Sweet Annie Read Online Free PDF Page B

her
hair.
    He
smiled, two rakish slashes forming in his cheeks. "I'll take some punch
now."
    He
released the cup into her hand, and she glanced behind him to see if the next
person in line had noticed anything unusual, but Guy Halverson's father spoke
to the man behind him conversationally.
    Annie dipped liquid and
handed Luke his drink.
    "Thank you." With
a grin, he moved on.
    After
an hour or so, the line ran out; people finished eating and began to dance.
Annie remained at her post. Even though folks could get their own refills, the
duty made her feel useful and not quite so out of place.
    Finally,
Mrs. Jamison shooed her away, telling her to go eat and visit with the young
people. She fixed a plate and rolled herself to a secluded spot where she
watched the dancing. Trying not to look for him was like trying not to worry a
sore tooth with a tongue. She scanned the crowd again and again, occasionally
spotting his black hair and then looking quickly away.
    She
picked at the food without much interest, but holding the plate made her look
as though she were doing something.
    "Hi,
Annie," Burdell said sometime later, coming to take a seat on a wooden
chair beside her. He had his little boy, Will, in tow, and pulled him onto his
knee.
    "Hi, Burdy. Hi,
Will."
    The
two-year-old yawned, then grinned at her. “Hi, Nannie."
    "You having a good
time?" Burdell asked.
    "It's a nice party.
Want to sit on my lap, Will?"
    Burdy
took her plate and handed it to one of the ladies passing by. The child scooted
from his dad's knee and used Annie's foot as a step in his eagerness to sit
with her.
    "Whoa there, William,
you'll hurt your aunt."
    "No,
he won't hurt me," she denied, and brushed his concern aside like swatting
at an irritating fly. "We're buddies, aren't we?"
    Will
nodded. Annie inhaled the sweet fragrance of his baby-fine dark hair and kissed
the downy soft skin of his cheek. The twill trousers he wore were miniature
replicas of his father's, with suspenders crossing his narrow back.
    He
said a few words she wished she understood, and pointed to the crowd. Annie
nodded and listened. He gave her a comical look with his brown eyes open wide
and one corner of his mouth turned up. She laughed aloud. "You're just
precious, Will, do you know that?"
    "Yup," he said
seriously
    She
kissed his head and hugged him, enjoying the feel of his sturdy little body in
her arms. The evening was full upon them, and Will was probably used to being
in bed by now. He snuggled and relaxed contentedly.
    Burdy
visited for a few minutes, but when he was ready to move on, Annie raised a
hand to stop him from taking his son. "Can't he stay with me a while
longer? He might fall asleep."
    "He'll hurt your legs,
Annie."
    "He doesn't hurt my
legs. I love to hold him."
    "He'll
tire you out." Burdy picked up the boy, and Will waved to Annie with a
disappointed frown and a puckered lip.
    She managed a smile for his
sake and watched her brother carry him into the crowd.
    Annie
looked at her empty lap, looked at the dancers smiling and laughing. Then she
turned her chair and propelled it toward the back room. She had to pass through
a kitchen area to get to the door.
    One
of the young women standing close by asked, "Need any help using the
facility?"
    Annie
gave her a weak smile. "No, thank you, I can make it on my own."
    Darlene
held the door open and Annie wheeled past her, out the door and into the dark.
The ground near the building was hard packed, easy to roll across, but the
farther she got from the social hall, the more grass and stubble covered the
earth, and the more difficulty she had pushing the wheels of the chair.
    Driven,
she struggled until she was hot and frustrated, and made a few more yards.
Glancing behind her, she realized she'd come quite a way, almost to the area
where the horses were penned and the wagons parked. She had halted between two
ancient gnarled trees, and saw now that their roots had finally arrested her
progress.
    She
leaned back, let