Chapter Nineteen:
The slamming of the front door and their son’s shouts of “Mom, Dad where are you?” forced them to break their gaze, leaving them with hearts racing and the inability to catch their breath. After a few seconds he found his voice.
“Ill be right there, champ.”
Bo helped her put her t-shirt back on and he placed the basin on the table beside the bed. He walked towards the door but not without one more look at her. They had finally made “contact” and now there was no going back. It only took a look…a touch…words had never been necessary between them, they communicated by touch, by looking deep into each other’s eyes.
She had seen it in his eyes, he had seen it in hers, they had read each other’s soul, and what they saw was desire.
He closed the door behind him, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. He walked out into the living room where Matthew, Asa and Renee were waiting. Asa and Renee noticed his flushed cheeks and tried to hide their smiles.
“Where were you daddy?”
“I—I was helping your mom with something. (to Asa and Renee) What are you guys doing back so soon? You just picked him up.”
“I forgot my new computer game. Grandpa said I could bring it so that when I stay there we can play it together.”
Bo looked at Asa as he looked lovingly at his grandson. Bo tried to imagine Asa Buchanan, playing video games with a six year old.
“Well, go ahead and get it.”
“’Kay daddy, I’ll be right back Grandpa.”
“Why don’t you just hang out in your room a minute, Matt? I want to talk with your dad for a second.”
“Okay.”, he yelled as he ran down the hallway.
Asa and Renee exchanged a quick look.
“I’m going to go see, Nora.”
Renee walked back towards the bedroom and knocked on the closed door.
“Bo?”
“No darling, it’s me.”
“Come in, Renee.”
Renee walked over and stood beside the bed. She could tell that something was going on between these two. She pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat down.
“Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Nora looked over at Renee, her friend, her surrogate mother and saw all the love and understanding she was seeking. She tried to keep the moisture from building in her eyes. Renee took Nora’s hand in hers and squeezed it. The simple gesture caused the tears to begin to fall. She looked down at their hands and then back up at Renee.
“I love him, Renee. My God, I love him so much that it scares me.”
At the same time out in the living room:
“Talk to me, boy. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Bo looked at his father and then back towards his bedroom. He sat down in the chair and looked his father in the eyes.
“I love her, Pa. I love her so much it scares me.”
Back in the bedroom:
“What are you so afraid of?”
“I’m afraid of getting my heart broken again. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to give him what he needs after everything that’s happened to me. I’m afraid I’ll hurt him again like I did before.”
“Darling, Bo loves you and I have a feeling he’s never stopped. I’ve seen the way the two of you have looked at other supposed loves, and it’s never been with the same passion and the same fire that you and Bo have always had when you look at each other.”
“But what if it’s not enough to get passed all the hurt and pain we’ve caused? What if…
The living room…
“What are you so afraid of? You love her; she loves you, sounds pretty simple to me.”
“It’s not always that simple.”
“That’s only because the two of you are the two most stubborn people in this world, besides your old man here and that other feisty redhead down the hall. Do you know what I see when I look at the two of you? I see passion, I see fire. I see two people who gave away their hearts 10 years ago and have never given them back.”
“But what if too much time has passed? What if…
The bedroom…
“I can’t answer that except to say this. What if this love that you’re rediscovering is all you’re past hopes and dreams coming full circle? Don’t live in the past, Nora. Live in the here and now. Look towards the future. Take it slow. Rediscover your soul mate. That man out there holds your heart in the palm of his hands and you hold his.”
“Renee, that man out there is my heart.”
The living room…
“To hell with what if’s. All you need to worry about is what if this love the two of you share is all you’ll ever need to live the rest of your life? The woman in that room is all you’ll ever need to know of love. You gave her your heart and she’s given you hers, and neither one of you have ever given them back.”
“Pa that woman in there is my heart.”
The bedroom…
“Then there’s only one thing left to do. Tell him.”
The living room…
“Then there’s only one thing left to do. Tell her.”