Rita was the wife of Anthony Salvadore, army buddy of Bo's. Rita and Sal owned a restaurant with apartments above. Sal was killed in the war, and his cousin, Vinnie, came to help Rita run the restaurant. They eventually married.
Mr. Berkovich was an elderly gentleman who lived in the same apartment building (above the restaurant) as Bo and Nora. While Bo was overseas in the war, Mr. Berkovich saved Nora's life...she was pregnant with Lilli at the time.
Chapter Five
On a sunny evening in late September, Nora and Lilli made yet another trip to the barn to see the kittens. Lilli ran ahead of Nora, curly ponytail bouncing, leading the way. She knew the path well. They had traveled it many times.
The barn door squeaked as Nora rolled it open revealing the cool semi-darkness and the sweet smell of hay. It was a welcome reprieve from the heat of the day.
“There’s one, Mommy!” Lilli squealed scrambling toward a fleeing kitten.
Quickly her little face went from joy to a frown.
“He runned away…” she said, brows furrowed.
Nora smiled and picked her up. “Well, sweetie, you have to approach them quietly. Come on. We’ll find one.”
As they rounded a corner, they saw Tate Palmer carrying water to a large box.
“Hello, Tate,” Nora said when she saw him.
“Ma’am,” he replied.
“We’re on a kitten hunt. Have you seen any?” she asked.
“I saw a few, but they scattered when I came in. Sorry.” Then he added, “Does she like puppies?” indicating Lilli.
“You have puppies in that box?”
“Yes, ma’am. Border collie pups. Mr. Buchanan wanted another. He asked me to bring them by today.”
“You want to see some puppies?” Nora asked Lilli.
She bobbed her head up and down with wide eyes and squirmed to get out of Nora’s arms.
“Just look at them. Don’t pick them up,” Nora told her before putting her down.
Lilli made a beeline for the box. As she looked in, seven puppies bounced against the side of the box in an effort to get to their little playmate.
“Can I hode one? I wanna hode one, Mommy!” she squealed excitedly.
Nora turned to Tate, “Do they bite?” she asked for his ears only.
“Well, they will nibble ma’am. They’re puppies. They like to chew. But they won’t hurt her. If it’s ok, I’ll get one out for her…”
“Sure,” Nora said. Then to Lilli, “Sit down then, Lilli. Mr.Tate is going to let you hold one.”
She sat down immediately next to the box where Tate put a squirming puppy in her arms. Lilli squealed as the puppy wriggled in her lap until he could lick her giggling face. Nora watched with a smile.
Lilli was hanging onto the edge of the box as she fell back against the straw where the puppy continued his quest. As she fell back, the side of the box bent enough to release the other six puppies which now bounced and bounded around her too. The sight of wriggling puppies and giggling girl greeted Asa Buchanan as he entered the barn.
“Well, look at that!” he said with a wide grin. “What’s going on in here?!”
“Pa..p..aw!” Lilli sputtered trying to sit up as the scrambling puppies licked her face. Finally on her feet, she ran to her Grandpa’s arms where he lifted her high in the air.
“How’s my favorite little filly?” he asked her. “What’s this?” he asked tugging her pony tail gently. “You have a tail like Hickory!”
“No, dat’s my tail, Papaw. Mommy made it.”
“She did?! Well, it’s very pretty. You have a kiss for your old Papaw?”
She obliged, then wriggled to get down again.
“Look, Papaw! Puppies!”
“I know! You gonna help Papaw pick out his new dog?”
“Mmmhmmm.”
“Well, get it done, Lilli. It’s almost bath time,” Nora said.
“Oh, come on Nora. I just got home. Let her stay up a little later. If you want to go back to the house, go ahead. I’ll bring her back with me,” Asa encouraged.
Nora hesitated a moment. “Alright. But, not too much longer, okay?”
“Fine,” he said waving her away with a hand.
As Nora turned to go, she heard Lilli’s excited voice. “I like dis one, Papaw!”
“Oh! Well that is a nice one! Floppy ears and a long tail. I like him too!”
* * * * * * *
Nora made her way back to the ranch house slowly. She needed a few moments to be alone with her thoughts. They weighed heavily upon her this evening in spite of her efforts to drive them away. But time alone was not to be had as she heard the pounding of hooves behind her.
“All alone, Little Lady?”
Nora turned to find Bo astride Hickory.
“Hi Beautiful,” he said flashing that adorable grin she loved so much.
“Hi Handsome,” she answered quietly.
“Where are you headed?” he asked, “Where’s Lilli?”
“Well, Lilli is with Asa in the barn. He is letting her help him choose a new puppy. And I’m just making my way back to the house. If you’re finished for the day, I’ll wait and we can walk together.”
“Not quite finished, but almost,” Bo said. “I still need to lock up the west gate...Why don’t you come with me? Looks like we’ll have a beautiful sunset tonight.”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m not in the mood for one of your bat-out-of-hell rides. I’ll walk.”
He gave her a look. “What if I promise to rein it in a bit.”
She laughed. “You’re not good at reining it in.”
He smirked, “Well...I could take that as a compliment…”
When she started walking again, he mumbled to himself, “or not…”
He followed her on the horse, “Did I do or say something? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” she said defensively. She stopped when she realized how sharp she sounded. “I’m sorry. It’s not you.”
When she looked up at him he noticed tears in her eyes. He dismounted Hickory and took her hand in his. “We’re going to watch the sunset.” he said quietly. “Come on.”
He helped her mount the horse, then he swung himself into the saddle behind her. He was true to his word, and they had an easy ride to the west gate where the sunset was as amazing as he had anticipated...shades of pink and orange beyond the silhouettes of the native pines.
“Look at that, honey,” he said wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. “Only in Texas do you see sunsets like that. Ever see a prettier one in Chicago?”
“No, never,” she admitted. “But...I’ve also never seen a beautiful winter’s day since I’ve moved to Texas,” she returned.
“Okay...guess you got me there.” He rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her neck. “So....what’s on your mind, Red? You’re not yourself tonight…”
She basked in the comfort of his arms for a few moments before speaking. “I got a letter from Rita today...she told me that Reuven Berkovich passed away suddenly...they say it was his heart.”
“Ohhh...I’m sorry, honey. I hate to hear that. I liked Mr. Berkovich…”
“Me too...I owe my life to him...and Lilli’s,” she said in a choked voice. “He saved our lives, you know…”
“I know, honey. I’ve thanked him several times for that and for watching out for you while I was overseas...He was a good man.”
“He was,” she agreed in a voice choked with emotion.
They sat quietly for a few minutes before Bo continued, “So...how are Rita and Vinnie?”
“Sounds like they’re doing very well,” Nora said wiping the tears from her eyes. “Vinnie is opening up a second restaurant across town. I guess business is booming since he added pizza to the menu.”
“I can see why...it’s delicious.”
Nora grew quiet again before adding, “And Rita is pregnant again...due in early November...”
Bo looked surprised. “Really?! That surprises me. How old is little Sal? Seems like they just had him!”
“He’s thirteen-months-old,” Nora told him.
“Well, they’re going to be close. Rita will be a busy woman.”
“Yes, she will,” Nora agreed playing with Bo’s hand.
Silence fell between them.
Moments later, Nora broke that silence, “Bo?”
“What, honey?”
Nora sighed. “Don’t you think it strange that we haven’t had a second child yet? Lilli is two-and-a-half…Have you even thought about it?”
“Sure I’ve thought about it,” he shrugged. “Sometimes it just...takes awhile I guess…”
“It didn’t take awhile with Lilli. I got pregnant on our honeymoon, remember?... I’m beginning to wonder if something is wrong.”
“Now don’t start worrying...I really don’t think anything is wrong. It’s obvious that we can make babies. Look at Lilli...beautiful and smart. What’s wrong is that we haven’t spent enough time together lately. And there is only a small window of time each month when you can get pregnant...looks like we’re just not hitting the right time…”
Nora turned to look at him. “How do you know so much about fertility?” she queried.
“I’m a rancher...we do some breeding. Why do you think we have Samson around?”
Nora didn’t respond.
Bo held her tighter. “I don’t want you to worry about this. When the time is right, I’m sure it will happen.” He pressed his lips against her neck. She loved the warmth of him. “Why don’t we…” he whispered into her ear, “go home right now and start working on this? Want to?”
Nora rested her hand against his cheek. “Yes, I do,” she whispered, “Let’s go home…”
To be continued...
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