"What! Are you shitin' me? You married her? You hogtied yourself to a thief?"
Despite his frustration with Alligator, Jackson grinned at his friend's use of cowboy lingo with a New York accent.
"Yep. I married her so you can just keep your mouth shut about the missing money. A man can't testify against his wife. And anyway, we don't know for certain she took the money."
A string of profanities blasted Jackson's ear and he lifted his cell phone away from it. "Are you finished?" he finally asked.
"You've got it bad, buddy. It's your funeral." Alligator ended his tirade.
"Yeah, well, I'm crazy about her—always have been."
"Crazy about someone doesn't mean you have to marry them. My motto—sleep with them, don't marry them. As a matter-of-fact, I haven't heard you say you love her."
"I don't do love. My dad cured me of that. He was crazy in love with my mother and turned into a drunk after she left. When she died, he just withered away and died too. Nope, I adore Annie, but I'm not turning into a sap."
"If you ask me, it's too late."
"I didn't ask you. So, are you gonna leave what you know about Annie alone? Let me get to the bottom of what happened in my own time and in my own way?"
"I'll think about it."
"Alligator, I swear, if you don't leave this alone..."
"What? You'll come to New York and stomp me with your boots?"
"It will end our friendship." Before his friend could reply, Jackson hung up. Walking from the portico and back into the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, he navigated the hub of slot machines and gaming tables to the elevator and rode it to the Tower Suite on the twenty-eighth floor. Sliding his keycard to open the door and stepping into the luxurious room, he grinned at the sight of Annie wearing an oversized white terry cloth robe and standing in front of a huge window with incredible views. She turned and her smile melted his heart. He opened his arms and waited. She ran and launched herself into them. Nipping her ear, he said, "Good morning, Mrs. Martinez."
* * *
Ann relaxed with Sarah on her back porch. The twins were down for a nap and the two friends enjoyed a moment of quiet on a lovely summer day.
Sarah sipped her lemonade and shook her head. "I think it's awesome that you and Jackson are married."
Ann grinned. "I think it's pretty awesome, myself. He's a wonderful husband. Sometimes I want to pinch myself to see if I'll wake up."
Sarah swirled the ice cubes in her glass. "I have a confession to make."
Ann looked questioningly at her.
"Sage and I have been playing matchmaker with you and Jackson ever since you moved here."
"What! I thought you were trying to get him and Dixie together."
Sarah laughed. "That was just a ploy to make you jealous. We were afraid, however, that because you're so sweet, you'd actually try to get them together. Which, I might add, you did when you invited Dixie to lunch. Sage and I just about went crazy trying to rethink our strategy. Don't get me wrong, Dixie's a great gal, but you're the only one Jackson has eyes for. The man turns into goo whenever you're around."
"Well, I know he cares about me, but..." She sighed. "He's never told me he loves me. Maybe I was dumb to marry him, but I decided to just go for what I want, and I want him. Actually, I think I have enough love for both of us. We've been very happy these past two weeks."
"Has he told you much about his childhood?"
"Not too much. He doesn't seem to want to talk about it."
"From what Sage has told me, his mother ran off when he was in grade school. This is a small town and gossip travels. I guess his dad was a fine, upstanding man, but after his wife left, he started drinking and became the town drunk."
"Oh, goodness, he never shared that."
"Sage said Jackson told him his mother came around occasionally, and whenever she did, his father would beg her to return home, but she always refused, which sent his father into a worsening spiral. When Jackson was a teen, his mom died of cancer and that was the final blow for his dad. He shut himself away and drank himself to death within a matter of months. After that, Jackson lived in foster homes."
Ann glanced across the pasture toward distant hills. "Thank you for telling me. I understand now how difficult it must be for him to love unconditionally."
Sarah sipped her lemonade again. "Hey, I haven't told you the latest about Miles. He's settled into the cottage and said he's getting lots of work done, but he has upcoming deadlines. Because of that, he's looking for an assistant. He said he needs someone two hours a day to help with emails and other correspondence, and general day-to-day business. Are you interested?"
Ann gave her friend a surprised look. "As tempting as it sounds, I have my hands full at the Triple T. Besides that, I want to spend all my time with Jackson." Sipping her lemonade, she thought about their previous night of passion and blushed profusely.
Sarah smiled knowingly. "I can relate to that. So, who do you think would be good for the job?"
Ann tapped the side of her glass. When the answer popped into her head, she said, "Tooty!"
Sarah considered her suggestion. "I think you're right. Tooty can always use the extra money and she's really smart. Julie said she got all A's and B's in school. She could leave Harris with me to play with the boys while she works. It's only two hours a day. That's a great idea! I think I'll call her today to see if she's interested. She doesn't know that Miles is really Maxwell Henry. She's an avid reader and I'll bet she's read all his books." Sarah laughed. "She was the one who secreted my books to Julie when they were teenagers."
Ann laughed with her friend. "That's too funny!"