Daddy with a Deadline (15 page)

Annie awoke feeling groggy. She headed for the nursery, and when she saw the magnificent cribs, her eyes filled with tears. Two more miracles performed by Trent Madison—against her wishes, of course. And instead of thanking him she’d pummeled him with her fists.

The cowboy must have gone home. One day soon he’d leave her for good. An aura of sadness hit at the thought.

She padded into the living room and noticed a man on her couch. A familiar man.

“Is that you, Trent? Did you break and enter again?”

“I left to run an errand and then came back.”

“I saw the cribs and they look terrific. Now the twins will have real beds and not picnic baskets.”

“Never thought we’d agree on that.”

Annie bit her lip. “Sorry I beat you up.”

“Hey, I’m tough. I can take it.”

“Why did you stay?”

“To be sure you’re OK. You were comatose when I laid you on the bed.”

“I’m better now. Guess I needed sleep.”

“Guess so.” Trent stood and shifted his weight from one scuffed boot to the other. Annie knew that meant he was uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong? Other than my attacking you?”

“I need a favor.”

“Tell me it doesn’t involve another trip to Babyland.”

“It doesn’t.”

Annie narrowed her eyes and studied him skeptically. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“Could you come to the ranch on Sunday at one thirty? Rosa’s hosting a Tupperware party and she’s afraid no one will come.”

“I know how she feels. I hosted a jewelry party once and one person showed up.”

More shifting. Then Trent raked his hand through that glossy dark hair. Hand raking was a stress signal as well.

“So what do you think? Can you come?”

Annie gnawed on her lip. “Will you be there?”

“In a house full of chattering women? No way.”

That would help, Annie realized. If she saw Trent less often, she could adjust to life without him. At least she hoped so.

“Sure. I’ll come.”

“Good. That’ll make Rosa happy.”

When Trent came to her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, Annie caught her breath. “Thanks for everything, Trent.”

“Glad to help. I’ll be going now.”

He grabbed his Stetson and headed for the door. When it closed behind him, the house felt emptier than a schoolhouse in summer. The emptiness penetrated Annie’s skin and lodged around her heart.

She realized she’d missed supper. Trent hadn’t eaten either, poor man. Watching over her had upended his life on so many levels. He’d be as happy as she when the twins arrived. But for very different reasons.

Annie padded into the kitchen and spotted a platter on the table. A platter heaped with Rosa’s enchiladas! As she looked at it a surge of gratitude filled her heart. Trent took his project—her—seriously. But that’s all she was to him: a temporary project.

So why did he feel like her significant other? And why did he fill the empty place in her heart?

Was she falling in love with Trent? That possibility left her shaken. Deeply shaken. The cowboy infuriated her, ignored her every suggestion, and kept railroading his way into her house. Had he railroaded his way into her heart as well?

On Sunday afternoon, Annie drove toward Copper Creek Ranch. As she pulled onto Trent’s property she saw cars parked in the grass. Rosa needn’t have worried about poor attendance.

To Annie’s surprise, Trent’s truck sat in its usual location. Hopefully he’d gone for a trail ride. A really long one. And he wouldn’t return till the party ended.

Annie climbed out of the Volkswagen, and when she reached the kitchen door it swung open and her cowboy host stepped out.

Annie’s breath came in short gasps. Partly due to advanced pregnancy but mostly because of the man standing before her. Trent looked as dashing as ever.

“Hi, Annie. Glad you came.”

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” she snapped.

“Sorry to upset you. But I do live here.”

“You said you’d be away. That you didn’t want to be around a bunch of chattering women.”

“I don’t. I’ll leave soon.”

Annie caught herself just before she said, “Thank goodness.” The sooner Trent left, the sooner her heart would revert to its normal rhythm.

“Come in,” he said. “Rosa’s expecting you.”

As Annie stepped into the kitchen she listened for the chitchat that characterized these gatherings but heard nothing.

“Where is everyone? There must be twenty cars on the lawn.”

“Right this way.” Trent gripped her elbow and steered her toward the den. Even his slightest touch put her emotions on tilt.

Still Annie heard nothing. As she stepped into the den, a chorus of ladies yelled, “Surprise!!!”

Annie’s heart lodged in her throat. Trent’s den held wall-to-wall women. Try as she would, she couldn’t make sense of it. “I’ve never been to a surprise Tupperware party,” she said. The room erupted with laughter.

Trent leaned down and whispered in her ear. His nearness shouldn’t turn her knees all wobbly, but it did. “This isn’t a Tupperware party, Annie. It’s a shower for the twins.”

“A shower? Are you kidding me?”

“This is for real.”

Annie spotted a table loaded with gifts, and two and two suddenly equaled four.

“Welcome, our guest of honor,” Rosa said as she came to embrace Annie.

Sara appeared out of nowhere. “Right this way, mommy-to-be.”

“So you knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Annie asked her turncoat friend.

Sara giggled. “It took great discipline, but I managed.”

“I’m shocked. How did you manage to...”

“Ask your cowboy,” Sara whispered. “He’s responsible.”

Annie glanced at Trent, who leaned against the doorframe watching her. His eyes held more heat than a sidewalk in August.

But his expression reflected more than attraction; it showed pride as well. Annie swallowed hard as she reined in her jumbled emotions.

Rosa ushered Annie to an overstuffed chair in the center of the room. “Sit here, where everyone can see you.”

Annie covered her face as embarrassment hit. “But I’m huge. Can’t you hide me in a corner somewhere? Or stuff me in the closet?”

More laughter. As Annie took her seat, she spotted teachers and secretaries from her school. Even the head of maintenance had come. Several Hispanic ladies about Rosa’s age mingled with her colleagues.

Then Annie spotted her next-door neighbor. “Et tu, Mrs. Higginbotham? Can’t I trust anyone?”

“Certainly not me,” Mrs. H said, causing more giggles to erupt.

Rosa smiled. “Welcome, everyone. Today we’re celebrating Annie and her twins. And we’ll start with a game. Ready, Sara?”

When they finished the game, Rosa said, “Time to open the presents.” Sara placed a brightly wrapped package in Annie’s hands.

And open presents she did. Inside were receiving blankets, sleepers, crib sheets, bibs, and towels. Annie oohed with pleasure over each gift.

Frequently she had to blink back tears of joy. When several of the teachers had offered to throw her a shower, she’d refused because the trauma she’d dealt with in relationship to Brad had made Annie want to be totally independent. To manage her life and her new family all by herself. If she had, her babies would have missed out on so much. But now, the twins wouldn’t do without, after all. They’d have everything they needed. Thanks to Rosa and Sara.

But mostly thanks to Trent. If the man hadn’t accepted Brad’s challenge, there would be no shower. And as angry as he could make her, he’d initiated all the good things happening to her. Without him she’d be car-less, crib-less, and without clothing for the babies.

While Annie felt deeply grateful for all Trent had done, she was becoming far too attached to him. The time had come to release him from his obligation.

Annie sighed. Her heart ached just thinking about it.

Trent planned to leave as soon as Annie settled into his favorite chair. But he couldn’t drag himself away. From his seat at the kitchen table, he had a bird’s-eye view of the guest of honor. Annie looked like a princess on a throne surrounded by a court of attendants.

Her cheeks looked pinker than the sweetheart roses in his side yard. And she glowed. When she opened a soft yellow blanket and held it to her cheek, Trent’s heart ached with longing. They would part soon. Very soon. How could he move on without Annie in his life? Did he even want to?

In spite of his efforts to stay detached, his heart now belonged to Annie Samuels. But he couldn’t tell her that. The strong-willed woman barely tolerated his company. For some folks, independence was an admirable trait; for Annie it was a way of life.

She opened a set of crib sheets that Rosa had bought after consulting with Trent. “Just look at these darling animals,” Trent heard Annie say. “I love them all, especially the monkeys.”

Funny. He’d thought a houseful of women would invade his space and drive him crazy. He was wrong. As he’d watched each carload arrive and women of all ages tumble into his kitchen, Trent felt excited. Each one had come for Annie. And each one brought along a smile, a hug, and a gift.

Trent poured another cup of coffee and listened. He tried to pick Annie’s voice from the noisy confusion. Or her laughter. And he could. Annie had laughed more this past hour than in all the time he’d known her. While he liked everything about Annie, her laughter captured his heart.

When she opened the last package, Trent slipped out of the house. He’d told Annie he wouldn’t stay for the shower. If she knew he’d watched her open every gift she would strangle him. Bare-handed.

Trent headed for the corral but was in no mood to train Wildfire. His mind had made a shift from horses to babies. He sighed. His identity was slipping away with alarming speed.

Finally the women left and the only vehicles remaining were Sara’s Saturn and Pete. Funny. The name Pete fit the little Volkswagen to perfection. Trent shook his head. Naming cars now seemed like normal behavior to him.

He headed back to the house, figuring he’d help Annie load the gifts. When he reached the kitchen door, it swung open and Sara stepped out. “That was one awesome baby shower,” she said.

“Thanks to you.”

“You and Rosa deserve the credit. I just helped. The afternoon was a delight from start to finish.” To Trent’s surprise, Sara reached out and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for being good to my best friend.”

Before he could reply, Sara headed for her car and waved as she pulled away.

Trent went inside hoping Annie wouldn’t throttle him for entering his own house. You never knew what that woman might do!

“There you are,” Rosa said. “Annie’s in the den admiring her gifts. I planned to help her pack up, but my daughter called and needs a babysitter.”

“You run along. I’ll help Annie. And thanks, Rosa. Thanks for everything.”

“You mean for goading you into the shower?”

He grinned. “Even for that. And for baking and organizing.”

“I loved every minute of it. See you tomorrow.”

Trent bent and kissed Rosa’s cheek. The gesture shocked him as much as it did her. All the hugging he’d observed at the shower must be contagious.

Rosa squeezed his shoulder. “You’re a good man, Mr. Trent. You’re like a son to me.”

Trent grunted a response as Rosa scurried out of the kitchen. Good thing she was leaving, or one of them might start blubbering. But her comment filled an empty place in his heart.

He took two glasses of lemonade into the den, where Annie sat on the floor picking up one gift after another. He’d never seen such radiance on her face.

“The twins made a haul,” he said.

“Didn’t they? Just look at all this. And the ladies brought two of everything.”

“Probably because you’re having twins.”

Annie giggled. “I know. But think of the money they spent. And they gave the gifts with so much love.”

“You’re easy to love, Annie Samuels.” The words slipped out of Trent’s mouth before he realized what he was saying.

Annie blushed. “That’s kind of you to say.”

“It’s not kind. It’s true.” Who could help but love Annie?

For a moment their gazes locked so tight Trent didn’t know if he could ever look away. He could stand here staring at Annie for the rest of his life and delight in the process.