Prologue
“Who’s that, Jesse?”
“For Pete’s sake, Joey… Don’t tell me you
don’t recognize Anna. You’ve known her all your life.”
“Anna?”
“Yes, Anna. Audrey’s sister, remember? She’s
just back from that university she attended back East.”
Joey blinked and shook his head. “Uh-uh.
That’s not her. Anna has a ponytail, braces and glasses.” He
couldn’t help but stare at the vision before him.
She walked…no, she glided gracefully towards
him – Beautiful, shoulder-length, dark brown hair curled in layers
around her pretty face. A face he’d apparently never seen behind
those glasses she’d always worn and the braces that straightened
her now very attractive teeth. As she approached him, Joey’s eyes
widened as he locked onto her gorgeous deep brown eyes. Her long
lashes blinked seductively as she cocked her head at him.
Then she was standing in front of him,
giving him the once-over that he’d just been giving her. Her pretty
summer dress did little to hide her shapely figure and Joey’s jaw
dropped to match his wide-eyed stare.
Jesse was right – He’d known her his entire
life, but had never really seen her until this minute. They’d grown
up riding horses together on his father’s ranch, since her father
was their ranch foreman. They’d hunted frogs together in that old
pond in the backyard and been to zillions of Johnson family parties
as friends and playmates. Many times he had sneaked her up to the
barn roof to shine a flashlight up at the stars. But he hadn’t seen
much of her since she went off to school. He’d been busy with
school himself and the painting that was soon to become his
livelihood.
But who was she now? Gone was the innocence
of childhood and in its place stood a mature woman… a beautiful,
intoxicating woman. Joey sucked in his breath and straightened his
posture. He finally thought to close his mouth and took a deep
breath.
She stepped closer to him. Her subtle
perfume mesmerized his senses and he longed to stroke her exquisite
face. Her hair begged him to run his fingers through it, smooth it
back, kiss it…
“Joey Johnson,” the vision finally spoke to
him.
He smiled. “Anna Bates. It’s been a while.
How are you?”
“Fine and I’ve wanted to do this for a
really long time.”
“What?”
Anna rose up on her tiptoes, her eyes locked
on his. Smiling, he parted his lips and leaned towards her.
Faster than a striking snake, her hand flew
to slap him hard across the face. Joey jumped back, a hand rubbing
his smarting cheek.
“Yow! What the hell was that for, Anna?”
“… Oh, that’s been brewing for some
time.”
“You wanted to hit me?”
“Yes. Nothing else seems to wake you up. I
thought I’d try violence.”
He took another cautious step back.
“Well, it’s not working. I don’t have a clue
what you’re talking about.”
“If that doesn’t do it,” she haughtily threw
back her mass of dark hair and turned around, “…nothing will.”
And she walked away, hips swaying, long hair
swinging. Joey watched her until she went into the house. Still
rubbing his sore cheek, he heard Jesse laughing behind him. He
swung around to confront him.
“What?”
Jesse stopped mid-laugh. “Sorry, little
brother, but you had that coming.”
“… What the hell did I ever do to Anna to
deserve that?”
“Oh, you deserve it, all right.”
“Why?”
“It’s not what you’ve done, bro. It’s what
you haven’t done…”
Joey shook his head, trying to clear the
cobwebs. “You’re not making any more sense than Anna…”
“Think about it, you idiot. I’ve got to go
feed the horses. Hurry up. Dad and Mom are waiting for us at the
house. Big welcome home party for…”
Jesse didn’t finish the sentence and he
didn’t have to. Joey began walking slowly towards the house.
“…Anna,” he mumbled. “…Can’t wait – ha.”
His eyes clouded and he just couldn’t see.
Why on earth would she slap him? Why was she mad? Was it because
he hadn’t… Because he couldn’t… or maybe because he
wouldn’t.
Maybe, Joey decided, it was time he did.
* * *