had been so proud of and lived in still. Annie had never liked the place. It was cold and pretentious, like the woman herself.
Jared nodded. “The architect’s name was Angela Roberts. She left when she found out she was pregnant. She never told my father, and it was several years before he finally hired a private investigator to look for her. The man managed to uncover the fact that Angela had had a baby, but unfortunately J.T. died before the mother or child could be found.”
Annie started to take a bite of her sandwich, then stopped. “But...then, how did you, I mean...”
Jared reached behind him and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out two sodas and set one in front of Annie.
“Jake continued the search. The P.I. found the child five months later. Only problem—” he popped the lid of his soda and it fizzed loudly “—was that Angela Roberts had also died.”
Annie closed her eyes and released a long slow breath. “Oh, Jared, I’m so sorry.”
He stared at the soda can for a long moment, then nodded grimly.
“Anyway,” Jared continued, “when we found Emma a few months ago she was living with an aunt. It wasn’t easy, but Jake talked the aunt into coming here with Emma for a visit.” A smile lifted one corner of Jared’s mouth. “Then he married her.”
Annie still couldn’t believe it. Jake, of all people, remarried. She remembered that when Jonathan had told Jake he was getting married, the first thing Jake had said was, “Better you than me, bro. Have a dozen kids to make up for the ones I won’t.” Though he’d laughed as he said it, the smile never made it to his eyes.
The sandwich she was eating suddenly tasted like sawdust in her mouth. Annie had never had the chance to even marry Jonathan, let alone have his children. She’d almost thought—even hoped—that she’d been pregnant when she’d left that summer. She’d desperately wanted something of Jonathan she could have with her always, a part of him that she could love. A child.
But she hadn’t been pregnant. She realized later, of course, that it was for the best, but at the time she’d been disappointed.
She set the sandwich down and looked at Jared. “And now you’re here, too.”
“And now I’m here.”
And so am I, she thought.
For a few minutes there’d been an easiness between them, a connection that surprised her. But it was gone now, as if it were no more than a wisp of smoke.
And they were both abruptly aware that her visit was not of a social nature.
A weariness overcame her, and she felt a sudden desperate need to be alone. Away from here. She stood and rolled her shoulder to loosen the stiffness there.
“Thanks for the sandwich, Jared, but I think I’ve done all I’m capable of doing for now. I’m beat. It’s been a long drive here from Dallas. Why don’t we start fresh tomorrow and take a look at the rig first thing in the morning? Say about nine?”
“All right.” He set his sandwich down as if he, too, had lost his appetite. “Where are you staying?”
Annie couldn’t help but notice the fatigue that lined the edges of his deep blue eyes, and she realized that he was just as tired as she was. Based on the condition she’d found him in this morning, she assumed he hadn’t slept much the night before. She’d also noticed that he hadn’t stepped too close to a razor for a couple of days, and unbidden, the memory of how those rough bristles had felt against her neck flooded her mind.
She looked away, letting her insides settle before trusting herself to speak.
“I have a room in town,” she said, turning around and gathering up her notes. “At the Cactus Flat Motel. You can call me there if you need to. I’ll be going over this paperwork tonight.”
She turned to leave, then turned back again and lifted her gaze to his. “I know it’s hard for you, my being here,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
He nodded slowly, and she saw the pain in his eyes as he stared at her. The most natural thing in the world would have been to go to him and put her arms around him. To comfort him and to be comforted.
But she didn’t. And though she didn’t know why, she did know that in all the time she’d been here neither she nor Jared had said Jonathan’s name once.
Three
Annie was already at the rig when Jared drove up the next morning. At least her car was there, he noted as he pulled up beside the Cherokee, but she wasn’t in it.
He’d arrived early, hoping to get there before her. Partly to give himself a few minutes to do a test run on the drill motor, and partly because he needed a few minutes alone there before she showed up.
Maybe she’d needed a few minutes herself, Jared realized grimly.
He stepped out of his truck and tipped his Stetson back as he searched the area. The equipment shed was locked, so she couldn’t be in there. He started toward the small square trailer that served as office and lounge for the crew, but hadn’t gotten more than a few feet when he heard her call his name. Turning, he frowned as he looked around, but still didn’t see her.
“Good morning.”
Glancing upward, he narrowed his eyes and focused on a slender form silhouetted by the rising sun. She stood at the edge of the derrick platform twenty-five feet off the ground, her hand lifted in a wave.
He froze.
He couldn’t breathe. His heart pounded with bruising force against his ribs. He wanted to scream at her to move back, to get away from the edge, but his voice had suddenly gone numb.
“Jared?” she called down, and stepped even closer to the edge. “Are you all right?”
His hands were shaking now. He clenched them into fists and, without taking his eyes off her, walked stiffly to the metal platform steps, then moved slowly upward toward her. At the top of the stairs, he paused, his jaw tight, and stared at her.
Brow furrowed, Annie asked, “Is something wrong?”
As she stepped away from the ledge, the steel band around Jared’s chest loosened and he could breathe again. “What the hell are you doing up here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“You haven’t got any gear on,” he said more sharply than he intended. He was still waiting for his heart to slow down, trying not to think about how close she’d been to the edge....
“Gear?” She frowned at him. “Jared, for heaven’s sake, I’m just looking around.”
“There’s no place on a rig for sight-seeing, Annie. You want a tour, take the bus.” He knew he was being unreasonable, but he didn’t care. “Next time you come up here, you better have a damn good reason, and you better be wearing a safety belt and hat.”
“A hat!” She stared at him incredulously. “You’re
