This Time by Rachel Hauck

Author:Rachel Hauck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: inspirational romance
Publisher: Writers Exchange E-Publishing

Chapter Twelve

"What are you doing here?" she asked, too weary to be angry with him anymore

He raised a brown paper bag, and the smell of burgers wafted through the air. His intense blue eyes pleaded with her as he spoke. "Two Charlie's cheeseburgers, one all the way, one with no tomato. Two large fries and chocolate shakes."

Charlie's burgers were one of her favorites, and her stomach rumbled as the heady scent of the hot food wafted across the room.

"I can't believe you remembered," she said, motioning for him to set the burgers on the table.

"How could I forget?" he said, handing the milkshakes to her before reaching into the bag.

They ate in silence for the first few minutes, Belle savoring the burger's taste. She washed it down with a long slurp of her shake. Looking askance at Burke she confessed, "I blamed you for this, you know."

Burke finished chewing and swallowed, nodding his head. "I heard."

She chuckled nervously. "How ridiculous for me to accuse you."

"Well, I thought so, but hey, I've done worse."

One eyebrow shot up as Belle said, "Don't I know it."

"How long is it going to take for me to live it down?"

Belle eyed him, a slight grin on her lips. "You've only just begun, Benning."

He rolled his eyes and curled his lip. "I figured as much."

Her face became serious and her eyes snapped at him. "Twelve years, Burke, twelve years of stuffing everything I wanted to say to you."

"Guess I got it coming to me."

"Thank you for what you did for Daddy," she said, changing the course of the conversation.

Burke glanced over at her father, sleeping a few feet away, before peering at her. "Any time, Jamison, any time."

Belle shook her head. Her world had flipped upside down since their chapel encounter earlier that evening. A few hours ago she balked at the idea of carrying on a conversation with him. Now, they shared dinner and the night watch over her father.

"Why'd you come?" she asked.

"I thought you might need some company."

She stared at him for a moment. "Thanks for being here."

He popped up the leg rest on the recliner and stretched out. "I wasn't sure I'd be welcome."

"Another day, another time, you wouldn't have been."

"I thought Spencer might stick around," he said, his tone wrapped with suspicion.

Detecting his undertone, she answered honestly. "We're just friends, Burke." She swirled her shake with a long straw.

"I see," he said.

"When do you head back to Colorado?"

Burke pillowed his head with his hands clasped together and fixed his eyes on the ceiling. "No time soon."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What? Pre-season games start in a month or so."

He sat up and threw his legs over the side of the chair. "I retired."

Belle leaned toward him. "Retired?"

He launched into his story, and she listened intensely, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Wow," she said with a low whistle. "I never thought I'd see the day. I figured you'd die running in for a touchdown."

"Me too, but the Lord has other plans for me.

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