.
hospitality is first-rate, but I’m only here to get back on my feet after an illness. I’m hoping I’ll be stronger in a few days.”
“Or a few weeks,” Gabe said.
“Wimberley has a special healing power,” Daisy said.
“You’ll be back up to snuff in no time. Why, just look at me. When I came here, the doctors said I had less than a year to live.”
“I’m so sorry,” Belle said.
“Don’t be,” Daisy replied with a grin. “That was fourteen years ago. I’m fit as a fiddle—except for my middle.” She laughed at her own joke and rang up their purchases. “The ice-cream shop next door is my downfall.”
“My mother owns an ice-cream shop in my home town,” Belle told her. “I love the stuff, too. Banana nut sends me into ecstasy.”
“I’ll have to remember that,” Gabe murmured beside her ear.
A sudden flush warmed her, and Belle glanced quickly at Flora and Daisy, but they hadn’t heard. “Down, boy.”
Gabe laughed. “Yes, ma’am. And for the record, chocolate does it for me. Want to stop in for a scoop? Or two?”
“Not today. I’m fading fast.”
“Damn! Sorry I didn’t pick up on that,” he said, scowling. “Let me get you to the car.”
From his fierce expression, Belle was afraid that he’d throw her over his shoulder and take off. “Take it easy, Gabe. I’m okay. Just getting a bit tired. I’ve gotten too used to my afternoon nap.”
“You’re pale as a ghost. I’ve let you do too much too soon.”
“I’m fine, Gabe. Honestly.”
He ignored her protests, grabbed the bags of merchandise and steered her out the door, leaving his mother to trail after them. He refused to listen to her objections and installed her in the front seat and began buckling her seat belt.
She slapped his hands. “I can do that!”
“Feeling out of sorts, are we?”
She bit back a snotty reply. She felt six years old again, and she didn’t like it.
Belle had thought her brothers overly protective, but Gabe could hold his own with any of them. Her brothers’ over-bearing behavior had always rankled, but after years of hissing and spitting on her part, they’d finally learned to back off and keep their mouths shut. Most of the time. She hated coddling. She was tougher than a two-dollar steak, and she didn’t need to be carried around on a silk pillow. The sooner Gabe Burrell figured that out, the better things would be.
Chapter Five
He’d done it again, Gabe thought. Belle couldn’t have made it any plainer that he’d scored high on her irritation factor. “Sorry,” he said. “I promised Sam that I’d look out for you, and I don’t want that guy on my case.”
“Better him than me. I’m twice as mean as Sam on his worst day.”
He laughed. “I can’t believe that.”
She smiled, and his heart did a little flip. “Believe it. I really do appreciate your concern and your attentiveness, Gabe, but I don’t respond well to mollycoddling.”
“I’ll try to remember that, but I’m a natural born mollycoddler. Be patient with me, Miss Belle.” He tried his best to look pitiful.
She didn’t look as if she bought his act. She rolled her eyes and snorted in the same way his sister did when he tried to talk his way around her.
“Want some ice cream?” he asked, nodding toward the shop down the way.
“Don’t tempt me. I’ll wait until another day.”
“Maybe we can stop by after your doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”
“What doctor’s appointment?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I called this morning and got an appointment for you.”
Her eyebrow lifted. “Oh, really?”
“Now, don’t go getting in an uproar again, Miss Belle. The hospital faxed information to a doctor here as terms of your dismissal. You’re supposed to see her until you’re fully recovered. Kaye Hamilton is my sister’s internist, and I thought you might like her. We don’t have a big selection in town, but we have some excellent doctors practicing here. I thought it would be easier than trying to drive to Austin or San Marcos. Okay?”
“Sure. I don’t want to be difficult.”
“Be difficult if you like,” Flora said as she climbed in the car and caught the tail end of the conversation. “I love being difficult.”
“Artists are allowed,” Belle said. “Flora, you’re a genius. I didn’t realize how truly gifted you are. I’m impressed with your work.”
Flora beamed. “Why, thank you, my dear.”
“As much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, I simply wasn’t cut out for law enforcement. After all those years of preparation, I hated my job, hated the politics and dreaded going to work. Maybe I’m simply the rebel of the family, but I’ve always wanted to do something creative like paint or sculpt or write.”
“Then do it,” Flora said.
“I wouldn’t know how to begin.”
“How did you learn to read and write?”
“I went to school.”
“You can learn the basics of painting or sculpting or writing the same way. There are dozens of teachers around here. Why, I could probably give you a lesson when we get home.”
“After her nap,” Gabe said.
Belle shot him a sharp look, and he pulled an imaginary zipper across his mouth. She laughed, and he winked at her before he backed out and headed home.
ALTHOUGH IT PAINED HER to admit it, Belle really did need a nap. She’d planned to rest for a half hour or so, but when she awoke, it was almost time for dinner.
Going downstairs a few minutes later, she found the family assembled in the den. “I’m so sorry to be such a sleepyhead,” Belle said. “I simply died.”
“You’re supposed to be resting and recuperating,” Gabe said. “No need for an apology.”
“But I missed my art lesson.”
Flora dismissed the concern with a flutter of her hand. “There’ll be plenty of time for lessons. Would you like some wine?”
“I’d better stick with juice, or I may nod off in the mashed potatoes.”
Skye chuckled as she poured a glass of apple juice from a carafe on the bar. “How did you enjoy the nickel tour of our fair city?”
Belle sipped from the glass Skye handed her. “I didn’t get to see that much of it. I ran out of steam first, but I look forward to exploring all the shops and galleries. It’s a very picturesque little town.”
“We get a lot of tourists,” Skye said, “and it has grown a bit in the past few years.”
Suki soon called everyone to dinner, and after they ate, they watched a new Sandra Bullock DVD that Gabe had rented. When the movie was over, the group scattered, leaving only Belle and Gabe in the den.
“Is the house alarm set?” Belle asked.
“Yes, but I can turn it off. What do you need?”
“I just wanted to sit outside for a while and do some star-gazing.”
He picked up a throw from the sofa and held