Okay....Honestly, this is the very last chapter Im puttin up....after tho is if you like the damn thing go to Amazon and type in Well, I Never Been To Heaven. I want you to get a good idea of what its all about..so youll tell your friends and neighbors and children and strangers off the street. So, here you go...the very last chapter Im posting! Belle looked up at the sky churning and boiling above her. Damn that Becker for going to Ada today! The weather in this wild land scared her more then starving. Storms came and went quickly leaving devastation in there wakes. She stood in the second story window watching both the darkening sky above and the scattered sheep below. The window was her haven. A window seat well worn and shaped to her. She sat in this very spot night after night watching the horizon, watching for the puff o dust, the dark shape galloping toward the house. Watching for some sign that Rico would return. She thought her nightly vigil was her secret, but Becker knew and probably the boy as well. Secrets were hard to keep in a world of three. The rain started as a slow drizzle but the pace picked up fast like a soldiers drum. The world was taking on a sickly green hue that sat heavy in her belly. Bad storm comin, bad signs all around. Sometimes she wished she could be a little more American, less Irish, less watchful, less suspicious of the dark. She walked down the stairs and gathered herself in an oilcloth slicker. She wrapped a scarf around her head and headed to the pasture. Belle walked with her eyes on the ground and the stinging drops hitting her shoulders and head. The scarf was drenched and plastered her in a dripping cowl. She half ran half walked past the barn to the corral and pasture where the sheep were huddled. Gulleywasher... thats what they called these here in Oklahoma, she thought as she pulled each foot from the sucking mud running over her boots. She grabbed the back gate handle and lifted her head, “Sheep! Sheep!” she called into the roaring wind. She pulled the gate open and shouted again “Sheep! Sheep!” The flock lifted their heads in unison and Belle clapped her hands hard together over and over so they would hear and come to her. They started running toward her, happy and relieved to see there protector and get to the shelter of the dry barn. Then she saw it. A dog, maybe a coyote, something low and sinister dragging Wendys new born baby. She watched in horror as Wendy reared up and came down on the shape, again and again. The animal dropped the baby and went after the Mama. It grabbed Wendys throat and pulled her to the ground. Belle grabbed a pitchfork and ran screaming with everything in her. The sound coming from her was barely human. She ran faster then she ever knew she could. She didnt feel the water stinging her face and legs and pouring into her boots. She felt nothing at all until the pitchfork she welded cracked over the back of the predictor holding her Wendy. She heard it yelp and struck again. The dog bared its teeth at her and she shoved the tines down its throat. She pulled the bloody fork back and screamed again. She brought it down hard on the dogs neck and it twisted once and lay quiet. “Belle! Hey Belle! I heard you yelling from house! Why didnt you come get me?” She looked toward the barn door where the sheep were gathered in fear, but safety. In the doorway surrounded by lantern light stood the boy. In his hand he held the small pistol they kept in the barn. “Help me with Wendy and the baby Bubs!” She shouted over the roaring wind. She looked down at the ragged wounds on Wendys beautiful neck and legs. They dragged her thru the yard while the baby nudged at his Mama. Wendy made Mama noises to the little one but couldnt stand. Belle and her boy carefully dragged the injured ewe to the safety of the barn. They looked at one another and the terrible truth passed between them. “Shes hurt bad Belle.” Bubs said as he searched Belles face for a remedy he knew he wouldnt find. Belle took the little pistol from his hand and sat on the barn floor with Wendy. “ I love you Wendy...Ive loved you from the second you were born. You were always your Mamas best...Youve made this farm a warmer place for all of us..” The boy jumped just a little when the small gun cracked. Belle stood, the gun hung from her fingers and tears mingled with the mud and blood leaving rivers down her face. She started slowly toward the barn door. She turned toward the boy, “Bring the baby to the house Bubs, lets get him on a bottle, lets get him warm.”
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 20:43:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015