Breathless by Bonnie Edwards Page A

she’d seen before.
    Still, she had to try. Five in the morning seemed too early to call, so she put the corset away and bathed and dressed. By seven, she stood in the kitchen and cranked the phone.
    An operator! “Hello, can you tell me how to put a call through to Perdition House? I need to speak with Belle Grantham.”
    “One moment please.” The voice was tinny but efficient. After a series of clicks, she heard a ring and Belle answered.
    “Good morning, Perdition House.” She sounded sultry and businesslike, a good combination for a madame.
    “Belle, I need to get in touch with Lizzie and Bart. Where are they?”
    “Stella?”
    “Yes, I’m ah, trying to get hold of Lizzie. Do they have a phone?”
    “No, but they’re due for a visit today. They’re coming for lunch, would you like me to send them over? Or would you care to join us here? Your car’s ready to go, and I’d like it out of my driveway.”
    “Maybe Bart could drive it over here? Just as soon as they arrive?”
    “Lizzie can drive. Bart’s not convinced automobiles are safe, and with your accident, he wears a smug expression whenever the topic comes up.”
    They chatted about a couple of other details, but when Belle said nothing about the baby, or Colt proposing, Blue followed her lead. Maybe operators could listen in without customers knowing.
    Blue hung the mouthpiece back on the hook and dug out a box she’d found. Inside was stationery and a pen and ink set. It was time to write Stella a note.
    She had something to explain, just in case she and Stella did another switch. An hour later, she thought she’d gotten the details right. At least she hoped she had.
    Shortly before noon, a knock sounded at the door. The looming hulk of shadow at the window told her it was Bart and Lizzie, the couple who’d rescued her from the car wreck. There was one thing she needed to know, and Lizzie was the woman to tell her. She went to the door and opened it.
    Lizzie’s face lit up in a happy smile, while Bart stood back with his hat in his hand. “Hello, Stella. Feeling better I see.”
    They were a mismatched pair, he a giant and she a tiny delicate slip of femininity. Mismatched until a look into their eyes showed the love they shared. It was almost painful to see because she’d given up on ever finding anything similar. Her mind skipped to Colt, but she shook her head. It wasn’t safe to think of Colt and love in the same moment.
    Not when she had no idea how long she might have with him.
    As for Belle and the baby, she prayed that Belle’s plan would work out for everyone involved, even if it meant that Stella would return and Blue would go back to her living death.
    “I’m much better, Lizzie.” She waved them to chairs, pleased to see that Lizzie smiled at Stella’s improved memory.
    Bart’s chair squeaked a protest but held up under his weight. “Thank you for being so quick to help me that day. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.” She touched her scalp to remind Lizzie of the bump she suffered. “I may have wandered off confused. But, forgive me, I meant to offer you coffee and cake.”
    Bart’s eyes lit up, and she got him a heavy china mug and a slice of pound cake. He accepted the food with a shy, grateful smile. Lizzie patted his hand, pleased that Stella remembered how awkward her husband could be with fine china. He was literally a bull in a china shop.
    “I still can’t recall all the details of my accident and I hoped you could tell me what you saw. You know, immediately before I hit the ditch, and then when you first saw me on the ground.”
    “Surely. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it, will you, Bart?”
    “No, it was like it all slowed down. Like I could see it comin’ before it happened. Never seen nothing like that before.”
    Lizzie nodded like a bird about to sing. “You were ahead of us on the road and then the car started skidding sideways, and suddenly, you ditched it and