The two women looked at each other and smiled, then laughed. A weight that Annie hadn’t even realized she’d been carrying around suddenly lifted. It didn’t ease the pain, but she felt considerably lighter.
“So what do I do now?” she asked Jessica. “He blames himself for Jonathan’s death. Every time he looks at me, that’s all he sees.”
“Like I said, he’s a stubborn man. Give him some time, and if that doesn’t work, get yourself a sledgehammer. He’ll come around.”
Annie wasn’t so sure. But the idea of a sledgehammer appealed greatly to her. “I think you’re going to need one for yourself when you move out to that ghost town of yours. Jared and Jake have both threatened to drop you down a well and leave you there until you come to your senses.”
Jessica grinned. “Oh, they’ll try, all right, but stubborn doesn’t stop with those two. I’m afraid I inherited that character flaw myself. They’ve been hovering over me since our mother died, questioning every date I’ve ever been on, watching every step I take.”
“How old were you when your mother died?” Annie asked.
“Fourteen,” she answered, then stared down at her iced tea. “I ran a little wild after that, especially after my father married Myrna.” Her grin was wicked. “I admit, I delighted in tormenting the woman. She hadn’t a clue how to deal with a rebellious teenager. She was easy to get around, but three big brothers, on the other hand, were a little more difficult. They were breathing down my neck constantly. Despite all their efforts, I came close to getting into some serious trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Even in a town this small, there were drugs and liquor. I was so lonely and I missed my mother so much I could have gone that way, but fate intervened and I turned everything around.”
Annie leaned forward intently. “Fate?”
The waitress brought their salads then. Jessica just smiled. “It’s another story for another time. But let’s just say that Makeshift—that’s my ghost town—saved my life. No matter what Jared or Jake think, nothing would ever hurt me there. It’s the safest place in the world. Whether they like it or not, I’m moving out there and building my youth center.”
Annie recognized the rigid tilt of Jessica’s chin and lift of her shoulders. It was the Stone trademark of tenacity. She’d be moving out there, all right. No doubt about it.
Jessica grinned. “Wait till you see the fuss Jake and Jared are going to make. It’s going to be great.”
An ache spread through Annie’s chest. “I wish I could, Jessica. But I’m afraid I won’t be here. Once we finish drilling, I’ll be going back home.”
Jessica looked at her and smiled reassuringly. “Don’t be too sure about that, Annie. Jared might be stubborn, but he’s not stupid. He won’t let you go.”
He’d not only let her go, Annie thought bleakly, he’d hold the door for her. But for this moment, as Annie looked into Jessica’s confident eyes, she felt a tiny ray of hope. It wasn’t much, but when it came to Jared Stone, she’d take whatever she could get.
* * *
“Of course I’m sure.”
Annie switched the phone from one ear to the other as she dug under the mountain of paperwork for her pencil. She’d had it in her hand just before her supervisor from Arloco, Ken Fisher, had called, but now it had mysteriously disappeared.
“Like I told you yesterday, Ken,” she said, flipping through a stack of logs, “and the day before that, everything is fine. An overzealous civil servant is not a problem, and we’ve made up the time, anyway. We’ve been drilling seven days and we’re not even off the projected depth by five feet.”
Of course, she didn’t mention that the pipes had twisted off once in the past four days and the lights had blown twice. Ken really didn’t need that pressure. He’d have enough when he got the bill for the overtime they’d had to pay when three of the men had come down with flu.
Only half listening as her supervisor continued to grill her on the well’s progress, Annie lifted the corner of the map she’d been working on. The pencil rolled out, then over the side and under the desk. Exasperated, she juggled the phone between her shoulder and chin while she knelt down to retrieve it, but only succeeded in dragging the entire phone off the desk. It crashed to the floor.
She bit back the swear word on her tongue and got on her hands and knees.
“What’s the big deal?” She scooted under the big metal desk and searched the floor. “We’ve worked on dozens of projects like this and you’re never this concerned, especially so early in a project. Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
Where had that pencil gone now? she thought irritably. Wasn’t there even one thing in her life she had some control over? Was a pencil going to get the best of her, too?
Teeth set, she squinted and scanned the dark cubicle under the desk.
“A baby!” She jerked upward at the news and hit her head on the underside of the desk.
“Oh, Ken, that’s wonderful,” she said softly, rubbing her head. “When?”
Still under the desk, she leaned forward and sat cross-legged, listening intently while he gave her the details. Annie knew Ken’s wife, Debbie, and she knew how long they’d been trying to conceive. That certainly explained why the man was on edge.
“Look, don’t worry about me,” she told him when he’d finished. “I’m a big girl, remember? I can take care of everything here, okay? Okay. And don’t call me, I’ll call you.”
Smiling, she hung up the phone. Ken Fisher was going to be a daddy. He’d sounded excited, but scared to death. She sighed softly and pulled her knees up, resting her cheek on them, closing her eyes as she gently touched her own stomach, wondering...
“You want to tell me what the hell that was all about?”
Startled, her eyes flew open, but all she saw were a pair of boots plastered with mud and two denim-covered legs. She craned her head and met Jared’s dark gaze as he stared down at her.
“What was what all about?” She started to move out from under the desk, but he sat in the desk chair and moved closer, trapping her.
“That phone call. I heard you.”
She frowned up at him. He’d been ornery as a grizzly bear all week. He’d also been working extra shifts and obviously getting little sleep. His eyes looked like American flags and fatigue lined his brow. If she hadn’t been so worried about him, she’d be furious. A mixture of frustration and exhaustion coursed through her.
“Jared,” she said with a sigh, “just say whatever it is that’s on your mind. I have work to do.”
His lips thinned. “Are you pregnant?”
“What!”
“I heard you talking just now. I want to know if you’re pregnant.”
So that was what it was. He’d been watching her closely all week, and she’d had a feeling this was the reason. As if by just looking at her he could tell if she was going to have a baby.
“Eavesdropping, Jared?” She clucked her tongue. “Shame on you.”
He scowled at her. “Annie, I have a right to know.”
“Yes, Jared, you do.”
“Well?”
“Well, what?” She folded her arms.
“Are you pregnant?”
Jared knew he was shouting but was too angry to care. When he’d walked in and heard bits and pieces of Annie’s conversation—under the desk, no less—he’d felt a jolt of excitement when he’d heard the word “baby,” then a rage when she’d said she’d “take care of it.”
“It’s been exactly one week.” Her lips thinned in annoyance. “How could I possibly know if I was pregnant or not?”
He thought about that. “I thought women knew stuff like that.”
She twisted under the desk and faced him. “That only proves how little you know about women, Jared Stone. Now let me out of here.”
He didn’t. “Well, what am I supposed to think? I find you hiding under the desk, you said ‘baby,’ then you said you’d ‘take care of
it.’”
She looked up at him, and the pain and hurt he saw there made him instantly regret his words.
“Is that what you think, Jared?” she said quietly. “That I might do that if I were pregnant?”
He felt like a jerk. Hell, he was a jerk. He knew she would never do that. Not Annie.
He let out a long breath and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little testy right now.”
“A little testy?” Her laugh was sarcastic. “Buddy, of all the men I’ve ever worked with, you get the trophy for testy.”
She was right. He had been difficult. But this past week had been hell. Since the permit fiasco, they’d already had more than their share of problems, with the crew getting sick and equipment breaking down. He’d worked long hours, not only to make up the slack with the crew, but to keep himself occupied every minute he could. It was either that or think about Annie, and that was one luxury he couldn’t allow himself. He’d kept a close eye on her all week, but unless they needed to discuss the operation of the rig, he’d managed to stay away from her.
But the nights. Damn, it was the nights that nearly did him in. He’d dream of those legs wrapped around him, her fingers splayed over his body, and he’d wake up in a sweat, his body tight with desire. It was all he could do not to drive into town and drag her back out here with him.
He looked down at her now, at her long lithe body folded neatly under the desk, and felt a strong urge to pull her onto his lap and kiss that soft honey-sweet mouth.
That was when he happened to look up and see Slater standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb. The big man had a grin on his face that set Jared’s teeth on edge.
“Hi, Jared. Who you talkin’ to?”
Jared groaned silently, wondering not only how much Slater had heard, but realizing how strange the situation looked at the moment.
“Oh, my God!” Annie squeaked. “Please tell me that wasn’t Slater I just heard.”
“Oh, hi, Bailey,” Slater piped up. “I didn’t see you down there.”
Exasperated, Annie shoved Jared, sending the desk chair careering backward. She unfolded herself from beneath the desk and stood, her hands on her hips, as she glared first at Jared, then at Slater.
“I lost my pencil,” she said to Slater, daring him to dispute it.
He gestured innocently, but said nothing. For once, a wise man, Annie thought irritably. Unlike some men.
“And you, Jared Stone—” her voice lowered fiercely “—if I have something to tell you, I’ll tell you when I’m ready. In the meantime, stop watching me like I’m some kind of a goldfish in a bowl.”
Jared started to say something, then slammed his mouth shut and looked at Slater, who was grinning at Annie.
“Was there something you wanted?” Jared growled at his foreman.
“Oh, yeah.” Slater turned his attention to Jared. “Pipes twisted off again. Glenn’s going to refit, but we’ll have to shut down while we do.”
“That’s the second time this week!” Jared jumped out of the chair and sent it toppling over. He stormed out of the office, spewing expletives.
Annie shook her head and frowned. “Charming.”
Slater laughed and moved into the office. He picked up the chair and gestured for Annie to sit.
“There’ve been a lot of problems,” she said as she lowered herself into the chair.
With a shrug, Slater sat on the edge of the desk. “Nothing we can’t handle.”
“I sure hope you’re right.” She twisted her neck to loosen the knot forming between her shoulders.
“They giving you a lot of heat from the top?”
“No.”
He narrowed his eyes as he leaned back and studied her. “Have you told them?”
How could one man be so intuitive and another—she stared out the office window—so dense? “I will.”
“I see.” He glanced down at the maps and logs on her desk. “How you coming with that?”
She stared at the paperwork and slowly shook her head. “I’ve remapped everything Jonathan worked up. He’s right on, yet still, I have the feeling that something is missing.”
“You have all the seismics and logs?”
“Everything that Jonathan had. It’s almost as if...”
She hesitated, unsure of what she wanted to say. She lifted her gaze to Slater’s.
“As if he wasn’t done?” Slater said.
“Yes.” She nodded thoughtfully. “As if he wasn’t done.”
Slater reached over and took Annie’s hand in his. His palms were rough and callused, but she was surprised how gentle the big man’s touch was.
“He left a lot of things unfinished,” Slater said. “You were one of them.”
A familiar ache tightened her stomach. “We aren’t talking about me.”
He shrugged. “You’re just part of it, Bailey. A lot of things were left unsettled when Jonathan died.”
That was what Jared was, she realized. Unsettled. He’d lost a brother and his dream at the same time, then separated himself from his family when he’d gone to South America.
“What about you, Slater? You were Jonathan’s friend. You didn’t come to the funeral.”
His fingers tightened on her hand, then he let go and sat back with a sigh. “We said our goodbyes.”
She stared at him curiously, wondering what he meant by that. The sound of Jared yelling at one of the crew distracted her. Jared hadn’t said goodbye, she realized. Not to Jonathan, or his father. No matter how angry he’d been with J.T., Annie knew that Jared had loved him.
“Slater,” she said, “do you think Jared’s father was wrong to shut the rig down after Jonathan died?”
“I’ve never been one to judge another man’s actions, Bailey. J.T. took Jonathan’s death hard, and he decided he’d rather have an angry son, than another dead one. Jared wasn’t thinking too clearly himself. He said some things that were better left unsaid.”
“And then he went to Venezuela.”
“He joined a company that had a reputation for taking on the jobs that no one else would. Dangerous jobs. It was more like he’d joined a war. I went down there for a while just to keep an eye on him. He came back to the States a few months after I did.”
“When J.T. died,” she said quietly.
Slater nodded. “Everyone thought J.T. would outlive us all. It was one more crate added to that load Jared’s carrying on those shoulders of his.”
“His father loved him,” Annie said. “I only met the man once, but it was obvious how proud J.T. was of all his children.”
“That he was,” Slater agreed.
And he had good reason to be, Annie thought. The Stone siblings were strong, independent, hardworking people who loved deeply. She was going to miss them.
One of them in particular.
“Excuse me.”
Both Slater and Annie turned. Glenn Woods stood in the doorway.
“Do you have any aspirin?” he asked.
“Is that flu still bothering you?” Annie asked, reaching into the top desk drawer.
He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Just a headache.”
Slater frowned at the young man. “My head would hurt, too, if I’d lost my paycheck in a card game last night.”
Glenn shrugged sheepishly and moved into the office. “Just a friendly game with some boys in town. I’ll win it back.”
“You’d be way ahead if you didn’t try,” Slater warned, but Annie sensed that the advice was falling on deaf ears.
She pulled the cap off the small plastic bottle in her hand and tipped it sideways, preparing to count out two tablets.
What she wasn’t prepared for was the sudden explosion that threw her to the floor.
Nine
The trailer shook from the force of the blast. A framed map flew off the wall, shattering on the floor. Annie felt two strong arms reach under her and lift her as if she were no more than a feather.
“You
okay?” Slater asked.
When she nodded yes, he deposited her in the desk chair, then turned and ran out of the trailer, yelling before his boots even hit the dirt. Glenn shot a worried look at her, then followed Slater. She rose on shaking knees to follow them, but fell back when the room began to spin. She touched her fingers to her temple and felt the wetness there. Stunned, she pulled her hand away and stared at the blood on her fingers.
What the hell had happened?
The shouts of the men outside drew her out of her daze.
Jared.
Adrenaline shot through her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she flew from her chair and tore out of the office. The smell of burned oil hung in the air, and the crew scrambled around, two of them working the fire hose while two others struggled with a wrench to shut off the pipe leading from the compressor—or at least what had been the compressor. The tank had ruptured, and there was a gaping hole in its side. Pieces of metal and air hose littered the ground.
Jared. Where’s Jared?
Frantically she searched for him, but all she saw was Slater, who was kneeling on the ground behind the compressor. Two other men were beside him, bent over and staring down.
Jared.
“Oh, God, no. No!”
It was a dream, a horrible nightmare. She ran toward him, and it seemed as if she moved in slow motion. Slater was directing a man to get some cold water and a towel as she dropped down beside Jared. He was lying on the ground. Blood and dirt streaked his face and neck, and on his forehead was an angry gash.
“Jared,” she called to him, leaning close. Her hand shook as she touched his arm.
He was so still. She swallowed the sob in her throat and ran her hand over his chest. “Jared!”
He stirred then, and his eyes slowly opened. Relief washed through her and she touched his cheek, calling his name again. He blinked several times, then tried to raise himself.
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