My Soul to Keep (The Soul Keeper Series - Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (27 page)

     
Another
clap of thunder and the power goes out. The house becomes quiet except for the
constant fall of rain on the roof and our heavy breaths. Sam and I work
ourselves up on the sofa to a point of retreat one of us will have to call
soon. The house is dark and getting colder by the minute. Our heated bodies are
like kindle to a fire neither of us wants to extinguish. The Harvard pennant on
my bracelet jingles as if reminding me of the future I am about to forfeit. I
push Sam off as I exhale a rush of air and he lands on the floor with a thud.
He looks up at me like had I just struck him with a baseball bat.

     
“Sorry,
are you okay?”

     
“Only my
ego is bruised,” he says as he sits up from the floor. I shake my head at him.

     
“Well I
think I'd better get to bed. You can sleep in the downstairs room. Goodnight
Sam.” I kiss the top of his head and I retreat upstairs. He was still on the
floor looking confused when he left my view. I change into a pair of my warmest
pajamas and add a pair of fuzzy socks for extra warmth. If the power doesn't
come back on tonight then this house will be freezing by morning. The house
already feels chilly. The waning rolls of thunder send me into a deep sleep.

     
The
morning is gray and cold. The storm has passed but left behind a bleary day.
The power is still out and the house feels like Siberia. I wrap my blanket
around me and plod downstairs to put on the tea kettle. I find the lighter and
ignite the stove. I crank up the gas to the fireplace as well. Sam is still
sleeping. I make a cup of tea and sit next to the fire in attempt to thaw my
body. Things got pretty steamy between us last night, I wonder what would have
happened if I hadn't stopped it. My subconscious knows, she keeps sending out
warning bells, and flashing yellow lights. I try and tell her I was just acting
my age but she isn't impressed. The fire heats my skin to a light fever and I
dig out a book from my bag. I sit sideways on the arm chair and immerse myself
in the literary works of Charles Dickens.

     
Sam
emerges from the bedroom at almost noon. His hair is sticking up wildly like a
lion's mane and he touches my cheek with an icy hand as he comes and takes his
good morning kiss. His touch sends shivers down the back of my neck.

     
“Sleep
well?”

     
“I live
on a farm Bren, so I have not slept in that late in... years. Thank you,” he
says while warming himself by the fire. He is wearing only pajama bottoms and
they are hung low on his hips. His swimmers physique gives him a long lean
torso, gently sculpted and begging to be touched. I can't bring myself to focus
back on the book.

     
“How
about we go camping for real today? Do you have any supplies?”

     
“Let's go
check the
garage,
I think I saw some stuff in there
that may be camping supplies.” He goes back in the bedroom to get dressed and
emerges a few minutes later.

     
“I mean
the power is still out here, so let's go freeze somewhere with a better view.”

     
“That
sounds like fun and what's wrong with my view?” I ask while walking out to the
garage. It is dark in here. I grab the flashlight off the wall and shine it
around.

     
“Here let
me see it for a minute.” He takes the light and walks around my car. I hear a
loud metal pop and see the garage door is being lifted. Light pours through the
garage as well as the cold air. I wrap my arms around my body, shivering. There
is an area off to the side full of our storage items. I point to the top shelf.

“There, is that a tent?”
 
I see a bag labeled Magellan.

     
“Yep
that's a tent. And I see a lantern and a cooler as well. We are in good shape.”
He reaches up and pulls down the tent.

     
“Hey
there is even a propane stove,” I say looking on another shelf. I know my
grandmother is not into camping and my dad took me once when we were here, so
it must be all of his old stuff, but pretty much in brand new condition.

     
An hour
later and his truck
is
packed. I am dressed for an
Arctic freeze. I despise the cold. Sam helps me up into his truck. I wonder if
the battle raging on my beach will follow us or stay behind. As long as Will
follows us I guess it doesn't matter. He slides his long legs in and cranks up
the truck. I take my place at his side and he puts his flannel covered arm
around me. I have never camped in the winter before. I hope I don't freeze to
death.

     
Sam finds
a great spot with the view of Baldface Mountain in the distance. He goes right
to work setting up our camp site. He tells me to look for firewood that is dry.
It must not have rained up here in this area last night. I manage to find an
arm full of wood and bring it down to the site. I take my gloves off as the day
begins to thaw. Sam is finished setting up the tent. He emerges from behind
after nailing down the last stake.

     
“Look's
good, I didn't know you were such an outdoors man.” Sam looks proud of his
handy work.

     
“Yeah, my
family is big on camping, we have an R.V now, but for years we roughed it in
tents. Caught or killed what we ate, cooked over an open fire and all.” His sweet
southern accent just sweetens the pot.

     
“My dad
took me camping once and I think I ended up sleeping in the truck because I saw
an ant in the tent.”

     
“Oh don't
tell me you are one of them girly girls now are you?” He smiles his boyish
grin, charming and rugged combine in equal parts to make one steamy hot guy.
His face sports a short stubble of blonde on it, maturing his face into a man’s
almost imperceptibly.

     
“I hate
bugs, I hate being cold, and I hate that the only thing between me and a
hacksaw murderer is an eighth of an inch of polyester and a zipper.”

     
“Well
then, you’re in luck, I have a can of repellant in the truck, you are dressed
like an Eskimo and ...” Sam walks to his truck and opens the door; he emerges
with a very large rifle and cocks it. “I'm a light sleeper.”

     
“You are
a true Texan aren't you?”

     
“Yes
ma'am.” He tips his cap with a sly grin. He is adorable. “How about we take a
hike?”

     
“Sure.”
It is nice enough out for a hike. I grab a water bottle and one for Sam from
the cooler.

     
“Make
sure all of your valuables are locked up in the truck before we go.” My purse
is still inside so I guess I am ready.
 
The hike up the mountain is slow going due to my extreme fear that a
snake could be hiding under every rock we pass.

     
“Bren,
it's too cold for snakes trust me.” The trail is beautiful, there is a light
snow on the ground, and we have seen two deer so far. Sam showed me some bobcat
tracks that has me strongly considering sleeping in the truck tonight. He has
his rifle slung over his shoulder as a precaution. I am starting to feel the
cold so I agree to quicken our pace. The higher up we get the more snow covers
the ground.
 
I spy a red cardinal and it
seems to be following us playfully. Its bright red feathers stand out against
the winter scene like our own personal live Christmas card. I haven't seen this
much snow in my life.

     
“Come
here I want to try this.” I take Sam's hand and drag him out to a small
clearing of snow, leaving our belongings on the trail. I lie down in the
powdery soft snow and make a snow angel. Sam sits down in the fluff and makes a
snow ball. I rise to view my masterpiece and get nailed in the rear end with a
snowball.

     
“Oh Sam,
I can't believe you would do such a childish thing.” I scowl at him. When I
have him convinced I am mad, I chunk my own hidden ball of snow right at his
chest. He catches it and pretends to fall to the ground. I join him on the
ground.

     
“Truce,”
I say. He replies with a kiss. Snow is a very fun thing, but now my butt is
numb. Sam helps me to my feet, and we continue to the top of the trail.

     
“Hey Sam,
how did your sisters handle losing your mom?”

     
“Well
they took it hard, I mean they were only six when she passed away. But my mom
tried to make things as easy for us as she could. She made the girls and I each
a video diary to be played on our birthdays other occasions. It's good you know,
to hear her voice again whenever we need to. Christmas is hard on all of us
though because she didn't get to spend it with us. She passed away early
November.” I think about the time we had our last big squabble at the airport in
November, it must have been around the time he lost his mom. Emily really did
nail the reason for his emotional blip. Now I really feel like a jerk.

     
“She was
pretty sick those last few months. Dad spent most of his time at the hospital
and I stayed home with Mia and Macie. They needed something to get their mind
off of how sick mom was so I helped them round up all of our old tee shirts
from our family trips or team sports, whatever held a memory. We cut out the
middle of them to make squares, then we each hand sewed a section of them
together. My neighbor back in Ft. Worth helped us finish it out to a nice
blanket. Mom cried so hard when she got that ugly old thing but she slept with
it in the hospital and then it went in her casket at the funeral.” I like Sam's
stories, this one was heartbreaking. I am glad neither of my parents had to
suffer like that.

     
“Your mom
sounds like a wonderful woman and mother.”

     
“She was.
You kind of remind me of her, except you confuse the hell out of me most days.
You are a mystery to me, girl. I am glad we finally get to spend some down time
together though, maybe this is my chance to figure out what makes you tick.” I
laugh at his comment.

     
“I'm not
mysterious. What do you want to know?” I say with caution in my voice.

     
“See,
that right there. I feel like you’re always hiding some truth from me just out
of reach.”

     
“You're
pretty good at reading me. But I am very down to earth I think.”

     
“Then
what is it you aren't telling?

     
“Well
there is one thing that I have been meaning to tell you.”
 
I eye his rifle and give pause to the fact
that no one knows we are up on this mountain. But I have a Keeper looking after
me so I feel safer and he deserved the whole truth.
 
So I take a deep breath and begin, “The night
of the dance, after I went home, Elijah and I kissed before he left town, and
he came back to visit for a couple of hours about a month after that as well. I
love you Sam, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get over him. I just want you to
know everything. I never want to hurt you again.” He continues his pace beside
me silently for a few minutes and my fear of losing him begins to escalate.
Finally he takes my hand in his and turns to me.

     
“If he
comes back would I lose you to him, because I never want to be second in your
heart?”

     
“I
honestly can’t answer that. You know I want to say no but the truth is, I have
never been in love before and now my heart is torn in two.”

     
“But he
left you
Brennen,
I would never do that to you.”

     
“I know
you wouldn’t Sam and that is one of the reasons I love you. I don’t want to
lose you, and you could never be second in my heart. Don’t you see that?” I
caress his cheek and draw his lips into mine. I part his lips with my tongue
and explore his willing mouth.
 
I place a
hand on each side of his face and just an inch a way I murmur, “If you want to
leave me I will understand.”
 
This is it,
I have laid it out on the line, if Elijah returns I don’t know who I would
choose, and if he wants to risk having his heartbroken to love me then that is
a risk he has to be willing to accept. I can’t turn off my feelings like a
light switch and I won’t lie to him about it either.

     
His hands
reach up to mine and I am convinced he is about to dump me. He squeezes my
hands and his reddened lips softly suck and pull on my lower lip, he parts my
lips and gently explores my tongue with his. His kiss speaks volumes about his
decision. It goes on and on as his desperate hands
seek
to claim my body as his. I submit to him by allowing his hands to explore my
torso and a moan escapes my throat from deep within. As he withdrawals his
heated lips from mine, he lingers over my chin, panting out a white vapor
between our accelerated breaths.

     
“I think
I’ll take my chances,” he says with an upturned wry grin. I return the look and
we continue up the mountain. A while later he resumes our earlier easy
conversation.