Page 14 of More Than a Fling

Shaking his head at Slim’s abrupt departure, he rode back to the barn. After a quick brush and several treats, he watched Gill gallop to join the rest of the herd. Returning to the tack room, which also served as an office, he put on a pot of coffee and sat at his desk.

Without consciously knowing it, sometime during his short ride he had decided to submit his resume and accept the offer to work with this troubled filly, unless Zane advised against it. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. It had the potential to shoot him to the top of the list of trainers and that would be a dream come true for Gabe.

7

With the bachelorette weekend behind her, Annie’s life was back to status quo, meaning working her butt off at the salon. Taking a Saturday off for the lakeside retreat had set her schedule back, and she had added extra appointments in to accommodate her clients. It did make the time fly; it was already Thursday.

A week from Saturday, her friend would be tying the knot.Another one bites the dust.Everyone else had already left for the day and she sat at the front counter in a slight daze from fatigue. She knew she needed to get home to the dogs, but she couldn’t rouse herself to move at that moment.

She was startled out of her trance by a movement at the front window of the salon. She remembered that she had locked the door behind Zoey when she had left, but she still jumped slightly when she saw a face peering in at her. It only took a moment for her to realize who it was, and her fear quickly turned into annoyance.

He was aware the second she noticed him, and he waved a large bouquet of roses at her through the front window while wearing his most charming expression. Pantomiming for her to unlock the door and let him in, she shook her head no. Annie picked up the phone and pretended to be talking into the receiver smiling at Bradley and shrugging as if to say, ‘sorry busy with work what can I do?’

He held up the flowers and again motioned for her to open the door. By this time Annie had convinced herself she was being silly and paranoid—after all this was Bradley, a cop, her ex-lover, someone she had loved and spent several years with. What was wrong with her? She was starting to let everyone’s opinion get to her. She knew him and knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She walked over to the door and unlocked it for him, and he quickly entered and thrust the flowers toward her.

“Hey Annie.”

She reluctantly took the roses from him. “Bradley, I can’t accept these. You must stop. It’s over.” she said.

Bradly ignored her and continued, “I have been really worried about you. You haven’t been home in almost a week.”

“Are you following me? That is not okay. Do you understand me?” Annie said.

“No, I am not “following” you, I drove by your townhouse several times on my patrol duty and noticed that your car hasn’t been there. Don’t get paranoid on me.”

“I threw a bachelorette party for Abbey at the lake last weekend, so I was away,” she said, not elaborating about her house-sitting gig for Darcy.

“Annie, I’m lost without you. I need to feel you in my arms again,” he said. He grabbed Annie’s arm and pulled her into his embrace. He hugged her tightly to his chest while nuzzling her neck. The flowers were crushed as she tried to wedge her hands against his chest to push against him.

“Bradley, let me go!” she said.

“One kiss, please,” he said while capturing her chin and forcing his lips against hers.

“I saidno!” Annie yelled as she pushed with all her might and was finally able to escape from his clutches. “Get out now.” she commanded. “Now!” Annie pointed at the door. Glancing down at the flowers which were now a pile of scattered petals and broken stems at her feet, she felt a chill go up her spine.

“Annie, what’s gotten into you? This is all your sister. I can hear her voice. This isn’t you… I know you better,” he said.

“O-U-T!” She replied threateningly.

“Okay, I’m out of here. Wow Annie you have really changed, and not for the better,” he said.

“It is long overdue” she replied firmly, locking the door behind him.

* * *

After waiting a half hour, Annie left the salon, heading home to Darcy’s place. She vigilantly watched for any signs that she was being followed and was convinced that she hadn’t been. After deactivating the alarm, she crouched down to greet Freddie, Fannie, and Mac, her three roommates.

They were all twists and wiggles as they exuberantly welcomed their aunt. She let them outside and then went directly to Darcy’s bedroom to see if her sister kept a gun in the bedside drawer. This act alone proved she was more rattled than she had realized, because she loathed guns.

She gave a sigh of relief upon finding that it was still there. Darcy had taken her out to a firing range several times in the past, but she still couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Yet knowing that she at least knew how to use it, if she had to, gave her some comfort. She only prayed that she would never have to.

As she fed the dogs her cell phone rang. Annie let it go to voicemail. She would check it later. The canines gobbled their dinner in record time and Annie, who had stuck a frozen pizza in the oven for herself, dug in. Throwing some pieces of crust to her attentive audience made her laugh out loud as their unblinking eyes watched her every move.

“Okay guys let’s go outside one more time and then curl up together and watch some TV,” she said.

Twenty minutes later they were all piled up on the sectional couch to watch reruns ofThe Gilmore Girls.She had slipped into her PJs, an oversized tee shirt and patterned cotton boxer shorts. She stretched her long legs out in front of her and propped several pillows behind her head. Fannie nestled in next to her and rested her head on Annie’s lap to stare up at her with her big brown eyes.

“Your Mama will be home before you know it girl,” she said. She could tell they were a bit confused by Annie now sitting where Darcy normally sat. Fannie wagged her tail as if she understood what Annie was telling her then closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

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