The response to the last chapter blew me away! I was so excited to see all of your wonderfully supportive and encouraging reviews. There were thirty-four reviews for the last chapter alone. Now, I'm curious to see if you can beat that for this one. I do accept anonymous reviews, so even if you don't have an account, you can still leave me a little note letting me know what you thought. Each one adds a little fuel to my writing fire. ;-)
OK, enough from me… Enjoy the chapter!
This is surrender
To a war-torn life I've lived.
Scars and stripes forever
In need of change I can't resist.
This long of a struggle
Finally opened up my eyes.
Revolution's not easy
With a Civil War on the inside.
No need to hide anything anymore.
Can't return to who I was before.
I can finally breathe.
Suddenly alive.
I can finally move.
The world feels revived.
Anberlin
"Breathe"
His smiled widened, a tender look lighting his eyes. When he spoke, his voice sounded just exactly as it had the first time I'd heard it, before I even woke up… rich and deep and beautiful. There was no hesitation… and no doubt…
"I love you."
.
Chapter 7
Jasper
.
Alice stared unblinkingly at me, her mouth slightly agape. I felt her stunned sense of wonder, almost a disbelief. "Wha – what?" She stuttered.
I smiled, taking her face tenderly between my palms. "I love you," I repeated, a little stunned myself at how easily the words flowed from my tongue. Those were words that I hadn't spoken in eighty-seven years, not since I was a sixteen year old boy leaving home and family for the first time. But they were more true now than they had ever been before.
I loved her… so much that that love filled every empty space inside. She made me whole again.
With a strangled cry of joy, Alice threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in the curve of my shoulder. "I love you… I love you," she whispered over and over, her words muffled against my skin.
I smiled and pressed my lips against her temple, tracing my hand over the length of her back. I hadn't planned on saying those words just yet, and having them out there like that should have probably made me feel very vulnerable, but it didn't. I couldn't possibly regret them when they made Alice so happy… and her happiness was becoming more and more important to me every day.
"You mean that," Alice said, lifting her head, her smile rivaling the sun for brilliance. "You really mean that." She said again as if trying to convince herself – as if she was afraid to believe it.
"I mean that," I confirmed, unable to help smiling simply because she was. But then my expression turned solemn as I caressed the soft skin of her cheek with the back of my finger. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting."
Alice shook her head, taking my hand in hers and placing a kiss to my palm. "It doesn't matter now." She snuggled back into my chest, wrapping my arms around her again. "And you were worth the wait. You were most definitely worth the wait."
As she settled herself in my embrace with a happy sigh once more, I made a promise to myself. Never again. Never again would I be the one to hurt her. No matter what I had to do, I wanted to be the one to make her smile. I never again wanted to make her cry.
She'd altered me so completely in just the six months I'd known her, I almost didn't recognize myself. But they were, without a doubt, good changes… very good changes.
Peace swirled around us in a cloud… the kind of peace I'd only ever felt with her. The restless sense of searching that had driven me for years was nowhere to be found. With her, I was content.
I shifted, feeling Alice's surprise as I lowered myself to lay on my back, bringing her down with me to rest against my side. She propped herself on her elbow after a moment, one arm draped over my chest.
"You're full of the unexpected today," she said, gesturing to my unguarded position. I'd never relaxed my defenses quite this much before, but it seemed silly to hold onto them now. Alice was no threat. She never had been.
"I think you bring out the unexpected in me," I mirrored her smile.
"Is that a good thing?"
"It's a very good thing," I said, framing her face in my hands. "You bring out the best in me."
Her smile, impossibly it seemed, widened still more. Leaning down, she pressed her lips fully against mine. I threaded my fingers into her hair, returning her kiss eagerly. I loved the way her full, soft lips felt moving against mine – I liked it a little too much.
The sweetly sensual movements of her mouth on mine stoked the fires burning inside until I wanted more… much more. I wanted to know if her skin was this soft everywhere else. I wanted to learn the curves and valleys of her body, to trace them and memorize them until I knew her body better than I knew my own. This little taste wasn't enough to satisfy, it was just enough to tease. I wanted everything with her.
I wanted her. Badly.
But it was still too soon for that. We weren't ready yet.
I pulled back reluctantly, disengaging my lips from hers. Smiling, I traced the bridge of her nose with my fingertip, trying to mask the desire burning through my veins. She lay down then, her head resting on my shoulder. Her arm stayed draped over my chest, her fingers tracing absently over my collarbone and down the center line of my chest, back and forth in repetitive motions.
I doubted that Alice, in her innocence, had any idea what her touch was doing to me. A happy smile played at her lips as she simply enjoyed this new freedom, this new closeness, that we felt with each other. She couldn't know that the light, almost teasing, movements of her hand were fanning the flames of desire that I was trying so hard to suppress.
Her body was pressed closely against mine as she tried to get as close as she could. Alice had a tiny frame, but she was undeniably all woman as evidenced by the supple curves pressing against me – a sweet kind of torture. I should stop her hand, I knew, but I hated to lose the almost painful pleasure of her touch.
I had been entirely truthful earlier when I said that everything was different with her. The desire I felt for her bore little resemblance to anything I'd ever experienced before. It seemed almost blasphemous to compare what I felt for Alice now to anything I'd ever felt with Maria, and yet I couldn't help it.
The two women couldn't be more different. The emotions and reactions they elicited couldn't possibly be more opposite.
Maria had left me constantly on edge; I had never known what to expect from her, whether hot or cold. Her responses to me were directly correlated to what she wanted. She was just fine ignoring me until she needed something.
Any time we'd come together physically had felt tainted. Sex with her had been savage and raw – two people only taking from each other with little or no true regard for the other. It had been empty, and it had left me feeling empty. There was always a nagging something inside that told me this wasn't how it was supposed to be. Deep inside, I had known something wasn't right… I'd just ignored it. I hadn't believed there was any other way for our kind.
Over several decades, that physical side of our relationship had dwindled and finally died out. I had become a machine programmed for destruction, and I hadn't wanted anyone getting too close – even her… especially her. Maria had never protested that. To her, it had never been about me. I knew that now, and on some level, I had known that then. It had only ever been another means to control – only about manipulating to get what she wanted.
That couldn't be further from the truth with Alice. Kissing her, holding her, felt amazingly right. There was a purity to her love, a truly genuine quality that went a long way to easing any doubts that might have lingered in my mind. I loved her, and that love was returned in full measure. This was how it was always meant to be.
"Jasper," Alice's soft, tentative voice brought me back to the present. "May I ask you something?"
"Of course," I took her hand in mine, bringing it up to my mouth to kiss each of her fingers.
She tilted her head back, leaning it against my arm that was resting under her neck. She looked at me thoughtfully for the space of a few breaths before she asked, "Have you ever thought about settling down in one place? Making a home somewhere?"
I looked at her, studying her delicate features. "I've never given it much thought before. I've never been able to stay still long enough to actually consider it." I gave in to the urge to bring my hand up to trace the perfect arch of her brows and over her cheekbones to the tip of her nose.
"There was always something restless inside me," I told her, feeling the satin smoothness of her porcelain skin under my fingertips. "I felt like I was looking for something even though I didn't know what it was that I was looking for… yet." I smiled and nuzzled my nose over hers.
"But you don't feel that way anymore?" She smiled, already knowing the answer.
"No. I found exactly what I was looking for. Or, rather, she found me."
Alice hid her face in my arm, but I felt the smile that overtook her face and the joy that threatened to burst right out of her body. "I'm glad," she whispered, kissing my sleeve.
"So am I."
"Would you be opposed to trying?" She asked, looking back up at me, referring to her original question.
"I don't suppose I'd be opposed to it, I just don't see how it would work to stay in one place for long."
"It couldn't be permanent, of course," Alice said, propping on her elbow and hovering over me. "But we could find something far enough away from town that we'd be secluded. Don't you think it would be nice to feel just a little bit settled? To have someplace you could call home?"
I frowned as a sudden thought struck me. "You don't remember ever having a home before, do you?"
Alice shook her head, saying nothing.
"All right," I agreed, shrugging. "If that's what you want, I'm willing to give it a try." Alice beamed, lowering her face for another kiss, which I gave readily.
It was almost funny how much my priorities had shifted. All of a sudden it seemed, Alice's needs and wants took precedence over my own. If it was important to her, it was important to me now. I'd give her whatever she wanted because making her happy made me happy. And that kind of selflessness was unheard of in my experience.
"I think there's something else I should probably tell you," Alice's voice was uncertain.
"What?" I asked, curious about what she could be so suddenly reluctant to mention. "There's nothing you can't tell me, Alice," I assured her as I watched the hesitation play across her face.
"Do you remember that night we watched the sunset on the coast, when I mentioned the Cullens?" She finally asked.
"The other animal-drinkers," I clarified.
"We prefer to be called vegetarians," she corrected, though her eyes glowed with momentary humor.
"Of course. I do beg your pardon, Miss Alice." She giggled. "I seem to recall you mentioning something to that effect, yes." I said tongue-in-cheek.
Alice rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at me, but her teasing was quickly replaced by solemnity. She laid her hand on my cheek, looking as deeply into my eyes as she could. "Jasper, even before I woke up, I knew I was meant to be with you. I knew you were the direction my life was supposed to go. Even after I woke, when everything was so new and confusing, that was the one thing I was sure of. It was always you and me together."
I knew my confusion was plainly visible on my face. This wasn't new; she'd told me all of this before. I just wasn't sure yet what she was building up to now.
She continued after a moment. "But, after a while, most of the times when I saw us, we weren't alone. We were with them – with the Cullens… as part of their family." My eyebrows shot up almost to my hairline, and Alice finished quickly before I had a chance to speak. "I knew I had to find you first – you were the most important – but I also knew, at some point, you and I were supposed to be one of them."
I lay there silently, staring at Alice and mulling over what she had said. Her gaze didn't falter, but she didn't say anything else. She was giving me time to process her revelation. I slid my arm out from under her head, disentangling myself from her, and stood up. She sat, wrapping her arms around her knees as I paced.
I crossed my arms over my chest, peering down at her. "It's been six months, Alice. Why are you just now telling me this?"
Alice flinched at the cold displeasure in my tone, but she didn't back down. A determination steeled itself in her eyes, and she stood, mirroring my pose in front of me. As she looked right into my eyes, her voice was far more serious than I was used to hearing from her. "Jasper, when would you have had me bring it up? For what portion of those six months were you actually speaking to me? For how much of that time did you give me the freedom to say anything at all?"
I grimaced – she was right.
"I wanted to tell you," she continued earnestly, "believe me, I did. But this is the first opportunity I've had when I could see you'd even attempt to listen. You wouldn't have before now. Am I wrong?"
I didn't answer, though I knew she was right once again. Instead I deflected her question, asking one of my own. "Is that what you want now? Is that why you were asking about settling down?" The question came out as more of an accusation.
Alice shook her head quickly, "No. That wasn't why. I think you and I have enough to do for right now getting us figured out. I think it would actually be pretty stupid to bring anyone else into the mix at the moment.
"I'm telling you because I don't ever want you to think that I'm keeping things from you... because I think if I'd brought it up a year, or two years from now, you'd have a right to be upset with me for hiding it. And I also know that with your history being what it is you're going to need time just to get used to the idea."
Again, she was right.
I wasn't at all keen on the concept of living with a large group of our kind. Settling down with Alice, having her as my… companion… had taken long enough to get comfortable with. I knew all too well how unstable immortals could be when living in large groupings. It rarely seemed to work. And Alice had said before that there were already five of them. No, that wasn't an idea that I was happy about at all. Seven of our kind trying to coexist peacefully together was a disaster waiting to happen.
"Jasper," Alice walked slowly towards me, placing her hand on my crossed arms, and looking straight up into my eyes. "I know you're uncomfortable with the idea, and I know it would take you time to adjust, but I also know that you would eventually be happy with them, just as I will. I've seen it. You will love them, and they will love you. That much I know."
"And what if I'm not willing to turn my life upside down and feed from animals like them? What then?" I asked coldly, the chill giving a bite to my words.
"I know you're not ready right now, but you have been thinking about it. Maybe, given a little more time, you might want to at least try."
"Just because I'm thinking about it doesn't mean I'm willing to commit to it. You're making assumptions now."
Alice sighed heavily, her forehead drawing together in a frown. "That isn't what I said, and you're being difficult on purpose." Her eyes were reproving. "Why are you getting all defensive like this? Jasper, it's me. There's no reason for it."
I didn't answer, my teeth clenched together. A sudden burst of anger from Alice surprised me. I'd never felt that from her before.
Instead of advancing and acting out of aggression as I was used to seeing associated with anger, she stepped back, her eyes flashing. "You're being unfair, Jasper. Name one single demand I've made of you. Name one time that I've manipulated you or tried to deceive you."
I said nothing, watching her face as the anger turned to hurt… and feeling my heart twist as it did. My promise not to hurt her had been shot to hell in a matter of minutes. I felt about two inches high.
"You can't because I haven't." Alice stated, her voice becoming entreating. "I love you, and I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you. There's no reason for you to be fighting me like this because, dammit, Jasper, I'm not her."
"I know you're not." I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck, frustrated and angry with myself. "Believe me, I know that." I reached out a hand towards her, wordlessly asking to take it. She did, still with hurt in her eyes, and let me draw her nearer again.
I wrapped my arms around her, feeling relieved when I felt her arms encircle my waist. "I'm sorry," I whispered into her hair. "Alice, I'm trying. I really am. But I'm still going to make mistakes – and probably a lot of them – just like I did now. I don't know how not to fight. I have to train myself not to go on the defensive like that. It's second nature to me. And that's going to take time."
I took her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger and lifted her face. "But I am truly sorry that I hurt you. And you were right… every word you said. I had no call to react to you the way I did.
"I can't promise that I'll ever be thrilled with the thought of joining another coven that large, but, if that's something you want – if it's that important to you – I will try to be open minded." Alice nodded, saying nothing but seeming to be appeased with that. "Am I forgiven?" I asked, looking into the golden depths of her eyes.
The smile I loved so much tipped the corners of her mouth. "You were before you even asked," she said softly… lovingly. Alice laid her cheek on my chest again as we just stood there in our embrace.
I thought back over our… argument… undoubtedly the strangest dispute I'd ever been involved in. Alice had been angry and irritated, as I had been, but, just as quickly as the storm had come, it had passed… like it had never happened. Alice didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge, so I highly doubted that she would bring my idiotic behavior up again.
And, oddly enough, it was reassuring to see how she reacted in an argument. She'd been angry and frustrated, but there had been no hint of aggression. And, though she didn't even come close to resorting to anything underhanded or nasty, she'd held her own, standing up to me and calling me out where I was wrong. She hadn't done that before. She'd been very careful with what she said, careful not to antagonize me from the very start. This almost seemed like a marker of our progress. She wasn't treading so cautiously anymore – she was treating me as a partner, a companion… as an equal. And I liked that.
"What are you smiling about?" Alice asked, quirking one eyebrow.
"Three months ago, if this had happened, you would have tucked your tail like a scared little rabbit," I said, kissing the tip of her nose.
"There wasn't any tail tucking today, was there?" Alice chuckled.
"Not a bit." I said proudly.
"But I still don't like it when you're angry with me," she admitted quietly. "It makes me feel very… unsettled," she said with a sigh.
"You must feel a little more secure, though, about us."
"I do," she nodded. "Everything's fallen right back in place. Back where it's supposed to be. I don't feel like I have to worry about you deciding you don't want me with you anymore."
"That's not going to happen," I promised, wrapping my arms tighter around her. "I know I still act like an idiot sometimes, but I can't go back, Alice." I whispered, brushing my lips over her forehead. "I can't go back to who I was before I met you. And my future would be awfully dark without you in it."
Alice's happiness washed over me, her contentment joining with mine. Sometimes my progress was slow. Sometimes it felt like I was taking little baby steps instead of the leaps and bounds I would have liked. But, for the first time in my immortal existence, I felt like I was finally on the right path.
Like Alice had said, everything was falling into place… one little step at a time.
.
Alice
.
Hand in hand, Jasper and I made our way to Montana, which was where I had seen us settling down. The state had a wide variety of wildlife for me – and for him if he ever decided to hunt with me – and it was sparsely populated enough that we wouldn't have to worry about anyone stumbling on us.
I'd already seen the house – if it could still be called that in its state of disrepair. It looked like it had been abandoned years ago, but, most importantly, it was at least eighty miles from any other settlement in any direction. That wouldn't exactly make it convenient for Jasper to hunt, but I didn't think we could risk getting any closer. And I was still holding out hope that he would stop hunting humans soon. I wasn't going to say anything else to him about it, though.
We parted ways just on the outskirts of a town for both of us to feed. As I ran into the forest, pursuing my own prey, I couldn't help watching him. I dreaded the aftermath of his hunt this time more than ever before. I'd enjoyed seeing him smile and hearing his laughter this week. He'd seemed happy for the first time since I'd known him, but that was about to change.
I diverted my attention when he actually fed – I didn't want to tempt myself that much – but he flickered back into my sight as soon as he was done. The dark circles under his eyes were gone, and his irises glowed a bright, iridescent crimson in the night. But, even still, it looked like he was the one who'd had his life drained away. His eyes looked vacant, his face tortured.
His shoulders were stooped, like he was carrying a heavy burden, as he made his way back to me. I'd perched on a fallen tree trunk waiting for him. His steps were slow as he came closer. I held out my arms to him, and he came to me without hesitation, laying his head in the curve of my neck and wrapping his arms tightly around me, seeking comfort.
I sifted my fingers through his hair, hating to see him like this. I didn't say anything… I just held him. It wouldn't do any good to pressure him, and I never wanted him to think that my love was conditional on anything. Making that change had to be his idea – because it was what he wanted, not because it was what I wanted for him. I knew it wasn't going to be easy for him. I'd seen that in painfully clear detail.
Eventually, we were on our way again to find the house. Jasper's face, when he saw it the first time, was priceless. He grimaced, his upper lip curled back in distaste.
"This is it?" He asked, glancing at me and then back at the ramshackle little house.
"What's wrong with it?" I asked innocently, biting back a laugh at the expression on his face.
"What's wrong with it?" He glanced at me, incredulous. "Alice, did you look at this place? I'm surprised it's even still standing."
"It's nothing that can't be fixed," I assured him.
"I'm not so sure about that," his eyes were skeptical.
"And besides that, there's something else you should see." I took his hand and led him around back. "Look," I gestured at the view.
There was a clear stream running behind the house, the surface glistening like diamonds in the afternoon sunlight. The house was surrounded by clusters of trees, adding to the seclusion. And in the background, the mountains stretched towards the sky, their tips painted white with snow even in September.
I took a step back, leaning against Jasper's chest and winding his arms around my waist. "You and I can fix the house," I told him. "But we can't recreate that view anywhere else."
I felt him drop a kiss on the top of my head. "This is what you want?" I nodded at his question. "Then I guess it's what you're going to get. I'm learning that it's usually pointless to argue with you anyway." His voice turned wry, "Somehow you always manage to get your way."
I elbowed him in the ribs for that comment, but he just laughed and turned me around, kissing me with smiling lips.
"We have our work cut out for us," he said, keeping his arm around my shoulder as he turned back around to survey the house again. "This thing looks like a good stiff breeze could blow it over."
"It's not that bad."
Jasper let go of me and shimmied up the side of the house to the roof. He snorted when he got up there. "Huh, imagine that. A rotted roof," he said, tossing a few loose shingles down to the ground and jumping back down to land beside me.
"Ever roofed a house before?" I asked with a grin, ducking under his arm again.
"Nope," he shook his head. "This will be a first. You?"
"Afraid not. Sorry." I laughed. "But it can't be that hard to figure out. I mean, if a human can do it, it should be easy for us, right?"
"I think we're going to find out," he muttered. "Do we dare go inside?" He asked with one eyebrow raised as he gestured to the house.
I rolled my eyes and pushed open the door. Every flat surface was covered in a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs hung in every corner. Dust motes danced in the air as we breathed, illuminated by the light managing to filter in through the filthy windows.
There was a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, and two small bedrooms on the main floor, and a rickety staircase that led to a loft. Most of the furniture was still here, though certainly looking much worse for wear. Table and chairs were still in the kitchen, a rocking chair and a sofa still occupied the sitting room, and the bedrooms still had beds and dressers. It looked like whoever had lived here had packed up whatever was easily moveable and left everything else behind.
It took some convincing, but I finally persuaded Jasper that it was safest and easiest for me to make the trip to the nearest town to pick up what supplies we needed. He wasn't enthusiastic about letting me go alone, but he eventually agreed to it. I wouldn't say anything to him, but I thought it was kind of funny that he was becoming so protective. After all, I'd existed without him for almost thirty years, and I'd managed to keep myself in one piece. I was glad for that protectiveness, though. It was just more proof that he was coming to love me as much as I loved him.
By the time I got back, he had the shingles all stripped off from the roof and lying in a neat pile on the ground. He leapt down when he saw me approaching, a warm smile spreading over his face. As soon as I laid my packages down, I found myself scooped up in his arms.
"Welcome back," he said, tilting my face back for a kiss. It started off just a quick brushing of lips, but after having been separated for several hours, it quickly escalated into the kind of soul searing kiss that I felt all the way to my toes. I felt the tip of his tongue trace the surface of my lower lip, and, acting on instinct, I brought my tongue out to tease his.
A rush of heat shot to my belly as his tongue curled around mine, teasing it, stroking it, and finally drawing it into the heat of his mouth. His head tilted as he moved to get a better angle, allowing him to deepen the kiss even further. My legs went weak as I felt the drawing sensation as he sucked and nibbled on my tongue. I was grateful for his arms wrapped around me – I almost feared I'd fall over without them supporting me.
His hands wandered over my back, stroking from my shoulder blades down my spine to my waist. His left hand stopped, curving into the dip at the small of my back and drawing my hips closer to his. His right hand continued back up the line of my spinal column. When the heel of his hand brushed against the side of my breast, I whimpered into his mouth, unable to help the plaintive sound.
His hand anchored itself in the hair at the nape of my neck as his mouth devoured mine hungrily. I fisted my hands into his shirt, trying to draw him even closer. I was pressed against him from shoulders to hips, but it still wasn't close enough. The heat of his body surrounded me – solid and strong and masculine. His scent filled my lungs; his taste filled my mouth. My body felt like it was burning, like it was being consumed, but I never wanted that burning to stop.
Jasper's arms tightened convulsively around me just before he released my mouth with a groan.
"Don't you dare apologize," I said, my voice raspy, before he could say what he was planning.
"I got a little carried away," he winced sheepishly, loosening his hold on me to allow a more respectable distance between our bodies.
"You have my permission to get carried away anytime you'd like," I teased, winding my arms around his neck and tangling them in his curls, still a little breathless. "As a matter of fact, I was thinking that if this is the kind of welcome I get, I may have to leave more often."
He snorted and pressed three quick kisses on my forehead, my nose and my chin. "Very funny." There was a tenderness in his eyes as he pulled away. "You know I love you, right?"
"Yes," I nodded, smiling at the heartfelt sincerity in his voice. "I know." I didn't think I'd ever tire of hearing him say that. It was like having all of my dreams come true at once.
"So, what's the verdict?" I asked, nodding to the house, trying to distract myself from the desire that was still singing through my veins.
He took a step back, still keeping his arm around my shoulders, holding me to him. "Surprisingly enough, the structure is pretty sound. Once we get a new roof on, the rest should be just a matter of cleaning and sprucing things up – mostly cosmetic repairs. Still a lot of work, but not quite as bad as I was expecting."
I fought to hide my grin, but I couldn't quite mask my victorious amusement at his admission.
"Oh, stop it," he said. I laughed and danced out of his grasp, catching his wrists in my hands before he could poke me in the sides as I'd seen him trying to do. I knew there was no way I could hold him if he didn't want to be held. He could break away from my grasp effortlessly if he wanted to, but he didn't try. His eyes sparkled with wicked amusement, and one eyebrow raised in challenge.
"Say it," I teased, laughing and tightening my grip on his wrists, challenging him right back. "I was right, wasn't I?"
"It's a weather beaten old dump," he said emphatically, "and it's more trouble than it's worth. It's broken and falling down, and it would probably be much easier to just put it out of its misery." He twisted his wrists effortlessly out of my hold and, with a grin, had his arms wrapped around my waist before I could move, pressing his lips gently to the hollow of my throat.
"But you have a particular gift for taking what's broken and breathing new life into it. You look at those broken pieces and see something of value… something worth saving." The teasing faded completely from his eyes, replaced with a burning sincerity. "And, darlin, that's something I'll spend the rest of my life being grateful for. I don't know where I'd be without that."
I bit my lip, hiding my face in his chest, a little overwhelmed at the feeling behind his words. But a part of my mind couldn't help noticing what he'd called me. I wondered if he was aware that he'd used the new term of endearment – he'd called me darlin… not little one, not Alice. Darlin. Hearing that, spoken with the thick drawl of his Texas accent, felt like an embrace – warm, intimate, thrilling and comforting all at once.
"All right," he said softly, kissing the top of my head. "Let's get started on that house, huh?"
I nodded, taking the hand he held out to me when he pulled back. And, side by side, we set to work making this time-worn little house into our home.
Proving that I have no resistance to peer pressure, I am now on Twitter as of this week. You can find me as AnEnduringHope if you care to follow. :-)
Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me some lovin' on the review page… I love hearing from you!
Nik
