Linda Warren - A Child's Gift

Anamarie slammed the door so hard she was sure the customers at the front could feel it. She felt it, too. It was a release of all the anger inside her. But it would take a lot more than slamming a door to ease the pain in her.

For years she’d been on a treadmill of doing what her mother wanted and the sad part was she felt there wasn’t anything else out there for her but to become the old maid of Horseshoe, Texas.

No one is ever going to want you. Fix yourself up. Lose some weight.

She’d heard those words for years and the criticisms eventually got to her. She believed them. Rico showed her she was still young, vibrant and attractive. She saw it in his eyes every Tuesday morning. He teased her, laughed with her and made her feel things she’d thought had died long ago. For once in her life she wasn’t looking back or thinking the situation to death. There was only one option for her: she had to go forward to find herself, and to find the young girl she’d left behind with the heartache and the pain. And she had to embrace the woman she’d become to find the love she wanted. Because above all else she deserved it just like every other woman. And she saw her future in the dark, warm eyes of Jericho.

CHAPTER THREE

RICO DROVE STEADILY toward Rebel Ranch, trying to keep his thoughts at bay. He’d left this morning with hope and excitement in his chest. Now he was just numb with the words ex-con running through his brain. He knew Mrs. Wiznowski didn’t like him, but this was the first time he’d heard her say it and with such venom that it shook his stony composure.

It was a brutal awakening he hadn’t expected. He was letting himself dream about a life with Anamarie and he knew now that was never going to happen. The Wiznowskis were a tight-knit family and she would never go against them.

He’d never thought much about love until he came to live with the Rebel family. He’d loved his great-grandma. Familial love he was familiar with, but the man/woman thing eluded him. After what he’d been through, he never thought it would happen for him. He saw all the Rebel boys fall in love and get married. As he watched all that happiness, he began to yearn for something of his own. A family of his own.

He was afraid he would never be able to feel the emotion. Or even recognize it. Not many women wanted to spend time with a man who had a scar across the side of his face, wore a long ponytail and had been in jail. He was used to that, until he’d met the lady at the bakery. She smiled at him, treated him nicely and made him want to go back just to spend a few moments with her.

Then one day he went in late to the bakery while Anamarie was closing up. She quickly pulled the shades down and locked the door. He was confused and thought he should leave until she said she’d saved some kolaches for Pete, Egan’s dog. Then she offered him a glass of iced tea and they began to talk. As she was talking about her day, the rubber band around her topknot broke and her long hair had tumbled down around her. She’d laughed and immediately tried to put it back up, but he’d stopped her.

People tended to ignore her, but when he’d looked into her blue eyes that day, he received a jolt. The bright blue reminded him of the sky and what lay beyond. He figured God had checked out on him a long time ago, but that day he knew Anamarie was as close to heaven as he was ever going to get.

Love was that precarious thing all the Rebel boys talked about, but they had a hard time recognizing it. So he was surprised he could actually label his feelings: he loved her. Looking into her eyes, he saw it bright and clear. He had no idea how it had happened. He liked talking to her, being with her, but he never had the courage to tell her how he felt. And now he never would. Some things just weren’t meant to be.

He glanced back at Dusty who was sound asleep in the car seat. Luckily Rico had two car seats in the back. He kept Egan’s kids, Justin and Jordan, on date night.

He would weather this like all the other heartaches he’d been through. But he had to admit this cut a little deeper because it had taken a little piece of his heart.

ANAMARIE DROVE AROUND for a little while to cool down. If she went home, she was afraid her whole family would be there with their opinions of what she’d done. It was her decision and she wasn’t backing down now even if her family begged and pleaded, which she knew they would do. No one wanted to go in at three in the morning to make kolaches. Since her mother had gotten older, the responsibility had fallen onto Anamarie’s shoulders. There was only so much Anamarie was willing to take, though.

Riding around she realized what she was doing: avoiding a showdown. Time was up. She had to stand strong. She drove into the driveway of her home, her very own home. When Angie had come home from Temple with her daughter, Erin, she’d bought the house to keep their mother from controlling Angie’s and Erin’s every move, a decision that had infuriated their mother.

Later Angie had married Erin’s father, Hardy Hollister, and she’d put the house on the market. Anamarie had decided then it was time for her to move out of her parents’ home. Of course, her mother had fought it all the way and there was tension for several months until her mother had accepted it. It had been a lifesaver. She had her own space and peace and quiet.

Parking in the garage, she made sure to put the door down, and went inside to wait for the onslaught. It didn’t take long. Angie was the first to arrive, then the twins, Patsy and Peggy, and then Bubba. Her dad was the last to trail in.

Everyone talked at once like angry birds chirping in her face and Anamarie wanted to scream. She raised her hands and said, “Let me make this clear. I am not going back. Someone else will have to make the kolaches from now on. I made this decision and I’m not changing my mind.”

“Who’s gonna do the baking then?” Patsy asked.

“How about you?” Anamarie countered.

“Me! Most mornings I have to be at the shop by eight. There’s no way I’m going in to make kolaches. I didn’t like it when I had to do it and I’m not doing it now.”

“Don’t look at me,” Peggy said. “I have the same schedule as Patsy. And I do have a boyfriend, you know. I don’t want to spend my extra time in the bakery.”

Peggy was dating Stuart, the deputy. It was getting serious.

Everyone looked at Angie. “Oh, please.” Angie rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving my family before three in the morning to make kolaches.”

Anamarie thought about her family and how the situation would affect them. She hated that she had a soft heart, but she was well aware of how her family used her.

Her eyes centered on Bubba. “Do you realize how hard it is on me when Margie doesn’t come into work? I have to do everything myself and it’s really stressful.”

Bubba shifted in his chair. “We were up late and she forgot to set the alarm clock. Sorry, sis.”

“And that’s okay?” She lifted an eyebrow, letting some of the anger show in her voice. “You’re supposed to be a responsible adult, but I don’t see much of it when you let your sister do double the work.”

“Come on, sis. You know you love that bakery.”

“That’s a cop out, Bubba.”

“Okay, I’ll do better.”

“I don’t care if you do better. It’s too late. I’m not going back.” She looked around at their anxious faces. “Has Mom told you why I’m not going back?”

“She said you left the bakery with no one there to help the customers and when she called you on it, you were very rude and walked out.” Patsy was very quick to quote their mother.