Secrets in the Sand by Carolyn Brown

            She couldn’t imagine anyone being so afraid of heights. How in the world was he ever going to put on a hard hat and climb to the top of a rig for an inspection?

            “Are we fighting?” he asked just as shortly.

            “Who knows?” she said. “But we’ll talk about it later. I’ve got a meeting with Margie this afternoon, and I’d rather do battle with the Hendrix bridge any day than that old barracuda. You better hope Red is up and well by the time she knows you’re a new person in the office. She’ll eat you for lunch and lick her fingers afterward.”

            “You think I can’t hold my own with her?” Clancy’s voice held a challenging edge.

            “Not if you don’t learn the difference between a rig and a casing,” she threw right back at him.

            “I’ll see you at five. And I’ll drive. We’ll take my Bronco,” he said.

            “Anything you say, sweetheart. Have a good day,” she said.

            She was still thinking about work when she got home that evening. Clancy’s Bronco sat in the driveway beside her parking place. She opened the door and found his bags packed beside it, but he was sleeping soundly on the couch. She sat down on the floor beside him and stared at him for ten minutes, trying to figure out what she should do. If he was her competitor forever, would it cause trouble between them?

            That old familiar feeling tickled the inside of her mind, and Angel knew without another thought what she was going to do. Clancy was going to face some difficult times as he learned a new business and had to face more responsibility than he’d ever had before. She’d be there for him, and if they fought along the way, then they could damn well make up afterward, because she was committing herself for the long haul right now.

            She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, sleepyhead, we’ve got to go see Red, and I called Hilda. Supper will be on the table at seven, so you’d better wake up.”

            He didn’t open his eyes, but he did smile. “You know how afraid I am of heights. Always have been. Couldn’t even dive off the dam in Tishomingo because it looked like it was six miles to the bottom.”

            “I know.” She kissed his eyelids and his cheeks, rough with a five-o’clock beard. And then his mouth. “But you’ll get over it.”

            ***

            They found Red sitting up in bed with a cell phone and a yellow legal pad in front of him. Anna’s jeans were creased perfectly, and she’d visited the hairdresser that day.

            “Hey, how’d the first day go? Dennis, the geologist, said you were frustrated but determined.” Red smiled at them. “By the way, I want the offshore drillers to start spending three weeks out and three weeks in. Give them more time at home with their families at a stretch.”

            “He’s back to wheelin’ and dealin’,” Anna groaned. “He’s being released today, and the doctor says he can work from home, but only for half a day this week. Doc says it’ll be two weeks before he can go all day. You’ll do fine, Clancy. In a while, you’ll know as much about it as us old dogs. You young’uns learn fast.”

            “Now, talk to me about you two,” Red said, setting his legal pad and cell phone aside. “I want to know why neither of you ever mentioned the other’s name in all these years.”

            “Wasn’t any reason,” Clancy said. “I didn’t know Angel was in the oil business, and I figured she was married to someone else.”

            “I thought he and Melissa were married and living happily ever after, amen,” Angel said. “And my intuition didn’t tell me different.”

            Red chuckled. “Must be the only time it’s failed you. I’d still pay you big bucks to sit behind a desk and tell me when that crazy feeling hits you. Clancy, if you don’t take advantage of this girl’s sixth sense, you’re a lunatic.”

            “Yes, sir.” Clancy nodded. “And I’ll sure be glad when you’re back on the job to answer all my questions, because she’s the competition, and she’s pretty closemouthed when it comes to information I could use.” He shot a slow wink over at Angel.

            “Good for you.” Red looked at Angel with pride. “Keep him on his toes and make him work for what he wants. In the business and in the bedroom.”