Some of the buildings were run-down, but perky rust and yellow mums in giant pots trimmed the street corners and proclaimed an effort to spruce things up. On one small lot between the Tress and Tan Salon and the Expresso Yourself Coffee Shop was an open area made into a concrete park. In the center perched a gazebo bracketed by two cement benches and more of the giant flowerpots filled with mums, a splash of vibrant color on a sunny day.
Whisper Falls was a town torn between the old and the new, the run-down and the revitalized. And she liked it.
With a start Annalisa realized they’d reached their destination—a pharmacy recessed into the walls of an old brick building but with modern plate glass along the front.
She lifted her face from the cool window to look at the cowboy. “I told you—”
“Give me the prescription.”
“You don’t have to...”
With a warning scowl, he took the paper from her fingers, slammed out of the truck and went inside a double glass door. Fancy script proclaimed Jessup’s Pharmacy alongside a stenciled mortar and pestle in black silhouette. The old red brick was a beauty with 1884 engraved on the gingerbread top and a turquoise tiled entry from the sidewalk to the doors.
A pair of women about her age entered the pharmacy behind Austin. One pushed a baby stroller. An older couple passed by, the man treading patiently beside a bent, crippled woman using a walker. Once, the tiny gray woman grinned up at her man, a flash of flirtation that touched Annalisa.
She watched the come and go of locals, noting the ease and simplicity of friendly folks greeting one another. A teenager opened a door for a woman. A skipping girl dropped a handful of change and when the coins flew in every direction, a family of three stopped to help. Car doors slammed and voices called out greetings. No one seemed angry or stressed or too busy to say hello.
A deep yearning pulled at the empty spaces inside her. Did places like this really exist anymore? Did anyone’s family remain intact? Did a man and woman have a chance of growing old together?
She was still pondering that question when the cowboy emerged from the pharmacy and came toward her. Some bizarre emotion—relief, confusion, attraction—bubbled up. Attraction? Where had that come from?
Austin opened the truck door and tossed a white paper sack onto the seat. Pills inside clicked together as paper rustled.
A battle raged inside Annalisa. The need for help warred with the need to get out of the truck and stop imposing on a stranger. An attractive stranger.
“Thank you. I’ll repay you as soon as I can.”
“Forget it.” He sat there for a full minute, staring through the windshield at the pharmacy.
Struggling with the uncomfortable notion that some twisted portion of her brain found any man attractive, Annalisa clutched the pharmacy sack like a life preserver. He’d rescued her from the woods, taken her to the doctor, bought her medication. Now what? Where did she go from here?
Chapter Three
To her credit, his sister hadn’t beeped a word of surprise when Austin returned to the ranch with burgers, fries and Annalisa Keller in tow. He was glad. He was no mood to explain his annoying need to make sure Annalisa was all right, particularly because he had no explanation other than sympathy. The woman was in a fix, and even if she was liar, she was injured, alone and penniless.
He hoped he wasn’t harboring a fugitive.
With the scent of fresh burgers and fried apple pies tantalizing the kitchen, the three congregated around the wooden table and fell upon the food like starving cougars.
From behind his burger, Austin watched Annalisa and pondered. She was kick-in-the-gut pretty, probably late twenties like Cassie and as anxious as he was. He wished he wasn’t so intrigued.
“Still got a calf out there somewhere,” he said, more to get his mind off the mysterious woman than because he worried about the calf.
“Too dark to go after her now,” Cassie said. “Maybe her mama will bawl her home.”
“Hopefully.” At first light, he’d be out searching. He’d be on the lookout for other things, too.
“Were you hunting for the calf this afternoon,” Annalisa asked, “when you...found me instead?”
Her worried expression made Austin want to reassure her. He didn’t know why. Nothing about this day made sense. “Calves get out all the time.”
She hadn’t said much other than a thousand thank-yous that were starting to set his teeth on edge. He didn’t want thanks. He wanted her to go away so he could stop worrying about her.
But if she did, he’d worry more. What if she was in trouble? What if she was like Blair...
He put the brakes on that runaway train. Annalisa Keller was a stranger who would be gone as soon she finished that jumbo, everything-piled-inside burger. He didn’t know where she’d go, but she was going. End of subject.
In a dainty motion that enthralled him, the woman on his mind folded the carryout paper napkin in tidy thirds and patted her mouth. The action inadvertently drew Austin’s attention to the shape and curve of bowed lips and to the pale strain pulling the corners down. Her upper lip was still puffy but nothing like before. The red streaks on her throat had faded, as well. Whatever had happened was fresh when he’d found her at the waterfall.
She’d had a tough day. The protective male in him wanted to do something to make things better, but how could he when she wouldn’t tell the truth? He gnawed the edge of his burger, amazed at his line of thinking. Something about this woman got to him, and that was dangerous.
Her hair, wet from the waterfall, had dried and apparently Cassie had loaned her a brush because the golden blond waves curved neatly to her shoulders. Two thick, lazy curls framed her forehead and bracketed her cheekbones and eyes. Again, he noted the strain and the beginnings of bruises on her cheek and temple.
“You look pretty rough,” he said. “Exhausted, too.”
“Austin!” Cassie scolded. “No girl wants to hear that.”
“Well, look at her.”
Annalisa’s gaze moved back and forth between the brother and sister. “I am a little tired. If I could impose on you for a ride to a shelter or a hostel...”
“What are you talking about, girl?” Cassie laid aside her burger and reached out to pat Annalisa’s arm. “Tomorrow is soon enough to worry about that. You’ve been through too much for one day. You’re staying right here tonight, isn’t she, Austin?”
Austin choked on a French fry. He’d been thinking more like renting her a hotel room. “I—uh—”
“Of course she is.” Cassie threw down her napkin and rose. “Annalisa, if you’re finished eating, come with me, and I’ll show you the guest room. Once you get some rest, everything will look much better.”
As if she had no argument left in her, Annalisa took the white pharmacy bag from the table and followed Cassie.
Still sputtering, Austin watched in sheer dread as his sister ushered a total stranger down the hall and out of sight. A stereotypical hairdresser, Cassie was a people person with a real knack for listening and counseling. She probably knew more about the citizens of Whisper Falls than anyone. And if she’d decided to pry into Annalisa’s personal life, she would.
Cows and horses and hay meadows Austin could control. Like women in general,