Annie: Blue Stocking Society Romance, #1

By Teri Riggs

Annie is finally happy with her life. She has a successful career in what is normally considered a man's job. Her boyfriend has asked her to marry him. And her best friend is on the mend after a devastating accident. Things couldn't be better.

 

And in the blink of an eye, it is all taken away.

 

When Jake realizes he's made a terrible mistake, he rushes home. A terrible accident causes him to lose his memory. Once he regains it, he must race against time to win Annie back.

 

Annie must decide if she still loves Jake, or if she hates him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teri Riggs
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215535738

Book preview

PROLOGUE

She looked into his dark brown eyes, felt the usual flash of desire rush through her body, and settle deep within the core of her womanhood. Keeping a hungry gaze on her, he slowly removed his dusty hat and tossed it aside. He’d just returned from a long day spent breaking the last stallion in the small group of horses he had recently purchased.

He grabbed her hand, yanked her body to his, and leaned in. Muscled arms wrapped around her a moment before his lips closed over hers in a passionate kiss. She responded eagerly and heat traveled straight down to the throbbing juncture between her thighs. Only he had the power to set her ablaze.

Life on a Texas ranch isn’t all about working the cattle or breaking the next horse. Sometimes it’s about love—

1

The tick of boot heels on the front porch, followed immediately by a loud banging on the front door, pulled Annie from her writing. Another round of thunderous knocking made her jump from her seat. She dropped her pencil on the paper and hurried to see who the impatient visitor was. She met a frowning Rebecca halfway down the hallway. Her friend seemed to be as out of breath as Annie, and most likely just as nervous. The morning sun had barely made itself present. Good news never came at this time of day.

Seems awfully early for a caller, Annie said.

I’ve scarcely finished dressing. Her friend hooked the last button on her collar. I suppose whomever it is must have something important to say.

That’s no reason to beat the door down. She shouldn’t borrow trouble, but what if he had sent the sheriff to escort her out of town already? Surely that wasn’t possible. It’s not time.

Who do you think it is? Rebecca’s voice quivered as she rested a hand on Annie’s shoulder.

I have no clue unless it’s—

No, it can’t be him, Annie. You still have a few days. Rebecca gave her a gentle squeeze. You must put that thought right out of your pretty little head.

Hopefully, you’re right. The hurried knocks began again, more thunderous this time around, making Annie flinch. I guess we’d best find out who it is. She smoothed her skirt, and with Rebecca’s hand still holding onto her shoulder, she opened the door slowly and easily. A man, wearing at least fifty pounds of dust on his body stood in the doorway, hand poised to knock again. He removed his hat, shook away some of the dirt on it, and bent over in a hint of a bow. Without the hat, Annie recognized Ned McWilliams. Relief flooded her senses, and she straightened her stance, once again regaining her composure.

Good morning, Mr. McWilliams, she said.

Excuse me for making such a ruckus this early in the mornin’, ladies, but we’ve got us a bad situation. Ol’ Ralph Jenkins showed up draggin’ in a man with a head wound of some sort or another. There’s too much blood for me to see much of what’s goin’ on. He nodded in Rebecca’s direction. Seein’ as how you always helped Doc Adams with all his doctorin’, we figured maybe you’d be willing to help out with this unfortunate gentleman.

Annie glanced at her friend, expecting to see sadness or guilt blanketing her expression at the mention of her dead husband. Instead, a look of excitement flashed across Rebecca’s face.

Rebecca let go of her hold on Annie and hurried to a small shelf below the kitchen window. After a mere second of hesitation, she grabbed her husband’s medical bag and spun toward the dusty man. Tell me what you know, Mr. McWilliams. A hint of eagerness sparked in her friend, Rebecca’s eyes.

Annie grinned. Maybe Rebecca has decided to join the living… finally.

If you ladies don’t mind, everyone calls me Ned.

About the injured man? Rebecca asked, Luke’s medical bag secured beneath her arm.

Ol’ Ralph found this cowboy about a mile outside of town and carried him in. The feller’s out cold and has a barrel-load of blood leakin’ from his noggin’. Plenty of dried blood, too. It’s possible he’s been unconscious and out there all night. He’s busted up pretty good. Ned held the door open for the women. Ol’ Ralph and a few other men are unloading the poor bast—um—I mean the poor man, inside Doc’s office. They’re hoping you can fix him up.

I can certainly try. Let’s go see what we’ve got, Rebecca said.

The three of them hurried across the street and down two buildings to Luke’s former office. Annie had to give her friend credit. Rebecca only hesitated for a moment before sucking in a deep breath and entering her dead husband’s clinic for the first time since the accident that took Luke and their unborn baby in such a cruel twist of fate.

A few men had gathered around the examining table, their muffled voices ceasing when Rebecca and Annie approached the table with Ned. One of the men held a bandana against the side of the injured man’s head.

Ralph Jenkins nodded in their direction. Glad to see you again, Mrs. Adams. I appreciate you coming to help, especially during your time of mourning.

Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. It’s good to see you, too.

Miss Annie. He smiled weakly before turning to Rebecca again. I’m not sure there’s anything to be done for this one, but if you can help, I’m sure the Colby family will be mighty grateful.

"Colby? Annie held her breath. Determined to get a closer look, she elbowed her way in between the men. She took one glimpse of the man stretched out before her, and for a moment, the floor tilted. Grabbing the side of the table, she held on tight to steady herself. Jake Colby?"

The man who’d tossed her aside and had broken her heart. The man who’d threatened her. One hand went to her chest, the other covered her mouth. It’s Jake. Annie bit back a cry, but she couldn’t keep her voice from splintering like a chunk of dry wood.

Ralph cleared his throat. Yes, ma’am. This here’s Jake Colby. Looks like his horse tossed his as… I mean threw him real good. Not like Jake to let any animal get the best of him. He rubbed the top of his head. It’s a dang shame. Can you fix him up, Mrs. Adams?

I’ll sure try my best. Mr. Jenkins, please wash your hands and grab me some cloth pads from the cabinet. Annie, could you get me the stitching supplies from Luke’s bag, please? And could someone unbutton his shirt for me? Rebecca removed an apron from a drawer under the examination table and tied it tightly around her waist.

Removing the filthy bandana from Jake’s head, she tossed it in the trash. Using the cloth that Mr. Jenkins had retrieved, Rebecca stopped the bleeding and cleaned his injury with an antiseptic. Bending over his still form, she studied the wound on his right temple. It looks deep. I can’t tell if the damage is because he hit a rock after the horse threw him or if he landed on something else. Maybe a stick? She guessed.

Rebecca leaned in again and took another look. Ralph, do you recall noticing anything on the ground around him?

Nothing ‘ceptin’ some small rocks and a few broken branches. But then again, I was busy trying to get him into town, so I could find someone to tend to him before he got a chance to go off and meet his maker.

The room seemed overly quiet as Rebecca skillfully stitched up Jake’s wound. She carefully added an ointment over the top of them when she was finished with her stitches and wrapped a large bandage around Jake’s head.

Annie assisted, amazed that her hands didn’t shake as she dabbed pads to staunch the blood while Rebecca worked. Her body seemed to function properly, but her mind stayed numb.

Jake lay still as death on the table, not regaining consciousness. She hadn’t even flinched while her friend had poked the needle through his skin repeatedly to suture his nasty wound. After the stitches were in, Rebecca checked his legs and arms for signs of any broken bones and found nothing else other than severe bruising to his ribs, quite possibly a cracked rib or two.

Annie rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve her tight muscles. Be okay, Jake. Please be okay and wake up. No matter what had happened between them, she wanted him to be well. She may have wished for him to catch a good dose of poison oak or take a slow roll through a cactus patch. But she had never wanted something like this to happen to him. As pathetic as it may have seemed, she still loved the man.

Once Rebecca finished suturing the large cut and cleaning the smaller ones, Annie took a small step back. In spite of the heat in the room, a chill raced through her. She rubbed her hands over her arms, trying to bring any warmth she could back to her limbs. A feeling of sudden dread overtook her. Deep breathing seemed to help with the looming panic that sent her belly into a grand and impressive flip-flop routine. Jake’s last words dashed through her mind. ‘Be gone by the time I get back or else—’. Annie didn’t want to think about the or else.

Ralph helped Rebecca remove Jake’s shirt and wrap his ribs. He still didn’t stir.

Ralph joined the other men and Ned said, We’ll be out back tendin’ to Jake’s horse if you need us. It shouldn’t take us long. Their cowboy boots scraped across the wooden floor as they slipped out back, leaving Annie and Rebecca alone… unless you counted the man lying unconscious before them.

He looks terrible. The side of his head was one massive bruise, especially the deep purple around the long cut Rebecca had stitched. And he’s so banged up. What else should we do for him?

I’m afraid that we’ve done all we can for now. Rebecca patted Annie’s shoulder. It appears that he may have a couple of bruised ribs… at least they’re not broken… and I’m guessing a concussion. Judging by all the cuts and contusions, I’m thinking that instead of hitting his head on something, it’s possible his horse may have trampled him. Hopefully, he’ll come around soon.

How… how soon are you actually talking about until he wakes up? Annie asked, anxiety choking her words. She moved close again and glanced down at Jake. No longer able to hold herself in check, she ran the back of three fingers down his cheek. He’s so pale.

I’m not sure how long he’ll be out but the sooner he wakes, the better. Rebecca grabbed a blanket from the sideboard cabinet and covered Jake. Why don’t you have a seat and keep an eye on him while I clean up this mess.

I can pick up and put things away, Annie said.

It’s easier for me to do it. I know where everything goes. Get comfortable. I need you to sit and watch our patient.

I can’t be anywhere near him.