Frisco Joe's Fiancee (7 page)

“I know. I’ll stay here and clean up the kitchen.”

“That’ll take a couple of hours with just you doing it. I don’t want you getting tired out.”

“I’ll be fine,” she told Delilah. “And then I’ll make dinner.”

Everyone turned to look at her. “I can read a recipe,” Annabelle insisted. “Don’t look so horrified. Truly. I’m happy to do it.”

“I’ll pull out something easy,” Delilah murmured. “It’s a good plan, Annabelle. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Emmie had finished her bottle, so Annabelle put her up on her shoulder to burp as she walked out toward the den. Frisco was piling logs beside the fireplace. “Don’t let this fire go out,” he told her.
“You and Emmie stay warm.” He scribbled a number down on a piece of paper. “This is my cell number. If you need anything, call. I can be here in twenty minutes.”

She took the paper, her fingers touching his so that she practically snapped her hand back as if static had sparked between them. “Frisco, you don’t have to take care of me.”

He looked at her as he shoved wool-lined gloves into his jacket. “I don’t have to help take care of the town, either, but I will.”

So she was a responsibility, a guest in his home he had to care for as host. “I see. Well, consider me fully cared for.”

His lips twisted at her in a wry smile. “You’re the most difficult woman to understand I have ever met. Besides Mimi.”

She raised her brows. “And I never met a man before who made a study out of being hard-headed.”

He filled a thermos with hot coffee from the entry table. “Eleven of my brothers fit that description. I’m the gentle one. If I don’t get a check-in call from you in four hours, I’m coming back.”

“I’ll call you!” she agreed hastily. “Goodness, Frisco. You don’t have to worry about me so much!”

“I’m worried about you burning dinner. You may
need instructions for turning on the stove.” With a mischievous wink, he went out the front door.

“Devil!” she said under her breath to Emmie.

“But you’ve gotta admit,” Delilah said as she refilled the coffee pot, “he’s a handsome one.”

“I don’t have to admit that at all.” And she wouldn’t, either. The disaster that had hit Union Junction didn’t deter her from her course of action. She might not be able to leave, but she sure wouldn’t let her heart get away from her again, either.

She crumpled up the paper with Frisco’s number, and then remembered his words. She put it carefully into her pocket.

Four hours. She glanced at the clock, marking the time so that she’d call at the right hour. No way was she giving Frisco any reason to come back to check on her.

Emmie protested a little when Annabelle laid her on the bed, but it was such a sweet sound that she smiled down at her baby.

Tom had never called to check on his newborn daughter, and he’d never called to see if Annabelle was feeling all right during her pregnancy. As soon as she’d told him about the baby, it seemed his heels had caught on fire with his rapid departure.

“He doesn’t know how adorable you are,” she told the baby as she removed the wet diaper. “He doesn’t know how precious.”

But Frisco seemed to know it. And he had no reason to care.

Yet he seemed to.

“Can I get you anything, Annabelle?”

She turned to see Mimi looking around the door. “No, thanks, Mimi. You go ahead and help with the clean-up. I’ll hold the fort here.”

Mimi blinked at her, then glanced at the baby in Frisco’s bed. “If you want to stay at my house tonight, you know you’re welcome.”

“Oh. Thank you. I may do that.” She’d planned on leaving; maybe going to Mimi’s house would allow Frisco to stop feeling as if she was his guest, and therefore, his ward.

“I’ll leave the back door open in case you find there’s something you need for cooking dinner that Mason doesn’t have here.”

“Is that safe?”

Mimi smiled. “No one messes with the Jefferson brothers. Too many hair-trigger tempers.”

“Oh, dear.” Annabelle wasn’t certain if she was comforted or worried by that piece of information.

“Besides, the ice is going to make it impossible for normal vehicles to travel. It’s going to be trucks and sanding equipment on the road today. But if you need anything, you just go out the back door, walk across the stone steps—be careful of the ice—and the steps lead right to my back door.”

“Thank you.”

She wondered why sadness seemed to flash over Mimi’s face, but the blonde recovered, smiling brightly. “Well, I’m off to mop up.”

“It’s going to be a cold job. I don’t envy you.”

“And I don’t envy you the stacks of dishes in the kitchen. I estimate thirty-four people grabbed something to eat here, including my father, who’s never passed up good huevos rancheros in his life.” She raised her brows with a teasing smile. “Hope you like washing dishes.”

“It’s fine. Emmie’s going to take a nap, and then I’ll get started. Aren’t you going to nap, sweetie?” She sat on the bed, rocking the baby as Emmie’s eyes began to close.

“What is it like?” Mimi asked softly, her body arrested in the doorway.

“Heavenly.” Annabelle smiled at her. “The best thing that ever happened to me. Emmie’s all I’ve got, actually, but she’s everything I could ever have dreamed of.”

Mimi jerked her head in a nod of recognition. “I would have liked a baby.”

She left before Annabelle could reply, but it occurred to her that Mimi was expressing a wish that she didn’t seem to think would be fulfilled.

“I never did figure out how Annabelle ended up in your bed,” Laredo said as he heaved a bag of sand down from the back of Jerry’s rig.

Frisco tossed the sandbag onto the dam they were trying to build before looking at his brother. “I think she simply picked the room closest to the hall.”

“It wasn’t that she had designs on you?” Laredo asked with a grin.

Frisco shrugged, knowing nothing could be further from reality. If anything, Annabelle seemed to avoid him. There was certainly a firm wall there, firmer than this sandbag wall they were laying. “If she has designs on me, it’s a design I don’t recognize.”

“I wish she’d chosen my bedroom to move into.”

Frisco gave him a steady eyeing and took an extra minute before accepting the heavy sandbag his brother was trying to hand him. “Why?”

“She’s cute. And I like her.”

“Don’t waste any time thinking about it.”

Laredo grinned. “Why? You staking a claim?”

Frisco refused to let Laredo’s dig get to him. “She’s still talking about Emmie’s dad. I don’t think either of us has a chance.”

“Don’t tell me she’s still in love with him. Let me guess, he got what he wanted, left her high and dry, but she thinks he’s coming back any day now. Once he figures out his little daughter needs him.”

“I don’t think she’s that delusional. Or that she wants him back. I think she’s trying to figure out being a new mother and a single parent, though. She’s not really thinking about another man. Seems the one she had was enough for a while.”

“It’s such a shame when bad men mess up women for the rest of us.”

Frisco gave him a narrow stare. “I don’t remember you being a helluva catch yourself, bro. Weren’t you the one blabbering about moving east? Hearing what your name sounded like from the mouths of girls in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York? All those different accents you wanted to study in the flesh?”

Laredo coughed. “I might have been bragging a bit.”

“Just a bit. Considering I never thought the girls in all those states would be dumb enough to let you experiment on them. Only way I figured you’d hear
their accents was when they said, ‘You gotta be kiddin’, cowboy.”’

“Anyway, so what about Annabelle? Is it a hands-off kind of thing?”

Frisco quit heaving sandbags altogether to stare up at his brother. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Laredo shrugged. “She’s sweet.”

Frisco stared at him for a long moment. Then he went back to work. “Knock yourself out.”

“I don’t want there to be any hard feelings or anything.”

He shook his head. “There wouldn’t be. I’m not in the market for a woman. A wife doesn’t interest me, especially not with the added responsibility of a baby. I’ve got enough on my hands with the ranch. If I’m lucky, Mason won’t saddle me with buying the new cattle in the spring.”

“What’s up with you and Mason, anyway? The two of you have been at each other all winter.”

Frisco declined to reply.

“Is the ranch doing all right?”

“It’s doing better than we expected with the last two summers being so hot and beef prices being low. We were lucky corn and wheat prices stayed high enough for us to make a profit.”

“So what’s the deal with you two? You’re always quiet, and he’s always annoyed with you.”

“He’s got a lot of responsibility on him,” Frisco said mildly. “I understand that. There are twelve of
us, and though everyone’s old enough to take care of themselves, he considers himself the father figure and trustee.”

Mason
had
been the father after Maverick left. Taking his place had made Mason more authoritarian. In a way, Frisco was the first-born child, then, ready-made to want everything to go just right. He wanted to make changes, make the ranch better if possible. Mason wanted everything to stay the same, the way they’d always known it, under control.

Frisco wanted to do some things his way. Make his own mark. It made for instant conflict.

“Mason might like it if we all started settling down,” Laredo pointed out.

“Be my guest. I’ll throw rice at your wedding.”

Laredo held back the next sandbag so that Frisco had to look up at him. “You really aren’t interested in her, are you?”

Frisco shook his head.

Laredo sighed, handing him the bag. “Guess trying to make you jealous won’t work.”

“No.”

“I kind of thought Annabelle had a little shine in her eye for you.”

“That was a fleck of baby powder. The last thing Annabelle wants is a man. She’s trying to sort out her own life. And the last thing I want is a woman. I have enough fun watching Mimi and Mason try to survive each other. There’s enough vicarious plea
sure in that battle to put me off marrying for good. I mean, it just shows that no matter how many years you know a woman, you really don’t know her.”

Laredo laughed. “Mimi’s just Mimi. Different.”

Frisco grunted, going silent as he worked. Once upon a time, he’d wondered if he would ever find the right woman. He turned thirty-six and realized he was too old to be a real father. Just thinking about being a father turned his stomach inside out anyway. His role model was basically Mason, and they argued too much for normal sanity. He loved his brother, but they had two different ways of seeing life. Mason was careful. Frisco wanted to branch out some, test his mettle.

Yet, like the pipes that had burst, everything could change in a matter of seconds. He supposed Mason was right to be careful. There were ten younger brothers to think of, and though none of them were kids, they didn’t dare squander the family fortunes on experimentation. In his mind, he knew Mason was probably right, but the caution grated on him. “So, what about going east? You still thinking about it, Laredo?”

“Sure. I want to do something big in my life. I can’t really do that with three older brothers. If Mason doesn’t clamp me into place, you or Fannin will.”

“Not clamp exactly.”

“Clamp exactly. The Jefferson ship is a pretty tight one.”

Tightly run where the business was concerned; wild as wolves where everything else mattered. It was as if they all came together to run the business and fell apart when personal matters rose to the surface. They womanized. They caroused. Sometimes they drank to excess. They’d been known to hold a grudge and sometimes to exact revenge.

“Tight ship maybe, but we are not Texas’s most wholesome family. There’s plenty of room for you to do whatever you want to do, Laredo.”

“I didn’t say I needed to sow more wild oats. If I sow any more oats, my field’s gonna get harvested.” Laredo laughed at Frisco’s wry expression. “I said I wanted to do something big, and I don’t think I can do that in Union Junction. I figure I’m gonna have to go away to do it.”

“Come back a hero?”

“I don’t have to be a hero for anyone but myself.”

Frisco snorted. “Then what’s the point?”

“The point is that I’d know. I would know that I had reached a higher potential.”

It was no different from his chafing about expanding the business, Frisco supposed. All the brothers had wandering feet to some extent. His own grouchiness was due to the feeling of being penned-in.

Glancing at his watch, he realized it was nearly time to get the call from Annabelle. He did think Annabelle was cute, though he’d told his brother differently. He just didn’t want to think about her too much. Until she left the ranch, he felt responsible for her and Emmie, but after that, life would go back to normal for him.

Pausing as he bent over, he realized she had put a crack in his boredom. He’d been a trifle relieved when the roads had been closed, though he’d been careful not to show that he’d welcome an extra day to get to know her.

That was a heavy admission for his conscience.

“What the hell are you doing, Frisco?”

Laredo was looking at him strangely. Frisco tossed the bag down and stood, glaring.

“I was laying a bag. What the hell did it look like I was doing?”

“I don’t want to say, but you being stooped over and stuck like that was kinda weird. It looked like you’d gone into a trance. Is your back going out?”

“Why would my back go out?” Frisco demanded, becoming supremely annoyed.

“Because you’re thirty-six. Let’s switch. You hand me the bags, and I’ll lay them.”

“I’m fine! Mind your own business.” It wasn’t a pain in his back that had hit him; it was the pain of realizing Annabelle was on his mind for the thirtieth time that day, and it was still early.

“I’m getting down. You come up here.” Laredo hopped down from the trailer.

“Get your butt back up there! I said I’m
fine.
”

“Quit being stubborn. It’s time we changed places. You’re going to be sore as all heck tomorrow, and we’re going to have to keep laying for some time. Don’t be pigheaded.”

“I’m not. If you don’t get back up in that truck, Laredo, I’m going to squash you like a bug.”

“I don’t think so, since you’re the one who can’t stand up straight.” Laredo did a fake boxing, punch counter-punch in the air. “I could go rings around you, bro.”

Frisco could no longer contain his irritation. “I
am
going to squash you, Laredo. You’ve been needing a good hammering all winter, and I’m—”

Laredo landed a soft punch to his chest, by gosh, it was a baby one, just playful, Frisco knew, even as he felt himself slipping on an ice patch and falling toward the river. A little tap like that shouldn’t have thrown him, but the next thing he knew, he was tumbling down the embankment, rolling over rocks and boulders on his way to the rushing water. A sharp pain went through his leg, and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back and a white-haired, red-cheeked Santa Claus in work clothes was staring into his face.

“You all right?” Santa asked him.

“I’m fine, Santa, sir,” Frisco said. “Where’s your sleigh?”

“Oh, hell,” Santa said.

“You’re not supposed to swear. The elves might start using bad language, and then what would Mrs. Claus say?” Frisco said.

“Mrs. Claus…uh, okay, Frisco. Hang on, buddy. My name’s Jerry. You remember me, don’t you?”

Frisco thought so, but he wasn’t sure. There were stars in his head and blinding pain in his leg, and suddenly, he didn’t care if Santa cursed anymore or not because he was probably going to let out a good-sized string of dictionary-excluded words himself.

“Frisco! What the hell happened?”

He opened his eyes to see Laredo staring down at him. Now that was a mug he recognized. “Laredo, you dumb-ass. You pushed me down the dam.”

“Can you move your arms?”

“Of course.” Frisco tried to show him, but he felt awfully weak.

“All right. We’ll call Doc Gonzalez. He’ll be here in a minute, and you’ll be all set up good as new. Don’t move, okay, Frisco?”

Frisco wanted to shrug, but he was tired and cold. His phone rang and he remembered Annabelle was supposed to call him to tell him she was all right.

“Guess I should have been the one to call and
tell her I was all right,” Frisco said to no one. “She’s fine, and I’m not.”

“Who do you want to call?” Santa-Jerry asked him.

“No one. She’s bad luck. I should have known she was bad luck. Women are, you know.”

“Uh, that’s right, Frisco. Whatever you say. Did someone get ahold of Doc Gonzalez?”

Why did Laredo sound so worried? He felt someone pull the phone from his pocket.

“Hello?” he heard Laredo say. “Hey, Annabelle. Glad to hear things are fine. Sandwiches if we want them? Well, you know what? We might be coming back to the house in about thirty minutes or so, so if you’ve got sandwiches and coffee out, that would be great. Frisco’s had a little, um, fall. I think he’s fine, but unless Doc Gonzalez says he needs to get checked out at the hospital, we may leave him at home with you. Would you mind having two babies to take care of?”

“Shut the hell up, Laredo,” Frisco said, his head clearing enough to realize he was the butt of a joke.

“Thanks, Annabelle. We’ll see you soon.”

The phone was shoved back into his pocket. “I like a woman who does what she’s told. She called right on time,” Frisco said.

“Oh, boy. Come on, Doc.”

“If women did what they were told, this would be a peaceful society,” Frisco continued.

“Oh, my Lord. It’s going to be Armageddon at the ranch. I hope Doc’s got something that’ll shut your stupid mouth, Frisco, ’cause you’re sure as hell going idiot on me.” Laredo leaned down to feel his hands. “Are you cold?”

“I’ve got moving blankets in the back of the truck,” Jerry said. “Hang on.”

“My leg hurts,” Frisco complained.

“We know. Just lie still.”

A heap of blankets landed on his chest, and Frisco decided he felt much warmer. Of course, Emmie had felt better, but she wasn’t here right now. She was at home, nice and toasty, where she belonged.

“You coulda broke my arm, Laredo. And then how would I hold Emmie?” he wondered.

“Jeez” was all the reply he got. He heard boots stamping, and then the pain in his leg hurt so bad he suddenly went lights-out.

A
NNABELLE GASPED WHEN
Laredo, Tex and Jerry brought a barely-cursing Frisco inside. “Is he all right?”

“He’s fine. Just ornery and unhappy and maybe a bit cold,” Laredo told her. “Is it easier to keep an eye on him upstairs or downstairs?”

“The baby sleeps upstairs. Might as well put him up there, too. Maybe Frisco will feel better in his own bed.” She watched as the brothers gingerly carried Frisco, mosh-pit style, up the stairs and turned
to the left. Gently, they laid him down next to the sleeping Emmie.

“Don’t you dare wake that baby, Frisco,” Laredo commanded in a soft voice. “No grunts, no groans.”

“We’re going to need a baby monitor,” Tex said, “so that Annabelle doesn’t have to run up here every two seconds to take care of Frisco. The baby will give her less trouble than him.”

“Shut up,” Frisco said, but his voice was weary and Annabelle was pretty certain he was hurting more than he let on.

“It’s okay. He’ll be fine,” she said. “Won’t you, Frisco?”

“Annabelle, Annabelle, my country ’tis of thee,” he sang. “Shake your groove thing, I’m your boogie man!”