Texas Haven by Kathleen Ball

raising the child. Sounded perfectly logical, but he wondered why he didn’t feel happy about it.
    Arriving at the ranch house, Burke opened Annie’s door and lifted her out. She had blue circles under her eyes, which made her look so tired.
    He carried into the house and up the stairs. She didn’t weigh very much. Gently, he laid her on the bed and began undressing her, kissing each section of skin he uncovered. Before long, he uncovered everything, and she cried out in need. Burke obliged her, slowly and tenderly. He held her close, sensing her desire for that closeness.
    Holding her after sex was different than a loving hug. He was already separating the two, sex and partnership. Things would be fine.
     
    * * * *
     
    Annie felt relaxed and protected in Burke’s arms. She lazily dragged her fingers through his chest hair. She knew that he must have been wondering about the scars on her back since he had just kissed every one of them. She felt that she needed to be honest with him, and he made her feel as if she could tell him anything.
    “I guess you’ve noticed the scars on my back,” she said quietly. She could feel Burke stiffen beside her. “My stepfather thought that little girls should be seen and not heard. Unfortunately I was more of a tomboy than a ballerina and he punished me for it.” Burke’s big strong hands ran up and down her back reassuring her. “He used to beat me… a lot. My mother left all discipline matters to him. She constantly told me that I deserved it for being such an evil brat. I was constantly nervous because I didn’t seem to know the rules no matter what they were. He changed them daily. If I answered him, I was talking back. If I didn’t answer him, I was showing disrespect.”
    “I’ve come to believe that he just wanted me naked cowering in front of him. He seemed to relish the power he held over me. He enjoyed hitting me with his belt. In fact he made me remove the belt each and every time.” She looked up at Burke and the sympathy she saw reflected in his eyes was her undoing. Tears ran down her face.
    “I wasn’t bad, Burke, I wasn’t.”
    Burke pulled her tightly against him. “Of course you weren’t, honey. You are goodness, light, and certainly not evil. My God, you were just a tiny girl. You did nothing wrong, darlin’. He was the evil one, he, your mother, even your stepbrother. You are safe with me Annie, always.”
    Annie felt the beginning of healing in her little girl’s heart. No one had ever told her it wasn’t her fault. She had a lot of thinking to do, but she felt exhausted at the moment. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was how Burke had called her goodness and light.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Annie busily made the morning coffee. It had taken some doing, but she had finally gotten up before Burke and she liked it. There was a certain intimacy waking up in bed with your husband. He’d given her a big kiss, against protests from Cat, and she was amazed that he was hard as a rock in the morning. Annie had wanted to stay in bed, but Burke made promises for the night to come and got dressed. Her face felt warm as she thought of how Adonis-like he looked, getting out of bed naked. Feeling her face grow increasingly hotter, she realized that she lusted after her husband. She smiled wickedly.
    The phone rang, jolting her out of her naughty thoughts.
    “Annie? It’s Sherry I was just about to go berry picking and I wondered if you wanted to come along?”
    Annie was thrilled. “I’d like that a lot. I have to confess that I’ve never picked berries before.”
    Sherry laughed. “Somehow I didn’t think so. After we pick the berries we can make jam.”
    “Seriously?”
    “What you don’t like jam?” Sherry asked.
    “No. I mean yes I like jam. It’s just that I’ve always wanted to make jam. What time should I be there?”
    “Anytime, but the earlier the better since it’s too hot in the afternoon to be out in the Texas