by Jodi Thomas
Wilkes frowned. If he didn’t stop thinking about the way she looked, Dan would probably arrest him for being some kind of pervert. Lusting after a curator was bound to be a crime.
Finally, when he realized he’d read the same page three times, Wilkes packed up and asked her if she’d consider leaving early. “I’ve got a dinner party to get ready for,” he added, “and you look like you could use a little rest.”
To his surprise she didn’t argue. Maybe the caffeine and sugar were winding down.
Vern agreed to watch over the museum, and the six white-haired ladies at the desk swore they’d be his backup if trouble came calling.
“Who’s watching the ranch with both of you here?” Mrs. Butterfield asked.
Vern answered before Wilkes had a chance to explain about the four ranch hands who always worked this time of year. “We got a rule.” Vern winked at Mrs. Butterfield. “When we’re gone, the cows promise to watch themselves. If one steps out of line, the others butt him into submission.”
All the ladies giggled and batted their eyes at him.
Vern paced in front of them like a rooster impressing the hens. “While there are no visitors in the museum, we got work to do, ladies. I want you all to call your families and tell them to be on the lookout for a black Mercury. Crossroads will never need the FBI to investigate anything. We’ll watch out for each other. People like the Franklin sisters know everything that happens in town as far back as the sixties. Someone call them and ask about cars.”
Wilkes took Angie’s hand and rushed out the front door. Vern was having way too much fun and they needed to escape before he gave them an assignment.
He walked close beside her to his car. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
She shook her head. “I kept thinking I heard something moving around outside, and once, I swear I thought I heard the doorknob turning. I must have gotten up three or four times to check all the locks.” She climbed in without complaining about him opening her door.
“Sit back and relax. I’ll watch over you.” When he started the car, he rested his hand over hers. Her fingers were cold, but that wasn’t the only reason he held on tightly, he loved the feel of her hand in his.
By the time he reached the turnoff for his ranch, she was sound asleep.
He called the ranch headquarters to make sure his housekeeper had prepared the chicken enchiladas, beans and Spanish rice for their dinner, then told her to take off early and leave the front door ajar when she left.
Five minutes later he carried a sleeping Angie through the front door. He liked holding her. Something about her felt so right. As carefully as he could, he laid her on the big couch in his game room and covered her with a blanket.
He couldn’t resist brushing the tips of his fingers along her cheek. He swore she looked like an angel. No girl had affected him so completely since Lexie Davis. He wanted to hold Angie, protect her, make love to her so completely that they’d both lose themselves to passion.
Wilkes stood. This wasn’t him. He hardly knew her. But there was something about Angie that touched a place inside him that no one, not even Lexie, had ever found. Maybe it was just that she seemed lost and needed him, or maybe he’d just been alone too long. But this wasn’t just a woman he wanted to date or sleep with casually. This was his Angie. If she walked out of his life today, he had a feeling it would be a long time before he stopped missing her.
Wilkes walked to the kitchen trying to figure out if he should try to tell her how he felt, or maybe just declare himself crazy.
For two hours she slept while he set the table and made a salad. When everything was ready, he sat watching her sleep. Finally, reluctantly, he stood and leaned over to wake her.
He thought of how she’d touched his hair once to wake him. So he moved his hand over her curly hair loving the way it tickled his palm. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
She opened those huge eyes.
Kneeling down level with her, he whispered, “You fell asleep, so I brought you inside. I let you sleep as long as I could before dinner.”
Watching her rub her face as she sat up, he said, “If you want to freshen up, there’s a bathroom that way. I’ll be in the kitchen that way.” He nodded once in each direction. “Dinner guests should be arriving soon.”
Without a word she vanished down the hallway to the bathroom.
At exactly seven o’clock, Yancy showed up with old Carter Mayes. Following them in came Uncle Vern, complaining that he thought he’d never get those women out of the museum so he could lock up. The three were in their work clothes, stained and dirty, but when they saw Angie, all dressed up, they straightened. Vern even went to the kitchen sink and washed up.
The group started talking about Carter’s quest to find the cave from his childhood while Wilkes made drinks. By the time he returned with all their orders, Angie had nestled in the middle of them. She looked rested and seemed fascinated with Carter’s story.
“I swear they would have come for me if I’d blinked, but I didn’t,” Carter swore. “I kept my eyes on them all night.”
“Are you sure you saw them?” she asked. “You were only a kid.”
“I saw them that night and I’ve seen them ever since in my dreams. They were real and I’m going to find them.”
Vern joined in. “They were probably painted there by aliens.”
Yancy said there was no such thing as aliens but Vern wanted to argue the point.
Their conversation lasted until Carter had the opportunity to corner Uncle Vern. Amazingly, the two men remembered each other from grade school. Suddenly anyone who wasn’t over sixty might as well be part of the furniture.
Wilkes told Yancy to be the bartender. Since all he was serving was beer and sweet tea, Yancy should be able to handle it until the last guest, the sheriff, arrived.
Pulling Angie into the kitchen, Wilkes asked if she felt up for the party.
He noticed shadows under those big green eyes.
“I do feel better. Thanks for letting me take a nap,” she said. “I didn’t see Mr. Mercury today, but I swear I can feel him out there watching me. I must have spent half my day staring out the museum windows. I keep asking myself what I’ll do if he shows up. Talk to him, see what he wants or just run?”
Wilkes saw the fear in her gaze. She was no more than a mouse being chased by a cat. Without any thought of his safety, he took a step toward her and opened his arms for the second time.
She came to him like a cannon shot. Before he had time to blink she was pressed against him, her face buried in his chest and her wild hair brushing against his chin. If he hadn’t held on, she would have knocked him off his feet.
Damn if it didn’t feel good to be needed. He must be losing his mind.
First clue, he decided, was that giving Angie comfort ranked up there with petting a porcupine. When he brushed her hair back, she stared up at him with those green eyes, and he would have gone to war for her any day.
Second clue that no brain remained in his head was that all he could seem to do was stare at her lips. She had the most kissable lips. He swore he could still taste the honey of those lips.
“It’s all right, Angie,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “Nothing is going to happen.” He touched her soft cheek. “The guy is probably long gone by now.”
Just as he was moving closer to her mouth, thinking that he might distract her from her worries with a long kiss, she pulled away.
“You’re right,” she said. “I’m being foolish. Some guy tracking me makes no sense. I can handle this. I’m twenty-seven. If I set some rules, I shouldn’t have to worry.” Like a little general, she began pacing across the kitchen. “I’ll make sure I leave with the volunteers after work. I won’t go directly home if I see the black car again. As long as he doesn’t know where I live, he
can’t follow me, and I’m safe enough while at the museum.”
“You’re welcome to stay here,” Wilkes offered. “It’s so quiet out here you can hear a car turn onto my land.”
She froze as if fearing she’d fall into an invisible trap with one more step. “I’d be safe here with you?”
“You’d be safe from anyone following you and you’d have nothing to fear once you’re on my land.” Those big eyes of hers made her look as if she were Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf had just offered a room at his bed-and-breakfast. “I’ve got five bedrooms upstairs, Angie, and they all have locks on the doors.” Now that he thought about it, he kind of liked the idea of her sleeping under his roof. If nothing else, it would prove interesting. “I’ll give you a gun to put under your pillow.”
“Can Doc Holliday come? He’s very shy. Hides under my bed most of the time.”
“Sure,” he said, thinking that he could put up with an invisible cat in the house. “I’ll drive you back to your place tonight so you can pick up what you need. No sense waiting until you’re in danger to come over. You could stay a few days until you know it is safe.”
She nodded as if following his flawed reasoning.
“How about we keep this our secret, except for maybe the sheriff? The fewer people who know where you are, the better.” The town gossips would be all over this if they knew. Wilkes had never brought any woman to the ranch since his folks left.
“Thanks for the offer, and you’re right, we should keep it a secret. If news that I was staying with you got out, my little volunteers would think that I’ve lost my mind.”
He decided he didn’t want to know the “why” to that statement. Handing her two hot pads, he pointed at the enchiladas. “Mind carrying those in? I’ll get the bowls of beans and rice.”
“How many people are coming to dinner?” She stared at the huge pan.
“We’re all here except for the sheriff. My mom always said to cook for a few extras when you’re serving supper, since you never know if the guests are bringing guests.”
As they set out the food, Dan Brigman showed up with his ex-wife, Margaret. Apparently, she’d been over to see their daughter in Lubbock and stopped by Crossroads to fill her husband in on what was going on at college.
Dan whispered that when he said he was having dinner at the Devil’s Fork, she decided to come along. The sheriff looked sorry for the trouble, but Wilkes assured him it wouldn’t matter. In truth Margaret didn’t look as if she’d eat more than a half of an appetizer.
She was tall and thin, too thin, he thought. Wilkes had met her a few times and decided the sheriff probably dodged a bullet when she left.
Wilkes didn’t think Dan and his ex-wife looked as though they’d ever gotten close enough to make a child. Margaret made a point of taking the seat farthest from his. Wilkes watched them frown at each other and decided the Brigmans painted marriage, or the aftermath of it, in a dark light. If she’d come armed, there would probably be a duel before dessert.
The rest of the guests in the room soon became audience to the ringside fight.
“A mirror falling on Lauren’s roommate is not nothing, Dan. Polly had to spend a few nights in the hospital.” Margaret glanced around at the jury and explained. “Our daughter’s roommate was hurt this weekend. I think Lauren should come home for a few days or, if she likes, she could come visit me. Either way that would give poor Polly time alone to recuperate. But Lauren insists on staying with this...this girl she barely knows. She’s even talking of bringing her here to the lake this weekend.”
Wilkes grabbed the salad off the counter and rushed back to the dining room. He didn’t want to miss anything. He’d been around the Brigmans before, and their fights were better than watching Survivor.
“It was an accident, Margaret. Accidents happen. Polly’s not contagious.” Dan always sounded tired when he talked to his ex-wife. “With a deep gash down one arm, the poor girl might need help and Lauren’s a good nurse.”
“Well, I didn’t raise Lauren to be a nursemaid to a clumsy girl,” Margaret sniffed.
Brigman’s voice was low. “You didn’t raise her period. You left, remember?”
Margaret opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out.
Wilkes stepped between them. “Dig in, everyone. Hope you all enjoy the meal. My housekeeper is used to cooking for roundup, so there will be plenty. Can I get anyone another beer?”
The sheriff took a long breath and began talking to everyone at the table except his ex-wife. Nothing like bringing an ex to a party to make every bachelor in the room swear off marriage. The only one who didn’t seem to understand what was going on between the sheriff and his ex-wife was Uncle Vern.
But by the end of the meal, Wilkes had to admit, when she wasn’t snarling at Dan, Margaret was one beautiful, classy lady. She’d managed to enchant Carter. And Vern, who started flirting with Margaret halfway through dinner, was now patting her hand.
Wilkes stood, told everyone to enjoy visiting while he got dessert.
Everyone but Angie followed orders. The little strawberry blonde picked up a few of the dishes and followed him to the kitchen.
“I can handle these,” he insisted.
“I know,” she said wearily. “I just needed some air.”
It hadn’t occurred to Wilkes that Angie might not be enjoying herself, but since Margaret showed up he couldn’t remember her saying a word. He’d seen it many times when he’d been with Lexie. The outgoing ones take center stage and the shy ones disappear. Only tonight Angie hadn’t disappeared in his eyes. He’d been watching her all evening.
The thought crossed his mind that he’d spent his whole dating life watching the performers and missing the real women.
He handed Angie an apron and welcomed her onto the cleanup crew with a wave of his hand. They worked in silence for a few minutes before he said, “The Brigmans make an interesting couple, don’t they?”
Angie nodded. “Were they happy once?”
“Not that I know of.” Wilkes shrugged. “They seem to hate each other, but it’s strange how neither remarried.”
It occurred to Wilkes that even hating Margaret might make Dan feel more alive than trying to love someone else. If Wilkes looked inward, he’d have to admit that being lonely lately was better than feeling hurt. He remembered being that crazy kind of “in love” with Lexie in college. She was always on his mind, and no matter how much time they spent together, it was never enough. When he got that damn Dear John letter from her, something died inside him. For a while he didn’t even feel the pain, he was just numb. Then the hole where his heart had once been settled into a dull ache.
By the time he got out of the army and started bumming around, he’d realized he was like the Tin Man. Only, he didn’t need the Wizard to tell him he didn’t have a heart.
Wilkes looked down at Angie. She was nothing like Lexie. She was the kind of woman he could be friends with. That was all he had to offer anyway. If he told her he wanted to get closer to her, it wouldn’t be fair. A woman like her deserved much more than he could offer. Maybe he once thought he was, but now he doubted he could be that kind of guy who’d love someone forever.
Wilkes didn’t think in forever terms. He thought in seasons, maybe. Since the army, he’d never had a girl longer than one season. Looking back, he couldn’t remember if a single seasonal girl ever walked out on him. He’d been the one to leave.
Only, Angie seemed so different. He might like to try to cuddle up with her in winter and still be holding her beneath the stars in summer. If she’d be open to the idea. Which was doubtful.
He smiled as she served dessert, mothering Uncle Vern and Carter with her kind ways. One by one they finished off the cobbler and coffee and said good-night. Margaret even hugged Wilkes as if they were close friends, leaving Wilkes
to wonder with her big job in Dallas if she had time for any friends.
When he finally walked Angie out to his Tahoe, Wilkes decided he was glad to be alone with her. He didn’t feel as if they had to be talking to each other all the time.
Halfway to her place she seemed to need to break the silence. “I can help with Carter’s search.”
“He’s got me,” Wilkes added as if she’d forgotten about him.
She didn’t even look his direction. “If he found the drawings, surely someone else has, too.”
“Some folks don’t see what’s right in front of them.”
She seemed to get the point. “I see you, Wilkes. You’re a hard man to miss.”
He smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back. He guessed what she was doing. Counting the minutes until they’d be at her place. Waiting until she could say goodbye.
After a long stretch of silence between them, he voiced his thoughts. “Angie, are you still afraid of me?”
Her laughter seemed forced. “No, Wilkes. I know it looks like I’m afraid of everything, but not you.”
He smiled hoping her words were true as he headed down the incline to the lake and her cabin. They passed the sheriff’s place. Wilkes slowed. “Margaret’s car is still parked out front.”
“That’s surprising after how they avoided each other all evening.”
He agreed and turned toward Angie’s cabin. “I don’t want to ever be like that,” he said. “I’d rather not marry at all.”
“I agree. When my mother died, my dad never got over it. I asked him once about his sadness and he said it didn’t matter. He’d take the grief for the pleasure of having been with her.”
Wilkes pulled up in front of her cabin. “You think couples get to be in heaven together?”
“Maybe a few. If they loved enough.”
Wilkes walked around the car and laughed as he opened the door. “Dan and Margaret better hope for heaven ’cause if they end up in hell the devil might skip the fire and brimstone part and simply put them together.”
