"
After the break, let's talk about your retirement, then I
have a surprise for you."
Burke grinned. "Oh, no,
you don't. What surprise?"
The director called from
the corner. "Back in five, four, three, two, one." He cued the
host.
David welcomed the television
audience back from the commercial and immediately prompted Burke to
talk about his retirement.
He spoke seriously and
confidently about his decision to leave the game he so loved. "I
spent some time in prayer and realized I needed to make a change in
my life." He paused to take a breath. He wanted to let the world
know that Jesus Christ controlled the course of his life. But how
did he say it without sounding preachy or fake? Finally, he simply
said, "I knew the Lord was leading me in a new
direction."
David gawked at him, tried
to make a joke and bombed. He recovered with, "So, you're a
religious man?"
Burke shook his head,
reflecting for a split second on the many times he'd shared with
David the truth of Jesus Christ. "I'm not a religious man, David.
I'm merely committed to the Savior, Jesus, the Christ and the love
He showed for me by paying the price for my sins."
The host coughed and
sputtered, his complexion reddening. After a second he said, "The
world of professional football will not be the same without you. We
wish you all the best."
The audience cheered and
applauded. "We'll be right back with a surprise for Burke Benning.
Don't go away."
During the commercial break,
David moved him to another part of the stage. Burke balked when he
recognized the gag.
"
Oh, no, you don't Dave. I'm not playing the Dating
Game."
"
We have a surprise guest for you."
"
I don't want to know who."
"
Don't worry, I'm not telling you. We're back in
three."
He had no choice. He hopped into
the bachelor chair just as the music faded and the camera lights
flashed.
Dave set the scene for everyone.
Football's most eligible bachelor could not retire without giving
the ladies a final chance to win his heart. So, the David Dubois
Show had arranged a little match.
David shoved a stack of cards in
Burke's hand and instructed him to quiz the contestants.
He said a quick prayer while
Dave egged on the audience.
Lord, let the words of my mouth
be pleasing to you. Give me wisdom.
He read the first question,
blushed and tossed it aside. The next question he found presentable
and proceeded to question the mystery women behind the wall.
Right away he recognized the
disguised voice of contestant number one as the woman who did his
makeup.
Contestant number two sounded
like the comedienne scheduled to entertain after him.
But the sublime voice of
contestant number three caused his pulse to quicken.
Grace.
A rush of anticipation forced
him to bobble his words, and David heckled him mercilessly.
He regained his composure and
fired the rest of the questions at Grace. He drew in the audience,
getting them to play along, ignoring the other contestants as they
launched mock complaints about being left out of the game. The
studio rocked with laughter.
Finally, Dave made him
choose. Smug and confidant, Burke picked. "Number
three."
Grace stepped around the wall,
slender and tanned from the Australian sun, her perfect,
diamond-like smile lighting her face.
As she stepped into Burke's
embrace, the makeshift stage slid behind the curtain.
Dave hollered over the
cheer of the crowd. "We'll be right back after this."
***
Belle sat curled on the sofa
hugging a pillow, nervous as Burke stepped before the camera,
dashing and confident, wearing charcoal color slacks with a white
oxford shirt that accentuated his Oklahoma tan, and a light gray
suede jacket.
A thrill shot through her as she
watched him on the small screen for the very first time. It seemed
hard to comprehend that the man smartly exchanging quips with David
Dubois had worked side by side with her on the Bar J half the
summer.
"
Well, don't he look like a million bucks?" Duke commented,
winking at his daughter. The bowl of popcorn propped in his lap
perfumed the room. "I'm gonna have to get me some duds like
that."
A warm flush flowed from
her cheeks to the bottom of her neck. "Yes, he looks very nice,
Daddy."
Burke sat in the guest chair,
impressing Belle, and probably the rest of the world, as he
bantered with the famous David Dubois, renowned for his caustic
sarcasm. At the first commercial, the phone rang.
"
I'm in awe. I've never seen him like this," Gates bubbled
over the phone.
"
He's clever," Belle said, her face sore from
smiling.
Gates babbled on and on. Belle
listened and nodded. Yes, it was hard to believe he was one of
Haskell's own. And so down to earth.
"
Show's back. Bye." Belle hung up.
She listened as he announced his
retirement, her eyes misting as he testified of his faith and
commitment to Jesus.
Duke nodded approvingly.
"He's doin' all right. I'll have to phone Reese and tell him we
raised that boy right."
Belle hid her face in the
pillow, dabbing away her tears with the tips of her finger, hope
swelling in her heart. Perhaps she and Burke could mend the tear in
the tapestry of their lives and create a future together.
Gates called again at the
next commercial. "Girl, if you don't give him a second chance,
I'll, I'll--"
"
You'll what?" Belle wondered, laughing, warmed by her
friend's sentiments.
"
Give him a second chance," Gates demanded.
"
Gates, he hasn't asked for one."
"
He will, Belle, he will."
"
How do you know so much?"
"
Call it a gut feeling. I just think he will."
A thousand tiny butterflies
flitted in Belle's stomach. Burke had been gone five days, and it
suddenly seemed like five weeks. When did he say he'd be home?
"
Commercials are over," Gates said, clicking off the
phone.
But the next segment of the
David Dubois Show doused any hope that might ignite her heart.
A hot, burning embarrassment
tingled over her scalp and down her back the moment Burke
recognized Grace as contestant number three. The television camera
caught and revealed his excitement at seeing the lovely actress
again.
What crazy assumptions had she
let herself believe? Belle kicked herself mentally for letting
girlish dreams replace sound reasoning. She'd think twice about
listening to Mary Beth or Gate's lofty musings. Why would he choose
her over Grace? Their relationship was obviously special and
close.
Look at them. How can I compete
with her?
One by one, she replaced each
brick she'd taken from the wall around her heart.
She could feel Duke's eyes
on her. "Isn't Grace something, Daddy? Burke is a lucky
man."
"
Don't look like he's all that keen on her."
She laughed cynically.
"Please, Daddy. What man wouldn't give his eyeteeth to be with
someone like Grace Peterson? She's beautiful, talented, has a heart
of gold."
"She is all those things,
but that don't mean Burke's set on her. I seen the way he's been a
lookin' your way this summer. Got that old glint in his
eye."
She reached for the remote
and powered off the television. "Whatever," she said, fighting
tears. "Good night."
The phone rang as she ran
up the stairs, a sick feeling coating the pit of her stomach.
"Don't answer it, Daddy. It's Gates. I'll call her
tomorrow."
***
Burke and Grace walked along
Malibu Beach in view of her new hillside cottage that overlooked
the Pacific. Their shoes dangled from the tips of their fingers and
the cuffs of Burke's pants were rolled up to his knees. The setting
sun blazed fiery hues across the twilight sky as it dipped beneath
the edge of the ocean.
They talked as they strolled,
rehashing the events on the Dubois show with laughter. Grace
recounted her adventures in Australia, enthusiastic about the film
she'd just finished and anticipating the one she would start in the
fall.
"
Enough about me, tell me what's going on with you," she
concluded, jabbing Burke in the ribs.
He recapped his summer in
Haskell, elated about his new career as a high school football
coach. He captivated her with his tornado tale and intrigued her
with his work at the Bar J.
"
Interesting," she said when he'd finished. She stopped and
watched the waves curl toward the shore.
"
Interesting?" He stood beside her.
"
You never mentioned her once."
He looked out over the
water, the Pacific breeze cool and salty in his face. "I'm in love
with her."
Grace started walking
again. "I expected as much."
He caught up to her and
slipped his arm through hers. She peered up at him with dry eyes.
"All summer I prayed for us, wrestling with the Lord, wanting my
will to prevail. But my words were like weighted balloons. Once I
stopped praying my will and asking for His to be done, my desires
changed."
"
How'd they change?"
"
I finally realized that I wanted us to stay together
because I didn't have an alternate plan. You are the only man in my
life at the moment, so I didn't want to give up yet."
Burke squeezed her elbow
lightly indicating that he understood. "Did you ever think we were
heading for marriage?" he asked.
Grace slowly shook her
head. "Not really, but I wanted to hold onto you until someone else
came along. Guess you found your person first."
"
I found her in third grade on the playground
swings."
"
Now, how could I ever compete with that?"
"
You'd like her, Grace."
"
I'm quite sure I would." She glanced up at him, a pretend
pout on her lip. "I wish I'd found someone in third grade on the
playground swings."
He chuckled. "The Lord has
the right man for you. He'll find you soon enough."
"
Well, this summer the Lord also dealt with my notion that I
have to have a man in my life. I finally realize it's okay to be
single, to be on my own."
Burke stared at her
wide-eyed with a raised brow. "You had a busy summer."
Her melodious, delicate
laugh resonated through the air like tiny bells. "I had a great
summer."
"
I'm going to miss you."
"
And I you." A subtle sadness etched her words.
Burke rested his hand on
her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"
Yeah, suddenly sentimental. I've prepared for this all
summer, but now that it's here--" She stopped and took a deep
breath.
"
Come to Oklahoma. I'll teach you to rope a
calf."
"
Oh, no," she said, waving a finger under his nose as she
turned toward home. "I'll let Mrs. Benning do the
honors."
Burke shushed her. "Quiet,
she doesn't know yet."
Grace frowned. "You think
the wind is going tell her?" She faced him, hands on her slender
hips. "Don't tell me you haven't told her how you feel."
He shook his head as he
stooped to pick up a pinkish seashell protruding out of the sand.
"I thought I should talk to you first. Settle things between us."
He considered the shell, turning it over in his hands. Its broken
edges were rounded, smoothed by time and the washing of the waves.
"Sometimes, over the years--" He stopped.
"
Sometimes what?" she asked tenderly, eyes studying the
shell in his hand.
He thought, searching for
the right words. "Sometimes I'd catch a scent in the breeze and for
one brief second, it reminded me of her. For days, I'd wonder about
her, missing her, yet too proud to pick up the phone and call." He
looked at Grace and grinned sheepishly. "Sounds corny, doesn't
it?"
"
No, not at all. Sounds like the Burke Benning I've come to
know and care about."
They walked in silence for a few
minutes in the light of the rising moon. Burke slipped the shell
into his pants pocket.
"
When do you leave?" Grace asked in a whisper, breaking the
silence.
"
I fly to Colorado in the morning."
She grew serious and
gripped his hands fiercely. She tossed her luxurious hair over her
shoulders. "No good-bye's, Benning, okay?"
"No good-byes, Grace, no
good-byes," he replied, drawing his dear friend into a hug, placing
a delicate kiss on her forehead.
Out of nowhere, brilliant lights
exploded from the tall sea oats that grew along the beach.
Photographers leapt out of hiding and surrounded them, their camera
flashes bursting and blinding.