Three hundred days of sunshine a year…
For two weeks, she had lived in Bakersville, tending to animals, making friends, finding love. Or what she had foolishly thought was love.
And now her past was back to haunt her. Riggs out on parole. Dallas, the cowboy she loved, had left her. All because of a decision she had made to protect an innocent child from her violent ex-husband.
She turned her head into the vinyl car seat and let the fog take her brain once more.
Chapter Seventeen
FUBAR, as Granddaddy Dallas used to say. Fucked up beyond all recognition.
During the two plus hours it took for Dallas to get to Foghorn, all he could think about how he had fucked up this situation beyond all recognition.
God. Annie. He’d make it up to her. He’d get to her in time. He had to.
His cell phone vibrated and he picked it up.
“Dallas? Doug Cartwright. Where the hell are you?”
“I’m on my way to Annie, Doug.”
“Damn it. What the hell are you trying to pull?”
“I know where she is, and I’m going to get her. Don’t try to stop me. I love her.”
“If you love her, then… What? You love her?”
“Yes. I love her, I love her, I love her. Her ex-husband, Riggs, is waiting for me in Foghorn. I’m taking him a hundred K in cash and I’ll give him my truck. I’ll bring Annie back in his car.”
“Dallas, this is not the most intelligent thing you’ve ever done. Come back here and let us take care of it. I’ll have the state patrol there in—”
“No! No cops, Doug.” Dallas’s heart nearly stopped. “Please. He’ll hurt her. He’s a loose cannon. He’s violated parole and he’s beaten her again. I can’t take the chance he’ll harm her.”
“Dallas, don’t be a fool.”
“The only foolish thing I ever did was let that lady walk away from me. I love her, and I’ll bring her back. Just give me two hours, Doug. That’s all I ask.”
“I can’t do it. I have a job to do.”
“Please. Please. As a friend. I’m asking as a friend.”
Doug’s harsh breath permeated the other side of the line. “You’re putting me in an awkward position, Dallas. I don’t want that lady in any more danger than she already is. There are professionals who can handle this.”
“Please. Just two hours. That’s all I’m asking.”
“All right. I hope to God I don’t regret this.”
“You won’t. I’ll bring her home. I promise.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.”
Dallas eyed his sharpshooter on the passenger seat. “I won’t.” He clicked the call off.
“Well, fella,” he said to Jet, “let’s bring our Annie home.”
He gunned across the border into New Mexico.
* * *
“Motherfucker better show up.”
Annie heard Riggs’s voice and felt his arms shaking her.
“Wake up, bitch. Come on.”
The thickness lifted.
Riggs. Riggs was here. Annie’s thoughts came in splintered fragments. Dallas. The pill.
Right. The pill.
Going on the pill had been the right decision. No matter what Dallas thought. If he had let her explain, he no doubt would have understood. But he didn’t love her. At least not enough to trust that she’d had a valid reason for her lying to her husband.
Riggs nudged her again. “You’re in luck, sweet Annie. It seems you have an admirer who’s willing to pay good money for your return. Let’s not disappoint him. Or me.”
The throbbing inside Annie’s head felt like a machine gun. Admirer? Good money? Riggs was obviously delusional. No one would give money for her return. No one even knew she was gone.
The buzz of Riggs’s cell phone hammered in her ear.
“Riggs,” he said.
Annie strained, feeling every synapse of her brain firing, trying to understand his words and make sense of them.
“I’m at the second exit…” Riggs’s voice trailed off. Then, “Abandoned shed…money…no cops.”
He clicked his cell phone shut. “Now we wait.”
* * *
Dallas’s stomach gnawed at him as he exited the highway in the small ghost town of Foghorn, New Mexico. He drove along the desolate dirt road until he saw the abandoned wooden shed to the east. Turning, he noticed a car parked behind the shed, invisible from the road. He pulled his pickup over and stopped. “You need to stay here, fella,” he said to Jet. Dallas carefully took his loaded sharpshooter out of its case and tucked it in the back of his waistband. “You won’t fail me, will you, Jake?” He pulled his T-shirt over the gun and grabbed the suitcase full of bills. “Wish me luck, boy.” He gave Jet a quick pet on the head. “I’m coming, Annie,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m coming, baby. He’ll never hurt you again.”
He exited the vehicle, leaving the windows open slightly for his dog. He dialed Riggs once more. “I’m here,” was all he said.
“No tricks,” the irrational voice said into his ear. “Bring the money behind the shed, to the car.”
“I want to see her first.”
“I’ll have her. You just keep your part of the deal.”
“You hurt her and the deal’s off.”
“Funny man. Who’s holding the cards here? Just get back here. Don’t come more than a hundred feet. You lay down the cash when you see me.”
“Understood.”
He walked toward the shed, and then gasped when he saw the man holding Annie’s limp body, a knife to her throat.
“Christ, what have you done to her?”
“Don’t come any closer. The cash, please.”
Annie’s cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes sunken. She had a glassy look about her, as though she wasn’t sure what was happening. He had beaten her. The bastard would pay.
Dallas held out the cash, buying himself some time. Riggs held Annie to his left, attempting to use her as a shield. But he wasn’t the brightest bulb. He left several areas wide open. Dallas surveyed each possible entry point quickly. A few might graze Annie, and he wouldn’t risk hurting her.
But Riggs’s right calf was wide open. Perfect. He’d be disabled but not seriously injured.
Dallas slowly laid the suitcase full of cash on the ground.
“Now back away,” Riggs said.
“Not without her.”
“You’ll get her when I get the cash.”
“Have it your way,” Dallas said.
Within another few seconds, Riggs thrashed on the ground, Dallas’s bullet in his shin.
“You motherfucker! We had a deal.”
Dallas ignored the cursing and went to Annie, who had fallen with Riggs. Her battered cheek lay against the hard dirt. He lifted her in his arms, carried her to his pickup, and laid her on the wide backseat. “Go on, boy,” he said to Jet, “let me see to her.”
He pushed her hair out of her eyes and covered her face with kisses. “Oh, Annie. Baby. My love. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” He kissed her lips gently and pulled her to his chest, cradling her. “I’m so sorry,” he said into her hair. “No one will ever hurt you again. I swear it. Not as long as I live, my love.”
“D-Dallas?”
“Annie!” Dallas stopped himself from jumping, not wanting to disturb her weak body. His heart hammered against his sternum. “Thank God you’re all right.”
“Where am I?”
“You’re in my truck. Riggs is… He’s… Well, he’s been shot.”
“Who shot him?”
“I did.”
“What? You, Cowboy?”
“I’m a crack shot, remember?” He gazed into her violet eyes. They looked tired. Worn.
“How did you find me?”
“I’ll always find you. I’ll never let you go again. I’m so sorry, Annie. I love you. I love you so much.”
“You…love me?”
“With all my heart.”
>
“But what about—”
“I was an idiot. A moron. A complete fool. Forgive me? Please?”
“But—”
“Annie, please. I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t.”
“But you—”
A knock on the car window jolted them both. Riggs stood there, a pistol pointing at them.
“Oh God, Dallas.”
“Don’t worry, Doc. I’ll take care of this.”
“But he’s got a gun.”
“Yeah. But he’s injured. He can barely stand, and I’d be willing to bet I’m a better shot.”
“But—”
“I’ll never fail you again, Annie. I promise.”
He kissed her head and opened the car door with a yank, knocking Riggs to the ground. Dallas leaped upon him, tossing his gun aside and pummeling him with his fists.
“How dare you hurt the woman I love?” he yelled. “You sorry son of a bitch.” His fist thudded into Riggs’s jaw. Blood poured from Riggs’s nose. Dallas wrung his hands around Riggs’s neck and forced his head into the dirt. “You son of a bitch. Son of a whore.” Thump. “Goddamned bastard!” Thump. Thump. Thump. Riggs’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.
“Dallas!”
It was Annie.
“Stay in the truck, Annie.” Dallas continued to beat the man, long after he had lost consciousness. It felt too good to stop. Too damn good.
“Dallas, listen to me.”
“I’ll take care of this.” Thump. Thump. Thump.
“But you’ll kill him!”
The words jarred him. He looked at his fingers around the man’s throat, the blood gushing from his nose, his battered face, his wounded leg. Kill him? The man deserved far worse. But Dallas wouldn’t spend the rest of his life in prison for this sorry excuse for a human being. He had very nearly lost control. Thank God for Annie.
He left Riggs’s body slumped on the ground, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed 9-1-1. After explaining the situation, he returned to Annie.
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“Are you kidding?” She pulled him to her. “I loved seeing that. I just didn’t want to turn you into something you’d regret.”
“Thank you.” He kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”
“Yeah. You said that. But—”
“But what?” His heart lurched. He had come for her. He had saved her. What could possibly go wrong?
“I’m not sure I can be with you. Not after everything. I… I don’t ever want to experience that kind of hurt again, Dallas.”
“I’ll never hurt you.”
“You don’t understand.” Annie blinked.
Was she having trouble seeing? She coughed a little, and he held her close and rubbed her back as she gasped. He spoke what he hoped were soothing words into her ear and silently thanked God he could hold her. The woman he loved.
After several deep breaths, she spoke again. “All of Riggs’s beatings. All of his vicious and vile words. His—” She choked out a sob. “He went to prison for beating and raping me.”
“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“No. I-I’m not asking for pity. I’m trying to…that is…what I’m trying to say is that, all the times he hurt me, well, they hurt. Badly. But I’d gladly go through it all again to save myself from the cutting pain of you rejecting me.”
“I’m not rejecting you.”
“But you did. You wouldn’t let me explain.”
“I was a fool. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I love you, Annie. More than I ever thought I could love another person. I don’t want to live without you.”
“If…” She sighed. “Dallas. If you hadn’t rejected me, I wouldn’t have gone home and found Riggs waiting, and I wouldn’t have…”
Had someone shot him? In the heart?
“Oh God.” Dallas raked his fingers through his thick hair. She wasn’t going to forgive him. She blamed him for this current situation. A knife slashed through him, past the ache in his heart all the way into his marrow.
She was right.
“Please, Annie.”
“I can’t, Dallas. I just can’t.”
“Do you feel anything for me?”
“Yes.”
“Then…” But he couldn’t finish.
She pulled away from him, and he realized he was neglecting her well-being. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said. “Right now you need medical attention.”
Her body slumped back into the seat. “I’m fine. Just exhausted. I’ve been through…worse.”
He didn’t doubt it, and the thought cut into him like a dagger. Why hadn’t he protected her? Why had he let her go? He sent Jet into the backseat with her.
“Hey, cutie,” she said to the dog. “I’ve missed you.”
But she hadn’t missed him, Dallas thought to himself. He had blown it. Big time.
Yep. FUBAR.
Pushing his pain to the back of his mind, he concentrated on Annie. He drove as fast as he could to the nearest hospital and took her into the emergency room. The local police came soon after and bombarded him with questions. His head throbbed from the interrogation.
Much later, in the early hours of the morning, when Annie had been bandaged and pronounced fit to leave, he led her to his truck. “Come on, Doc. Let’s get you home.”
He peeked in the rearview mirror. Annie dozed fitfully, her arms encircled around Jet’s soft body, as Dallas drove back to Bakersville.
He had learned a long time ago that crying was a waste of time.
He cried anyway.
Chapter Eighteen
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Annie clicked her suitcase shut and turned around to face Dusty. After three days of broth and TLC from her friend, Annie was as good as new except for a few bruises. Riggs hadn’t beaten her nearly as badly as she’d feared. It had seemed worse at the time because it had been so long. She bounced back quickly.
“I can’t stay, Dusty.”
“We need you here.”
“You’ll find another vet.”
“But not another Annie.”
Annie smiled and hugged her friend. “We’ll e-mail.”
“It’s not the same.” Dusty sat down on Annie’s bed and began to sort through a box of books. “He’s hurting.”
Annie sighed. “So am I.”
“But this is silly. Neither one of you needs to be hurting.”
“He hasn’t come by.”
“He thinks you hate him.”
“I don’t hate him.” God no, I don’t hate him.
“He loves you.”
“He told me.”
“Do you love him?”
“It doesn’t make a difference.”
“How can you say that? Of course it does!”
“No. It really doesn’t. He abandoned me when I needed him. He cast me aside and wouldn’t let me explain myself. What kind of love is that? What kind of trust is that? I won’t get back into that kind of marriage.”
Dusty chuckled.
“What is so funny?”
“You sound just like him. That’s why he wouldn’t let you explain in the first place. He was afraid of getting into another marriage like his first. Now you’re saying the same thing.”
Annie sat down on her bed, exasperated. There was truth in Dusty’s words. “He hasn’t tried to contact me.”
“Can you blame him?”
“No.”
“Come home with me. Have dinner with Zach and Sean and me. Maybe we can convince you to stay.”
“Dusty, if he hadn’t sent me away, maybe I wouldn’t have gone home and found Riggs waiting.”
“And maybe you would have.”
“Maybe I would have, but I would have fought back like I used to. I… I’m embarrassed to say I just let him beat me. I didn’t think there was anything to live for. The man I loved had just—”
“Ah-ha!”
“What?”
> “You love him.”
“So what?”
“You will not walk away from love, Annie DeSimone. I won’t let you.”
“It’s not your decision.”
“You’re right.” Dusty rose from the bed. “But as your friend, I plan to use everything within my power to convince you to stay. To not give up on love. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“Oh, just to the living room. I think I heard the doorbell.”
“What the hell are you talking about? There was no doorbell.”
“Didn’t you hear it?”
“Of course not.”
“Gee. I’m almost sure I did. You’d better check.”
“You’d better check. Your ears, that is.”
“Humor me. I know I heard it.”
“Fine. God.” Annie walked to the door and opened it. Sitting on the welcome mat, his tail thumping happily, was Jet. “What in the world?” Annie knelt down to pet him. Around his neck was an envelope tied to a string. “How long have you been sitting here, cutie?” Annie detached the envelope and opened it. Something fell out and clinked on the cement. Annie paid no attention and unfolded the note.
Jet and I love you and miss you, Annie. If you give me another chance, I swear you’ll never regret it. Please.
All my love, Dallas.
Annie’s eyes began to mist. Damn him, anyway. Sending his dog to do his dirty work. He knew she couldn’t resist Jet. She fell to her knees and hugged the wriggling dog. “I’ve missed you,” she said, burrowing her face into his soft head. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“What about me?”
A shadow crossed over her, and she looked up into Dallas’s dark eyes. They were filled with remorse. Sorrow. And love.
“Dallas…”
“Hear me out, okay?”
“We’ve been through this.”
“Please.”
“All right. You want to go inside?”
“Dusty’s there.”
“Yeah. The two of you planned this, didn’t you?”
“Guilty. But I want to talk to you privately, so we’ll stay here.” He sat down next to her on the stoop, picked up something shiny, and slipped it in his pocket. He took both of her hands in his large, beautiful ones. “If I could relive the last two weeks, I’d do so much differently, Annie.”
Teasing Annie: The Temptation Saga: Book Two Page 15
