Free It Takes Two: Deep in the Heart, Book 1 by Tina Leonard

jealousy pierced Zach. Who was this character, anyway? If Ye Olde Store wooden Indian had suddenly come to life, he would look just like this man.
    “Zach.” Annie’s soft voice cleared a path through the haze in his mind. “This is Cody Aguillar.”
    The two men sized each other up warily. “So you’re Slick,” Cody commented.
    “Slick?” Zach repeated.
    Cody jerked his head in the direction of the hallway. “The old man calls you Slick.”
    “Ah,” Zach said, the syllable not conveying much rancor for the insult. “And you must be Crazy Cody, infamous collector of rattlesnakes.” He couldn’t help wondering what the relationship between Cody and Annie was. They seemed very fond of one another, but something told Zach this man wasn’t Mary’s father.
    “You’ve been talking to Papa, Cody?” Annie asked eagerly.
    Cody didn’t take his eyes from Zach. “Yeah. He seems to be doing all right, all things considered.”
    “Then I better hurry,” Annie said, not appearing to notice the uneasy sparks flying between the two men. “If he can still have visitors before his surgery—”
    “He’s not supposed to,” Cody informed her. “I slipped in for a second. Your pa told me about ol’ Slick here.” He crossed his arms and leveled a hard stare at Zach. “What are you hanging around for anyway, city boy? You a vulture waiting to pick the old man’s bones clean?”
    “Cody!” Annie protested. “Zach’s not…like that.”
    The sudden uncertainty in Annie’s tone was a dose of reality for Zach. In his mind he’d known once her dazed and shocked state passed, she’d remember that they were on opposite sides; she’d easily believe the comfort he offered was to insinuate himself into her good graces, like the snake in the garden of Eden that wended its way into Eve’s trust. Zach wouldn’t trust himself either, if the truth were known.
    “Come on, Slick. I heard you’re waiting on a rental car. I’ll give you a ride back to the farm. Sooner you’re out of here, the better for everyone involved,” Cody stated.
    Annie was silent. As much as he might wish otherwise, Zach knew Cody was right. The Aguillar family couldn’t get back to normal while he was around, stirring up ill feelings.
    “I appreciate the offer,” Zach replied. He stared at Annie for a moment. She met his gaze unflinchingly, pride obvious in her stiff height and crossed arms. They were two pieces on the chessboard again, the momentary closeness between them evaporated. “Goodbye, Annie. I hope everything turns out all right,” he said, ignoring Cody’s sarcastic snort.
    “It will,” she replied calmly.
    Zach realized she wasn’t going to say anything else. It was as if she’d never leaned on him for emotional support—certainly never pressed her lips to his seeking affection. Yet that moment by the pond was burned into his memory—Annie’s hungry acknowledgement that somewhere in the middle of their different worlds, desire had pulled them together just for a moment.
    As he turned to follow Cody out of the waiting room, Zach Rayez, master manipulator, wondered who’d been checkmated.

Chapter Five
    “I missed you, darling.” LouAnn snaked her arms around Zach’s neck the moment she walked into his house. He breathed in her ever-present perfume while automatically lowering his lips to hers. This was sanity, this was safe, he told himself. Although he’d only left the Aguillar farm yesterday, Zach felt like a million years had passed since he’d held a bewitching woman named Annie.
    He must have been out of his mind to let her get to him. She’d wrung sympathy out of him, sympathy he hadn’t even known he was capable of feeling. How it had happened, Zach wasn’t sure, but he’d allowed a long-buried sense of justice to get in his way just long enough for him to get suckered.
    His fingers roved over LouAnn’s body, hungry for the familiar feel of her. She stepped back slightly and shook a finger at him.