Chapter 11
After her heartbeat slowed, Annette took several calming breaths. Trollop?Unbelievable. She wasn’t even sure what the word meant, but obviously it wasn’t good. That had been intense. She’d known if Rosa had seen the impromptu kiss on the road this morning there would be repercussions, but this had been another full-frontal attack. How did no one but Sandra see this woman for what she was?
Sure, she’d seen plenty of jealous girlfriends before, because of Gabrielle. Young men had always paid attention to her. They fell over themselves staring at her beautiful sister wherever she went and openly admired her beauty. Normally that wasn’t a problem unless the men were already in a relationship. If they were caught ogling a gorgeous woman by their girlfriends or wives, there was trouble. Annette had witnessed plenty of fights between couples left in her sister’s wake, while Gabrielle breezed right on by oblivious. No one blamed her for being beautiful. She had the looks and personality that men adored.
Annette, however, was different. No one had ever been jealous of having her around their men. Yes, she’d had a few half-hearted boyfriends, but always suspected they hung around just to get closer to Gabrielle. Being plain had been hard to accept when Annette was young and wanted to be pretty like her sister. Over the years though, she’d come to terms with being ordinary. Her self-worth became tied to her art and how she dressed. It was hard to believe Rosa found her threatening at all.
It had stopped raining. She opened the barn door just enough to squeeze through and made sure she shut it behind her. Dragging the hat off her head, she scrunched her hair to accentuate the curls. At least she had one nice feature.
She picked her way carefully around the puddles, then suddenly realized what she was wearing on her feet. Since it relieved the tension she felt, she sloshed right through the worst of them with careless disregard for her white capris. Realizing she couldn’t avoid going back inside, she let herself in the back door, kicked off the enormous boots, and put the hat and coat where she’d found them. Pausing, she listened to the steady hum of voices coming from the dining room. At this moment, she didn’t want to see anyone, particularly Jeff and Rosa.
It was tempting to avoid lunch altogether and just sneak upstairs to her room. Still, she couldn’t lurk there all day, besides she had nothing to feel ashamed about. She hadn’t asked him to kiss her or to even talk to her for that matter. It was Rosa who should feel shame over her actions, but as the woman’s voice rose in a wild cackle of laughter above all the rest, she knew Rosa had no such concerns. She was in high spirits after marking her claim.
Tilting her chin and taking a deep breath, Annette entered the room. Everyone was busy eating at the long table, even Sandra. A lively discussion of the morning’s events was taking place, in fact, as Annette approached the table, Sandra cheered. Even the bunny on her shirt looked impressed.
“Good for you, Annette!” she exclaimed heartily. “I’ve heard no end of praise for what you did this morning.”
Sophie rose to her feet. She must have gone home to change, because she was wearing a pair of black trousers and a crisp white blouse with a rose-coloured sweater overtop. Her hair had been neatly combed and she even wore a little pale pink lipstick. She enveloped Annette in a hug.
“Thank you, my dear,” Sophie said. “I was too busy this morning to offer my thanks, but I so appreciate you and Gabrielle jumping in to ‘elp as you did. That could not have been easy. Jeff tells me you stopped a group of animals from turning the whole herd in the wrong direction.”
“You’re very welcome,” Annette said breathlessly. “I didn’t expect thanks. It’s the least I could do after all the kindness you and Jeff are showing me.”
Sophie kept an arm around her as they walked to the table. “Come,” she said, “I saved a place for you, right beside me.” Bemused, Annette allowed herself to be pushed into a chair. A bowl of steaming tomato soup was set in front of her.
“Merci,” she said. “I mean, thank you.” She stared at the beaming faces around her, all except for one, of course. Thankfully, Rosa sat on the same side and at the far end, out of her line of sight.
“No translation necessary,” Jeff chuckled from across the table. “We all know the meaning of that word. Oh, and Annette, this is Marcus.” He waved a hand toward the blond man sitting beside him. “He just started working for Sophie. No time for proper introductions this morning.”
Marcus had the biggest, bushiest moustache that Annette had ever seen. It curved down from his upper lip to disappear under his chin. His hair was still wet from their escapades in the rain and stuck out at right angles from his head.
The man looked up from his soup with bright blue eyes and gave her a nod of acknowledgement. “Nice to meet you,” he said in a deep voice. Picking up a plate of sandwiches, he handed them to her. “I advise you to try the chicken salad on the bottom. They’re delicious. However, the toasted cheese is good too.” He grinned and she smiled her thanks as she accepted the heaping platter.
Now that she had smelled the food, she found that she was ravenous. Good thing she hadn’t ducked upstairs. She took one of the recommended chicken sandwiches and took a bite as conversation flowed around her. Surreptitiously, she watched Jeff. He’d changed into a chocolate brown t-shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and muscled arms. The man was, in a word, hot. Jeff’s hair was still damp, and it curled past his ears. He could easily be cast as a pirate in a swashbuckling movie. Rosa didn’t deserve him. He was too nice, funny, and kind for her. She forced herself to look away and tune back in to the conversation. What did it matter if the man was good-looking?
Talk centered on the fence, the injured cow, who had slipped and hurt a leg as the animals all rushed across the slippery road, and what might happen with the charges. The whole incident had caused a major disruption on a public highway and blame could be laid squarely in Sophie’s hands, as far as the authorities were concerned.
Breaking away from the main discussion, Rosa stood from her chair, went around the table and laid her hands on Jeff’s shoulders. “You were marvelous out there this morning,” she cooed. “The way you gave orders and took charge of those beasts was simply masterful.”
Gabrielle kicked Annette under the table. Good, she thought, quelling an urge to roll her eyes at the sickening flattery, Gabby sees it too. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who had noticed Rosa’s overt tactics to win Jeff’s affection. Marcus also looked disgruntled.
In turn, Jeff looked distinctly uncomfortable with the flowery praise. “Thanks Rosa. However, I think it was a joint effort,” he said with a cough. “In fact, we just did what we knew we had to do, it was these girls…” he brandished a cheese sandwich at Annette and Gabrielle, and continued, “that were the real heroes. They’d never been in a situation like that before, yet they stepped up and made a difference.”
Rosa flashed a venomous look at both of them. Sliding her hands down his arms in a too familiar gesture, she gave him an extra little pat before walking into the kitchen for a glass of water. “Whatever you say,” she said lightly. “I just know what I saw, and I believe something terrible would have happened without you there.”
“I’m grateful for you all and that no one was ‘urt,” Sophie said, dropping her spoon into the empty bowl in front of her and pushing it away. “That would ‘ave been a catastrophe. I don’t think I could ‘ave lived with myself.”
Although no one said it, Annette was certain they all knew the perpetrator of the crime had hoped that if the animals ran amok, it would cause that very situation. Clearly, whoever was behind the crime had no scruples. An accident involving vehicle damage, or worse yet, injuries to people, would have spelled the end of Sophie’s ranch. That was most certainly their goal.
The conversation turned to ideas as to who could have pulled this latest attack in the succession of strikes on the Triple T Ranch. Sadly, that was all it was, thought Annette as she listened to them talk—speculation. No one had any evidence or idea who was doing it.
“Do you ‘ave liability insurance?” Gabrielle asked quietly, while the others continued talking among themselves.
Sophie shook her head. “Malcom always carried it, but I ‘ad to let it go after ‘e died. It was expensive, you see, and there were so many bills to pay.” She pushed crumbs from her sandwich into a pile on her placemat and toyed with them, her eyes downcast. “Many important matters were neglected in the months following Malcom’s death. I am grateful that Rosa is ‘elping me deal with them now. She is very good at keeping records and making sure the bills are paid. And ‘er skill at training horses is well-known in the barrel-racing circuit, particularly in Alberta. The animals she is working with will be worth a lot of money next year and should recoup a little of what ‘as been lost.”
It was plain to see that Sophie put a great deal of faith in the younger woman. Annette hoped it wasn’t misplaced. From her perspective, Rosa’s main interest was in capturing the handsome next-door neighbour. However, she wasn’t at the Triple T to see what Rosa did every day. She must be a great help for Sophie to trust her so implicitly.
Sophie leaned over her empty plate and spoke to them in hushed tones. “We need to spend time together, just the three of us. I am so sorry all of this ‘appened just as you arrived. Perhaps you would like to accompany me into town today? A stop at the police station will not be fun. Still, it shouldn’t take long and then I must do some shopping. We could even stop at a lovely little boulangerie I know.”
Gabrielle looked at Annette for approval and then nodded. “Yes, that sounds wonderful. I’m glad I changed into something presentable.” She looked lovely, as usual, in a fuchsia round-necked sweater dotted with bobbles of black fluff and black, slim-fit jeans. It was a gorgeous outfit with her black hair.
“You could wear a bathmat, two garbage bags, and curlers…and still turn heads,” Annette said with a laugh. “It’s me that has to work at it.”
“Bonne.” Sophie pushed away from the table, pulled on a long black jacket she’d slung over the chair and belted it around her waist. “I’ll take Rosa and Mark back to the ranch and return for you in about thirty minutes. It will be fun.”
Soon, Annette and Gabrielle were the only ones left in the kitchen with Sandra.
“You know I don’t like it when you put yourself down,” Gabrielle said, coming up to Annette and resting a hand on her arm. “You don’t see your beauty, but the rest of us do.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I believe Jeff sees it also.”
With a sniff of derision, Annette patted her sister’s hand and turned away. She knew the truth and didn’t want to invite any more lectures from Rosa.
As the door closed behind Jeff, and the grumble of the engines carrying Sophie, Rosa, and Mark faded away, Sandra took off the yellow rubber gloves she was using to wash the stovetop and tossed them on the counter. Marching to the window she looked outside as though assuring herself everyone was gone.
“Humph!” she exclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest. “Do you girls want to hear something strange—no, bizarre is more like it. Just wait till I tell my husband.” She peered out the window once more and then used the cuff of her red sweater to wipe at a nonexistent smudge on the spotlessly clean glass.
Annette, who had been gathering dishes, and Gabrielle, who was pouring leftover soup into a bowl, both stopped to look at the housekeeper expectantly.
“Well, he’s not going to believe it, that’s what,” Sandra continued, waving her hands in the air. “I just wish he was here to see it with his own eyes. He’d be able to tell me I wasn’t seeing things. Of course, I was the only one who saw them, so I guess maybe he wouldn’t. He’d sure be shocked though and?—”
“Saw who? What are you talking about?” cried Gabrielle, interrupting. Tomato soup dripped onto the counter as she took a step toward Sandra and missed the bowl altogether.
Sandra looked up as though just realizing the sisters were still there. “Oh,” she said apologetically. “I’m just a bit puzzled is all.” She marched toward them, lowering her voice as though still worried she’d be overheard. “I’m sure I won’t be telling you anything you don’t already know when I say that Rosa has her heart set on being mistress of this here ranch. Correct?”
Both women nodded in agreement.
“And we’ve all seen her practically throw herself at Jeff every time he’s in the vicinity?”
“Yes,” they answered in unison. Gabrielle set the pot on the counter and Annette let the cutlery fall back to the table with a clatter as they both converged on Sandra, sensing this was momentous.
“You know how I told you I saw Rosa having dinner with two men in the city.” Again, they nodded. “Well, that Marcus fellow we just saw sittin’ here nice as pie and actin’ like he doesn’t know her from a hole in the ground, is very familiar to me. I’m almost positive he’s the young man I saw kissing Rosa at the restaurant in the city. Smooching for all the world to see, I tell ya.”