Whirlwind Reunion

Annalise had known many of the people here since childhood: Davis Lee and Riley Holt, Bram and Jake Ross. Now all except Bram were married.

“Did you finalize the purchase of Jed Doyle’s house?” Cora asked.

“Yes.” Annalise smiled, thinking how perfectly it had worked out that the gunsmith had wanted to sell his house just as she had returned.

The frame building was exactly what she needed. She used the upstairs for her living quarters and the first floor for her medical clinic, the way Jed had used it for his gunsmithy.

“Have you seen any patients yet?”

“Several, and some people have dropped by to introduce themselves. Everyone has been welcoming.”

Except Matt. Annalise didn’t want a welcome from him. Which was good because she knew she could wait until hell froze over and she wouldn’t get one.

“Russ’s wife seems nice.” She smiled as the groom tugged the bride into his arms and kissed her. The resulting burst of applause surprised Annalise.

“Lydia’s very nice. Smart, too. She came here as Russ’s business partner. They both owned half of the Fontaine.” Cora chuckled, speaking loudly enough to be heard over the noise of the party. “She keeps him on his toes. I’m starting to wonder if Matt will ever settle down, and so is his pa. Especially now that Russ is married.”

Annalise’s stomach knotted. She didn’t want to talk about Matt settling down. She didn’t want to talk about him at all. She made a noncommittal noise.

Cora continued, “He’s with someone different every time I see him.”

Annalise could say the same. From the corner of her eye, she was well aware of Matt whirling a raven-haired beauty around the floor. Evidently the man who had once sworn to belong only to one woman—to her—no longer limited himself.

“Since J.T.’s accident, the running of the ranch has fallen mainly to Matt, and he’s heavily involved with the Stockraisers’ Association. A little too reckless in his quest to hunt down the rustlers that have been plaguing this area, but he won’t stop until he finds them.”

“I heard other ranches were losing cattle, too.” Frustratingly aware of the man who had broken her heart, she didn’t think she could stand here much longer.

Cora nodded. “The Ross ranch and Riley’s place. Between that and the women, Matt stays plenty busy, but he shows no signs of settling down.”

Lucky for women everywhere, Annalise thought uncharitably.

Cora slid a sideways look at her. “Y’all were sweet on each other once. Any chance—”

“No.” Annalise cut her off firmly, sharply. “None.”

“That’s a shame. I thought something might come of that.”

Something had. Heartache and a baby. Annalise’s throat closed up. And Matt had never responded to her letter about her miscarriage of their child. Not one word.

Her friend continued to talk about newcomers to the town, but Annalise’s nerves were stretched taut. Despite the open front door, the air in the room was stifling, as were the reminders of the past. She couldn’t take it any more.

She had stayed at least ten feet away from him all night and that was as close as she intended to get.

Having already given her congratulations to Russ and his wife, Annalise quietly said good night to Cora and threaded her way through the group gathered behind her at the foot of the oak-and-wrought-iron staircase. She reached the coat stands on the wall along the staircase and found her shawl.

Once outside, she took a deep welcome gulp of cool air. It felt good against her heated skin, bared by the square neckline of her jade-green silk bodice.

She swept the wrap around her shoulders and started off the hotel’s porch, looking down to pull the edges together. She saw a man’s boots at the same time she ran into a rock-hard chest. The momentum caused her to stumble.

Hard masculine hands shot out, cupped her shoulders. “Whoa, there.”

At the deep familiar rumble, the apologetic smile on her face faded. Her gaze jerked up, clashing with a hot blue one. Matt.

Her pulse stopped then resumed, beating so fast that her chest felt too small for her heart. The warmth in his eyes died, replaced with a cold flatness as he practically pushed her away. He dropped his hold so quickly, so forcefully that she had to take a step back to keep her balance.

A woman stood beside him, the same pretty blonde Annalise had seen with him earlier.

The other woman looked from Annalise to Matt. She slid her hand from his arm and nodded at Annalise. “Good evening, ma’am.”

“Good evening.” She was surprised to hear the words. Her throat felt as if it were bolted shut and wouldn’t work.

The blonde glanced at Matt. “I’ll wait for you inside.”

“No need,” he said harshly. “I’m coming with you.”

After another look at Annalise, the woman hurried around her. Who was she? She remembered Cora saying that a furious husband had confronted Matt last year and accused him of having an affair with his wife. Cora flat-out hadn’t believed it. But as Annalise stared into the face of the man she had once loved, a face she had once known as well as her own, she wasn’t so sure.

They stood there for a frozen moment, eyes locked. The world narrowed to her and him. The scent of man and sandalwood soap on the crisp winter air. The tiny lines of fatigue fanning out from his blue eyes, in the creases around his mouth.

When his lips tightened, she jerked her attention away from them. The stillness of the night and the muted music made it feel as though they were the only two people in the world. Thank goodness they weren’t.

Annalise hadn’t expected this feeling of suffocation. Of panic. The bone-squeezing pain in her chest.

His gaze slid indolently down her body, hungry and frankly sexual. A look that had been focused on her before. Just the memory made her shiver.

Then his expression changed to one of contempt. His eyes narrowed. He vibrated with anger. The realization had Annalise stiffening.

What did he have to be angry about? He was the one who had turned his back on her.

In the split second it took her to read his face, his eyes shuttered against her.

She was so furious she couldn’t breathe for a second. Before she could say anything, do anything, Matt stepped around her and onto the Fontaine’s porch. Pointedly, blatantly ignoring her. Turning his back on her again.

Enraged, she looked over her shoulder. “Ah, your back. The side of you I recognize so well.”

He went stock-still for a long moment, shoulders rigid, muscles coiled with tension.

She shouldn’t have said it, even though it was the truth. Breath suspended, she waited for his reaction.

He continued inside without a backward glance.

The blonde stood in the wide doorway of the hotel, flashing him a quick smile. “Who was that?”

“Nobody.” His voice was flat, brittle.

Pain slashed at Annalise. Angry tears stinging her eyes, she walked briskly toward her house at the opposite end of town.

Had she believed they could put the past behind them, even be civil? She knew better now. She made a sound low in her throat and walked faster. Just seeing him, being that close to him had caused her stomach to flutter. And her palms were sweating!