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towards his car. Hey, where re you going?
I m going to go get my stuff and get moved in before she changes her mind.
Kaz laughed, then offered, Need a truck?
The two men bonded while moving Quinn s stuff in, and although Annie did her best to ignore
them it was hard to concentrate on the bills she was trying not to pay when they were grunting and
laughing and slapping each other on the back as if they d known each other years.
Kaz liked what he d seen of Quinn, especially that he d had had the cajones to take Annie
Cavanaugh to task without backing down. Not many men could or would do that. Kaz had known
that that was exactly what Annie needed from a man, but he wasn t the one to do it he had his hands full
to overflowing with Callie. But he was glad to see that someone was going to ride herd on her, and
Quinn looked more than equal to the job.
But she hadn t said a word to either one of them since the confrontation in the yard. Not a single
syllable.
It got to be lunch time, and she was still so angry she hadn t written out one bill. This was getting
her nowhere. Finally, Annie stood up and walked out to her truck. She was going to fill it with hay and
go out to the herd, but there was still a big roll of barbed wire back there.
So she tromped back into the house, where the men were contentedly munching on meatloaf
sandwiches. Could someone please remove the wire from the back of the truck?
Almost before she got the words out of her mouth, Quinn was on his way outside. Before he
lifted it single handedly out of the truck bed, he said quietly, Thank you.
But Annie wouldn t look at him, and didn t acknowledge what he d said in any way. She d
changed her mind suddenly, and decided to head into town and get some supplies she d needed for a
while but had put off getting.
Minard s Diner was the classier of the two eating establishments in Faith, and it also had the best
desserts in the state. Annie was in the mood to drown her sorrows in something rich and sinful. She
parked her truck in front and wandered in, the tiny bell above the door tinkling that she d arrived.
There was no hostess at Minards. You sat where you could find room, and since it was lunch
time there wasn t a lot of choice until she heard someone calling her. Hey, Annie-Fannie! Over here!
It was Kaz wife, Callie, who was lunching with Brenda Furnell. Callie, Annie, and Brenda had
all gone to school together, which was where she d somehow been slapped with that depressing nickname
that her now grown up friends refused to let die a natural death. Brenda and Callie were happily married,
and always on the lookout to add Annie back into their club with a happier result than her marriage to
Hugh had rendered.
Annie wiggled and squeezed her way over to them, dodging a waitress here and a hug from an
overzealous friend there until she was able to slip into the fifties style chrome trimmed, vinyl upholstered
chair very gingerly.
Nothing ever got past Callie. Uh oh. I know that look and those moves all too well. Who
spanked you?
Annie gave Callie a withering look. A little louder, please, they had to strain to hear you in
Maine.
Bite me. Now, dish. Who was it? Was it that hunky gimp you just hired? What s his name?
Finn? Quinn? Winn? Mmphg?
Without missing a beat, Brenda had calmly reached out and put her hand over her friend s mouth
while Callie was still talking. She used her other hand to pat Annie s forearm comfortingly. There, there,
Fannie I mean, Annie. Tell Brenda all about it.
The waitress appeared and gave her a menu, but Annie gave it back. All I want to see is the
dessert list.
Her two friends leaned back in their chairs with a chorus of knowing ahhhhhhs while she gave
her drink order and tried to peruse the comprehensive list of delights. It was a veritable cornucopia of
nearly every dessert imaginable - ten different pies, three kinds of cakes, brownie sundaes, ice cream
sundaes, cream puffs and crème brulees. There were also sampler plates, where one could ask for small
slices of a little bit of everything, and the price was based on how many samples were requested. And even
the sample portions were huge enough to warrant doggie bags on their own.
In her current mood, it was halfway off her tongue to order one of everything. But instead she
settled for a Heart Attack on a Plate a piece of fried cheesecake that came smothered in vanilla ice
cream, hot fudge sauce, and homemade whipped cream.
If she was gonna go, she was gonna go with a smile on her face!
She knew her friends were not going to let her leave the restaurant alive without having filled
them in on every juicy detail, so she decided to give in somewhat gracefully. Quinn. Quinn Rideout.
Where s he from? Brenda asked, leaning forward eagerly. It seemed like everyone in the world
was having a more exciting life than she was.
Annie looked uncomfortable as she was trying desperately to remember what he d answered on
that questionnaire she d given to Kaz without really reading. Uhh, Albuquerque?
Callie was growing impatient. Let s skip the unimportant parts for now, she waved away
Brenda s namby pamby questions and dove right into the meat of the matter. So, how d you get yourself
spanked?
I had the audacity to try to put up a fence on my own property. Who knew it was a spankable
offense? Well, she had, but her friends didn t need to know that she d ignored the giant s warning.
Callie was just nodding and sinking back into her seat. Kaz s been complaining about you doing
that forever. I m surprised he didn t spank you. It took her a minute to realize what she d said, then she
finished vehemently, Of course, then I d be a widow and in jail . . .
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