The Rancher's Reunion. Tina Radcliffe

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СКАЧАТЬ sure you are. I’ve been trying to wake you for the past five minutes.”

      Annie scooted to a sitting position, wishing she could extricate herself from the awkward intimacy of the small space.

      “I would have let you sleep, but I thought you might want to know when we got to the ranch.”

      “I do. I do. I’ve been waiting too long for this.” Pushing back her hair, she crooked her neck to see past the dash to the sky. Burgundy streaks twined across the blue velvet, weaving themselves between the golden clouds of sunset.

      Annie sighed. How many times over the past two years had she looked up at the night and paused, wondering what Will was doing in his part of the world?

      “Looks like we’re in for more rain,” he commented.

      “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight.”

      Will scoffed. “I don’t think so. Barometer’s dropping. Weatherman says eighty percent chance of precipitation. Bit late in the season. I’m hoping he’s wrong, but who knows? Might even get a good old-fashioned tornado for you.”

      Annie barely heard his response as her gaze took in the ranch’s entrance arch framed by the Oklahoma night. The black wrought-iron gates stood proudly; “Sullivan Ranch” was spelled out across the top in black letters, with a distinctive letter S.

      “You fixed the arch,” Annie said, delighted at the sight. She had never seen anything more beautiful.

      Will nodded.

      “When?”

      “’Bout a year ago.”

      “That long? It looks brand-new. Why didn’t you write and tell me?”

      “Why didn’t you come home?” His answer was a low rumble that resonated through Annie.

      “Now, Will, don’t start that again.” She knew the lecture by heart.

      Will’s mantra.

      Home? Yes, it was Will’s home, but she had no real right to call Sullivan Ranch home.

      He bristled. “You didn’t have to go halfway around the world to be a nurse.”

      “Are you questioning the call on my life?”

      “No, but why is it when God opens a door you feel the need to run through the next three?”

      Annie closed her eyes for a moment, regrouping.

      His tone became gentle. “Rose has missed you, Annie. You know you’re the daughter she never had.”

      What about you, Will? Did you miss me?

      She couldn’t ignore the frustration in his voice and countered with her own. “I know that, and I’m sorry. But Rose isn’t always going to be around to pick me up and dust me off.”

      “That’s just what I’m getting at. Rose isn’t getting any younger.” He rubbed his palm along his denim-clad thigh. “If you weren’t happy at St. John’s, why not work at another medical center in town? With the nursing shortage and all, you could have taken your pick.” He continued without pause. “For the life of me I cannot figure you out. They’re pulling Americans out of Kenyan refugee camps and you have to go in. Why can’t you ever do anything the easy way?” His fingers clenched the leather steering wheel. “Where will it be next? Siberia?”

      Annie turned and met his glance head-on. “I already checked. They don’t have any openings in Siberia.”

      He stared at her for a moment, before the tension finally eased from his broad shoulders and the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile. “Keep it up, smart-mouth.”

      “Will, you have to do what you have to do, and I have to do what I have to do. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.”

      “What are you running from?” Barely a whisper, his question floated to her.

      Silence stretched between them.

      Annie tipped her head back against the seat. Running? The man thought he had all the answers. This time he was much too close to the truth. “Will,” she pleaded.

      “Okay, you’re right. Now isn’t the time.” He let out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

      “I’ll say you are,” she said, taking a light tone again. “One sorry Sullivan.”

      “Hey, I’m trying to apologize here.”

      “You don’t need to apologize to me. Keep shooting straight. I count on that from you. Give me a few days. Let me rest, clear my mind and sharpen my wits, then we can have this conversation. Deal?”

      “Always have to have the last word.”

      She opened her mouth to protest, then clamped her lips shut.

      Will laughed.

      The sound warmed her like a quilt as her gaze found the May moon. So many stars. Was the sky really clearer here? Were stars really brighter? She released a deep breath of contentment.

      “Annie?”

      When she turned her head their eyes met in the moonlit truck.

      “I want you to know I’m proud of you.”

      She bowed her head, locking the words away to be savored later.

      Will reached out and strong fingers gently pushed the hair back from her face. “You’re wearing the earrings,” he said, his voice a husky murmur.

      Annie moved back imperceptibly; she wasn’t strong enough to feign indifference to his touch. She reached up to finger the pearl studs.

      They were a gift from Will her first Christmas at the ranch. She was only thirteen. It had been a bleak holiday for all of them. Will’s first Christmas following his father’s death. Annie’s mother had recently dumped her with Rose before taking off yet again. It was just the three of them, and that was the way things stayed until Annie left for Africa.

      “Yes. I hate flying,” she replied.

      “What?” Confusion played across his angular face.

      “I wear your earrings when I need to be brave.” She tried to laugh off the admission.

      Blue eyes searched hers, before his hand dropped to her shoulder for a light squeeze.

      Will looked up the road. He couldn’t believe what he saw. The white clapboard farmhouse sat like a candle on the hill. “Rose has every single light on.”

      “Is she trying to tell you something?”

      “Me? She wants everyone to know you’re home. The woman is so excited and proud of you she can’t stop telling everyone.”

      As the truck stopped Rose СКАЧАТЬ