Chapter 5
Annie woke with a start. Marti was already long gone, off to get ready for her job almost before the sun had risen. Annie lay in her pajamas, wondering what had woken her, when she heard the knock again.
She ran down the stairs to the front door, flinging it open. To her surprise, Tommy stood there, still in his uniform, looking surprised when the door flew open so fast. He flashed his lopsided grin and Annie smiled back. Of course it was Tommy. How could she miss his crooked smile?
The cool morning air chilled her and she shivered. Her nipples hardened under her pajama top. He blushed and cleared his throat, his eyes taking in her pajamas, nervously. “I’m sorry if it’s too early, ma’am. I just thought I’d check things out before I start my shift this morning.”
“Oh! Call me Annie.” Annie blushed, crossing her arms nervously across her top. “Sure, let me get my shoes, and I’ll go out with you.”
“Yes, Ma—er uh… Annie.” He nodded, smiling. His hands rested calmly on his heavy belt. Annie turned quickly to slip on a pair of heavy mud boots that were just inside the door. She followed Tommy across the porch and around the back of the house. He moved with confident grace, and Annie wondered what had happened to the clumsy kid she had once known.
They trekked through the mud and overgrown hedges surrounding the old house. “Hey, look! Footprints!” she exclaimed, pointing to the tracks.
Tommy laughed. “Those are mine, ma’am. From last night.”
“Oh, duh!” She smacked her forehead.
They went all around the outside of the house, back and forth, searching, looking for anything that might tell them who or what had rattled the door last night. Tommy looked close at the door and the ground around it. The fence had been knocked down, and they both walked over to look at it.
Tommy played a little with the short chain-link and the stubby post that held it up. Amidst all the green growth, it was a mangled half-rotted mess. He glanced back at her. “This old post needs replacing. It just collapsed. I don’t think anyone knocked it down.” He glanced all along the fence. “Actually, this whole fence needs replaced.”
She nodded. She believed him. She didn’t know anything about fences and old posts. “Are you sure? No one was here?”
He pointed out several small animal tracks in the dirt. They looked like dog-paws. “See this?” She nodded. “These are coyote tracks. There are a lot more over by your door.”
She turned to look over at the door in surprise.
“My guess,” he said, letting go of the post, and brushing his hands on his pants. “Is that you cooked some amazing, fancy food last night, the coyotes smelled it, wanted it and tried to break in.” He smiled at her, even though she felt silly. “Good thing your door was bolted. Coyotes can cause quite a ruckus, though they usually try to avoid people.” He pointed to the door. “You can see the scratch marks all up the door though; they were hell bent on getting in. I bet it was my siren that sent them away.”
Annie shivered, suddenly cold in the brisk morning air. “They can’t get in though, right?”
He smiled reassuringly at her. “No, ma’am, uh… Annie. They didn’t get in last night. They won’t get in tonight. Just keep all your doors locked, and you’ll be all right.” He waved toward the fence. “But you ought to see about getting that fence repaired. They’ll keep scratching at your door until you do.”
Annie nodded. She’d have to go into town to see if she could find someone who could fix it for her. Her grandfather had always insisted she shouldn’t be working on the ranch; he’d wanted her to become a famous actress almost as much as she had. So, with her limited knowledge of what to do with the fence, she wasn’t even going to try to fix it herself.
Tommy walked quietly with her, back toward the house. He had the most amazing body she had ever seen. Especially from the back side. He could crack a walnut with that ass. Annie glanced at him, feeling herself flush, her nipples hard in the cool morning air. She quickly crossed her arms again. He caught her looking, and raised an eyebrow.
“You fixin’ to ask me something?” he asked.
She blushed. “Sorry, I just can’t get over how much you’ve changed. You’ve grown up so much. A policeman…oh, wait… not a policeman, a sheriff, and you’re just so freakin’… manly. Way too sexy for these parts!” The words were out of her mouth before she realized it, and then she looked away, blushing even harder.
Shit! Did I say that?
He looked at her, his lopsided grin returning. He spread his arms wide, bowing slightly for her. “I’m glad you approve, m’ lady.”
Annie giggled. “Damn straight I do.”
They made it back to the porch. Annie pulled her long hair out of the way, smiling at Tommy. He stood, staring at her. His eyes appeared a little glossed over, mesmerized by her. Suddenly, he leaned in to give her an awkward hug. “Glad you’re all right, ma’am.”
Annie hugged him back, her boobs brushing in tight against his ripped chest. Her nipples pushed hard against the fabric of her pajamas. She blushed, folding her arms across her chest again, hiding what was there.
He headed down the steps and glanced back at her, swallowing hard. “Hey, Annie?”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe we could catch up sometime. You know, go in to town or something?” He stumbled over his words, and suddenly Annie had no difficulty seeing young Tommy.
She smiled. “Sure, that would be nice.”
He gulped. “Yeah? You mean…like a date?”
Realization hit her, and she blushed again. She felt her voice go all girly. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
He blinked for a moment, as though not sure he understood her, and then his smile lit up his whole face. “Great.” He shifted a little in his jacket, glancing back at her. “How about Friday night? I’ll come ‘round about seven?”
Annie pulled her arms tight against herself, tingling with anticipation. She had to push away the naughty thoughts of how the evening might go, making the rest of her body quiver. She would love to spend an evening with Tommy Donovan. She nodded, clearing her throat. At last, she found words. “That’d be great.”
He beamed and stumbled a little as he backed off the porch. Finally, he broke her gaze, turning back to his car. He stopped there and waved as he got in. Annie stayed in the doorway, watching him drive off. Her extremely lonely life might just have taken a very nice turn.