This Time(30)

"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrows and tipped her head slightly, waiting for more of the story.

"I figured you couldn't help being born female. But you were so cool I wanted to hang out with you."

"And why am I just now hearing all of this?"

Burke laughed. "It never came up before, I guess."

"Is there more to the story?"

He nodded. "Like I said, until then, you were just Belle. Very cool, mind you, but more like one of the guys. But the day we skated together, and your hand slipped into mine, I realized for first time that you were a soft, beautiful girl. I fell in love, right then and there."

"My heart pounded so fast I couldn't hear the music. The entire scene is one blur."

The delicate mid-night chime of the mantle clock tolled and interrupted their conversation. Belle bolted from the chair. "I didn't know it'd gotten so late. I should go."

He walked her to the door. "We didn't get to eat any ice cream."

She smiled. "Maybe another time."

"Another time." He liked the idea, and the sound of her voice making the suggestion.

She started down the porch steps, then stopped when she reached the front walk. "I had a lovely evening."

Burke propped his muscular frame against the porch beam. "We've said many things over the past few weeks, and that day in the chapel covered a lot of difficult territory," he started, "but there's one more thing."

"What's that?" Moonlight haloed her silky brown head.

"I've never asked you to forgive me."

She sunk down to the bottom step. "I've forgiven you."

He detected the emotion in her voice and moved next to her on the steps. "I know, but I need to look into your eyes and ask." Delicately he touched her chin and tilted her face toward him. Their eyes met, her face lit with the light from the porch. "Forgive me, Belle. Please forgive me."

She fell against him, crying.

Tears smarted in his eyes, and quietly he prayed for both of them.

After a time, she lifted her head, wiping the tear stains from her face. "I waited twelve years to hear those words."

"Twelve years too long, I'm afraid."

"I forgive you, Burke."

"The day after I left, I desperately wanted to call you, but shame, embarrassment, and pride kept me from doing what was right. Days turned into weeks, weeks into years. After awhile, I couldn't bring myself to even think about it."

Belle dug in her purse for a tissue. "You know the worst part?"

"No," he said softly.

"Losing my very best friend."

He stroked her hair absently, not wanting the moment to end. "I've missed you."

They sat in the moonlight for a long time, silent and at peace, the shadow of the past fading in the dawning light of forgiveness.





Chapter Fourteen





On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Belle sat in a chair at the Shape-Up salon, coloring cap on her head, allowing Mary Beth to pull strands of her hair through tiny holes with something that looked like a crochet hook.

"Ouch," she said, wincing when Mary Beth dug too deep and scraped her scalp.

"Sorry, girl, but it's been so long since you've been in here. You're a mess." Mary Beth's long red fingernails clicked against the steel needle.

Belle leaned away from the hook, her face pinched. "I've been busy."

Mary Beth's large brown eyes narrowed. With a mischievous glint, she regarded Belle through the mirror. "So I hear," she said.

Understanding her hairdresser's innuendo, Belle ignored the subtle hint and casually went on about day-to-day news. "I brought Daddy home from the hospital this week. He's in a cast up to his hip, but he can hobble around some on crutches. I have a wheelchair to use when we go to church."

"Good, good," Mary Beth responded as if by rote. "Give your Daddy a kiss for me, hear? He's one of my favorite people."

Belle winced again as Mary Beth hooked another strand. "I will, I will."

"What else is going on, hmm?"

Still ignoring her prodding, Belle continued. "We bought another Brahman bull this spring to breed with our Angus cows. That crossbreed works well for us. We're getting back good animal data."

Mary Beth made a face, rolling her upper lip toward her freckled nose. "You know I don't give a flip about animal data. What else ya got?"

"We fenced in land for a new grazing pasture. Back breaking work, planting a fence."

Mary Beth whirled Belle's chair around to face her. "Now, you know I didn't go to beauty school to hear about breeding cows and planting fences." She whirled her back around again to face the mirror.

Belle grinned. She wondered how far the gregarious, pretty hairstylist would fish for the information she wanted.

"I hear your front porch got damaged by one of those twisters."

"One of our front cottonwoods fell onto it."

"Land, I hate twisters."

"No kidding."

"My Shane's garage took some damage. We waited three weeks just to get an estimate. The work still ain't done. How 'bout you?"