“I’m sorry. I should have said goodbye before I left.” But I wasn’t prepared to expose my breasts to half of Bakersville. “It was rude of me. I…er…” Of course, her mother was a perfect excuse. “I got a phone call from my mother. She flew in unannounced to see me. So of course I had to go.”
“I understand. You could have brought her to the party after you picked her up.”
“I didn’t want to impose.”
“You’ll never be an imposition, Annie.”
“That reminds me, actually. My mother’s leaving tonight, and I need to drive her to the airport. Seraphina and I were supposed to get together and cook. Could you let her know I can’t make it?”
“Sure. No problem.” Dusty looked at her quizzically. “Is everything all right? You seem a little…off.”
“I’m okay.”
“Do you want to talk?”
“I can’t leave my mother alone with Chad and Zach.”
“Heck, she’ll be fine. The two of them can make anyone feel welcome.”
“No, it wouldn’t be right.” But Annie did need to talk to someone, and Dusty was her only friend in Bakersville. “Can we talk tonight?”
“Sure. You want to come by after you drop off your mom?”
“Dusty, that’d be great. Thank you.”
“No problem. Now, let’s go have lunch with these handsome men.”
Annie smi
led. Such a sweet girl. Lucky her. She’d snagged the nice brother.
* * *
“What is it?” Dallas asked his ranch foreman, Tuck Taylor.
“I’ve got a few dead cattle here, and several more sick ones. I’ve already asked around. It just started today.”
“Shit. All right, let me have a look.”
The dead cattle carcasses lay in a cluster, close together. The sick ones were frothing at their mouths and twitching. “Look over there, Tuck,” Dallas said, motioning. “A few of them are staggering.”
“That’s how these started, boss.”
“Jesus. What the hell is going on?” He moved toward a dead steer and ran his hands over the flanks. “Wait. This one’s breathing,” he said. “He’s in a coma.” He turned to another. “So’s this one.” One more. “This one’s dead, though.”
“I’m thinking you should call the vet, Dallas.”
Annie? The person he wanted to see most in the world, and the person he didn’t want to see most in the world. The duel inside him was exhausting. Slow, painful torture. “I’ll call Chad. He’ll know what to do.”
* * *
“I’ve never had a better steak, Mr. McCray,” Sylvia DeSimone said, wiping her mouth on her napkin. “And I love this western hospitality. People aren’t nearly this friendly in Jersey, are they, hon?”
Annie laughed. “Only if they owe you money. Of course they avoid you like the plague in that case, but they’re pretty friendly when they run into you.”
Beethoven interrupted their meal. Chad pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “Dallas,” he said. “The fool can wait.”
“It might be important, Chad,” Dusty said.