Excerpt from It Takes Two The slamming of the front door startled them both. Apparently, Papa had decided to get out of the heat and watch from the window at Mary's side. Annie was glad. There was no reason for her father to suffer a heat stroke because of this stranger. The rattlesnake had been more difficult to handle than this Zachary Rayez would be, she told herself. "According to the law--" "The law," she sneered. "I recognize the laws I choose to. Do you really think I care what you, or those wealthy toads in Austin, call laws? All citified white men, who've never had to do a hard day's work in their life. You know nothing of my life. Don't come on my property and start spouting `laws' to me. You're only here to make a sale. Threatening me with eminent right of domain won't work, because no one from the state has been out to see me." Her smile was mocking. "I'm not so ignorant that I can be taken in by a mere salesman, a wolf in sheep's clothing." Whirling around, she pointed to telephone lines in the distance. "See those lines?" At his nod, she said, "When the citizens of Desperado came to me and wanted to run those lines over my land, I said `yes.' I was happy to do that. When they came and asked to cut an acre of trees to build the new elementary school desks locally, I said `yes.' I have never denied use of my property for the people of this town. But you," she said, her tone dripping with venom, "you want me to sell out so you can pour concrete over this land. You and your money-hungry friends in Austin who don't know me, or my family, or one person in Desperado. This time, I say no." "What if folks here disagree with you? What if they think the new highway will be beneficial in bringing commerce to this area? It could have an impact on the tax base, since big business will probably follow close behind the building of the highway." "They are welcome to sell their land and let the state highway be built where their homes used to stand, have their children play in the shade of skyscrapers. But not me, Mr. Rayez. And frankly, I don't understand why my one hundred acres is of such necessity to those plans. Surely you can find someone else who is willing to sell out in Desperado." She'd called his bluff and they both knew it. Most people in the town resented outsiders coming to bid unsolicited on their property. Zachary Rayez would look long and hard for enough people in this town to see his side of things. The man looked defeated. Surely not because of her, Annie thought. He had to have known the impossibility of his expectations. After all, she'd warned him. Weariness appeared in thread-like lines around his eyes and in the rough curl of his mouth. The suit he was wearing was ridiculously out of place on her dusty farm, and she knew he had to be hot. Why she cared she didn't know, but it couldn't hurt to offer him a drink before sending him on his way. Letting him see how they lived might even make Zach Rayez realize he was dealing with people--not unfeeling numbers. It was a message he could relay to the big bulls in Austin, Annie reassured herself. Now that she'd explained her stand, she relaxed a little, allowing herself to admire the height of the man, and the chiseled lines of his face underneath dark, wavy hair. His dark eyes studied her, and she wondered if she saw admiration in his gaze. Surprised, Annie recognized a tiny part of herself she thought she'd buried with her dead husband coming to life, straining like a new plant does to break through hard soil and seek the sun. Something about this man was making her feel . . . alive again. It was a good feeling, a spreading warmth of response she regretted she couldn't allow herself to enjoy. But surely ten minutes more savoring the unexpected feeling of womanliness Zach Rayez brought to her couldn't possibly be wrong. Offering him a little hospitality would only show this man that she wasn't an ill-bred country yokel. "Mr. Rayez," Annie said softly. He'd turned his head away for a moment, breaking their eye contact. Now he looked at her again, his gaze sending a tingle of excitement jumping through her. Annie drew a deep breath, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground but needing to just the same. "Why don't you come inside and cool off?"