Chapter Twenty-One
Belle
Belle hooked a strand of battery-powered fairy lights from one of the church chandeliers. The legs of her chair wobbled on the uneven plank floor.
Mavis wanted old world country charm with a touch of modern magic for the sheik’s final night.
Downpours meant they’d had to move the party inside, and while candlelight was all well and fine, open flames in a two-hundred-year-old wooden structure held too much potential to strike the wrong parting note.
Belle handed the coil of lights to Tilly, who was one-fourth of the decorating committee.
Pearl and Ruby Schenkels, the town’s project manager, were the other two members.
Pearl oversaw the buffet in the church lobby.
Ruby arranged potted shrubs and enormous bouquets of flowers around the exterior of the nave to create an outdoor, woodsy air.
The fairy lights would re-create the night sky.
The rain on the roof made the inside of the church extra cozy.
The smell of spruce wafted over the pews.
Belle hopped off her chair and carried it to the underside of the next chandelier.
“Beau’s agent seems nice,” Tilly said.
Belle resumed her perch on the chair and retrieved the handful of lights. “He is.”
Beau had given everyone the wrong impression of Leon Schmidt, because he was quite lovely. They had talked for quite a while at the picnic. He’d been interested in her research on native herbal medicine, and he was so easy to talk to that her enthusiasm for it might have gotten away.
The only thing that annoyed her was his insistence Beau spend the night at the saloon so he could rehearse in private, then get a decent night’s sleep. It was one of the few nights she and Beau had left together, and she’d thought—believed—he would have found a way to spend it with her.
It was probably for the best that he hadn’t.
They’d only be prolonging the inevitable.
She didn’t know if the world Beau lived in would suit her.
She wasn’t a fan of the spotlight. Not the way he was.
And what about her dreams of a medical practice?
Did all the years she’d spent earning her degree really mean so little to her?
Beau was right. Making rash decisions when she was angry wasn’t smart thinking. As tempting as it was to run off with him, and worry about her own career later, she’d always wonder—and worry—about Mavis and Benny.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Adam. His continued relationship with Shanda was not a point in his favor.
Heavy boots stomped on the lobby floor. Speak of the devil. Adam entered the nave through an arched doorway.
Belle’s shaky chair faltered, then regained its footing. “I thought you were dead.”
“Benny resurrected me this morning. The sheik leaves tonight, right after the show, and I’m his ride.”
“I, uh…” Tilly’s blond curls bounced between Adam and Belle. She gave up on manufacturing an excuse to escape. “I gotta go.”
“Me, too,” Ruby said.
She dropped a small potted spruce with a thud.
The two women fled. Belle heard Ruby murmur something to Pearl, who was arranging the buffet in the lobby, then a second flurry of footsteps, followed by the slam of the church door.
The nave fell blindingly silent.
“Let’s finish getting these lights strung,” Adam said brusquely.
They hung the remaining lights. Belle knew how to keep quiet. She entertained herself by counting the vulnerable spots on the human body that could cause the most pain.
Adam caved first. “You’ve got good aim. It looked like you really meant that for a gut shot.”
“I did. The head is too small a target. It’s easy to miss. Also, a gut shot is usually fatal.”
“And a slow way to go. Painful, too.” His lips twitched. “I suppose I deserved it.”
Belle ignored the hand he offered as she dismounted the chair. “I should get back to the clinic.”
“Hold on,” Adam said. There was enough steel in his voice to root Belle to the spot rather than bolt for the door, which was what she had planned. “You never gave me a chance to defend myself. Five minutes. That’s all I ask. After that, you go ahead and do what you need to do.”
She didn’t owe him a chance. She owed him nothing. But she owed herself something. She’d been abandoned by him, and she’d lived a lie, and she deserved to know why.
“I’m listening,” she said.
“Your mother and I—” Adam caught the look on her face and started again.
“I’ve known Shanda her whole life. To us, things between us are normal.
But what’s between us is our business. Not yours or anyone else’s.
That doesn’t mean I don’t know what she is.
Mavis and Benny and I tried to keep her away from you.
Then Nigel Forsythe was arrested, and I wanted to bring you here, but Mavis said no because Shanda kept coming back to Burning Scrub and you were too young for the kind of disappointment she’d bring you.
One of the reasons we started the theme park was to help pay for your care and education.
All we’ve ever wanted was what was best for you, and we’re so stinking proud of the way you turned out.
Now, all we want is for you to give us a chance as a family. Is that too much to ask?”
Absolutely. She’d been abandoned by them.
But this was no normal family. And at fourteen, already angry, then yes, finding out that Shanda was her mother would have been too much for Belle.
To find out that the father she trusted—the one who’d encouraged her to pursue an education—wasn’t her father at all would have proven disastrous.
Who knew where Belle would be, or how she might have turned out, if Burning Scrub had taken her in?
Giving them a chance to be family would be as much for her benefit as theirs.
“Who else knows you’re my father?” she asked.
“You trying to figure out who else you need to shoot?” Adam half smiled, as if the lip movement hurt and might crack his face.
“Mavis suspects. Benny believes in immaculate conception, so it’s unlikely he’s put too much thought into it.
A few other people might wonder. Beau’s the only one bold enough to come right out and ask. ”
Of course he was.
“I’ll think about it,” she said, because even though she leaned toward giving in, she wasn’t ready to be gracious about it. “Right now, we’ve got a show to put on.”
And the show involved Beau, and how she was going to deal with his leaving, because it looked more and more as if he’d be leaving Burning Scrub without her.
*
Belle
The small church was packed.
The sheik occupied the front pew on the right side of the nave. Benny sat on his left, with Beau’s agent, Leon, on the sheik’s right. Jayce and Huck Hanson sat to Benny’s left.
Belle and Mavis sat with the Lovetts and Tilly behind the sheik and his posse. Dave and his friends and their families sat behind Belle and Mavis. Townspeople filled the remaining pews.
Beau entered the church through the sacristy next to the choir loft, nodding and waving.
He wore a white shirt and string tie, black jeans and a black Stetson, but motorcycle boots instead of cowboy.
His straight blond hair was loose, and the sparkling fairy lights caught the vibrant blue of his eyes. He carried his guitar in one hand.
To Belle’s ears, the heartiness of the town’s applause when he appeared sounded forced. Burning Scrub had heard him perform live before, and it hadn’t gone well. He’d wanted to get under their skin because they’d gotten under his.
She had no concerns about tonight’s performance, however. He played to his audience, and tonight, his audience was Sheik Ali.
He started out with a country playlist he appeared quite comfortable with, and the crowd slowly relaxed.
Partway through the second song, Adam slid into the pew next to her. He didn’t get too close, and he faced straight ahead. She got the message. The next move was hers.
Beau sang for almost an hour before he stopped for a short break. He settled the body of the guitar on his thigh and held on to the neck. His gaze encompassed the crowd, warmly embracing each person, before resting on Belle.
“I’ve been working on something new,” he said. “It’s a little something I call ‘Crazy Town.’”
Belle couldn’t breathe. No, Beau. Don’t do it.
Everything up to this point had been going so well.
Then he started to sing, and it wasn’t Mongolian, as she’d feared, or any other sort of death metal.
The melody itself was quite lovely. The tempo was upbeat and quick—the kind that had everyone tapping their feet.
But it didn’t sound country, either. Her heart started pounding like mad. You’ll know.
This was her song. The one he’d written for her.
She didn’t stop smiling until he got to the chorus. What were the words he was singing?
Everywhere that I’ve wandered in this great big world,
I’ve never found.
The love meant for me, that one true inspiration.
Until I found you,
The love of my life,
In this crazy town.
The song ended with thunderous applause. Everyone was looking at her. Her cheeks were so hot they burned, and her face had to be prairie-fire red.
An equally hot rage had started to build.
He loved her. He’d just said so. In front of Benny and Mavis and Adam. Even though he was leaving. Even though he’d encouraged her to think twice about going with him. How dare he do this to her? Just when she thought she’d made up her mind about staying in Burning Scrub?
The applause settled down. Beau launched into a new song.
And Adam was scowling at her in a way that was almost as unsettling as Beau’s public declaration of love.
“Dammit,” he said.