Annalisa’s protests were overridden by the small, but forceful, woman, and she found herself seated at the bar, eating, while Aunt Gertie loaded the dishwasher. When the doors swished again, she cringed. Great. Just what she needed—for Cade to think she was shirking her duties.
Not looking back, she watched Aunt Gertie’s face light up. “Cade, Sweetie, I bet you came in to thank Annalisa for the wonderful lunch. She scrubbed pots and pans while we ate, and I insisted she sit down and eat now.”
“No, actually I came in to let you know Dad and the guys are leaving. And to tell you that you two will be on your own until late tonight.” He crossed into Annalisa’s line of vision, but this time it was he who kept his head turned away from her. He hugged his aunt lightly. “I’m going to head to Little Rock and pick up some things from my house that I wanted to have here when the boys come tomorrow. Think you can hold down the fort until I get back? I’ll probably be late.”
Aunt Gertie wiped her hands on the faded dishtowel looped through the drawer handle. “I’ll go out and tell them bye. We girls will make it just fine by ourselves, won’t we, Annalisa?”
Annalisa nodded and sighed with relief when she heard the kitchen door close behind her. Pushing her plate away, she propped her elbows on the bar and buried her face in her hands.
“We’ll discuss it when I get back.” Her heart jumped in her throat when she heard a deep voice at her ear.
Turning around, she met Cade’s glare with a silent nod. He turned on his heel and strode from the room.
***
When Cade eased his four-wheel-drive wagon off the highway, he had a disconcerting realization. His afternoon and evening had been spent trying to erase the image of Annalisa when he’d left. Her face had gone pale at the sight of him, and her eyes had grown wide. She had nodded with dignity at his hard words, and Cade had to restrain himself from going back and telling her to forget it—he didn’t care what she was hiding.
He was unfamiliar with the protective instincts Annalisa had awakened. He’d always been too busy with work to pursue a woman, instead drifting in and out of a casual relationship with a friend’s sister, a woman who needed protecting about as much as a barracuda. She’d started going to church with him, and he’d thought they might have a future. He’d even prayed about it. But when Cade had first decided to open the boys’ ranch, she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in ranch life, no matter how temporary.
She had broken up with him, then quickly married a prominent Little Rock businessman, satisfying her apparent desire to belong to the country club set. Cade’s pride had suffered a blow, but he was surprised to realize probing the old wound didn’t hurt anymore. He could actually thank God for that unanswered prayer.
When he married, if he ever did, it would be to someone he could trust... a woman who shared his faith and understood his values. He’d watched his dad and mom and how their relationship had deepened every year. They were best friends, but that spark between them was still evident. That’s what he wanted.
He parked his wagon beside Annalisa’s car and thought again of what he would say to her. Tomorrow would be soon enough to decide. The house was dark and still as he approached. Walking quietly down the hall to his bedroom, he saw a muted light under Annalisa’s door as if her lamp was still on. He might as well let her know he was home.
He raised his hand to knock and paused in mid-air at the sound of Annalisa’s voice coming from the room. “Julie, I have to convince him. I’ll do whatever it takes to find Amy.” Cade remained at the door long enough to ascertain she was having a phone conversation, then he moved on to his room. He collapsed into the overstuffed armchair by the window.
A missing person.
Considering she had sought him out, it was probably a child. Of course... he had seen it in her eyes but hadn’t wanted to acknowledge the pain. He decided to take a different approach and not confront her tomorrow like he had planned. First he would find out details and, when she decided to tell him, he’d be forearmed. In the meantime, he was going to get to know her better. Maybe she’d decide to trust him with the truth.
Was it a lost custody case? Or one where the father took the child even though Annalisa had custody? If it had been a straightforward kidnapping, she surely would have blurted it out as soon as she’d met him. His thoughts swirled.
Could she really be a mother? Had she been married? Was she still? Whatever her situation, she obviously had come to him hoping for help. Letting her down easy was the best he could do. But until she asked, he intended to treat her as part of the family here at the Circle-M.
He slowly took his shoes and socks off and stretched out on the bed. His night of poor sleep had caught up with him, and he dozed off fully clothed.
***
“Good morning, ladies.” Cade’s cheerful voice rang out as he walked into the kitchen where Annalisa prepared buttered toast and Aunt Gertie poured glasses of milk.
Annalisa cringed and then took a second look at the smiling cowboy. Had Cade received a brain transplant in Little Rock? Could this be the same man who had issued the ominous promise—“We’ll discuss it when I get back”—before leaving yesterday?
“Good morning, Cade,” Aunt Gertie said, smiling.
“Good morning, Mr. McFadden,” Annalisa echoed.
“I told you... call me Cade. After today we’re just going to be one big happy family around here. One very big happy family.” He chuckled.
Relaxing a little, Annalisa carefully spread butter on the bread. “What time are the boys arriving?”
“Around two-thirty or three,” he said. “George Winemiller and his wife Marta are the houseparents, and they’ve agreed to bring the boys as they come. They will already have eaten.” Smiling at Annalisa, he added, “Sandwiches would be fine with me for lunch. How about you, Aunt Gert?”
“That sounds lovely. I’ll fix them, Annalisa. That way you can be free until supper—to prepare for the onslaught of boys.”
“Oh, Aunt Gertie, you don’t have to do that,” Annalisa began and then faltered at the woman’s quelling look, “uh, I mean, thanks. That would be great.”
“Aunt Gertie’s training you, I see. It doesn’t take long to recognize the iron hand beneath the kid gloves, does it?” Cade aimed a playful grin at Annalisa that took her breath away.
Yeah, a flash of dimples and you melt. You’re asking for trouble. Julie had always teased her about her shyness with men, but her best friend never understood the lesson Annalisa had learned early. Men had the power to destroy women. Her mother had been proof of that. Cade and Gertie’s mock scuffling brought her back to the present.
“Oh, you.” The older woman swatted the dishtowel playfully at her nephew.
Cade wrapped his aunt in a bear hug. “Okay, I admit it. Iron hand or not, I don’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t agreed to help me out here.”
“I can see that. You’re very blessed to have her.” Annalisa looked warmly at the woman who had been so kind to her since her arrival yesterday.
“I’m going to take this to go, if you two don’t mind.” After Cade poured his milk into a plastic cup, he filled his empty glass with water and set it in the sink.
“You work too hard, Cade.” Aunt Gertie deftly dumped the water out and placed the glass in the dishwasher.
“Yeah, well, I’ve got some jobs to finish up before the boys arrive.” Grabbing his hat off the counter, he nodded at them. “See y’all later.”
After he’d gone, Annalisa turned to Aunt Gertie. “He seemed to be in a better mood today, didn’t he?”
“He’s under a lot of strain right now, Sweetie. Our Cade is usually as good-natured as they come. But, yes, now that you mention it... he did seem more like his old self today, praise God.”
Annalisa wanted to question the woman, but hesitated to impose on their budding friendship and decided against it. “Will it hurt your feelings if I follow Cade’s example and take my breakfa
st with me, as well?” She watched the woman, reading her face.
“Not at all, Hon.” She put her arm around Annalisa’s waist in the way that seemed to come so easily in her family. If she noticed Annalisa stiffening, she was too polite to mention it. “You go on and make the most of your free time.”
“I’m going to take a book and go for a walk. I have a new Christian romance I’m right in the middle of reading.” She slipped her arm around Aunt Gertie’s waist and squeezed. “Besides, I’ve heard boys want to eat all the time, so I may not have a minute to myself after this morning,” Annalisa said with a rueful grin.
After telling Aunt Gertie good-bye, Annalisa grabbed her book from her room. When she slipped out the back door, she could hear hammering coming from the barn on the upper part of the property. Skirting it, in case Cade’s sweetness and light act this morning had been for Aunt Gertie’s benefit, she walked out toward the back of the lot.
The lot actually held two barns, a corral, and the bunk-house, separated from the house by a split-rail fence. There were two gates coming off the gravel road—one leading out to the barns and the other to the house. They were tied open, and Annalisa had a feeling they were seldom closed.
She paused and raised her face to the sky, soaking in the beauty of the spring day. Thank you, Lord, for this chance.
Studying the rolling hills, she spotted one not far away with beautiful shade trees in a ridge along it—a perfect spot to curl up with a book.
She struggled to open the big red gate that barred her way. By the time she reached the hill, she was a little out of breath. Collapsing on the ground under a big oak, she reached in her jeans pocket for a scrunchie and pulled her thick hair up in a ponytail.
She gazed in delight at the pond in the valley that had been hidden from her view until now. The sunlight danced across the water, turning tiny ripples to platinum. She laid her head back and closed her eyes as the warm breeze caressed her face. The tension from the last few days slowly left her. Her heart feeling much lighter, she flipped the book open to her place and allowed herself to become immersed in the words of her favorite author.
When she finished the last page, she looked at her watch and jumped up with a start. It was past noon. She wanted to get a shower before the kids arrived. Jogging a little, she covered the distance fairly fast, but when she topped the last tiny knoll she stopped short at the scene in front of her. Cows, millions of them from the looks of things, were grazing at the red gate she had left open. A few were already through it.
Horrified, Annalisa fought back tears.
Give me courage, Lord. Please let Cade be nearby.
Taking a deep breath, she ran toward the enormous cows, knowing she had to find Cade and get help before the herd reached the next gate that opened onto the gravel road. A white cow jerked with surprise as she neared it. She screamed, and the cow shot towards the gate. The herd followed, and soon cattle were streaming out into the barn lot. Annalisa dodged a pair of deadly-looking horns and screamed for the only person who could save her—“Cade!”
***
“Cade!” The panic in the woman’s voice sent a shard of fear into Cade’s chest. He spun from his path toward the house. Spurred on by the sheer terror in the continued calls of his name, he quickly untied Duke from the fence and jumped up on the startled horse.
Relief coursed through him when he saw Annalisa standing at the back of the herd of cows who thundered out into the barn lot. Maneuvering Duke around, he cut the animals off just as they reached the road gate. Knowing Annalisa might not be able to hear him above the noise of pounding hooves, he vigorously motioned for her to move over.
After he repeated the motion, she ran to the fence and scrambled up the wood railings. Her presence there would make it difficult to herd the cows back into the pasture, but it was a great improvement over standing, frozen, in the middle of the entrance.
When the last cow trotted through, he jumped down and closed the gate. His hat had fallen, and when he walked back to retrieve it, soft sobs reached his ears. Startled, he watched Annalisa, white-faced and trembling, clamber down off the fence. Fighting the urge to enfold her in his arms, he gave her a questioning look. “Annalisa?”
“I’m so sorry. I’ll go gather my things. I’m sorry.” Her teeth were chattering, and he realized she was in shock.
Forget about propriety. He swooped her up in his arms and tucked her to his chest like a child. A soft flowery scent wafted up to meet him. The trembling in his gut reminded him she definitely wasn’t a child.
At her weak protest, he shook his head. “Annalisa,” he said in his most calming voice, “everything is okay. No harm done. We’re going to go up to the house, and Aunt Gertie will take care of you.”
Annalisa offered a heart-wrenching sob and buried her head in his shoulder. She clung to him, clutching his shirt and holding on as if she’d never let go. Cade was touched by her unconditional trust. Please, God, let me be worthy of this faith she has in me.
After the way he’d acted yesterday, he was surprised she hadn’t kicked and screamed when he picked her up. When she said something he had to lower his head to her mouth to make out the words.
“I knew you’d come. I prayed you would.”
Before he could respond, Aunt Gertie came hurrying out of the house. “Oh, Cade! I looked out the window and saw you coming. What happened?” She held the door open as she spoke.
“We had a little run-in with the cows.” Cade walked through the kitchen and down the hall to Annalisa’s room with his aunt right on his heels.
“Is she hurt?”
“No,” Cade said, not wanting to say anything that would embarrass Annalisa. He deposited her on her bed, then turned to face his worried aunt. “A long soak in the tub, and possibly a nap, and I think she’ll be as good as new.”
Annalisa’s soft vulnerability was hazardous to his mental well being. He had to get out of there. “I’m going to grab a sandwich and a shower. Call me if you need me.”
“Cade?” Annalisa’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Yes?” He turned back, his gaze taking in her pale complexion and frightened eyes.
“Thank you. I can’t believe I did that.” She put her hands over her face.
“It was my fault.”
She peeked out from her hands and shook her head.
“It’s true. I forgot to tell you the number one rule on a ranch—always leave a gate exactly like you find it. So if it’s closed when you get to it, make sure you shut it behind you, and if it’s open when you reach it, leave it open.”
She nodded, blushing. Relieved to see some color in her face, he slipped from the room with a nod to his aunt, his pounding heart threatening to betray him with every step.
***
Annalisa lay on top of the quilted comforter. The bath had revived her some, but Cade’s earlier suggestion of a nap sounded inviting. She needed to get her strength up before she faced him again. She’d never been so humiliated in her whole life as she had been in the last couple of days. From the minute she’d literally fallen at his feet the first day, she’d been doing stupid things. But the episode this afternoon had surpassed them all.
For a second she relived the terror of the cows stampeding around her. The last time she’d suffered such uncontrollable panic was the day Amy had been taken from her arms. No one had come to rescue her then. But this afternoon, her knight in shining... hmm... blue jeans... had ridden up on his steed to save the day.
She’d never felt anything more heavenly than the strength of Cade’s arms scooping her up and making her safe. Heat crept up her face as she remembered how she’d clung to him. He’d worked half a day before the cows got out, but when she’d buried her nose in his shirt, the laundry soap smell that still lingered there had erased the dust from her senses just as his calm, steady voice had eased away her terror.
She trusted him. Other than Julie and her mother, she hadn’t trusted another human being since she
was seventeen. Warning bells jangled in her head. If Cade refused to help her find Amy, she had to be prepared to move on. She’d avoided entanglements for seven years.
Blood is thicker than water. Her father had always told her that. She’d wondered for years if he really knew what it meant. Especially after he’d deserted them when he found out her mom was pregnant with Amy. Still she knew it was true.
And so had her mother. The night before she died, she’d called to Annalisa to come talk to her. “Honey, I’m not going to make it much longer.” Her once beautiful face was ravaged by the constant pain, and her hair hung dull and lifeless around her rounded shoulders.
“Yes, you are, Mama. You’re going to be better soon.”
Her mother had shaken her head at Annalisa’s forced optimism. She grabbed her daughter’s hand in her own. “Listen.”
Annalisa hadn’t wanted to hear what her mother had to say, and she hoped Amy would wake up and cry. But the old house lay silent, making her mother’s whisper ring out in the shabby room. “Don’t let them take Amy, Honey. Nobody else will look out for her like you will. Remember, blood is thicker than water.”
“I know, Mama. I know.” Annalisa nodded, but apparently it hadn’t satisfied the dying woman.
“You’ve always been stronger than me. I’m counting on you now. It’s up to you to see to it that the baby has a happy home to grow up in.” She brushed Annalisa’s hair back and caressed her face with a cold, bony hand. “Promise Mama, okay?”
“I promise.”
“Love is the most important thing—”
This time Amy’s cries had saved Annalisa from having to make any more promises. But she’d already made the one that counted. To take care of Amy.
The musty smell of long illness faded away, and Annalisa shuddered. How close she’d come to forgetting that promise. In some ways she was no stronger than her mama. No matter whether he used his temper or his charm, her father had always been able to talk Annalisa’s mother into things—like leaving their daughter home by herself.
In Search of Love Page 3
