Posted by hummingbird on 5/13/2014, 7:44 am VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Eight
Bo opened the door for her and she slid into the car. She noticed a picnic basket and a blanket on the back seat.
“We’re having a picnic?” she asked as he crawled in on the driver’s side.
“Yes, Ma’am.” he answered.
“So how did you get a pass when no one else did?” Nora asked.
“Well...yesterday I did some extra work for the Sargeant. He was happy with it and gave me a day pass. So, here I am.”
“I’m so glad,” she told him. “I’ve been missing you.”
“I’ve been missing you too...like crazy. Scoot on over here closer to me.” She slid across the seat leaning her head on his shoulder and holding his hand. He stole a couple of kisses before they headed out.
“Where exactly are we going?” she asked him.
“I found a place that I want you to see. I think you’ll like it,” he said taking in her pale yellow dress, “and, by the way, you look very pretty today.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Soldier,” she said giving him a sideways glance. “you look pretty good yourself.”
They left the confines of the city, and Bo increased the speed a little as they hit the open road. They drove along for a few miles, then Bo turned off onto a gravel road. In the distance Nora could see a pallet of white and a line of trees.
As they got closer she saw that the pallet of white was actually a field of daisies. She had never seen so many daisies growing in the same place.
“Oh Bo! Look at the daisies! So many! Aren’t they beautiful?”
He kept his eyes on the road ahead but smiled saying, “I thought you’d like them. Pretty, isn’t it?”
“I love it! Daisies are such happy flowers...they look like they’re dancing in the wind.”
“There’s a creek that runs beyond that line of trees. I thought we could picnic by the creek and walk through the fields…”
“Barefoot?” she asked with a sparkle in her eye.
“If you like,” he laughed, “but remember there are bees. You don’t want a bee sting keeping you from dancing this week.”
“I’m not afraid of a little ole bee,” she teased as she continued to look across the spread of daisies. “This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“My pleasure.” He pulled the car to a stop under a large tree. Nora scrambled out of the car and went to the creek bank. Bo followed.
“Want to go wading?” he asked.
“I don’t know…” she said peering into the water. “Are there fish and things in there?”
He laughed. “You can see to the bottom. Do you see any fish?”
“No...but what about those things that suck your blood...those black, slimy things...”
“Leeches,” Bo said. I don’t think leeches would live in these waters. Come on Red,” he said. “Get in with me.” Bo sat down to roll up his pant legs and remove his socks and shoes.
Nora continued to peer into the water. “Well...okay…” she said hesitantly, “but if I get a leech on me I’ll die on the spot...that will be the end of this relationship...just want you to know.”
Bo laughed even harder. “Sit down, Cinderella...let me remove your slippers.” Instead she just put her hands on his shoulders to support herself while he pulled her shoes off.
“Come on,” he said “we used to play in the creek all the time when we were kids. It’s fun.” he took her hand and pulled her down the bank toward the water.
“OoooOoooo!” she squealed when her feet hit the water. It’s freezing!”
“You’ll get used to it...don’t be such a city girl..come on.”
Nora, with her cold feet, wanted desperately to get out of the icy water, but she wasn’t going to give him any reason to call her a ‘city girl’ even though she was one. So she followed on as he led her to the middle of the creek.
“Hey, there’s a good spot to skip stones. Let’s see who can get the most jumps,” Bo suggested.
“Do what?” she asked.
“Skip stones.” He looked at her. “Have you ever skipped stones?” he questioned. At her puzzled look, he said, “Really? You are a city girl. Okay...here’s what you do.”
Bo then proceeded to teach her the art of skipping stones...from the selection of a flat rock to the flick of the wrist to the counting of jumps. His first stone hopped six times. Nora was impressed.
“That looks easy,” she said. But when she tried, her stone just went PLL-UNK and sank to the bottom.
Bo shook his head. “No...you’re throwing it. You can’t do that. You have to fling it sideways with your wrist so that it just skims the water.”
He showed her again. She tried again. PL-UNKK
Bo grabbed a flat stone. “Here,” he said handing her the stone, “let me show you.”
He got behind her and showed her how to lean over and look at the water sideways. Then with his hand over hers, he showed her how to flick her wrist.
“Let’s do one together...ready?” he asked with her hand under his. Here we go. Just relax your hand and let me do the work this time. Then you can try it on your own.”
Once again, Bo had the pleasure of “teaching” Nora a skill that required hands on activity. When he helped her flick her wrist, the stone skimmed the water bouncing four times.
“I did it!” she shouted happily.
“Very Good! Now try it again on your own,” Bo told her.
“Nora found a flat stone, leaned over, flicked her wrist releasing the stone only to see it go PLL-UNK into the water.
“I hate this game,” she said.
Bo grinned.“So, does that mean you forfeit?” he asked.
“Oh no...I don’t forfeit, Buchanan. I’ll just try another rock.”
As she bent to look for another rock, Bo heard her say, “Ewww! You said there weren’t any fish in here!” as she hurried closer to him.
“There aren’t,” he assured her. “I haven’t seen any fish.”
“Then what are those,” she asked looking down by her feet. Already she was hanging onto Bo’s shoulder and standing on one foot.
“Oh, honey...those are just tadpoles...they’re harmless.”
“I don’t like them...I’m getting out of this water.”
Bo laughed.
“I mean it, Buchanan.”
“Fine...here...put your arms around my neck...” Bo told her.
Nora misunderstood him. “I am not going to waste time standing around kissing you. I want out of this water!”
Bo began laughing again. “Okay, fine. Put your arms around my neck and I’ll carry you out of here...city girl”, he teased.
Although she was frustrated by his teasing, she wrapped her arms about his neck and he scooped her up easily into his arms.
Carrying her to shore he asked en route, “And since when is kissing me a ‘waste of time’?”
She played with his earlobe and ran her finger along his jawline. “It isn’t unless I’m stranded in the water with…”
“...ferocious man-eating tadpoles?” he finished for her.
“Yeah.” She frowned at him, then grinned and gave him a kiss. “Why do you tease me so much?”
“Because it’s fun,” he said raising his eyebrows at her.
They had reached the shore, but Bo still held Nora in his arms.
“You going to put me down?” she asked.
“Do I have to?” he questioned, eyes twinkling in that way she had grown to love.
She took his face between her hands then and started planting kisses all over his face, neck, and mouth. He slowly let her slide out of his arms to stand in front of him where he pulled her into a tight embrace kissing her fully. When the kiss finally ended, Bo buried his head in Nora’s neck.
“I’m hungry,” he murmured.
She giggled at him. “What a romantic you are, Bo Buchanan.”
“I can be romantic...” he began.
“Yeah, well, save it for later,” she said. “I’m famished too. What’s in the basket?”
“I really don’t know,” he replied. “I told Rita to pack us a basket of food...not sure what she put in here, but I’m sure it will be good.”
They spread the blanket under a tree and opened the basket. Not only had Rita packed sandwiches and fruit, but also a bottle of wine and two glasses. Everything was delicious.
When they finished eating, Bo proposed a toast. “To...you...and me...and...wherever life leads us.”
They tapped their glasses and drank the toast.
“You can be romantic, Buchanan...that was very nicely said.” Then she added, “Hope it leads us on a walk through those daisies. I’m ready. Are you?” She stood and held out her hand to him. He took it and they walked leisurely through the field.
“I have never seen this many daisies in one place before! It’s amazing!” she told him picking a variety of sizes and adding them to a bouquet she was making. He collected some along the way also.
Finally she said, “I think I have enough. Let’s go back to the blanket...it’s cooler in the shade. They sat on the blanket, Nora dropping her daisy bouquet beside her.
Bo sat across from her one knee up and one leg extended across the blanket. He pulled his hat down a bit to shade his eyes.
“When I was little, my Grandma taught my sister and I to make daisy chains...and we pretended we were ‘daisy princesses’ Nora told him as she worked. Actually, Susanna was always the ‘Daisy Queen’ since she was older, while I was stuck being the princess.”
“Well...today you can be the ‘Daisy Queen’...I won’t fight you for it,” Bo said.
She laughed.
“I went along with Susanna’s games, but wasn’t so much the princess type...I was more of a tomboy...liked to climb trees and ride bikes and stuff.”
He smiled as he listened. Her head was bent as her hands made a chain of daisies. When she finished she put it around her neck. “See? A necklace!”
“Very nice,” he said, “now you need something for your hair.”
“Oh, I’m not finished yet. A queen needs a crown.” She began making one. She made a halo and added three daisies, stems of varying lengths across the front to make it look more like a tiara. When it was finished, she used her hairpins to secure it firmly to her head.
“So what do think?” she asked him coquettishly.
He smiled at her. “Much better. The crown is the perfect touch,” he told her.
“Glad you like it! Now I’m making you one...every queen needs a king, you know.”
She continued entwining the daisy stems as she busied herself making his crown. As he watched her, he dangled a blade of grass from his mouth.
“What’s with the grass? Going back to your Texas roots?” she asked him. “I have never understood why men like to chew grass like that…” she said scrunching up her face.
“It tastes kind of sweet. Do you wanna try it?” he asked dangling it in front of her.
“No,” she said shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”
“City girl,” he mumbled.
“What was that?” she questioned.
Oh, nothing…” he said.
She dropped the subject as she finished his crown. “There!” She walked toward him on her knees, tossed his hat to the ground, and placed the crown on his head. One of the three daisies across the front kept drooping down in front of Bo’s face. He pooched out his lower lip and blew noisily upward making it go up and down. She laughed at his silly antics before removing the problem daisy to shorten it’s stem. After restoring his crown, she tucked another daisy into his shirt pocket and leaned back to admire her work.
“Now you look positively royal,” she exclaimed smiling at him “except for that nasty weed you’re chewing on.” She tried to grab it but he held it out of her reach.
“Nooo, my Queen! That’s my scepter! You can’t take away my scepter! That’s how I allow people to approach me. If I lower my scepter, they know they can come closer.
“Oh, so that’s how it works,” she said nodding her head.
“Yes, my Queen. Don’t you know anything about the ways of a king? Like...right now I am lowering my scepter toward you...that tells you that the king wants you to come closer…”
Nora rolled her eyes. “Well...I must obey the king, I suppose.” She walked on her knees a little closer.
He lowered his scepter again in the six inch space between them and raised his eyebrows to look at her.
Laughing, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked at her lips and back into her eyes before wrapping her tightly into his arms for a kiss. He kissed her gently at first, over and over, gradually building the intensity, tasting her soft lips, teasing her. Then he pulled her down upon him holding her face between his hands and kissing her more fervently. He rolled her beneath him as his mouth left her lips and traced kisses down her neck. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as his breathing became heavier. He nuzzled his face in her hair smelling it’s sweet fragrance. He felt her hands caressing his back and shoulders...running through his hair. He found her mouth once again, parting her lips for more intimacy and devouring her. She felt his moist tongue probing, then tangling with hers as she met his passion with passion of her own...passion she didn’t know existed...passion she had never felt before...
Bo didn’t want to stop. He wanted her, and he felt she was willing, that she wanted him too. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? Maybe he would be taken tomorrow...maybe they would never see each other again...maybe this would be his only chance to make love to her. He loved her…
I love her...
Suddenly, the reality of his feelings struck him and he reluctantly rolled aside leaving them both breathless.
She turned to look at him.“Bo? Why did you stop?” she asked breathlessly.
“We can’t do this,” he told her shaking his head trying to convince himself as well as her.
“Why not? I want to. I want to love you, Bo. I’m so afraid of what tomorrow will bring...please,” she said on the edge of tears.
When he said nothing, she continued. “If I were any other woman, would you?”
Again, he said nothing.
“I guess that’s my answer then. You still see me as some... little girl...not as the ‘woman’ you need…”
He rolled to his side facing her. He ran his hand along her cheek shaking his head. “No, honey, that’s not it at all. I see you as very much a woman...and...I know you would fulfill all my needs and even my fantasies. I’m sure of that.”
He gathered his thoughts before continuing. “You are right about something though. I do look at you differently and...it’s not because you’re younger or less of a woman, it’s because...I love you,” he said with a breaking voice.
She turned her head to look into his eyes.
“I love you. I don’t know how it happened in so short a time,” he said shaking his head, “but I do. I love you. And...while I want to take you here and make passionate love to you...I can’t. It would be a selfish thing to do. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, I don’t know when we’re leaving or if I’ll...ever come back. If we made love and you got pregnant...it would not only leave you with a child to raise on your own, but would ruin your reputation. I won’t do that to you...I love you too much to risk that...you understand?”
She looked at him then nodded her head slowly. “I do now,” she said quietly.
He met her gaze. “If times were different and more certain...I would ask you to marry me...and I’d wait with bated breath until you answered ‘yes’.”
She ran a finger along his jawline. “So...ask me,” she said softly.
“No...that wouldn’t be fair to you. I couldn’t ask you to wait for me…”
“Oh...I don’t want to wait,” she said shaking her head.
“But I can’t promise you even tomorrow, honey.”
“I know that” she said quietly, fingering his mouth, “...so ask me.”
“Bo shook his head. “I don’t have a ring, I’m not prepared…”
She sat up beside him. “Sounds to me like you don’t really want to ask me…”
“That’s not true. I just want it to be perfect…”
She hesitated for only a moment before saying, “Times are uncertain, Bo. It makes me want to just grab life and live it. What about you?”
He stared into her eyes for a few moments before sitting up and gathering a bouquet of daisies in his fist. Then he bowed down on one knee in front of her.
He looked at the bouquet for a few moments as if gathering his thoughts, then he looked into Nora’s eyes.
“Nora Hanen, when I think of you...and I do...I think about you all the time…”
She smiled at him through tear-filled eyes.
“...When I think of you, the word that comes first to my mind is...enchanting. I find you enchanting. I think you’re beautiful...you make me laugh...you make me think...you make me want to be a better man than I am. I know we haven’t known each other long, but...it’s long enough for me to know that I’m crazy in love with you and... that I want us to be together for…as long as we both shall live. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”
The tears that were brimming in her eyes soon spilled over onto her cheeks. “That was beautiful for someone who was ‘not prepared’,” she said quietly.
She continued, “You know...I’ve never been in love before...but, I think about you all the time too. I miss you when we’re apart and, when I see you again...you have no idea what it does to me.”
“Oh but I think I do,” he said knowingly.
She placed her hand gently on his cheek. “I love you, Bo Buchanan...and, I would be honored to be your wife,” she finished, smiling.
When he said nothing, she leaned toward him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered, “That’s a ‘yes’,” before he smiled and pulled her down to him again.