Annie's Answer Read Online Free PDF Page B

looked even smaller than he’d remembered in the big
wicker chair.
    “I have to
make a call,” Aunt Mattie said, swinging her leg off the footstool and groping
for the crutches propped up behind her chair.
    “Let me get
them for you,” Annie said, quick to stand and try to help his aunt.
    “Nonsense. I’m
perfectly capable of getting where I want to go,” Mattie said in a voice not
even his father would be able to contradict. “You two finish your lunches.”
    Nathan glanced
at his wristwatch and had to admit his aunt was right. He had to eat and get
back to the courthouse. One of the strict rules in Judge Carlson’s courtroom
was always be prompt. He didn’t have the time or inclination to remember the
other six. He picked up half of the open-face tuna melt and bit in as the top
layer slid off the bread and down his front, landing on the napkin on his lap.
    “Oh, dear, I
should’ve brought a knife and fork,” Annie said with genuine distress. “Look at
your tie.”
    Looking down,
he saw a smear from the knot to the tip and remembered another of the judge’s
rules: Attorneys must be appropriately and neatly dressed.
    “It’s okay,”
he quickly said. “I’ll run and change.”
    “No, please,
finish the other half. I’ll get a tie for you. Where do you keep them?”
    “If you
wouldn’t mind—I really have to get back.” He quickly told her how to get
to the bedroom of his apartment. “The ties are in the walk-in closet on the
left. Anything will do.” He couldn’t remember the judge ever objecting to the
color of a necktie.
    He wolfed down
the second half of the tuna melt, leaning over the plate to avoid dropping any
of it. The prospect of the afternoon’s proceedings was daunting enough without
doing it on an empty stomach. Maybe he was nuts to come home, but then he
remembered why he had. He had to admit his rest of the day would be a little
brighter after seeing how well Annie was coping with his aunt—so far.
    Unless she
could fly, she must have run all the way to his room and back. Presenting a
necktie for his approval, she was pinked cheeked and slightly breathless. The
flush on her face only made her look more beguiling.
    “Good choice,”
he said, realizing it was true. She’d picked a shimmering bronze silk tie that
was perfect with his suit.
    “I’ll have
your tie dry-cleaned,” she said.
    “Not
necessary. I’m the one who messed it up.” He stood and switched ties, careful
not to get any of the tuna mix on his shirt. “I’ll try to get home by five, but
you can leave whether I’m here or not. I know you have to get to your other
job.”
    He didn’t say
he was hoping to see her after work, but the thought crossed his mind.
    “Have a good
afternoon,” she said as he left.
    People said
things like that so often it usually meant nothing. Somehow, coming from her,
it sounded sincere. He hurried out to his car wondering what had gotten into
him. He wasn’t ready to put his bachelor days behind him, but Annie wasn’t like
any woman he knew. Had he made a big mistake, hiring her to keep his aunt
company? Maybe he should avoid her, but that prospect didn’t please him. Why
did she seem so appealing?  After all, he’d only known her for less than a
day.
    With his father
away for the summer, indulging his mother’s passion for foreign locations and
art museums, he had a double load of cases and no time to dwell on anything but
the practice. He had to put Annie out of his mind, but he was knew it wouldn’t
be easy.
    He’d been
afraid she wouldn’t last a week with his aunt. Now he was afraid she would.

Chapter 5
    “Well, how was
your first day on the new job?” Gramps asked when she came downstairs for
breakfast Friday morning. “I was too sleepy to wait up for you last night.”
    “You don’t
have to stay up until I get home,” Annie said. “You need your sleep.”
    “And you
don’t?” her grandfather asked.
    “Don’t what?”
her mother asked, coming into the