But Bette would hold some of that pain if she could.  So she dropped down and pulled the little girl up into her arms and, just as Tina had done for Coral’s terrified children, Bette rocked Tina and stroked her head and kissed her temple and held her.

They would remain that way for a good long while, until Bette finally coaxed the little girl inside and spread out the bedroll and then pulled Tina back into her arms as they lay on Bette’s pillow and under her blanket.

It could have been two hours or more, Bette wasn’t sure.  She had at one point drifted to sleep, but now she saw the beam of a flashlight and heard her aunt’s voice.  She pulled out from under Tina who had fallen into a deep sleep against her shoulder, and then she had gone over to the little window and peered out.

“How is she?” Miriam asked.

“Sleeping now.”

“Did she eat?”

“No ma’am.  She said she wasn’t hungry.”

Miriam nodded then added.  “You stay with her, honey.  When she’s awake, bring her into the house and I’ll make her favorite pancakes.  And you tell her that I have your father working on his end.  We’re going to make sure that Coral’s two kids are taken care of proper.  And you reassure her that the social worker will not come and take her from me.  Your father is going to make certain that if Cecil isn’t able to care for her, that she will stay with me.”

“I’ll tell her,” Bette said.  That news brought her a lot of relief, but what her aunt told her next stunned her.

“Oh and honey, I’m sorry it’s so late.  But your father was at the hospital all evening with Kit.  It took me a while to reach him.”

“She okay?” Bette asked worried.

“Just fine.  She’s given birth to a healthy baby boy and in another two weeks when she’s able to travel, they’ll be on their way to Athens and a week or so after that, you’ll be going on back home to Philly.”

Feeling numb from the news, Bette went back and crawled under the blanket.  Tina roused a little and reached out.

“Bette?” her little voice called out.

“I’m here,” Bette took her again into her arms and kissed the top of her head.

Tina sighed and melted into the older girl’s protective embrace.  “I thought you’d left me,” she said sleepily.

Bette swallowed and shook her head.  “Never,” she whispered.  “I’ll never leave you.”

But then Bette thought of the little calendar pages up in her room.  The months of June and July and August that she had torn out and counted off the days she would have to spend in this hot little town.  At one point it had seemed like a life sentence, but now in only a few weeks, three at the most, she would be leaving Athens, Tennessee, and the little girl in her arms.

And her promise would be broken.

TBC