Hi readers, the very few of you! Haha! I know that this chapter is a little bit longer than previous ones! Please read and review!

Chapter Four

"Is this too much for him to carry?" I turned to Sam who was loading my truck, which I now was sharing with him, onto the small wagon which was connected to Louie. Over the past few weeks, he had grown up a bit, and Sam had been strengthening the little donkey by helping him pull the newly built wagon, adding weight bit by bit. Louie pawed the ground.

"Naw," Sam put his arm around me gently. "Pullin' makes donkies stronger."

I looked at Louie, and his eyes seemed to smile. He showed me his crooked donkey teeth as if he were looking for my approval, and I reached out to pat his head. Sam laughed.

"Do you mind walking?" he rubbed my shoulder gently with his palm, and I moaned softly with pleasure. He leaned in and kissed me gently on the cheek.

"Not at all." I reassured him.

"I could carry you." Sam teased, lightly tugging on one of my light blonde curls.

"Sam!" I blushed and half laughed like I often did, hitting him playfully on the arm. He slung his arm from around my shoulders back to his side.

"It isn't that far a walk." He reassured, though I was actually looking forward to the walk to our new town, Port Lavaca. It wasn't that far – about eleven miles, Sam said. It would probably take us a few hours to get there, but it would be much safer there for us, if someone were to find an abandoned house instead of Sam and me living there. I was going to miss the house, and I could tell that Sam would too, but we were starting a new life together. And it was a pleasant day in early October, and the last wildflowers were blooming all along the bank of the river for their last hurrah. Just this morning, I had gone down to the bank and collected water lilies. When I set one down on the brim of Sam's hat, he laughed deeply and scooped me into a deep kiss. It was like I could still taste him on my lips, and that made the quest ahead of us much better looking. Besides, I liked to take long walks.

"Sam, it's truly fine." I pecked him on his cheek and leaned down. "Are you ready to pull your first wagon, my darling, baby Louie?"

He didn't respond, but he pawed the ground again like he was trying to draw a picture with his hoof.

The three of us set off as a cool autumn breeze blew, every now and then stopping to give Louie a rest. Sam explained that he would possibly be going back to get a few more things from the house once we were settled. We didn't have to worry about the cat, DustBunny, because he slinked along behind us. He liked to follow me now, wherever I was, he was close behind. He became quite protective of me – if there was a rustle in the brush, his hackles would raise, and he'd hiss, jumping to my side. He still slept curled beside me at night, but now I just had Sam on my other side.

A warmer draft breeze blew, possibly the last bit of summer warmness. The days were growing chillier, more livid, the light hours shorter and the dark hours longer. Autumn would soon arrive, to color the leaves in vibrant splashes, and paint the skies in moody pastel grays. A nice season to start a new life.

Sam cleared his throat, interrupting my smog of thoughts. "Are you tired yet?" he teased.

"Not at all." I took his hand and held it at our sides, between us. He swung it softly, as gentle as the last summer breeze warmness, and smiled.

We walked for a few more miles, then rested, sitting on top of the cart. When we were about half way there, it was noon, and we'd started at about ten. In fact, I wasn't really all that tired. I felt like I could keep going for miles and miles, as long as I had him. We set off again on the dirt road, stirring up a little dust with the wagon wheels, but we made good time. It was about five miles when we hit the outskirts of town where there were a few small houses. Louie did well carrying our luggage, but he got bored and tried to gnaw on the lead rope Sam used to pull him along.

"Come on, boy," Sam urged, yanking on the lead. "Let's not play games."

Louie played tug again, trying to pull him in by tossing his neck back and forth. Sam pulled again, but the stubborn donkey brayed in protest, pulling harder.

"Louie," I scolded, snatching the part of the rope that was tied around his neck. His pulling ceased, and he hung his head.

"I don't see how you do it." Sam shook his head and wiped his brow.

"Let's face it, Sam." I grinned. "He knows who's in charge." Louie seemed to give him a smug look, as if he were agreeing with me. Sam tickled down my cheek with his finger again, just to see me smile.

A few children ran by on our way into town, followed by a barking collie dog. Oh, how I missed the children. They probably missed me too; they all loved me, and everyone knew it. Many of their parents claimed they hated school before I had become their teacher. Each and every one of those children I taught always wanted to talk to me, tell me things. And I loved to talk to them, too. The children were my favorite thing, before Sam started coming to fix things.

"Soon it will be time for them to start school again." Sam mentioned, still holding my hand. I tightened my grip on his hand as we entered the actual town. There were a few nice shops – a jeweler, silver and leather-smith, a butcher. There was even a small candy shop, and lollipops and peppermints could be viewed through the window.

We stopped at an office with Landlord painted white on the sign, parking Louie and our cart outside. "Now, you be good." I warned him as if he were a young child, and could understand, tying his lead rope around the post outside. "And tonight we'll find you a nice place to sleep."

I took Sam's hand again and walked through the small wooden door that swung a few times when it fell shut. It was surprisingly warm in the small building, and roomy. As we approached the desk, I studied a dark men, as dark as Sam, had his feet up on the long wooden desk, the bottoms of his boots were caked in mud, and his pants were tucked in to them. His had was of black felt, and curled up at the edges, round on top.

"Sammy-Boy!" he grinned, his dark, sunbaked skin making crow's-feet at the edges of his dark eyes. There was a young boy sitting next to him who was light skinned and had freckles along with a leftover sun burn. He was sliding a bow across violin strings, and he looked up and immediately started to blush, even through the sunburn. "Long time no see, you're startin' to look old."

"No, he ain't." the freckled boy kicked the dark man's muddy feet off the desk, nodding toward me. "He looks just as old as last time, not a second older, Clarence."

"Oh, shut your gob boy, you don't know nothin'." Clarence scratched the half-gray half-black stubble on his scruffy chin. "What can I do ya for, Sammy-Boy? Who's this?" his eyes, too, traveled to me.

"Clarence, Randy," he smiled at the town of them, the man that must be in his fifties or early sixties, Clarence, and the younger one who must be Randy. "I'd like to introduce you to Katherine."

Randy stared at me. "How come you get all the pretty ones, Sam?"

"Thought I told ya ta shut that gob o' yours." Clarence pinched the younger boy's lips between two of his fingers as if he were clamping them off. I giggled and they both blushed at me. "Nice ta meecha, Miss Katherine." He reached out his leathery hand and shook mine. His handshake was soft and gentle on my hand. I smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I even curtseyed a little bit. He smiled back at me.

"Come on, boy, be polite!" Clarence kicked Randy, who dropped his fiddle bow.

"Ow!" he complained, reaching down to rub his leg. He caught me giggling, blushing again. "Hello." When I shook his hand, it was damp and warm, nearly shaking.

"Very nice to meet you." I smiled and gave his a polite nod, like my mother taught me. He grinned back; his teeth were quite crooked, but fairly white and well taken care of.

Clarence grunted as he hoisted himself down, the mud squishing on the wooden floor. "So, you looking for a place to stay, sweetheart?" he smiled.

"Actually –" I started.

"No, honey, I was talkin' to Sam!" he cracked up and Randy started laughing as well. Sam sighed and blew it off, laughing as well.

"Actually, yeah, that's what I came to talk to you about." Sam rested his hand gently on my waist. I rested my hand over his – he obviously saw his friends looking at me, especially Randy, but I didn't even worry about them. "We need a place to go. We can't stay at my old place anymore."

"Why can't ya stay there no more Sammy? You on the lam or somethin'? I hope not, 'cause now ya got yourself a girlfriend, ain't gonna be needin' that lamb no more!" Clarence cracked up laughing, but it took Randy a moment to understand the joke before he started chuckling. Even I laughed, but Sam didn't seem to think it was so funny.

"Clarence…" Sam sighed, shaking his head. But I could see a laugh trying to escape.

"Aw, come on fellas… I was just makin' a joke… come on Sammy, ya know I don't mean nothin' literally." Clarence stretched out his arms behind his back, cranking them behind him. He was shorter than Sam, I noticed. As a matter of fact, he wasn't much taller than me – I would guess he was probably about five foot six inches, maybe even less. Only a few inches taller than myself. "So, are ya runnin' away?"

"Kind of." Sam scratched the back of his head and rubbed the back of his shoulder. "Kind of – a personal matter. We want to find a place to settle down. Where it's safe for us."

Clarence seemed to understand, nodding a few times. Randy was staring at my hand. Studying my ring. "Pretty ring, Miss K." his ears that stuck out turned bright red.

I smiled. "Thank you." I looked at it myself as if to make sure it hadn't disappeared in the last five minutes. The polished pearl was silky and shiny, just as always.

"Anyway, lemme check if I can find any place for ya'll." Clarence cleared his throat and stood on the toes of his muddy boots to get a leather book on the top shelf. "I got a ton of deeds here, let's see what I can fine." He pulled out a pair of reading spectacles from his jacket pocket and began to leaf through. Randy started to play a little tune on his fiddle again, probably trying to impress me. I didn't mind when people tried to impress me – it was sometimes flattering, and the boy couldn't be much older than sixteen.

"Ha! I think I found the place you's asked me about last time you was here… this old house." Clarence pulled out the deed and waved it like a prize. "Wanna go look at it, Sammy-Boy?"

"Do you wanna stay here, love?" Sam asked, turning to rub my arm. Love; it was the first time he called me that. "We musta walked ten miles or more!"

"I can stay here." I leaned up and pecked him on the cheekbone. I wasn't all that tired, but I wanted the house to be a surprise. Clarence took a brown wooden cane from a hook on the wall.

"Clare, whatcha got that for? You don't need no cane!" Randy stopped playing his instrument and slapped his hand on the tall desk loudly.

"Boy, don'tcha know! Canes are classy these days! They're all the rage!" he straightened his hat and snapped his black suspenders, sticking his nose in the air like a young aristocrat.

"Last time you had class is when you was in school." Randy piffed, rolling his eyes, plucking a string on the fiddle like it was a piece of grass stretched between two twigs.

"Aw, shut your piehole, Randall. We'll be back soon enough." Clarence smiled fully and waved at me. He was missing a pinky. "Bye-bye, Miss Katherine."

Sam waved too, disappearing out the door of the landlord's office after Clarence. I saw the clumsy, older man plant a full kiss on Louie's forehead, then run to catch up with Sam who was already started down the road to the left.

Randy was staring at me again. He was young, and it was kind of cute, so I smiled, smoothing down the front of my skirt, tracing the design on the thin belt that I wore. I'd attempt to make conversation. "So, are you and Clarence," I stopped to think for a moment. "related?"

Randy cocked his chin up, like he had to think. I was getting the feeling that he wasn't the brightest of teenagers, but he had an innocent look to him. His slowness shouldn't degrade him as a person. "He's my Uncle Clarence. My mama's sister." He scratched his chin that had a bit of blonde scruff. "I'm apprenticin' him here 'cause my Daddy been dead a year now. I needa get some kinda job."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." I said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but he's in a better place now." He leaned back and started to play again.

"How long have you been playing?"

Only his eyes moved, rolling up to look at me. "Ten years."

"Very impressive." I smiled. "I play the piano."

His face lit up. "We got a piano in the back. I ain't never had a partner before, Miss Katherine. Not ever."

I offered him my hand, and he looked even more surprised that before, his ears turning the color of a crab. "I'd be honored to be your playing partner."

Randy took my hand – his was still clammy and warm – and jumped down from his desk chair. The floorboards creaked under his bare feet as he landed, still holding tightly onto my hand, grinning as he led me behind the desk, into a small room. To me, it looked like a living space; a sofa sat pushed up against the wall, a small table and three chairs were in the corner.

"This where me an' Uncle Clarence live." He explained. Pulling the dusty cover off of an old, wooden-framed piano. It was an old beauty, with ivory keys and etchings scrawled into the rims. I fell in love with it.

"Oh, it's beautiful/" I sat on the matching wooden bench.

"Ain't no one been playin' it since Clarence lost 'is pinky… he says it 'effects his skill'." Randy said in a sing-song voice. "Do you play good?"

I ran my fingers along the pale keys. "I guess…" I had many memories of my mother sitting me down at the old piano, teaching me scales and Mary had a Little Lamb. "You're very pretty, Katherine," she'd tell me, pinching my cheek. "But you shouldn't just rely on your beauty. Now, practice your scales."

He put his bare foot on one of the chairs at the small table, resting his fiddle on his chin, and my ears perked up at the tune. It was a song I loved to play all of my life, a song called Long, Long Ago. My brother Johnny and I used to skip through the woods singing it as children, and it brought back pleasant childhood memories.

My fingers hit the keys and played along with him. It had been a long time since I played the piano at all, partly because I didn't own one, so I was a little rusty.

Randy laughed and tapped his bare toes. "I didn't know you was that good." His cheeks turned pale pink and I watched his Adam's apples gulp down nervously. "Does Sam know you play that good?"

"Sam's never heard me play."

"How come? How long you twos been married?" he made his fingers into two links and locked them together.

I traced over the etchings of the piano again. "We're – not married."

He cocked his head and scratched his chin again. "How come?"

It was so strange… like he had no idea. I looked up to study his expression. It was one of innocent cluelessness. "Because he's black… and I'm white."

He piffed and waved it off with his hand. "My mama's black, my daddy was white. Palest guy I ever seen, too. Paler than you!" he laughed and played a long, drawn out note on one vibrating string. "And you're paler than a baby's bottom!"

I thought for a moment. "Who married them?"

He smirked. "My uncle got qualified and married them. I donno, I wasn't even born… but I seen Clarence in a suit. Hoo hoo!" he chuckled. "He looked like a damn monkey's uncle!" he started to crack up, dropping his violin bow.

"Your uncle married them?" I pried, my voice quick and alight.

"Yeah, that's true." He stared at my pearl ring again.

I smiled and turned back around, my fingers flying on the keys again. We played Long, Long Ago a few times through, and also a few other songs I remembered from my childhood.

"Honey, I'm home!" I felt a smooch on my cheek, a scraggy smooch, and howls of laughter came from behind me. Clarence and Sam had somehow snuck in while we were mid-song, and I touched my cheek where Clarence's whiskers had brushed. He was hooting with laughter at my startledness, even Sam was laughing. Randy looked as though he didn't get it.

"Oh, be nice to her." Sam scolded, putting his hand on my shoulder. DustBunny rubbed against my legs; he must have snuck in with the two men, he might have even been meowing at the door for me since they left. He jumped onto the piano bench beside me and rubbed his narrow body against my arm.

"No, it's alright." I smiled lightly and kissed Clarence right on the cheek. I didn't have to lean but a few inches to reach. "Are there any other takers?"

"Why don't I get a kiss?" Randy complained in a whine. I walked a few paces closer to him and smiled, pecking him on the cheek. He blushed again; I was beginning to think that was something he did often.

"There, now is everyone happy? Everyone's had a kiss." Clarence rolled his eyes and banged his cane loudly on the floor. I imagined all he needed was a little top hat to go with his funny little cane.

"Very happy." Randy seemed to sway happily, his lazy little eyes drifting all around the room.

"Katherine, you need to see the house." Sam's hand slipped down my shoulder. "I bet it's somethin' you're gonna like."

"Even got a little bungalow for that there donkey out there." Clarence used his cane to poke Randy in the foot as he started playing an extremely out of tune ballad. The young boy smirked and set his fiddle aside, patting it once. "I tell you, that animal there is gonna be one happy ass."

I grinned into my sleeve and Randy burst out laughing.

"What is it with you young people these days?" Clarence looked mildly offended, which only made Randy laugh more. "A donkey is called an ass, that's how we all used to say it like it was nothin'! Mary rode to Bethlehem on an ass, multiple asses were there when Jesus was born, and Jesus rode on many asses!"

Sam broke, it wasn't just Randy and I chortling now.

"I ain't talkin' 'bout donkies no more, Miss Barlow, we'd like ta take ya to see the house." Clarence offered me his arm, and I smiled and took it as he led me out of the room.

When I first saw my house, it took my breath away. It was not just a house, I knew it was immediately my house, mine and Sam's.

Clarence led me through the quaint picket fence that had faded from bright white to a peeling yellow. Sam and I could repaint it later.

The house itself was small, but not like a matchbox. It was painted a pleasant robin egg blue, with white trim and windows. Clarence explained that it was a sweet and small one-story with two bedrooms.

"Front door made o' solid wood, Miss Katherine." Clarence opened the door after unlocking it with a small key. I noticed the little porch that wrapped around just over half the house, and I imagined wicker chairs in the summer, where Sam and I could sit and watch the sunset and see the stars come out.

"It's very nice, Clarence."

"And here we have the main room." he strutted like a rooster into the main part of the house, tapping his cane on the hardwood floor. I took a look around. There was a beautiful stone fireplace, it two chairs placed in front of it. I imagined Sam and I sitting in them, fire blazing, quiet between the two of us because we were watching the mesmerizing flames.

"They left the furniture, Clarence?" I turned to the funny man. "The people who lived here before?"

"I guess it's a sorta a welcome home present to the both o' ya. He shrugged and smiled with his crooked teeth.

"Speaking of welcome home," Sam turned to me and took both of my hands. "Is this your home, Katherine Barlow?"

I smiled, wondering why he even needed to ask. Couldn't Clarence and Sam see the excitement and joy in my eyes? I loved the little house more than any place I had ever seen. I couldn't see myself in any other place than this house. I stroked over his knuckles.

"This is our home." I grinned, thinking of all the time we would have together in our new home. "Sam the Onion Man."

Sam grinned ear-to-ear. His warm eyes seemed to look into my soul and read exactly how much I loved the house. It was already a home, not just a building constructed of wooden planks and windows and doors. I loved our home already.

"We'll take it Clarence." Sam turned to our friend. Clarence smiled widely, the gaps in his otherwise perfect smile showing.

"I had a feelin' you'd say that. now let's get those deeds signed."

When it was official and Sam and I owned the property, everything seemed real then. It was our first home together, and everything felt to right.

I hugged Clarence on the wrap-around porch. "Thank you so much. You've been such a big help." I patted his back gently, and he smiled warmly. He was already a friend to me.

"Anytime, Miss K." he shook my hand. "It's a pleasure doin' business with ya." He held my hand after shaking it for a few seconds, twirling my ring around my finger gently and carefully. "I'll tie the knot for you and Sam anytime ya'll want. If ya wanna tomorrow, I'll try to find my certifications and stuff tonight. But only for someone as pretty as you." He kiss my hand.

"Tomorrow?" I said, surprised. I never thought it would be as soon as tomorrow. My heart fluttered, skipping a beat. "That would be perfect, Clarence. Thank you."

"See you tomorrow, Miss and Randy waved as they started back down the road to their small home behind the landlord office.

"Well," Sam put his arm around my shoulders. "Tomorrow, then?"

I rested my cheek on his shoulder. "Tomorrow." I sighed dreamily as he swayed a little. "I never imagined myself married." It was the truth. Most peopled married in their twenties or late teens. I was thirty, and had never been interested in anyone before Sam.

"Me neither." He said quietly as we watched Clarence and Randy disappear down the road. The road that was now our road.

Our new bed was soft, but I slept restlessly, when I slept at all. I was awake most of the night, and from what I could tell, Sam was awake too. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly in the middle of the night.

I curled next to his arm. "Nervous."

"How come?"

"I've never been married before." I whispered in the dark. He laughed.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, neither have I."

"It does." I said into his arm.

"Good, now go to sleep." He patted my arm and turned over.

Morning seemed to come too soon. I could hear Sam in the other room singing some song about a squirrel and a chipmunk, so I slipped out of bed and pulled on my silk robe.

We didn't have a lot of food in the kitchen yet, but I found a carrot and padded outside. It was so warm today. Strangely warm. I opened the small gate to the paddock and small stable, where Louie was curled in a ball. He opened his big eyes and a deep sound was let out of his chest as he careened his neck when he saw me.

"My darling, baby Louie." I gently rubbed his head, feeding him the carrot. "Do you like your new home?"

He laid his head on my knee, twitching his ears that were too big for his head. I sat with him for about half an hour before I went to get ready.

I bathed and did my hair, trying to make it perfect. The curls bobbed in place, just as always, but I felt the need to keep fixing them. Finally, when I was mostly satisfied, I went to pick my clothes. My best were a white blouse and light blue skirt that I barely ever wore because they were the most expensive things I owned. I slipped my mother's old blue pins she'd given to me when I left home to make something of myself. It counted for something old, and something blue, and Sam's mother's ring was new to me.

"Sam," I grinned when I saw him. He had a suit jacket over his usual shirt and suspenders. "Don't you look dashing…"

"Hardly a competitor." He kissed my forehead and took my hand. The walk to town was silent between the two of us. Probably because we were nervous, or just anxious. But his hand in mine was comforting.

"Well, don't you two look fancy!" Clarence smiled. He was waiting at the door to the office, dressed in a suit, and that top hat I imagined him in yesterday, matching his cane. Randy was there as well, our witness, dressed in a suit about a size too big for him.

"Golly…" the young boy said, his ears that stuck out turning a bright shade of red.

"Thank you." I smiled, and Sam even did a polite bow and led me inside. Everything was tidy, and he had fresh papers typed up from the black type writer sitting on the counter.

"Ready Freddy?" Clarence smiled and opened his book. "Don't be nervous."

"No pressure." Randy smirked and rolled his eyes. Clarence laughed a little, smiling. Sam took both of my hands, and I realized they were shaking.

Clarence cleared his throat. "Well, we should start with the wedding vows." Sam rubbed my hand. Last night I'd been trying to get together what I was trying to say to him. "Ladies first, Katherine."

I took a deep breath. "Samuel Garter… I – commit to never leave you, to follow you. For where you go, I will go, where you remain, I will remain. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God," I smiled, still shaking. "Where you die, I shall die and be buried beside you." It was exactly everything I planned to say. Sam smiled.

"And Sam," Clarence nodded to him.

He smiled. "I give you my commitment to be faithful and loyal to you, in sickness and in health, good times or bad, in sadness and in joy. I do promise to love you unconditionally, to help you make your dreams come true and to respect and honor you. I cherish you, my dear Katherine for as long as we both shall live." He kissed my hand.

Clarence smiled again. "Sam, will you take Katherine Barlow to be your wife, love her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only her so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And Katherine, will you take Samuel Garter to be your husband, love him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health and forsaking all others keep only unto him so long as you both shall live?"

"I do." I said.

"I pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Garter. You may now kiss the bride."

I leaned up a little and he leaned down. Randy and Clarence clapped like gentlemen, and our kiss lasted for a few more moments.

I couldn't help feeling the adrenaline of my heart as Sam pulled me down to the bank of the tidal lake, tripping on the stones, and the last of the swaying, green thatchy grass that grew near it and swayed like Japanese fans in the warm breeze. I nearly stumbled with my shoes catching in the soft mud. The scenery was so exquisite that it left me breathless in the shimmering of the water. There was a small plank dock leading out to the water.

His lips reached my jaw, tracing the lines of my ear to collarbone. They were so warm against my skin, fairy floss. I couldn't stop my heart from pounding in my chest. My blood flowed rapidly to my cheeks, making me blush.

He began to pull his shirt over his head after throwing his hat like a discus into the hula grass.

"What on earth are you doing?" I giggled slightly as the sun shone down on my face, warming it. It was incredibly warm still, the third week of September. Often in Texas, the summer heat trailed into the autumn months. I put my hands on my hips.

"Come with me!" he smiled cockily, his lips pulling up at the edges into a grin. His shirt lay on the bank, along with his suspenders, his belt was tossed a few feet away from the two. His trousers left his body as well until he was just in his underpants, then those left too.

"What if someone sees us?"

"No one comes out here." he promised, smiling and doing a running leap into the water off the rickety dock. "I promise." He called as his head surfaced, bobbing in the slight tidal waves. Every part of my body urged to follow him into the water. I let out a deep measured sigh. Why was I so frightened? Not frightened, nervous. The bats in my stomach were back again. his muscular shoulders protruded from the water as he waited patiently.

I threw all caution to the wind and started to undo the belt around my waist, tossing it aside with an unknown satisfaction, slipping out of my skirt that slightly ruffled itself by the breeze, until I was down to my underclothes. I slipped out of them, over my head and down my legs, doing a hardly graceful splash into the water. It was so warm. Like bathwater, I thought. It had been years since I'd swam, but this water was so – nice. Then his hands found me. They wrapped around my torso, chilly and somehow warm at the same time in the water, snaking their way up my back and tangling into my wet blonde hair. I never wanted to kiss him so horribly, terribly bad in my life. So I did.

His lips were warm against my mouth, and surprisingly delicate and soft for a man's lips. I'd only been kissed once, when I was a teenager, and it wasn't even like this one bit. He had kissed me on the lips for a few seconds, and then let go. I never kissed him again, because he found interest in another girl. But now my only interest was him. Sam Garter. My husband.

"It's been a long time since I," I started to giggle uncontrollably, losing nearly all of my sealed composure. "have been swimming."

"I told you it was nice on a hot day." He reached forward has if he was going to tenderly stroke my wet cheek, but instead laughed and dunked me underwater by my shoulders. Surprised, but not horrified, I bobbed back up with a laugh and dined him straight back. I felt the tight muscles on his shoulders as I pushed him under.

"Sam?" I worried when he failed to come back up.

"Gotcha!" he grabbed my wrists and pulled me under again. We played this game a few more times before he leaned in and kissed me again. Frogs and cicadas chirped and hummed around us, the smell of the lake on Sam's skin. It was a deep, lingering kiss, and his fingers stroked down my spine. He gently kissed my top lip, and then my bottom lip, then both of them. His fingers went into my hair again, his arms around my back, and I wrapped myself around him. My skin against his skin. Pale… and very dark.

I loved him more than I had ever loved anything else. More than I ever loved anything. I loved him with something I couldn't put words to. A love more than love, definition unknown.

I found my hands doing nothing, so I ran them over his muscles, over his chest, and eventually to his waist. And we were kissing almost every second.

Sanctuary. That's where I was right now. Everything I needed. The water lapped around us in little wavelets, traveling around us like our bodies didn't occupy the space. But they were there.

He pressed his hands to the sides of my face as if to make sure I was there. My legs were wrapped around his waist, my arms around his neck.

That day, our bodies found the water. That night, they found the bed.

So? What did you think? Love, hate, please review and spread the word if you like this story!