Love Thine Enemy

“Okay, calm down. Things will work out, you’ll see. The snow can’t last more than a few days.”

“Oh, that’s just like a man. Calm down and wait till the snow melts! I can’t believe this! Nothing has gone right since I set foot in this stupid state!” She hobbled out of the room slamming the bedroom door behind her.

Walter stared after her. “There’s something about that gal that seems familiar.”

“She has a temper like Natalie’s. That’s what makes her seem familiar. Women like her don’t have any understanding or patience for the forces of nature. They want the world to jump for them when they snap their fingers.”

“You’re wrong to judge all women using Natalie as a yardstick, Sam.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. Once burned—twice shy.” What he didn’t admit was how attracted he was to Cheryl and how it scared him. He couldn’t explain it or reason it away. In his head he knew she was a woman every bit as wrong for him as his ex-wife had been. Lord, help me to remember that.

Chapter Five

Cheryl opened the bedroom door early the next morning and peeked out. There was no sign of Sam or Walter. Bonkers came to weave around her legs and meow at her. She picked him up and rubbed her chin on his head. The blinds on the glass wall were open. Now that the driving snow had stopped, early-morning sunshine poured through the tall windows. She put the cat down and crossed the room on her crutches to take a closer look at the spectacular view spread before her.

Sam’s home sat on the very edge of a steep bluff. The balcony that ran the full length of the house outside the windows gave the illusion of a house suspended in midair. In the valley below, frosted trees outlined the winding course of a small creek. Beyond them the prairie rose again to flat-topped, snow-covered bluffs and sparkling rounded hills that rolled away as far as she could see. Overhead, the brilliant blue sky arched like an azure bowl over a dazzling, glittering world. Her mother would have loved this view.