This Time (15 page)

Burke tossed the wire in
his toolbox. "Just the way I like it. Powerful, crisp, beautiful
sound."

Dean plopped onto the
couch and looked at Burke's pile of football playbooks. "You ready
for the season?" he asked, motioning to the large stack of thin
black notebooks.

Burke hunted for a CD to
pop into the player so he could test the speakers and the new
wiring. "Getting there. I like Coach Anderson's approach, so I'm
sticking with most of his plays this season. But, I've been
spending my evenings working on a new offensive strategy. I want to
move to a wide-open offense. Mrs. Tapper volunteered to make copies
of the new playbooks."

"
Mrs. Tapper," Dean said, remembering. "She's been the
school secretary since the Indians roamed the Oklahoma
territory."

"
I'm glad to have her on my team," Burke said, finding the
CD he wanted and slipping it into the player. He grabbed the remote
and activated the stereo. Deep, distinct sounds charged the
room.

"
You think we'll have a good season?" Dean asked.

Burke flashed his brother
a sideways smile. "Is there another choice?"

Dean shook his dark curly
head. "I guess not."

"
Close your eyes," Burke urged. "You can't tell what speaker
the sound is coming from. It sounds like a live
performance."

Dean closed his eyes,
nodding, agreeing with him about the stereo's quality sound. Eyes
still closed, he asked, "How are things with you and Belle? Is your
relationship moving along."

Burke frowned at the
question. "Dean, for crying out loud, you were the one telling me
to take it slow. 'Don't expect too much.' 'What'd you think? She'd
welcome you with open arms?'"

"
That was weeks ago," Dean said, opening his eyes and
tossing up his hands, a comedic reverb in his words.

Burke laughed. "We're
friends."

"
Nothing more?"

"
We're good friends, and I love her company, but right now,
we're nothing more," Burke reiterated, kicking back on the sofa
next to Dean, savoring the stringed music. "I still need to work
things out with Grace. I've been praying a lot about our
relationship, but I'm not ready to share what I think the Lord is
saying yet."

Dean nodded his
understanding. "Thanks for the polite way of telling me it's none
of my business."

Burke chuckled and slapped
his brother on the knee. "As soon as I figure this all out, I'll
let you know."

"
I can live with that."

"
Don't forget, you're taking me to the airport day after
tomorrow."

"
I won't."

Burke handed Dean the
stereo remote. "My agent's been hounding me to get this commercial
shoot done and do a guest spot on the David Dubois show. And I need
to tie up some loose ends in Denver."

"
Then you're home for good?" Dean asked, studying the
remote's buttons.

"
Home for good."

"
And Belle?"

Burke looked over at Dean.
"What about Belle?"

Dean chuckled. "Nothing, I
guess. I'll be anxious to see how this one plays out."

Burke sighed, a smile
spreading across his face. "Me, too, me, too."

The first week of August, Belle
and Burke drank cold sodas on the tailgate of her recently mended
truck and watched the setting sun paint brilliant burnished hues
across the Oklahoma sky. All around them the Brangus herd grazed in
the newly fenced-in field.

Little General snuggled against
Burke, his brown puppy nose resting on the man's leg. Since his
tornado rescue, the little dog's loyalty belonged to the former pro
athlete. Rascal, Petie, and Jasper stretched out next to the truck,
panting, their long pink tongues dangling over the side of their
mouths. Scout and Junior were on guard at home, keeping Duke
company.

"
I think God makes days like this just for me," Belle said
with a contented sigh.

"
Hmm," Burke mused. "I always thought they were for
me."

She laughed low. "It's
amazing how the Lord can make each one of us feel like we're His
favorite."

"
It's beyond comprehension," he said. "But He
does."

"
I like what Pastor Mike said on Sunday about the Lord being
so good, and His mercy enduring forever."

"
I've been meditating on that verse," Burke admitted,
reaching around her for the soda filled cooler. His tan, muscular
arm brushed hers, causing her skin to tingle and her cheeks to
blush.

"
I can't believe it's August already," she said, shifting
away from him slightly, his touch unnerving her.

"
Me neither. We start two-a-day practices next
week."

She twisted around. "Next
week? Already?"

He nodded, dropping his
hand over the side of the truck and giving the dogs a thick piece
of ice to eat. "Our first game is the last week of the month. We've
got a lot of work to do."

A nagging disappointment rankled
Belle's thoughts as she realized his days at the Bar J would end
and become consumed with football. She'd grown used to his presence
at the ranch and working side by side with him. Taking him up on
his offer to help out at the ranch proved to be the best decision
of the summer.

Yet, he didn't belong to her.
His intentions toward her were clearly those of a friend. Now she
realized she'd unwittingly opened her heart to him again, and it
made her a little angry. How could she risk another heartbreak?
Taking a deep breath, she whispered a prayer.

"
You okay?" he asked, his words edged with concern. Little
General nuzzled her hand with his nose, licking her fingers as if
he, too, sensed something wrong.

"
I'm fine," she said, feigning control. "I appreciate your
help this summer. I couldn't have done it without you."

"
I'm leaving tomorrow for L.A. and Denver," he said without
preamble. "I have some unfinished business to take care of before
the momentum of practice starts."

What business? Grace?
Belle clinched her jaw, fighting a flare of jealousy. "How long
will you be gone?"

"
About a week. I have a commercial shoot and a guest spot on
the David Dubois show next Thursday. You going to
watch?"

"
Wow, the David Dubois show," she said, her tone
hollow.

What about Grace? He mentioned
nothing about seeing her, but surely he would once he arrived on
the west coast. How could he not? As far as she and the rest of the
world knew, they were still an item, in love and heading for
marriage.

The idea made her heart
sink.

***

Burke could see Belle
struggling. He fought the longing to take her in his arms and sooth
away the doubt and fear.

Yet, the Lord's instructions
were clear. Wait. Wait.

He knew he could not stir
feelings he could not answer.

Lord, keep her heart, he prayed,
watching the last of the sun dip behind the trees.

Conversations with Grace over
the summer had been long-distance and brief. The time change
between Sydney and Haskell made it nearly impossible to keep in
touch. Email helped, but Burke needed to see her face to face.

"
It's getting late," Belle said, whistling for the dogs to
pile into the truck bed. Little General growled as they did,
guarding his territory. She turned to Burke. He could see her
expression, set and serious, in the twilight. "You know what I
miss?" she asked.

"
What?" he asked softly.

Belle hesitated as if she
regretted starting the conversation. Finally, with a slight shrug,
she said soft and unsure, "I suppose I miss being a part of the
life that you're returning to tomorrow."

"
What do you mean?" he asked in a quiet, hushed
tone.

She continued. "I missed
sitting in the stands with all the other player's wives, cheering
for you when you scored the winning touch down that cinched the
Super Bowl. You did do that, didn't you?"

He dipped his head as he nodded,
hearing the regret in her voice, the picture of all he'd robbed
from her coming into full view. He'd not only broken her heart, but
also stolen her part of the dreams they shared together and,
without warning, changed the course of her life.

"
Sometimes I feel jealous that you lived such an exciting
life with so many opportunities. A life I should have shared with
you. Even though I'm content and happy here in Haskell, running the
ranch with Daddy, there's a part of me that wonders how I would
have been affected by your celebrity. What experiences did I miss
out on? And you… I don't know anything about your friends, where
you've been, what you've done."

"
Believe it or not, I dialed your number many times to
invite you to a game or attend some benefit or function with me.
But, I always hung up before the first ring."

"
What turned you into such a coward?" she asked, her remark
a little acerbic.

He answered immediately.
"Fame."

"
Well, I'm sorry for that."

He rested his arms on the
bed of the truck and gazed into her eyes, lined with thick dark
lashes. "I never imagined I'd taken so much from you."

"Well, it's all history
now." She hopped off the tailgate and started for the driver's
side. "We'd better get home. Daddy will be looking for his evening
snack."

Burke slammed the gate
shut and slipped into the passenger seat. "Belle, despite where
I've been and what I've done, the Lord has seen fit to bring me
home. Like I told you at the hospital the night Duke got hurt, the
best is yet to come."

She pushed in the clutch
and started the engine. She shifted into first gear and slowly
started the truck forward. "I'm sorry Burke, I didn't mean to stir
up negative feelings about the past."

"
No, it's okay," he said, tenderly. "I want you to be able
to talk to me."

"
Part of getting over pain and hurt doesn't always mean we
have to talk about it. Sometimes it is wiser to keep our thoughts
to ourselves. We forget how powerful words can be."

"
How'd you get to be so wise?" he asked.

She rested her hands on
the center of the steering wheel and stared out over the dash. "I
don't know how wise I am, but I've spent a lot of time in prayer
and reading the Word. That's the great thing that came out of you
leaving me. I pursued the Lord with all I had."

"
Now, I'm jealous."

"
Funny," Belle started thoughtfully, "how we always see the
greener grass on the other side of the fence." She pulled out of
the pasture and onto the road.

"
I think Duke would like a tall chocolate shake from
Charlie's. How 'bout it?" Burke said, wanting to end their last
evening together for a while on a happier note.

"
Charlie's," she said. "That's a twenty-minute drive into
town and back. It'll be an hour before we're home."

He reached for his
cellular and autodialed the Bar J. "Duke, shakes from Charlie's.
What do you say?"

Belle rolled her eyes at
his coy Benning grin. "You're ornery, you know that?"

"
Whatever," Burke whispered, listening to Duke's voice over
the phone. He pushed a button to end the conversation. "To
Charlie's."

"
To Charlie's," Belle repeated with a shake of her head and
a light laugh, the dogs baying from the back of the
truck.

"
Ladies and Gentlemen, would you please welcome all-star
running back, Burke Benning."

Thunderous applause filled
Studio 7 as Burke stepped through the stage curtain of the David
Dubois Show. He paused and waved to the crowd, flashing a smile and
bringing the audience to their feet with a roar.

David Dubois greeted him
with a manly slap on the back. "Welcome back to civilization!"
David sniffed the air. "What's that smell? Manure?"

Burke took an
over-exaggerated sniff as he sat in the guest chair. "No, Dave, I
think it's your hair gel."

A laugh rippled through the
crowd.

For the next few minutes, they
chatted and exchanged witty barbs, Burke holding his own with the
talented host and comedian.

He taunted David, pitting the
audience against him, ruffling the gregarious host. Burke loved the
casual atmosphere of the late night talk shows, and his ten-year
relationship with David made him feel at home on the set.

David cut to the first
commercial break and leaned over to him while the show's band
entertained the studio audience.