Page 55 of Axton

Chapter Twenty-Two

Belle

“For the last time, Koty. I got scared and sneaked into his bed. He probably didn’t even know I was there until he woke up. What you saw was him tickling me because I made fun of him.”

Michael went to work, and Koty was on me like glue. I had to lock him out of my bedroom so I could get dressed. We were waiting for Heidi, and he was laying into me. I had seen Koty mad the night that truck was trying to run us off the road, but I never saw him angry with me.

“The birthmark is just a coincidence, Belle. Do not mistake papa’s prophecies for real life. Those prophecies were all manipulation and it’s nothing more than a coincidence. Do not let Mike into your bed just because of that mark. I can’t stress that enough, the prophecies came from papas’ imagination.”

We were in the kitchen and Koty was pouring us both a glass of milk to go with the packaged breakfast bars we found in the pantry. I was sitting on a stool trying to read the ingredients on the package without much luck. Why did they have to write the most important information so tiny?

“I know that, Koty. But what I feel when I’m around Michael has nothing to do with papa. Before I even opened my eyes I knew someone trustworthy, and brave was near me. I don’t know, it’s like…well it’s hard to explain. I know he’s the only one that makes me feel safe. I’ve never been so happy to know someone. He makes my heart race and my palms sweaty. Like I’m nervous but calm at the same time.” I drifted off into my own imagination. “Like I’ve known him forever. It has nothing to do with papa and everything to do with how I feel around him. I feel…free. For the first time in my life, I feel free. He makes me laugh, and I love the way he can calm my fears. His smile lights up my entire world. He showed me how to dance last night, and it’s now my favorite memory out of all my memories. We like each other.”

He leaned against the counter. “You have no other life experiences. He saved your life and it’s understandable that you have a crush. That’s all it is, Belle, it’s a crush.”

“I think you forget that I have an education. I’m not as naïve as you think. Maybe about some things, but I was always suspicious of papa. I wanted to believe his prophecy for me, but I do not believe he spoke of Michael. He is a soldier, but he’s not the kind of soldier papa expected. Papa saw a man of God, a man that lived a religious life and fought for God and the beliefs of Christian people. That’s not Michael. I’ll confess something to you, though. When I was in college I had a crush. The boy’s name was Cooper, and he was very handsome. I had that crush for months until I found out he had a girlfriend and announced during some down time in class that he was going to be a father. That was a crush, and it’s not what I feel around Michael. It hurt but it didn’t last long. It was over as fast as it started. Michael makes me want the life you speak of, and the idea of freedom doesn’t scare me so much when I’m near him. I can teach, Koty.I can have dreams and it’s not a sin. I can someday have a life where I wouldn’t have to share the man I love. You were right to take me away, and I might grieve for papa more once we get confirmation of his passing, but I’m happy to be away from it all. I have you to thank. You loved me enough to hang in there and wait for me. I’ll always remember what you did for me, Koty. I didn’t want to believe everything about papa, especially when he was dying. I think I wanted to believe him more than ever at that point. I was scared and didn’t want to marry Jeremy. Now I feel free to believe what my gut was telling me for all those years.”

He blushed over the praise I gave him. Koty was humble and it showed. “Fine, but don’t get ahead of yourself. You need to learn more about this world before you do things you’ll regret later. The fact that you were playing in his bed this morning tells me it’s leading somewhere you’re not ready to go.”

I smiled as my thoughts drifted off to the movie Pearl Harbor and the scene where Danny was so gentle and loving with Evelyn when they made their baby.

“No! You stop it right now!” Koty scorned me. “I saw the look on your face. Nope, not happening.”

What I saw sure didn’t look like the way mama said it would be, and I liked what I saw. It was what I thought about in bed that morning with Michael. I wanted to feel closer to him and that definitely didn’t seem like it would have been a dirty chore.

“Belle.” Koty warned me.

I looked up at him. “Have you ever taken a woman to bed?”

His face turned bright red. “We’re not talking about me.”

“You’ve been faithful to your spiritual vows to Maggie and God?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes. “Those vows don’t even exist, Belle. I didn’t mean a word of it, and I asked God for forgiveness for lying. I’m not going to expect you to wait for marriage if I’m not going to do the same myself. I have a lot to think about right now. I don’t have the first clue what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.” His face was blood red.

I giggled. “So, you’re shyer about this topic than me? That’s unexpected, and if you are going to give me strict orders after promising me a life of freedom, then I get to ask about you.”

He pointed at me. “I did not do everything I did just so you could sin within the first month of being free. If Mike respects you, he will wait for you. If he doesn’t, then he wasn’t meant to be yours. Just because he let us stay here it doesn’t mean you owe him your innocence. If you do, then why would he buy the cow of he can get the milk for free?”

I gasped. “Did you just call me a cow?” I took my last bite of the breakfast bar just so I wouldn’t laugh. He threw his wrapper at me, and I still laughed.

Heidi came and took us to the miniature hospital where she introduced us to Zoey. Koty met with her first, and oddly, he walked out with a very red face. I wasn’t sure what that was about. Koty squeezed my hand and said everything was going to be okay, but judging by the look on his bright red face, it wasn’t going to be a comfortable visit.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Belle. I’m guessing neither Axton or Heidi prepared you for today’s visit? Your brother was a little shocked to say the least.” Zoey patted the examination table for me to hop up and take a seat.

That scared me. “What are you going to do to me?” I was hesitant to sit on that table. Maybe run? Maybe Michael didn’t know?

She put her hand on my shoulder. “I should have thought that out a little better. I’m so sorry. Today you will be receiving a full physical exam. You agreed to it when you signed the intake paperwork.”

I felt better. “Yes, I did, but why was Koty upset?”

She almost laughed but tried not to. “I don’t think he expected a female doctor, or the type of exam a man gets with a full exam.”

I snickered. “I think I may know why he was so red when he walked out. Michael and Heidi mentioned nothing, but I presumed a pelvic exam for me?” I thought maybe Koty was touched down there for the first time by a woman.

She nodded. “And a pap smear. Is that okay? We do test for sexually transmitted diseases and your initial visit is always a pap smear.”

I hopped up on the exam table. “Never had a pap smear, but I was given a pelvic exam every year since I got my first period.”

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