This Time Forever (32 page)

He shook his head. “Try again.”

A tear rolled down her cheek as she mumbled, “I can’t have the horse I want.”

Damon felt his heart constrict. Since they had moved to the big house in Alpine, Belle had been begging to fill the adjoining pasture with a horse. He had purchased the land at the end of the summer and had promised her a horse by Christmas. Of anything she could give up, he knew this meant the most.

He had so wanted to give it to her!

“Ah, ma Belle.” He stroked her hair tenderly. How he wished he could give her another punishment. He had so looked forward to seeing her eyes light up when he showed her the horse, imagined the way she would giggle in delight.

He fought down the desire to refuse her offer, but he knew he had to put an end to her disobedience now—even if it was painful for both of them. He had learned the same lesson with Tanner; it was better to teach a child on a relatively unimportant matter than wait until it was serious and perhaps too late.

“I think that is a fitting punishment—at least for now.” More tears slipped from her eyes as he spoke, filling him with compassion. “But not forever, Belle. Once you can show me that you are to be trusted and that you can be obedient, you will regain your privilege of owning a horse.” He hugged her. “I know it’s a hard thing, but I think you can do it. I
know
you can.”

Her arms went around his neck. She felt small in his arms, unprotected, and he was grateful Mickelle had distracted him from his anger so he could react rationally and with wisdom. This time, he had no regrets about his reaction to her disobedience as he had in the past. There had been no screaming or harsh words that would later plague him until he begged her forgiveness. “I love you, Belle,” he whispered.

“I know, Daddy. I just wish I could have my horse.”

“You will.”

“I’ll try real hard.”

He smoothed her hair. “Look, Belle, if you really don’t want me to go out with Bekka, I won’t. But before you tell me that’s what you want, you should know that I’m already trying to find you a new nanny—someone you can get along with better.”

“Bekka’s leaving?” Her eyes were wide, and not nearly as happy as he had expected.

“No, she’s not leaving. She’s going to stay with Jess and Bri, and she’s still going to be our friend. But she and I have been very worried about how you’re getting along with her, and that’s why we need to make a change. You’ll see Bekka as often as you want, but meanwhile, I want you to be with someone you can be happy with every day. Wouldn’t that be great?”

“How about Mrs. Hansen?” Belle asked, her sadness vanishing. “She doesn’t have to go to work, and she likes to play with kids.”

“I’m sure she’s got enough on her hands.”

“Can you ask her? Please, Daddy?” She looked at him earnestly, batting her eyelashes a few times as if that would help her cause.

Damon couldn’t help a grin. “I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you!” Once more, her arms encircled his neck.

“Come on. I have to get back to work.” He climbed to his feet, still carrying Belle. When he bent to get his suit jacket from the grass where he had thrown it, she clung to him like a monkey.

As they rounded the house, Mickelle and Jeremy emerged from the side door. “Care for a drink?” she asked.

Damon was about to say no, but he suddenly felt parched. Resisting the urge to glance at his watch, he nodded. “Actually, I could. Thank you.”

“We have lemonade or root beer,” Jeremy announced.

“Root beer, root beer,” chanted Belle.

Damon stepped up the two cement stairs and into the kitchen, where Mickelle had already laid out the beverages and four tall glasses on the small eating bar. Seeing that, he was glad he hadn’t refused her offer.

“You gotta be careful you don’t drop these glasses,” Jeremy said to Belle as they seated themselves on the tall stools. “They’ll break into about a million pieces.”

“Or two million,” Belle agreed.

Mickelle smiled at Damon, making him feel warm inside. “Root beer or lemonade?”

“Lemonade.”

He and Mickelle had lemonade while the kids drank root beer. Damon was glad for the children’s chatter, because all at once he didn’t know what to say to Mickelle. He felt he was staring at her altogether too much, but she didn’t appear to notice.

Then he remembered the Geo Metro. “I’ve been talking to this car dealer guy I know, and he’s got a nice little car I think you might be interested in.”

Mickelle looked down at the Formica countertop, her lashes leaving delicate shadows under her eyes. “I don’t like my station wagon. but right now it’s all I can afford.”

“Well, that’s just it. It’s a really good price.” He almost tripped over his words in his hurry to tell her the great news. “You can get it with the six hundred dollars I’ll be paying you.”

Her blue eyes met his in surprise. “It can’t be much of a car, then. I don’t want to trade one problem car for another. The Snail is old, but at least she’s solid.”

“But that’s why this is so great for you. My friend assures me that it’s in good condition. He’s only willing to part with it for such a low price because he knows me. It’s practically a steal.” He continued, describing everything he could remember that Kirk had told him about the Geo Metro, leaving out only the price.

Anger sprang to Mickelle’s eyes—not exactly the reaction he had anticipated. “Look,” she said coldly, “I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Brionney and I have been looking at car advertisements this past week, and a car like you describe is an easy two thousand—and that’s only if it’s nine years old.”

“It’s not that old.”

Sparks seemed to shoot out of her eyes as she continued to glare at him. “My point exactly.”

“Yeah.” He wanted to look away, but her turbulent eyes held him. “Well, I am buying a Lexus from him.”

“Okay, now we’re getting to the bottom of this . . . this
steal.”

“I was going to pay for the rest.” Damon tried to be angry, but he couldn’t feel anything but admiration for this woman. “I wanted to help you.”

Her expression softened. “I know that. I really do. And I appreciate it.” She gave him a slight smile. “Brionney said you were nice, and you are. But I want to pay my own way. I need to.”

Damon wanted to insist, but backed off in the face of her quiet dignity. He frowned. “It’s a shame. The guy was willing to go as low as two thousand. You might never find something that good.”

“Well, I’ll have to wait.” She grimaced. “At least the Snail will be fixed.”

“I know how you could get money for the car.” Belle had been watching their exchange with interest.

“How?” Jeremy asked quickly.

Belle looked at Mickelle. “You could baby-sit me—and Tanner, too.”

Mickelle’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I thought you had a nanny.”

“We’re looking for another one,” Belle answered. Damon was surprised at how mature she sounded. “Daddy promised me one I would like, and I like you.”

Jeremy nodded. “She hates Rebekka.” At Mickelle’s sharp look, he shrugged and added innocently, “I don’t know why.”

“Daddy pays a lot of money.”

“I’m sure he does.” Mickelle turned to Damon and he held his breath, wondering what she would say. The more he thought about it, the more perfect the solution seemed. She could get the money and the car she needed, and he could have someone he trusted for the children. He wondered why Brionney hadn’t thought of it before.

Instead of speaking to him, Mickelle addressed the children. “Why don’t you two go outside and play for a few minutes?”

“That means they want to talk,” Belle said.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, about us.”

Belle touched Mickelle’s hand. “Please be my baby-sitter. I’ll come over every day and do my homework, and you can teach me to play the piano.”

“And maybe Tanner will show me how to get a Mew,” Jeremy added.

“Yeah, he will,” Belle promised. “I could only get it with his help.”

“A Mew?” Damon asked.

“A Pokémon.”

That, of course, explained everything.

When the children had left, Damon refilled his glass of lemonade, though he was no longer thirsty. “Well?”

“You really want me to watch your children?” Mickelle asked. “You don’t even know me.”

Damon felt that he did. “You’re Bri’s sister. I’ll get references from her.”

She smiled. “Well . . .”

“Of course, if it’s not something you want to do . . .”

“I have been thinking about getting a job. I’m going back to school again, though, and I didn’t know how I could work and go to school without leaving the children.” Her forehead creased. “I don’t like being away from them too much.”

Damon knew exactly how she felt. “Then you’ll consider it?”

“I think I would like to. But there is one thing.”

“What?”

The tip of her tongue slid along her lower lip. “I’m worried about Belle and Rebekka.”

“Belle doesn’t want to be with her. That’s been a big part of the problem.”

“So you’ll just remove Rebekka from her life after all these months? What about finding out why Belle dislikes her so much?”

Damon sighed. Mickelle was perceptive, and he tried to be grateful for her concern over Belle’s welfare. He picked up his glass and swirled the ice around in the lemonade. “I know why. At least I think I do.”

She said nothing, but her silence urged him to continue.

“She’s afraid of losing Bekka. Oh, I know that might not make much sense, but she was very attached to our former nanny, who had been with us since my wife died.”

Mickelle leaned back in her chair, nodding. “So she’s afraid Rebekka is going to leave, and she didn’t want to get too attached. But won’t that be a bad thing, taking Rebekka away from her now?”

“I won’t, not completely. I thought if I could give them some space—you know, invite Rebekka over socially. Maybe then Belle would see that Rebekka can be her friend, no matter where she lives.”

“It might work,” Mickelle said. “Provided that Rebekka agrees. I wouldn’t want to kick her out of a job or anything.”

Damon laughed. “Oh, no. Bekka wants me to find a replacement. We both agreed from the start that our arrangement was temporary. In fact, maybe that’s why Belle hasn’t let her crusade against Bekka die. That must be it; I hadn’t thought of it until now. She knew all along that it wasn’t permanent.”

“The benefit of hindsight,” Mickelle murmured. “Are you sure Rebekka won’t mind?”

“Not in the least. Bekka is really good at languages, and I’ve already put her to work at our company. I’ll have to be careful that no one steals her out from under me.”

“She sounds like a wonderful woman.” Mickelle picked up her glass and took a sip of her drink. Damon noticed that she wore a plain gold band on her left ring finger.

“I’m sure you’ll have a chance to meet her. She’s going to be staying with your sister.” For some reason Damon didn’t care to identify, he steered clear of mentioning his romantic leanings toward Rebekka. “You know, several people have suggested to me that Tanner watch Belle every day until I get home, and he’s usually responsible enough. But I worry about giving him so much responsibility. He needs time to be a child, and Belle needs to be around a woman. Besides, there will be times occasionally when I’ll have to go out of town for a day or so, and then they’ll need someone overnight. That’s one reason I’ve always had in-home nannies before. But I think they’re old enough that a night or two away from home every now and again might be a good change.”

“Overnight. Hmm.” Mickelle considered for a moment longer. “Okay, Damon. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

They worked out the details carefully. Damon would see that Tanner was awake before dropping Belle off at Mickelle’s. Then he would call from work to make sure Tanner was leaving for his school bus. “He won’t be completely alone,” Damon said. “We have a live-in maid who came with us from Alaska.”

Belle would walk to school with Jeremy, unless it was too rainy or snowy, and at those times Mickelle would drive them. In the afternoon, Mickelle would pick up Tanner from school in Alpine and bring him back to her house in American Fork. “Only until his gets his licence,” Damon added.

Mickelle would be home from picking Tanner up in plenty of time to wait for Belle and Jeremy, who would walk home with the neighbor children. Occasionally, Bryan might be home alone for a few minutes after school while she was in Alpine collecting Tanner, but not long enough to make a difference. Damon would pick up Belle and Tanner on his way home from work at about six-thirty.

“Of course, if you’re going to pick up Tan from school, you’re going to need a decent car.” Damon smiled as he spoke.

She smirked at him. “Can’t have him getting embarrassed, can we? He could ride the bus to your house, and I could pick him up there.”

“Or a new car could come with the job.”

“A Geo Metro?” There was amusement in her voice.

“Would you mind too much?”

She thought for a moment. “What color is it?”

His mouth opened, but nothing came out. “I don’t know,” he said. “I forgot to ask. Does it make a difference?”

“Well, lime green looks good on ice cream.”

“Oh, right.” He’d been so busy trying to be a hero that he had overlooked a few things.

“After we look at it, we can discuss payments.”

Damon’s protest was drowned out by a blood-curdling scream.

“Belle!” Mickelle was on her feet and running to the door in an instant. Damon was right behind her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Mickelle found Belle in a heap by the fence, and her heart immediately went out to the child. She was sobbing uncontrollably and gingerly holding her right arm with her left hand. “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts,” she cried.

Jeremy hovered around her, his thin face tight with concern. “I told her not to do it, Mom. But she wouldn’t listen.”

“What did you do?” Damon rushed past Mickelle and gathered his daughter onto his lap.

“Ow, Dad! You’re hurting me.”

“I’m sorry, but I need to take a look at it.”