A Piece of My Heart
Page 26
Bonnie shrugged and then launched herself off the stump. “Mr. Lorde used to give me a treat before I left.”
“What did he give you?” Jake asked.
She pointed toward the orchard. “Sometimes an apple from those trees.”
“It’s too late for apples now. They’re all gone. How about a stick of gum?” he asked as he pulled a pack from his pocket.
She held out her hand. “Yes, please.”
He let her pull a stick from the pack and then waited while she peeled off the paper and popped it in her mouth. She handed him the wrapper and waved as she ran toward the creek.
He watched until she was completely out of sight and then wondered if he should call and let Laurel know she was here, only to realize he didn’t know her number.
He started the chain saw and resumed what he’d been doing, but he couldn’t get the image of Laurel finding her husband’s body out of his head, imagining her shock and the horror of cleaning up blood from the bed where they’d slept—imagining the grief and, eventually, her anger—because anger always followed death for the ones who’d been left behind.
* * *
Laurel was just about to go down to the creek to check on Bonnie when she saw her emerge from the tree line and come skipping toward the house. Bonnie saw her mother and waved.
Laurel waved back and then continued on her way to the cellar to store the last jars of jelly she’d made the other day. When she came up, she walked toward the chicken coop where Bonnie was playing with Lavonne. She could hear Bonnie talking to the hen as if she were one of her school friends. If life had been different, Bonnie would have had a sibling by now—someone else to play with besides a chicken. Then Laurel saw Bonnie was chewing gum and frowned. She never bought gum because it was bad for her teeth.
“Bonnie, where did you get that gum?” she asked.
“From Mr. Lorde.”
Laurel’s heart skipped a beat, and when she spoke, panic tinged her voice. “You went all the way up to the Lorde property?”
Bonnie looked up then nodded. “Yes, you always let me go see Mr. Lorde.”
Laurel’s voice rose an octave. “But he’s not there anymore, and his son is. I didn’t tell you it was okay to go there.”
Bonnie was confused and it showed. “But, Mama, he’s nice just like Mr. Lorde, and he’s like my daddy.”
“He’s nothing like your father, and you don’t know anything about him. I’m telling you now, you are not allowed to do that again, do you hear me?”
Bonnie’s chin trembled and her eyes welled with tears. “He’s lonesome, Mama. If I can’t go visit, who will be his friend?”
“He has his own friends. You do not go back to that place again. Promise me.”
Tears rolled as her shoulders slumped. “I promise,” she whispered, then took the gum out of her mouth, dug a little hole with her fingers, and buried it as solemnly as if she’d buried the man who’d given it to her.
“Come into the house now,” Laurel said. “I’ll make lunch.”
“I’m not hungry,” Bonnie said.
“Come into the house anyway,” Laurel said and held out her hand.
Bonnie got up, but wouldn’t hold her mother’s hand and walked into the trailer house on her own. Even though Laurel knew she’d hurt Bonnie’s feelings, she was convinced she was in the right. She followed her daughter inside, locking the door behind her as she went.
Order Sharon Sala’s third book
in the Blessings, Georgia series
Saving Jake
On sale now
About the Author
Sharon Sala is a member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as the Oklahoma Chapter of RWA. She has over ninety-five books in print, published in five genres—romance, young adult, Western, general fiction, and women’s fiction. First published in 1991, she is an eight-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, four-time RT Career Achievement Award winner, five-time winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, five-time winner of the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, and winner of the Heart of Excellence, as well as the Booksellers Best Award. Her novels are New York Times and USA Today bestsellers and get great reviews from Publishers Weekly. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate. She lives in Oklahoma, the state where she was born.
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