The Widows of Wichita County

December 2

Montano Ranch

Anna waited for Bella to take a drink of tea before she continued painting. The old housekeeper loved to talk while Anna worked.

"So," she started once more. "I was doing Zack Larson's laundry. It is never much, he takes his shirts and good jeans to the cleaners in town. He kids that he doesn't trust me with white shirts after seeing what I do to white socks."

Anna smiled, enjoying the music of the woman's words even though she talked of nothing important.

"I don't mind the laundry, which probably makes me a candidate to be committed in most women's minds. But for me, it means an order to the day. I always washed the sheets first, so I could make the bed. Then the towels. By the time they are done, I'm cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. The laundry is a timetable, a clock that ticks away the hours to the beat of Zack's country-and-western music."

Bella popped a cookie into her mouth and continued while she chewed. "Only today, hidden among the dirty clothes was a real puzzle. One old blanket he always keeps by the porch swing and the only two good guest towels the man owns were stuffed in the bottom of the hamper. All three were spotted with blood and Zack standing there, not a Band-Aid on him. If he had cut himself, he would have had to search past two stacks of ordinary towels to find the two fancy ones. Why would a man use his favorite blanket anal two good towels to clean up blood?"

Anna had stopped listening. She was remembering.

"I would have asked, but I'm not one to pry. He's a man who guards his solitude. In his teens, when he was wild and out of control, he gave up trusting people." Bella shook her head, forgetting she was the model. "I'll never forget the day, fifteen years ago, when his mother was not long dead. I spent half the morning sobering up Zack's dad enough to drive him down to bail out his son. No one in town would give the boy the time of day after that, not even when he buckled down and worked the ranch after his father died."

Bella sipped her tea and ate another cookie. "I do love these things. I told Zack I was going to get some for his place."

Anna did not miss Bella's gaze resting suddenly on her bandaged hands.

"Did you take a tumble riding?" Bella asked.

"Oh, no." Anna tried to not meet Bella's stare. "I fell against the fireplace trying to cross the great room in the dark."

Bella smiled and Anna knew the old housekeeper had figured out her puzzle. Neither said a word.

Anna worked the rest of the day on Bella's painting, but when darkness fell, she watched for the light from the north. Carefully, she waited. It would not do to go to Zack's too early. She did not even want to think of how Carlo might react if he saw her crossing the land.

The night was still and cold when she finally climbed the walkover and headed toward the porch light. Zack sat on the swing. He stood when he saw her walking toward him.

He offered her his hot cup of tea when she reached the porch. Anna cradled the mug in both hands and curled into the blanket he offered.

"'T-tea?" she asked after taking a sip.

"My housekeeper seems to think I need to drink the stuff, but can't say I care for it much. I'm sure glad you showed up to take it off my hands."

She smiled and took another drink.

"I don't know how long you can stay tonight, but it wouldn't be long enough."

They talked of the tea, and Bella, and the construction of the new rig on Anna's land. Her words were hesitant and shy. He wanted to tell her to slow down, relax. He would wait. He liked hearing her voice as she told him the fire had finally been ruled an accident and how Carlo was taking care of all the details.

It was too cold to be outside, but he did not invite her inside. Maybe he thought he might frighten her. So he brought out another blanket when he went to turn up the music and the lights.

They finished the pot of tea and opened the English cookie tin while looking at a travel book of places she knew well. She laughed at him when he popped one of the cookies in his mouth whole. Bella forgot to tell him they were for nibbling on.

Anna could not help but wonder how long Bella had known about the two of them meeting.

As they talked of her home, her words finally began to flow. Zack was careful not to ask any questions but to let her lead with anything she wanted to tell him. She liked that about him, more than he would probably ever realize.

When she told him, she added, "Now tell me something you like about me."

"I like watching you move. There is a grace about you that fascinates me. It almost makes me forget how much I hate the taste of tea."

They laughed; the night aged. She snuggled close agaimi him and leaned her head on his shoulder. As they rocked she slept.

He held her for a long while, then drifted to sleep.

They awoke in the stillness just before dawn.

"Anna?" he whispered as she tried to move closer and go back to sleep.

She turned her ear away, not wanting to wake.

Zack laughed and tried again. "Anna, it's almost dawn.

She finally looked up at him thinking he was handsome with a day's worth of beard along his jaw.

"You'd better go." He moved his hand over her hair. "I hate to say it, but in a short time you won't have the aid of darkness to cover your journey."

She stretched and nodded.

He kissed her forehead. "Funny thing, I slept better on this swing last night than I have in weeks on my bed."

"I also." She pushed on his shoulder. "Only my pillow is not very fluffy."

"I'll start gaining weight."

"If you do, you will break the swing." Pushing herself away from him, she stood and looked down for her boots.

He let the swing drift away with her shove and then back again to catch her on the back of her knees. She tumbled atop the blankets and back into his arms.

They both laughed, then he helped her put on her boots. He reached inside his house, grabbed his coat and, as always, strolled with her to the walkover.

The sky was just starting to gray as she stepped on thee first step and turned. "Good night."

"Good morning," he corrected.

She leaned as before to kiss his cheek. On impulse, her lips shifted at the last moment and pressed against his mouth.

Zack took the kiss like a blow.

He stepped back, almost stumbling. With her at eye level, he stared for a moment, then closed the distance between them and returned the kiss.

He slid his hand around to the small of her back, pulled hor against him as if starved. They had been touching for hours, but this was different. Before this kiss they could have written off everything between them as friendship. This kiss changed everything.

Finally, he broke the kiss and forced himself to move away. "There is no time," he said out of breath.

She touched his jaw with the tips of her fingers wishing they had another hour of darkness.

Zack closed his eyes. "It's so real with you, Anna. So real it scares the hell out of me."

She laughed, knowing what he meant. She sensed it, too. A part of life that had never been there before. A hope of a future. They had both been walking through the world in a dream state and now, with one another close, every cell was fully awake.

Before he could say anything more, she was gone, running to beat daybreak. Running before her heart exploded with the pure joy of knowing he was in the same world as she.

When she was almost home, she turned to see him still standing beside the walkover. There might never be more than the one moment they just shared, but somehow it was enough. For the first time in her life, Anna was alive.

Mesquite seeds traveled from South Texas in the bellies of cattle during the cattle drives of the 1880s. They were planted along the trails, stomped into the ground, and today mesquite trees clutter the plains of the state.