the inspector’s car disappear down the road, barely able to control his excitement. The exterior work on the cabins had been approved and now they could finish the inside. It had been tight but they’d beat the snow, but just barely, he thought seeing the dark bank of clouds coming over the mountain. When it had started to snow earlier, he’d panicked, the inspector had made it clear that he couldn’t do his job if the buildings were covered in snow.

  But the snow had held off and he was now in possession of the permits for the interior work which they could finish snow or no snow. He’d given the crew the rest of the day off and tomorrow off, a reward for all their hard work. Although for some of them this would be the end of their contract until the next spring, when work on the other cabins would begin. He wanted to celebrate, but first he had to get the interior crew lined up, but once that was done he’d give himself some time off as well.

  He knew exactly how he wanted to spend that time, with Annabelle, maybe they could even go on a date. He’d been spending as much time as he could spare with her this week, but he knew without a doubt that he wanted more. Now that he had some time on his hands, he had every intention of getting her away from the ranch and alone with him. His attraction to her had grown over the last week and he was pretty sure she felt the same way, but she was so quiet it was hard to tell.

  Making her blush had become one of his favorite pastimes, he loved the way her cheeks turned pink when he teased her. In the last few days, she’d actually begun teasing him back, just thinking about the way her chocolate brown eyes would sparkle made him want to see her. But business first, he thought heading back to the room in Donovan’s cabin he was using for an office. A few phone calls and he’d be free.

  Phone calls finished, Michael headed for the main house knowing that he’d probably find Annabelle in the sunroom with Leslie. She was never far from her unless she was helping with Rebecca, but he’d seen Elizabeth drive off hours ago with the baby so he was sure she’d be in the sunroom.

  He was surprised to find Leslie alone in the room when he walked in. “I’ve got good news, the inspector cleared us for interior work. Where’s Annabelle?”

  “Well, that is good news, you made it before the snow.” Leslie said, purposely not mentioning Annabelle, enjoying Michael’s agitation. Everyone had noticed the budding romance between the two, and although Leslie felt that Michael would be good for Annabelle, she was still cautious.

  “Yeah, I was a little worried this morning, but we made it. Annabelle?” Michael was getting worried that Leslie wasn’t telling him where she was.

  “Oh, I sent her to town to go shopping. She took my car, she’ll probably be back soon.” She finally said, then added. “Sit down for a second.”

  Michael sat down, but he was distracted, finally Leslie said, “Michael, I know you like Annabelle and it’s clear that she likes you too, but I want you to remember that she’s fragile.”

  Michael looked at Leslie for a second, then understood what she was talking about. “I know, she’d fragile and innocent. Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt her, I’m not that kind of guy.” He said, a little offended.

  “I’m sorry, I guess it’s the mother in me coming out already, but I do worry about her, I can’t help it.” Leslie said, finding that she really wasn’t all that sorry.

  “It’s okay, I don’t blame you. Some guys would take advantage of her and not even think about it. But I’m not one of them, I promise.” He said, genuinely meaning the words.

  “That’s good because you’re cousins wouldn’t be pleased if you did. Now go find Annabelle, she went shopping for a new coat, I’m sure she’s downtown somewhere.”

  Michael was out the door so fast, Leslie barely heard the thank you he threw over his shoulder on the way out of the house. On the way to town, he considered his options, he wanted to take her out on a real date, but she was already in town. Maybe they could have dinner before she went home.

  He parked downtown by the café thinking he might find her there and he had been right, except that she wasn’t in the café. As he got out of the truck, he saw her struggling down the street, her hands full of shopping bags. He rushed over to help her, thinking how good she looked in her new coat.

  Annabelle looked up from the sidewalk, her arms near to breaking with the weight of her bags, to see Michael hurrying toward her. She stopped walking as her heart skipped a beat, then that little flutter of attraction began to blossom in her stomach. He was still dressed in his work clothes, but it gave him a scruffy look that she found attractive. There was something about a man who worked with his hands that appealed to her.

  “Looks like you bought half the store.” He said, taking the packages from her hands.

  “I think I got a little carried away, but I won’t be cold this winter.” She said, laughing.

  Michael loved the sound of her laugh, it made him want to laugh to. “Well, if all this doesn’t work,” he said, lifting the bags in his hands, “You know where to find me.”

  It was probably the most provocative thing he’d ever said to her, and he waited breathlessly to see what she’d say. Blushing she said, “Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind. I hear it gets pretty cold in the winter.”

  Michael couldn’t hide the smile that spread across his face, “Where are you headed?”

  “Where do you think? I could smell the coffee from the shop.” Annabelle said, pointing to the café.

  “Can I join you?”

  “I’d like that. I can carry one of those.” She said, heading for the café.

  “I’ve got them.” He said, falling in step beside her. “I got clearance to start work on the inside of the cabins today.”

  “Oh, Michael that's great. You beat the snow.” She said, holding the door for him.

  As soon as they walked in the door, Becky came rushing over to them. “Michael, we haven’t seen you in a while. Looks like you’ve been shopping.”

  “I’m afraid, these are all mine.” Annabelle said, feeling more confident today.

  “Oh, well, that’s nice.” Becky said, turning her back on Annabelle.

  “We’ll just find ourselves a place to sit.” Michael said coldly to Becky, pushing
past her to the counter.

  Chapter 6

  Annabelle almost felt sorry for Becky until she remembered how rude she’d been, no wonder Michael didn’t want anything to do with her. Pushing Becky from her thoughts she asked Michael about the construction project, wanting to just sit and listen for a while. After giving her an update, he turned his attention to her, studying her for so long she blushed.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Well, I was just sitting here thinking that I can understand why those men hit on you on your way here.” Michael said, running his thumb across her cheek.

  Annabelle could feel the heat in her cheeks and tried to look down, but Michael pushed her chin up and said, “You’re very beautiful Annabelle.”

  She was mesmerized by the look in his eyes, a look she wasn’t really familiar with, but if she was right it was desire. Shocked by the intensity, she sucked in a deep breath and mumbled “Thank you.”

  Michael, afraid he’d done something wrong, pulled his hand away and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come on so strong, but I’ve been wanting to say that for a long time.”

  Annabelle tried to collect her thoughts before she spoke, but said what she was thinking anyway. “No, it’s okay. It just doesn’t seem possible that you would think I’m pretty, I’m not exactly the ideal body type.”

  “Well, I’m not sure where you got that idea, but from where I’m sitting things look pretty good.” He said, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “I don’t know what to say. This doesn’t happen to me, you’re so good looking.” Annabelle said, now completely flustered by Michael.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He said, a teasing tone in his voice, then got serious. “But, I really do want to get to know you better. Will you let me take you out to dinner? We can go as slow as you want, I promise I won’t push you.”

  Annabelle thought about that for only a second, “I’d love to go to dinner with you.” She said, smiling shyly up at him.

  “Then it’s a date. How about tonight? We could just go from here.” He said, taking a sip of the coffee that had just been placed in front of them.

  “As long as the way I’m dressed is okay.” She said, excited about the prospect of spending the entire evening with Michael. “I better call Leslie and let her know where I am.”

  “You’re dressed just fine for the place I’m thinking of. Do you like country music?” Michael said, a gleam in his eye.

  “I can’t say that I’ve ever listened to it, but I like most kinds of music. Why? Where are you taking me?” She asked, getting suspicious.

  “Well, there’s a bar across town that has live music and great food. What do you think?”

  Annabelle had never been to a bar, “That sounds like fun, I’ve never been to a bar before.”

  Michael paid for their coffees and grabbed her bags again, “Let’s put this in your car and take mine.” He said, leading the way out.

  “I’m parked over by the book store, which reminds me I need to stop and pick up the books I bought earlier.” Annabelle said, hoping Michael wouldn’t see what she bought.

  When they walked out the door, she was surprised to find that not only was it snowing but there were several inches on the ground. It was almost dark so no way was this snow going away. She’d thought that her boots would be fine in the snow, but as soon as she stepped in the snow she could feel her feet getting wet.

  “Oh, that’s cold.” She said, stomping the snow off her feet. “I think I need some other boots, these are cute, but my feet are already wet.”

  “You mean in all of this there isn’t another pair of boots?” Michael said, laughing.

  “We didn’t talk about my feet.” She said, looking down at her adorable but inadequate boots. “Are you up for a little shopping?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Michael said, with a grimace. “But first we really need to get rid of these. I don’t think I can carry anything else.”

  Annabelle laughed, “You’re a good sport. Thanks, the car is just over there.” She pointed across the street.

  Once they’d stuffed the bags in the trunk, Michael took her hand and they walked over to the shoe store. Annabelle liked the feel of Michael’s hand in hers even if they both had gloves on. It was nice to feel connected to him in some way. Once inside the shoe store, Michael took control, and had the salesman running back and forth bringing one pair of boots after another out for Annabelle to try on.

  In the end, she walked out of the store with three new pairs of boots, one pair on her feet. She also had enough socks to last her a year, not to mention a new pair of Sherpa lined slippers to keep her feet warm in the house. When they walked out of the store, Michael was again loaded down with shopping bags, but even more infatuated with Annabelle.

  Left on her own, she would have picked out the most serviceable pair of boots and left the store, but with some encouragement, she’d warmed up to the task and opened up to some more daring styles. Watching her had been like watching a kid in a candy store, only enforcing his view that she’d been highly sheltered growing up.

  As they walked out the door, Annabelle looked up at Michael and said, “That was fun, shopping in my family was just something we did to make sure we looked acceptable, never about fashion or what looked good.”

  “Well, it looks to me like you have a natural talent for it.” Michael said, “Now let’s go get those books and go to dinner. I don’t know about you, but all this shopping makes me hungry. I’m thing about a huge cheese burger and onion rings.”

  Annabelle was floating on a cloud of pleasure, Michael seemed to really like her and they were going out on a real date. He’d gone shopping with her like any boyfriend would have, now all she needed was a kiss to make the day complete. When they got back to the car, Michael put her new shoes in the back seat since they’d filled the trunk, she handed him the bag of books happy that he hadn’t seen what she’d bought.

  But when he set the bag on the seat it fell over, spilling the books across the seat. Embarrassed, she tried to push past him and pick them up, but he beat her to it. After he’d shoved the last one back in the bag, he turned to her and raised one eyebrow.

  “I didn’t picture you as the romance novel type.” He said.

  “Well, I..uh..don’t usually read them.” She said, blushing again. “I was just...”

  “Looking for inspiration.” He said, pulling her to him. “I can help with that.”

  Her heart pounding, she looked into his eyes, seeing the teasing look disappear and one of desire replace it. Held tightly in his arms, she experienced a moment of panic, but when his head dipped down and he gently brushed her lips with his, she relaxed. The kiss was nothing more than a peck, but it had the desired effect.

  Her breath whooshed out of her in a rush as desire rushed through her body making her knees go weak. Michael took this as a good sign and lowered his mouth to her again, this time his tongue slipped between her lips and into her mouth. It was like a fire had been lit inside her, the flash of pleasure so startling she opened her mouth farther, letting him explore even further.

  Annabelle lost all sense of anything but Michael and the wonderful things his tongue was making her feel, never had she been kissed like this before. It was both exciting and scary, but all too soon the kiss ended, leaving them both panting in the cold winter air. Michael pulled her closer so that her head was resting on his chest.

  “As much as I enjoyed that, it’s getting colder out here and we’ll both be soaked. Are you ready for dinner.” He asked, pulling back to look at her.

  She smiled shyly up at him, making him want her even more, and said, “I think dinner sounds wonderful.”

  When they walked through the door of the bar the music was so loud it blocked any hope of conversation, but Michael walked them through the front room to one in the back where it was much quieter. They found a table in the back corner and sat down. Looking ar
ound Annabelle thought this was the exact kind of place she would have expected. The bar was decorated to look like the inside of a barn with saddles and other riding equipment hanging from the walls.

  After they were settled, drinking in front of them and food on the way, Michael asked, “What do you think?”

  “I think this place is adorable. It looks just like it should.” She said, then added, “I think I like the music too.”

  “You’ve never heard country music?” He asked, amazed.

  “No, my parents only let me listen to classical and the few friends I had wouldn’t have been caught dead listening to it. But I kind of like it.”

  “Wait until you dance to it.” Michael said, holding out his hand.

  “Oh, Michael I don’t know. My...” She didn’t finish, she’d almost forgotten about her hip.

  “Don’t worry we’ll take it slow.” He said, pulling her to her feet. “If you don’t like it, I won’t make you do it again.”

  “Okay, I’ll try, but don’t be surprised if I embarrass you. I’ve never been much of a dancer.” Annabelle said, pleased to feel Michael’s arm come around her.

  When they made it to the dance floor, Michael took her in his arms and expertly led her around the dance floor. She found it was easy to follow his lead, her hip giving her no problems at all, and when the song was over she was sorry to have it end. But Michael didn’t even pause just led her into the next song without missing a beat.

  Out of breath, they went back to their table, just as their food arrived. They ate in silence for several minutes, but the worst of her hunger sated, Annabelle said, “Okay you’ve convinced me, I love country music.”

  “I thought you might, you did well out there for someone who’s never danced the two step before.” He said, “I think the other guys were jealous.”

  “Now you’re just being silly.” She said, blushing. “They didn’t even notice me.”

  “You didn’t see them looking at you the way I did.” He said, taking her hand. “I kind of like being with the prettiest girl in the room.”