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“Ha! Yeah, another guy in the house.”
She opened the door and climbed into the car, the smile still on her face.
“Watch out,” she said, closing the door. “Call me later, if you can.”
“I can.” He took a step back as she rolled down the driveway.
When she reached the road, she turned south instead of toward home when the sudden desire to go to Bayou Cottage took over. Out of sight of Chris, she pulled over and got out her phone, keying in Maggie’s number.
“You busy?”
“No. What’s up?”
“I’d like to head your way if I can.”
“Yes, if you’re free, come!”
“Stevie’s at Calista’s. Chris has a houseful, and I don’t feel like working on my thesis or going to the rescue.”
“Amber’s over there anyway, remember? It’s Wednesday.”
“I’m on my way.”
The ride to Bayou Cottage, past the weeping willows and the oaks hanging with moss, down the dirt road to the cove always stirred something within Annie, a longing for the past, but not really. A discontent of sorts for times past. When the cottage gate came into view, she beeped the horn and Maggie stepped out onto the porch with the remote, aiming it, and it opened like magic.
“What brought this on?” she asked, watching Annie carefully. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Cindy’s husband is at Chris’s now. He missed the boys and is talking about moving to Cypress Cove to be close to them.”
“Why the hell do people think they can just move in on someone without an invitation? It must be the south.”
Sighing, Annie shrugged her shoulders, defeated.
“Come for a ride.”
“You mean on horseback? Surely you’ve lost your mind.”
“It’ll be wonderful. Come on. You can borrow boots from me. They might be a little big…”
“A little!”
“Smart-ass.”
Annie slapped her thigh, laughing. “I guess I have to now. If I die, tell Stevie I love him.”
“You say that before you do anything fun, did you realize that? Jumping in the cove, you said it.”
“I was worried about gators in the water.”
“Phooey, there’s no gators here. The water is too salty.” They’d gone inside the cottage and Maggie picked a pair of boots off the boot tray. “Try these. I can get you a pair of bulky socks if they’re much too big.”
Annie slipped her sandals off and slid her foot into a boot. “Perfect. My jeans are so tight I’m not sure I’ll get my legs spread far enough apart to get into a saddle.”
“You’ll be fine. I think you’ll ride Dale and I’ll take Raven. She will love you for it. She’s so jealous when I get on Dale’s back now, she follows us wherever we ride.”
After a lesson in saddling a horse, Maggie helped Annie get into the saddle and then quickly took a picture of her sitting up straight with her tiny waist and hair blowing in the wind. “You look like an experienced horsewoman,” Maggie said conclusively. “I’m sending this to Justin to pass on to Chris.”
“Oh, maybe you shouldn’t. He’ll be mad at me because I left his house because I had to study.”
