Somebody Like You (29 page)

Thank God Babs had been fooling around on the computer and found it. According to his contact, the clip had only been up for two hours. Even one second was too long, but it sure as hell could have been worse.

He’d scratched the paparazzi off his list of suspects right away. With the cameras and lenses they used, the quality would have been far superior. Most telling, though? It had been on YouTube, and those guys didn’t give anything away. If one of them had taken the video, they’d have been able to retire for life.

He thought back to that day. The ride. The picnic lunch Rosie’d packed.

The spat he and Vivi had on the porch when he refused to take her along.

And he knew.

Damn her hide. This was Vivi’s style. Spiteful and childish.

It had taken every bit of courage Annelise had to leave the house. All her resolve to pull herself together. This meeting was bigger than her shame, though. Bigger than her disappointment—both in whoever had filmed her and in herself for the way she’d treated Cash.

Yesterday had been so wonderful. She’d started to rethink her plan to go home, her need to turn tail and run. Didn’t she owe him another chance? Maybe she could travel back and forth between Boston and Texas. Split her time between Grandpa and Cash.

Her behavior this morning, though, had destroyed all hope
. She
didn’t deserve another chance.

Caught up in her thoughts, she nearly missed her turn.

Cornelia Montjoy Whitney was sitting in a rocker on the front porch when she pulled up.

She turned off the truck, the one Cash had lent her yesterday—before she’d been so awful, took a deep, deep breath, and climbed out. “Good morning, Ms.—”

“Nelly, Annie. Please. Do an old woman a favor and call me what my friends do. After all, it appears we’re family.”

She blinked back tears. With the mood she was in it wouldn’t take much to send her off on another crying jag. “Yes, Nelly, we are.” She stopped short of the porch and put her hands in the pockets of the capris she wore.

“I spoke with my grandfather this morning.”

“How is he feeling?”

“Good. He’s having a good day.”

“Did he ask how much I planned to extort from him in exchange for my bone marrow?”

Annelise’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth but closed it without saying anything.

Nelly surprised her by laughing. “He did. It’s all over that pretty face of yours. I hope you set him straight—and that you never try to play poker for a living.” Her smile faded. “I sincerely hope after our talk yesterday you don’t think that of me.”

“No, ma’am, I don’t, and I told my grandpa that in no uncertain terms.”

“I’ll bet you did.” She picked at the skirt of the simple cotton dress she wore today. “I’ve been studying Vincent’s photo. The one you gave me.”

Nelly sat up a little straighter. “I can’t call myself a Christian woman anymore if I refuse to do this. I’ve followed your grandfather in the news. He’s done our father proud.” Her voice trembled slightly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t hold his father’s sins against him. He was no more to blame for what happened than I was.”

Annelise held her breath. Could it be? Would Cornelia agree to help?

“I see you didn’t drive that big bike here today.”

“No, Cash lent me his truck.”

“Good. Then I suppose you won’t mind driving me into town. I called Doc Wilson at his house last night.” She shot a look at Annelise. “Doc Wilson treats people, not horses. He promised to fit me in today. Let me get my purse, and you can drive me in for this blood test you’re so set on. We’ll see what happens from there.”

Grinning, Annelise rushed up the porch stairs and grabbed the oh, so reluctant aunt of hers in a huge hug. “Thank you. Oh, thank you so, so much!”

Driving into town, dust billowing behind them, Rufus and Silas at a discreet distance, Annelise said, “Please don’t hate my grandfather.”

“Why would I hate him?”

“Well…” Annelise shrugged.

“Because he had my father?” Nelly asked. “Because he carried the Montjoy name?”

Annie glanced at her. “Yes, I guess.”

“I don’t hate him. I knew my father loved me. Deep down inside, he loved me.” She twisted the catch of the purse on her lap. “I think, though, that Vincent doesn’t like me very much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent my letter back.”

“He saw you with his father, you know.” And Annelise told the older woman the story her grandfather had shared with her that morning.

Cornelia sighed. “Driller hurt us all.”

T
he screen door banged shut behind Cash.

“Vivi? You here?”

Rosie peeked her head around the kitchen door. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why don’t you take a pitcher of iced tea over to Hank? Sit down at the picnic table behind the barn and shoot the breeze with him a bit?”

“But I’ve got—”

Temper, barely controlled, wrestled to escape. “Is she up there?” He jerked his chin at the second floor.

“Yes.”

“Great. The two of us need to have ourselves a talk. And I need you to leave the house for a bit.”

“Cash, I’ve never seen you like this. You’re not going to do something you’ll regret?”

“My only regret, Rosie, is that I didn’t confront her months ago.” He looked into her frightened eyes. “I won’t touch her.”

Rosie walked down the hall to him and laid her hand on his arm. “I know you won’t. You’re a gentleman through and through.”

“Sure wish others were as convinced of that as you are.”

“You talking about Annie? You two have a misunderstanding?”

“More than that. Way more than that.”

“Fix it.”

“I wish I could. Now skedaddle, will you?”

“Believe I’ll just go out the front door here. Hank’s always got cold soda in the fridge over there.”

“Thanks.”

She patted his arm and left.

“Vivi!”

“Geez, Cash.” Her voice floated down from upstairs. “You could raise the dead with all that bellowing. What’s wrong with you?”

“Come down here.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Then I’ll come up there.”

“I’m not dressed.”

“Really? Well, then, how about I bring my camera along? See if I can get some photos or maybe a video. You can show me how to post them on YouTube.”

When she didn’t answer, he asked, “Cat got your tongue?”

“You’re—you’re—”

“I think pissed is the word you want.” He ran his hand along the old oak banister. “You messed up, Vivi. Big time.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do. Did DeWitt help you?”

“I repeat, I don’t—”

“That’s okay. You don’t want to tell me, fine. You can take all the heat yourself. What you did was illegal.” He hesitated. Hated to ask. Had to know. “Do you have any other videos or pictures?” He held his breath.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice was petulant.

“Damn it, Vivi. Do you have any more?” He pounded his fist on the railing.

“No! I left right after—I mean—”

He wet his lips, relief flooding him. “You listen, and you listen good. If
anything
else surfaces, I’ll see you rot in jail.”

When she remained silent, he said, “My last offer is still on the table. You sell me your interest in the ranch at that price and go away, and I won’t have you arrested.”

“You and Annie are used to doing that, aren’t you? Throwing your money around. Getting your own way.”

“Vivi, you’re the one who stepped over the line here. You violated—in the worst way possible—Annie’s privacy. I don’t make a habit of throwing my weight around, but this time? I’ll make an exception. Thing is, though, this offer’s only good for five minutes, and the clock’s ticking.”

T
his should have been one of the happiest days of her life. She and Nelly, who’d turned out to be a near-perfect match for her grandfather, were flying back to Boston. Her wildest expectations had been met.

Yet as the tires hummed along the pavement, Annelise stared out the window at the passing scenery and saw nothing. This ride to the airport was the longest of her life. Cash had insisted on driving them, but now he sat behind the wheel moody and silent.

She wanted to scream and rail at the dispassionate strangers they’d become. The last real conversation they’d had had been over the phone. He’d told her Vivi had taken the video and then sent it to DeWitt, who’d uploaded it to the Internet using a hacked account.

Cash and she had agreed that the publicity would outweigh any good that could come of pressing charges, and that had been that.

Annelise had spoken to Rosie a few times while they’d waited for the results of her aunt’s blood test, but she’d made excuse after excuse, fabricating reasons she couldn’t see Cash. Though it had broken her heart, she’d even quit going to work at the ranch.

She and Cash simply weren’t made for each other. It had nothing to do with her money or social status. He had all that, too. Maybe not to the extent she did, but he and his family were far from paupers. Their family name was on the Who’s Who list in Texas.

And the problem between them had nothing whatsoever to do with physical compatibility. They were totally in sync on that level. The man made her body sing.

Emotionally, though, they were total opposites. Yin and yang.

Her stay in Maverick Junction had taught her just how much she wanted someone to love, someone who loved her. A partner for life. Someone who would trust her. Whom she could trust back. They couldn’t quite seem to get there. Not enough for Cash to move beyond the caring and into loving. Not enough to want her by his side for life.

As they turned into the airport, she said, “Drop us off at the curb, Cash. There’s no reason for you to park.”

“I’ll help you with your luggage.”

“A porter can do that. And Silas is with us.”

“Okay.”

He slid the SUV to the curb and hopped out, rounding the hood to open her door. But he didn’t take her hand to help her out. Silas helped Cornelia from the backseat, then moved to the rear to unload their luggage.

“We need to talk, Annie.”

“Cash—”

“Silas,” Cash said. “Do you mind dealing with that and helping Nelly inside? I need a minute with Annie.”

The two men exchanged looks.

“You got it,” Silas said. “I’ll be right inside, Ms. Montjoy.”

She nodded. When she turned back to Cash, his eyes searched her face.

“Annie, I know you need to go home. I understand that.”

He hesitated, and she saw uncertainty in his eyes. Cash, who always knew what to do, what to say, was at a loss. She wanted to touch him. Didn’t dare. She’d break into a thousand shards.

“This is more than that, though, isn’t it?” he asked. “This is good-bye.”

Unsure of her voice, she nodded.

“Why?”

“We’ve been through this. There’re a myriad of reasons. I need more. More than you want to give me. Thanks to you, I understand I deserve more. You taught me that.”

“Annie, I—I care about you.”

“I understand that, Cash. And even knowing that, I didn’t trust you when I should have. I knew deep-down you hadn’t made that video. And still, I accused you. I let us both down.”

“Because I didn’t give you reason to trust. I’ll make it up to you.”

Tears shimmered. “Oh, Cash.” Her voice broke. “I can’t do this.”

“Don’t leave me, darlin’.”

“I have to. I love you, Cash.” She saw the shock, the surprise. “I know you don’t love me back. I understand you can’t. I don’t understand why, but that doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

With a sad smile, she raised her hand, brushed it along his stubble-rough cheek. “Good-bye.”

With that she turned. Self-preservation had her nearly running into the terminal. She made herself move forward; she didn’t dare look back. If he was still there, she’d go to him. Settle for whatever he could give her until he decided to move on.

He’d made it more than clear, over and over, that he wasn’t ready to make a commitment. She couldn’t go on without one.

Half an hour later, the pilot gave Annelise a thumbs-up, and the engines roared to life. Within minutes, their private jet lifted into the air.

Face pressed to the window, she watched the buildings grow smaller and smaller. Was he staring up at the sky, waiting till the plane disappeared from sight? Or had he turned the minute she left, eager to get back to the ranch, to his life?

He’d think about her. She knew he would.

And yet her cowboy hadn’t been able to pull the trigger. He couldn’t make promises. He’d said he cared for her. Not enough, because while she hadn’t been looking, she’d fallen head over heels in love with him, and she wanted to be loved right back. She refused to settle for less.

His grandfather had sure botched things with that will and the Vivi fiasco.

Cash couldn’t see beyond it. Couldn’t recognize love because all he could see were the chains of obligation.

So, somehow, someway, she had to pick up the pieces and move on. Work around this gigantic hole he’d left in her heart.

Annelise picked up her phone and called her grandfather. “We’re in the air, and we’ll be in Boston by noon.”

“I’ll be right here waiting for you,” he groused.

The confinement had been hard for him. Once Cornelia had been deemed a match, he’d had to go back to the hospital. Back to solitary confinement, as he put it. In order to receive his half sister’s marrow, his own had to be destroyed with chemotherapy and radiation treatments. They couldn’t mix the good with the bad.

But that left him lacking an immune system and susceptible to any and all germs. So, his new home was in a sterile hospital room in the isolation wing.

“I know this is hard for you.”

“They’ve killed my white blood cells. If Cornelia doesn’t come through…”

Annelise heard the fear in her grandfather’s voice.

“She’s not going to change her mind, Grandpa. She’s right here with me. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

“Are you ready for lunch, Ms. Montjoy?” Hilda, their flight attendant, stood with a tray for her.

Too worked up to be hungry, she declined lunch. “Why don’t you give mine to Silas? I’m sure he’ll be able to handle a second one.”

Hilda set it beside him. “If you change your mind, I have cheese and fruit, chips, whatever you’d like.”

“Thanks.” She sipped her coffee. “Do you need anything else, Nelly?”

“Oh, no. This is wonderful. I’ve never flown on a private jet. I believe I could get quite used to it.”

“I’m going to take a short nap if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. This has been a difficult morning for you.”

Annelise closed her eyes. Difficult? Now there was an understatement.

As badly as she was hurting, it was worse because she knew she’d hurt him, too. Ironically, Cash was the vulnerable one. So much more vulnerable than she. She’d learned to protect herself emotionally from a very young age. Early on, she’d blocked herself from the negatives the press threw her way, from the mind-boggling expectations that, in all honesty, were mostly self-imposed.

Cash had never learned to do that. Hadn’t needed to.

She imagined the whole YouTube mess had actually been harder on him than on her. And yet he’d handled it. For her.

He’d taken care of her. A single tear dripped from her chin to her hand.

Half-asleep, she let her mind drift. Remembered.

Her first impression of Maverick Junction. A dusty little town with no soul. So wrong.

Sally’s Place and that first long drink of iced tea.

Cash walking through that door, his long, lean body creating a hunger the second she saw him.

Big-hearted Dottie, in her pink outfit, welcoming her with milk and chocolate-chip cookies right out of the oven.

The sun kissing her naked body as she and Cash lay together by the pond.

Snuggled beside him under the stars at the drive-in, Staubach snoring in the backseat.

Dancing with Cash in Dallas, his hard body pressed close to her own.

Cash holding the young girl on the horse.

Annelise drifted off to sleep, not waking till the wheels of the plane touched down.

She was home.

And she’d never felt more alone.

Cash banged the door shut behind him so hard that Staubach started barking. “It’s okay, boy.” He reached down and patted him.

It had been three days since Annie’d left. He’d never been more miserable. He’d figured once she boarded that plane, he’d drive home and get on with his life.

He’d miss her, sure, but he’d move on. Problem was, it wasn’t happening.

He tried feeding himself a good dose of reality, telling himself that his and Annie’s lives had no common ground. She belonged to a family dynasty, for God’s sake. Annie—an oil baroness. Why would she even consider being with somebody like himself? A guy who worked hard every day, who enjoyed working hard every day.

There was no way Annie’d ever marry him—if he asked her, of course. Big assumption there, that he was ready to tie himself down.

Hell, even if she did agree to take him on, he couldn’t live her life. He didn’t want to even try. He couldn’t spend his life in suits and tuxes, always looking over his shoulder for the press, careful not to commit some major faux pas.

And she sure as hell wasn’t about to give that up to live his ranch life in Maverick Junction. Nor could he ask her to.

So there you go. He and Annie were over. And admitting that was like sticking a fork in his eye.

A beer in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, he kicked back in his recliner. After a couple of long, cool drinks, he set his Lone Star on the end table and picked up the remote.

He’d watch some TV. Maybe the Rangers were playing a little ball tonight.

They weren’t.

Cursing himself, calling himself every kind of fool, he clicked on his DVR.

And there was Annie staring out at him.

The press met her at the airport. The story had all the makings for good drama—her sick grandfather, the long lost relative, Annelise rushing home to his bedside with the answer to all their prayers.

Why he’d recorded it, he hadn’t a clue. None that he’d ’fess up to, anyway, even to himself. Why he watched it every night, over and over, he couldn’t say.

Or refused to.

It grew dark outside, but Cash didn’t bother to turn on any lights. There was his Annie, all decked out in her designer duds, looking for all the world like the heiress she was. Like one of the fairy princesses in his niece’s storybooks.

And damned if the Twitt wasn’t at the airport to greet her. The guy had more guts than brains. He knew he’d been found out, and he’d still showed up. Cash ground his teeth. When DeTwitt reached for Annie’s hand, she avoided it by digging into her purse as if searching for something. No doubt the two would have words later. Annie’d lay him out good.

“Keep your hands to yourself, you lout,” Cash grumbled, “or I’m gonna have to cross the continent to punch out your lights.”

“Speaking of lights.”

His mother flipped on the overhead, and he blinked, swore.

“Boy, for somebody who doesn’t care—”

He jerked out of his chair. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I figured as much.” She studied him. “You look like hell, son.”

“I feel like it, too. How about that?”

“Don’t bite off
my
head. It’s not me you’re mad at.”

Hands jammed in his pockets, he said, “Okay. I’ll play. Who am I mad at?”

“Yourself, of course.”

His mother moved into the kitchen, and he trailed after her. As she started stacking dishes and loading them into the dishwasher, he said, “Mom, you don’t have to do that.”

“No, I don’t. But I am your mother. I love you. And it’s about time we had a talk.”

“A talk? About what?”

“About that stupid old fool who fathered
your
father.”

“You want to talk about Grandpa?”

“Good.” She tipped her head at the bottle in his hand. “I see you haven’t had so many of those you can’t think.”

“This is my first one.”

“And it needs to be your last. You have a lot to do. Your dad and I will babysit Staubach. I’ll take him with me tonight.”

Now he was totally confused. “Why does Staubach need a sitter?”

He pulled out two chairs and dropped into one. “Quit fussing over there and come sit down. You’ve lost me. What does any of this have to do with Grandpa?”

Then he narrowed his eyes. “Does Dad know you’re here?”

“As a matter of fact, he does. I’m here with his blessings. He agrees with everything I’m going to say to you.”

He shrugged and tipped back in his chair.

“Leo never could stay out of anybody else’s business,” his mother said as she sat across from him. “Don’t get me wrong. I loved the man. He was like a second father to me. But we all know it was a mistake when he married Vivi and an even bigger one when he added that codicil to his will. He wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. We should have been on top of that. And we weren’t.”

“That’s—”

“Quiet.”

When his mother used that tone, he always did whatever she asked. Now was no exception.

She leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “Annie is the one, baby. I knew it the second I heard you say her name. When I saw the two of you in the stables after your ride, any doubts I might have had disappeared.”

He opened his mouth. She held up a hand, and he closed it again.

“You two are meant for each other. Don’t let her slip away because of Grandpa Leo.”

“It has nothing to do with him.”

“Oh, come on, Cash. I didn’t raise a dummy. Of course it does. You’re thinking you would never have considered marrying your Annie if Gramps hadn’t added that stupid stipulation. You’ve talked yourself into believing marriage is on your mind only because of that artificial deadline. That’s been settled now, and Vivi is gone. But you’re still sitting here in the dark, thinking about Annie. Missing her. So none of those arguments are valid. Your father and I watched you and Annie when you were anywhere near each other. What we saw on your faces was real. It’s time you put your grandfather’s foolishness to rest and pop the question.”