Page 12 of Serenity & the Hermit
“Hmm,” I say as I rise to my feet. “Since I don’t have much of a choice, I guess I’ll have to take you up on that offer. Just remember that I’m trusting you here, OK? No funny business.”
“Scouts honor.”
“I still don’t believe you were a scout.”
“How do you think I learned my first aid skills?”
He’s got a point there, so I concede and allow him to follow me toward my bedroom where I grab something to sleep in that I think will be easy to get on and off.
"I think what I need most from you is helping me get this sling off and on. The rest I think I can do on my own."
"What about your T-shirt?" Nelson asks, his arms folded across his chest as he leans against the bathroom doorframe. "And er..." His eyes lower to my chest and I'm sure I see them darken.
"The T-shirt, maybe. But the bra? It has a front zip, so I'll be able to do that myself." I've never been more glad of my decision to buy front fastening sports bras than I am in this moment. I used to hate the way I had to wrestle the overhead ones off my body, so getting ones with a front zip have been a lifesaver. Especially in this moment. As much as I enjoy Nelson's eyes on me, I'm not comfortable enough to be completely exposed in front of him.
"All right," Nelson says, his voice gruff. "The sling and the T-shirt it is."
I nod and turn around so that he can unfasten the sling. It's velcroed to me like a straight jacket, making it impossible to move my arm. The moment the tension releases, a throbbing ache spreads down the length of my arm to my fingers.
"Oh my god," I wince, cradling my injured arm with my good one. "That hurts like a bitch."
"When I was a young teenager—maybe fourteen, I guess—I had it in my head that I was invincible," he starts as he sets the sling aside then returns to help me with my shirt. "I was out hiking the mountain trail with my brothers and cousins. I think we were planning on exploring a cave or something, but we didn't get that far." Taking the weight of my bad arm in his hand, he uses the other to guide my t-shirt off my good arm, lifting it over my head. "I had the brilliant idea of taking a short cut by climbing up a rock face without any equipment."
"Oh no. What happened?"
"I fell," he states, smiling at the memory as he carefully guides my T-shirt down my arm without adding to my pain. I honestly can't get over how gentle he is, and the fact he's sharing a little about himself is helping me forget to feel self conscious at his closeness. I simply want to know more, to gobble up every little tidbit of information about himself he's willing to share with me. He's such an oxymoron to me. Rough and hard, but gentle and kind. I want to unravel the ins and outs of his mind, somehow grow closer to him and understand why he hides and what he's protecting himself from.
"Did you hurt yourself?"
His eyes lift to mine and he nods. "Popped my elbow when I landed."
"Ouch."
Taking my good arm again, he guides my hand so I'm the one holding my left. "It's why I know how much your arm is hurtin' right now. And why I also know you'll need more help than just the sling and the T-shirt," he murmurs, his emerald eyes locked with mine.
My breath catches. "But...I've never... No one..." I roll my lips when I can't get the words out, emotion pricking the backs of my eyes.
"I know," he breathes, lifting a hand and brushing the loose strands from my ponytail behind my ear. "And I promise you--I promise--that I won't do anything besides help you. I think I've made it pretty clear that I think you're beautiful, Serenity. But I also know there's a time and a place for these things. Right now isn't that."
Blinking rapidly, I nod, believing every word he says, but still struggling a little. "What..." I pause and swallow. "What if when you take all this off me--all the tight-fitting things that are keeping my wobbly bits in place--what if you see what's underneath and you don't think I'm worthy anymore?"
"Oh, Serenity," he says in a rush, his hand cupping the side of my face, thumb quickly swiping away the tear that falls from my eye before it even makes it to my cheek. "Any man who gives a damn about wobbly bits isn't a real man. Any guy worth his weight in anything knows beauty is skin deep, but soul connections are forever."
"Is that what you think this is?" I whisper. "Do you think our souls are connected?"
He slowly nods. "My cousin, Kellen has a wife named Jade. When she came to Whisper Valley, he took one look at her and thought, 'that's the girl I'm going to marry'. Even when we were kids, he always said that when he met the girl he planned on settling down with, he'd know right away. We laughed at him then, but when he met Jade then married her the next day, we had to admit that maybe he was right. The way his wife tells it, their souls met, recognized each other, thenwinked.It's how she knew he was for her, and it's how all my cousins, and even my older brother, describe meeting their partners."
"Wait. Is that why I keep seeing women wearing pink jackets that say 'Whisper Valley Soulwink Society' on the back of them?"
A grin curves up one side of his handsome face. "That's Jade's doing. She thinks there's magic in the air here, so she started a club for all the women who've met their soulmate here. So far her soulwink seems limited to the Valentine family, but she's hopeful it's a bigger phenomenon throughout the town."
"That's really beautiful, Nelson," I murmur, searching his eyes and loving that I'm not finding a hint of disbelief in them. "You believe in the soulwink too, don't you?"
"I'll admit I wasn't sure. But then...I met you."
It's then that a quiet understanding happens between the two of us, our mouths moving toward each other, closing the short gap of distance until our lips connect in a delicate explosion of senses.
And for a girl who's never been kissed before, I just about self-combust from the heat of it. Who would have ever known when I woke up this morning, that I'd finish the craziest day of my life, standing in my bathroom experiencing my first real kiss with a man who very might well be my soulmate? I'm yet to meet this Jade, but I have to agree with her on something—Whisper Valley is a magical place indeed.
