Almost Twilight (24 page)

And
the noise, well, that was normal nighttime noise!

Nope,
she would not jeopardize Hannah’s delicate condition by being a silly female
afraid of the slightest—

A
loud crash pulled her from any more hopeful speculations.

Her
gaze shot across the room where the window was squeaking in protest, its frame
rising higher and higher, along with her blood pressure.

Eyes
bulging, she watched in horror as one long, lean leg swung over the sill,
slamming onto the cedar chest with a thud. A string of curses followed.

This
was not a team of Navy Seals on a rescue mission! This was an intruder!

Without
another thought, she jumped from her bed, grabbing the first thing she could
find, a walking stick that Fritz had accidentally left resting against the wall
when he’d brought her a cup of tea late last night. It was a sturdy piece of
oak that the older man had picked up along a mountain trail.

If
she ever got out of this alive, she was going to grill Tanner Clearbrook for
not having an alarm in his house, especially when his wife was in the next room,
a little over seven months pregnant and confined to her bed.

Tanner
was a multimillionaire for heaven’s sake. He could afford anything. But then
again, what good would an alarm do when the window was open? Tanner should have
made sure the screens had been put back in!

And
another thing—

Her
brain froze when she took in the sight of the ominous figure slipping past her
window and into the room.

He
hadn’t seen her yet, but she was getting her fill as moonlight spilled across
the snow-covered cowboy boots that thumped against the rug. Oh, he was a cowboy
all right.  

The glow
of the moon lit up his lean, sturdy frame, cowboy hat and all. Wide shoulders
tapered down to a slim waist, giving her the impression of one very strong man.

She
froze while her mind started running a hundred different directions. Sheer
panic pierced every nerve in her body when the intruder pulled his rope from
the window.

She
started to shake. She was right. The rope seemed to have some kind of anchor on
it.

Okay,
a cowboy with a rope and a sharp object-like anchor.

Fearful
images of what could happen with that rope bounced about her brain like a
Ping-Pong ball.

A
crisp wind blew in the scent of horses and hay. She held back a sneeze as she
watched the powerful figure wrap the rope around his elbow and palm.

Her
distressed gaze shifted across the room to the door. She should have sounded
the alarm and woken the entire household at the first sound of something
strange. But it was too late now.

She
bit her bottom lip. Why had she ever left Chicago and come to Colorado in the
first place? It was because of Walter, that’s why.

She
had a great job working in accounting until Walter became her boss. When she
looked back on it, she realized she had no choice but to leave the company. Of
course, Walter being her ex-fiancé didn’t help matters any.

Walter! 

Her
life had been turned upside down because of people intruding on her peace of
mind, but all that was about to change.

She
gritted her teeth in determination. This sorry cowboy had picked the wrong
house to burglarize. He was not going to get past her if she could help it. She
would defend Hannah and her friend’s family with her life.

“Who’s
there?” The cowboy’s deep voice was edged with steel as it echoed off the
walls, making Annie swallow hard. Shadows hid part of the bed as moonlight 
tried to peek past her.

Fear
clogged her throat.

Who
was she kidding? She had made a big mistake. Right now, there was no doubt in
her mind, she should have run screaming for help when she had had the chance.

Her
hands tightened on the walking stick. But one good smack could take him down.

“Jeremy,
that you, partner?”

Annie
held back a gasp. So, the man knew Jeremy’s name. The fiend! A deep sense of
protectiveness swept through her at the thought of the innocent little boy
asleep in the next room. If this man was friend or family, he would have come
through the front door and not through the window! What was his game?

When
the cowboy ambled toward the desk near her computer, she knew it was now or
never. She shot from her position, whipped the stick in the air, and sliced at
the man’s knees, taking him down.

His
body banged against the desk and toppled to the floor. Words spewed from his
mouth Annie hadn’t heard since she had been to a professional wrestling
tournament with her sister Rachel three years ago.

Using
the moment to her advantage, Annie sprung from her position and ran toward the
door. But she wasn’t fast enough. A strong hand wrapped around her ankle,
jerking her to the floor.

Pure
horror raced through her veins at the thought of the intruder and that rope.

“Let
me go!”

“Let
you go?” The cowboy pulled her down beside him, spinning her onto her back.
“Not on your life, sugar.”

His
powerful body towered over her, and she gasped. Dancing shadows filled the
room, and she found herself gazing into a bearded face.

Was
this some homeless cowboy? She couldn’t see him clearly, and for all she knew,
it could be her last breath if she didn’t do something quick.

She
struggled against his hold. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll climb back
out that window before I call the cops.”

His
deep, rolling laughter sent another ripple of fear down her spine. “The only
way you’re going to call the police, sugar, is if I let you.”

Her
lips began to tremble. He was a talker. Okay, she could talk. “W-What do you
want?”

In
the dimness of the room, his eyes glittered like a beast of prey as his hand
reached around her waist and squeezed.

“When
I first came in here, all I wanted was a hot shower and a comfy bed to sleep
in, but now I’m rethinking my plans.”

Something
inside Annie snapped. She would not be a victim. She whipped her hand upward
and slapped him in the head, the smack sounding like a gunshot.

“Why
you little she-cat!”

With
one swift move, he pinned her hands to the floor. “How about you tell me who
you are, lady, and why you’re sleeping in
my room
?”

“Your
room?” she uttered, her breathing labored. “You’re crazy!”

The
door squeaked open, and Annie turned her head to see Fritz’s tall frame standing
at the threshold.

“Tarnation
gal, what’s going on in here?”

Annie
struggled against the strong hands that held her. “Fritz, call the cops!”

Fritz
took another step into the room, his hand reaching out to flip on the switch
connected to the Victorian lamp in the corner.

Light
filled the room. An amused rumble broke forth from the cowboy who still had
Annie trapped on the ground like a wide-eyed calf.

She
glared at him, and in the sudden illumination, realization finally dawned.
Beneath that scraggly, black beard, two very familiar, piercing blue eyes
stared back at her.

She
closed her eyes and groaned.

Oh,
please, no. Not him. Not him! 

Fritz
stepped closer, and if Annie hadn’t known better, she would have thought the
older man had snorted with laughter.

“Take
your hands off that filly, son.”

Son.

Annie’s
suspicions were confirmed. Eyelashes sweeping off her cheeks, she tried to sit,
but found it was a useless endeavor. The man wasn’t giving an inch.

The
cowboy’s face tilted Fritz’s way. “Take my hands off her? Why? I kind of like
what I found.” The cowboy’s words were said with such candied sarcasm, Annie
wanted to slap him again.

“Maximilian,
if you don’t let Annie go this instant, I’m gonna hogtie you to your bed for a
week.”

“Hogtie
me?”

Amusement
flickered in those deep blue eyes as the man turned his gaze back to Annie and
studied her.

“Now,
that’s a threat I take seriously. If you were to hogtie me with this little
filly, I’d surely think about it. But I don’t imagine that’s what you’re thinking.
So, sorry, sugar. It seems I’ll have to let you go.”

Max.

Annie
blinked as he released her.

As
the man rose, he didn’t seem to be laughing now. He took her hand and helped
her stand. She wondered if he remembered their last kiss, their only kiss
before she told him she never wanted to see him again.

Max
Clearbrook.

The
last time she’d seen him, he’d been in a crisp blue suit, looking more handsome
than a man should be. And his beard was a lot better kept than the scraggly
looking thing it was now.

It
seemed Max had lost a bet to Tanner, his eldest brother, and in doing so, the
man had to make a business trip to Chicago for one of Tanner’s medical
companies. Tanner had mentioned that his wife’s friend Annie lived in Chicago.
Without saying anything to Tanner, Max had looked Annie up and asked her to
dinner. No one had known about the meeting, and to Annie’s way of thinking,
she’d liked to keep it that way. 

She
had fallen head over heels for the handsome cowboy until he had made that outrageous
offer. After Max had left, she had moved on to Walter. Two mistakes in one
year. She was batting a thousand.

With
a grimace, she exchanged glances with Fritz and his son, still feeling the burn
of Max’s touch. “Well?” she said, waiting for an explanation.

Heat
filled her cheeks the moment she realized she was standing in front of these
two men dressed in her granny nightgown, looking like a complete idiot.
Blinking, as if she had a handful of dust in her eyes, she grabbed her white
terry cloth robe hanging over her bedpost and threw it on.  

Fritz’s
lips thinned as he watched her fingers shake. “Gall darn it, Annie. I’m sorry
about this. Allow me to introduce you to my youngest son, Maximilian Roderick
Clearbrook.”

Annie
glanced back at Max. It was obvious she hadn’t recognized him when the lights
were off. And being the cocky cowboy that he was, he seemed to find that fact
quite amusing.

But
when he had held her in the dark, had he known who she was?

She
scowled in disgust, glaring at Max, clad in a pair of dirty old blue jeans and
a sheepskin jacket. His deceptively handsome blue eyes were twinkling like a
little boy hiding a secret.

She
fisted her hands into the pockets of her robe. “Is this how you always enter
your brother’s house,
Mr. Clearbrook
?”

With
a smile that could melt the snow on his boots, Max hooked his thumbs in his
front pockets and slouched against the wall. “Well sugar, it
ain’t
the
way I usually enter, but it sure as heck was nicer than the front door.”

He
gave her a saucy wink that curled her toes. “Softer, too.”

An
embarrassing heat crawled over her face.

“Why
didn’t you use the front door?” Fritz asked, picking up the walking stick which
was broken in two. His head shot up in outrage. “You broke my mountain cane,
you dang fool!”

Frowning,
Max pushed himself off the wall. “I didn’t break it.” He pointed to Annie, then
picked his rope off the floor. “She did.”

“Me?”
Annie waved a hand over her chest in disbelief. “You were the one who came
charging in here like some madman.”

Max
took a step toward her, and Annie held her ground. She hated to admit how much
the man stirred her blood.

“Charging
in here?” he spat. “May I remind you, Miss...”

Annie
crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. He couldn’t even remember
her last name. “Miss Nelson.” She gave him an as–if–you–don’t–remember–scowl.
“And if you don’t mind, I would like you to leave.”

“Leave?”
He raised his dark brows as if she had just asked him to jump into the Grand
Canyon.

“Yes,
leave,” Fritz put in, standing between them, his red checkered robe swishing
about his leather slippers. “We have a few more hours of sleep to take in.”

“I
was led to believe that this is
my room
,” the cowboy said icily, looking
at his father. “I need a shower and a bed. I’ve been out almost all night. And
besides,” Max’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “I thought this room was a given
since I was going to live here the next few weeks.”

“Live
here?” Annie shrieked. This was a nightmare. For the second time that evening,
she wished she’d stayed in Chicago. “Fine, I’ll leave.” She started for the
door.

Fritz
rested his hand on her elbow, stopping her, then sent a tight expression toward
his son. “What do you mean, this is your room? You were supposed to be here
last week and decided to hop to some rodeo instead. I, on the other hand, may
have escaped to the rodeo when I was a boy, but you’re a man.”