Annie on the Lam: A Christmas Caper (15 page)

They dressed in a hurry, hastened by the biting cold as well as the vehicle's approach. Joe put on his gloves then reached over the seat for his coat. He put it on, too, then tried to open the door. It had frozen shut and he had to use his shoulder to give it a few hard shoves. Finally, the door gave way and he stepped outside into a three-foot snowdrift.

Joe trudged up the incline and out of the ditch as a blue pickup truck slowed to a stop at the road's edge. The driver's window rolled down and an old man with sagging jowls and an orange stocking hat with a fluffy round puff on top of it looked out. “Hey, buddy,” the old man said. “Looks like you could use some help.”

“Sure could.” Joe approached the truck. The wind had died down, but the temperature still felt like ten below. “Is that a four-wheel drive?”

The man nodded. “Yessir, and I've got chains. I'll pull you out of there, no problem.”

The elderly man left the truck idling while he climbed out. He was overweight, with friendly gray eyes and a firm handshake. “Name's Nate Kilroy. You're lucky I came along,” he said, whistling softly as he talked. “This road isn't traveled much.”

Joe introduced himself, then followed Nate's gaze toward the GTO where Annie was climbing onto the road.

“You two spend the night out here?”

“We did, sir,” Annie answered, shoving her hands into the pockets of Landau's coat. “I wouldn't recommend it.” Her eyes flicked to Joe a second as she smiled and added, “We managed to stay warm enough, but you're still a sight for sore eyes.”

They exchanged introductions, then Nate hauled a coil of chains from the bed of his truck.

Joe pulled out his wallet, noted his cash was dwindling fast, then said, “Will ten bucks pay for your trouble?”

The old man scowled at him, then turned and spit onto the road. “No charge. I hope someone would do the same for me.”

Fifteen minutes later, Joe's GTO was out of the ditch and Annie was getting directions to her aunt's place from Nate. After saying their goodbyes, Annie and Joe climbed into the car. “We're only minutes away from Aunt Tess's,” Annie said, waving at Nate as they passed by his truck.

Joe glanced into the mirror, noting that the old man followed closely behind them. “Nice old guy.”

“Yes.” Annie laughed softly. “He needs new dentures. They whistle.” She leaned across the space between the seats that separated them, brought her mouth up to Joe's ear and murmured, “One of Aunt Tess's bedrooms has a fireplace and a bed so big you could get lost in it.” She nibbled his lobe, and added, “Why don't we get lost in it together once we're there? My feet are getting cold again.”

“I'm starting to think you have as much of a one-track mind as I do.”

She grinned up at him and unzipped his coat. “Is that a problem?”

“Not as long as we're on the same track.” Desire twisted inside him again as she slipped her hand beneath his shirt-tail. “I need some nourishment first if I'm going to keep up with you.”

“Maybe Aunt Tess has some canned goods in the pantry.” She poked her finger into his navel.

Joe jumped. “Jesus, Annie! I'm going to slide off the road again if you don't behave yourself. Move on over to your side and buckle up.”

Her laugh skittered goose bumps up his arms. “You're no fun.”

“I wasn't hearing any complaints out of you last night.”

Joe gripped the wheel, his mind in turmoil. He couldn't think of anything better than a day spent in a real bed with Annie. But he couldn't do that with a clear conscience unless he told her the truth about himself. And that was the problem. In bed with him was the last place she'd want to be when she found out he was really an investigator working for her father, when she realized that he'd kept that from her long after he should've. As it stood, he could either satisfy his conscience or satisfy his lust. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out a way to do both.

Annie nuzzled his neck, and Joe bit the inside of his cheek. Hard. What did it matter? When the truth came out, Annie was going to be hurt and pissed off whether he slept with her again or not. She had implied she just wanted sex with him, no strings. If that was the case, the truth shouldn't make any difference.

His self-serving rationalizations disgusted him. First of all, he didn't believe her. He'd been right; Annie wasn't the type of woman who had flings. If he'd been thinking straight last night, he would've respected that, realized what he was setting himself up for and backed off.

“You're quiet,” Annie murmured.

“Just tired,” he said. “Someone kept me up last night.”

Joe flexed his fingers on the wheel, shifted in his seat. If he wanted to hang onto his one last shred of self-respect, he had to tell Annie the truth. He would remind her that he hadn't known her when he made that deal with her father. He had just been doing a job, following orders. When she thought about that, she would be fine. He tried to convince himself that was possible. He'd lay it all out rationally, she'd listen, and like a reasonable adult, she'd understand. The air would clear and they could get down to the business of wading through those files while enjoying one another's company.

“Annie?”

“Mmm-hmm?” she answered drowsily.

“Does your aunt's place have a phone?”

“I think so. Why?”

“We should probably let our families know we're okay.”

She sighed. “You're right. Daddy's probably been sitting by the phone all night.”

Joe felt a sudden case of indigestion coming on. Through the rearview mirror, he saw Nate take the cut-off into town. He waved at the old man and stayed on the road Annie told him to follow. “About your father—”

“Oh, look!” Annie pointed out the front window. “There's the house. See?”

It wasn't a house, it was a barn. A big, red barn at the edge of a snowy meadow adorned with a scattering of trees and a frozen pond perfect for ice-skating. The sight seemed familiar. Joe pondered that, and realized he had seen it on at least a hundred Christmas cards. “Where's the house?”

“The barn
is
the house. It's been converted. Wait until you see inside of it. Tess left the beams exposed and had wood plank floors installed. It's full of antiques, and besides that bedroom I told you about, there's an enormous great room with another fireplace.” She squeezed his arm. “After we call our folks, I'll give you a tour. Then we can scrounge up some food.”

Joe's stomach growled. He decided the truth would have to wait until after they ate. Yesterday, he'd witnessed Annie's temper. Joe knew he couldn't face the full force of it on an empty belly. He saw what she did to that three-hundred-pound gorilla back at her apartment. He was going to need his strength.

For just a moment, his thoughts drifted to the bedroom with the fireplace. He reined them in. First, calls home. Second, food. Then the truth. No excuses. After that, if he was lucky…

 

P
ACIFYING HER FATHER
was no simple task. Annie understood his worries. She even felt guilty about causing them. By getting involved with Harry Landau, she had pulled her father back into the past. He was reliving what had happened to her mom so long ago, and terrified that his worst nightmare might be coming true—that he might lose his daughter like he had his wife. As upset as Annie was with him, her intentions when she took a job with Harry had never been to hurt her father.

“He wants to talk to you again,” Annie said, passing the phone to Joe. When he took it, she added, “I'm going to take a quick shower before we eat. Feel free to join me when you're finished with Daddy.”

He didn't. In fact, when she went looking for him after her shower, she heard water spraying in the bathroom next door to the one she had occupied. She tried the door and found it locked.

Baffled and a little hurt, Annie walked barefoot down the hallway to the bedroom she hoped they would share. She loved the feel of the polished plank floor beneath her feet, loved the splashes of color in the rugs and pillows and throws Aunt Tess had scattered everywhere. The house was decorated for comfort and relaxation. A perfect place for lovers.

In Tess's closet, she was surprised to find an assortment of lingerie, from elegant to gaudy with every style in between. Annie was aware that her aunt periodically entertained guests here. Now she wondered if those guests were men. The thought made Annie smile. Tess loved the opposite sex and made no effort to hide the fact.

A thought struck her again, and her smile fell away. Had her mother entertained lovers, too? Was Frank Reno one of them? While the prospect of Tess's risqué love life pleased and amused her, the possibility of her mother's did not. Tess had no commitments to anyone. Lydia had had a husband and child who loved her. Did her mother betray them both?

Annie felt a subtle shift in her anger toward her father. He had tried so hard to maintain her mother's good memory. Annie wasn't so sure that Lydia deserved his efforts. But then it occurred to her that he hadn't done it for her mother. He had done it for
her.
So that she could feel proud of the woman who had brought her into the world and raised her. Annie had only known her mother sixteen years, but she had known her father for forty. She had no doubts at all that he was a good man who always had her best interest at heart, even if that interest was sometimes misguided. She no longer had that same certainty about her mother.

Annie continued looking through Tess's closet. She might never have the answers she sought. Maybe they had died along with her mother.

The robe Annie chose wasn't Tess's most conservative nor her most revealing. The burgundy satin clung to every curve, leaving little to the imagination. Tying the sash around her waist, Annie stepped back and scrutinized her image in the mirror.
Not bad for middle-aged.
She felt young, as young and alive as she had ever felt.

In the kitchen pantry, she found tins of caviar, jars of pickled vegetables and olives. Bottled water sat on a refrigerator shelf, and a huge selection of wine filled a rack that covered half of one wall. After filling a tray, she made her way down the hall toward the bedrooms again. When she passed by the room where Joe had showered, she heard him talking on the telephone again.

Seconds later, in the large bedroom, she placed the tray on the rug in front of the fireplace hearth then went to see if the bed needed linens. Her aunt didn't fail her. Tess always made a point of leaving the place ready for the next group of guests. Plump pillows lay scattered across the headboard of the huge four-poster bed. Annie grabbed several and tossed them on the rug beside the tray.

Soon, Joe appeared in the doorway. She planted her hands on her hips. “I was beginning to think you might be avoiding me.”

“I talked to my mother. She went to stay with Ed and Nancy Simms like I wanted her to.”

“No complaints?”

“Nope. A million questions, though.”

“Must be nice,” Annie said with no little amount of sarcasm, thinking of her conversation with her father.

“I tried to get ahold of my old partner, O'Malley, too. Got his machine again. I left him this number.” His gaze swept down the front of her robe, her bare legs and feet. He shoved fingers through his damp hair and the ends curled slightly when his hand came away.

“I see you showered, too.” She stuck out her lower lip, her pout only half in jest. “You locked me out.”

He wore the same jeans he'd worn in the car. No shirt. His feet were bare. He seemed more real, more imposing in the daylight, less like a fantasy. Flesh and bone and muscle. Hard angles. Masculine heat.

Last night came to her in a flash. The feel of his body, his scent, the taste of his breath and skin. Her heart took off on a chaotic chase. She was in over her head. Crazy about him. The way he looked and talked, the way he moved, the way he made love. Everything about Joe Brady got to her, made her ache with an edgy need. She felt it again, that
zing
Sara had mentioned. It seemed impossible, insane, after knowing him such a short time, that she was in love with him.

And not just with his physical assets, either. She loved his tough strength, his tender heart, his belief in justice. She loved that he loved his mother and let her baby him, even though she sensed the woman sometimes drove him crazy. She loved that he ached for the father and brother he had lost. That he could see straight into her heart and soul and mind and understand what he found there better than anyone else ever had.

Joe Brady was a very good man. They'd been through a lot in a short time. And Annie didn't need to know him one second longer to know that she loved him.

“Sorry I locked the door.” Joe sat on the floor and reached for the jar of olives. He slanted her a smug look and said, “I guess I'm shy.”

“Since when?” she scoffed, and sat beside him.

“Since I decided we'd never get around to eating if we showered together.” His gaze skimmed the front of her robe again. She wore nothing beneath it and she knew that was obvious. Joe's throat bobbed. He looked away.