Balancer's Soul (9 page)

“Will you quit calling me that? Cougar, there
must be a better name…” and Sarah gave a wicked smile of her
own.

Connor stood up, towering over here and held
his hand out and she took it. He helped her stand and get her
bearings. They started walking again and Sarah did something
completely out of her usual comfort zone.

He currently walked on her left side
and led her from about a half stride ahead.
“This is reckless, but I really want to do this for some
reason.”
Sarah bit her bottom lip, stepped closer and
encircled her left arm through his right. She felt his well defined
muscles under the long black sleeves and became more astounded by
their sculpted complexity and flawless structure. He was even more
built than she could have ever imagined in a human these days.
Connor didn’t flinch or shy away from the impulsive act. The only
change came from his stride and it just slowed down to match hers.
He looked down at her as Sarah looked up into those gorgeous hazel
eyes and asked “Is this alright?”

“I’m not complaining am I?” And she
figured out what his smile meant. It was a smile for her
alone.
“My smile?”
Her
butterflies took off flying again.

“So where did you come from? Not originally.
I mean before you came to live out here.” Sarah thought he just
wanted a conversation to get his mind off certain things. Probably
the fact that she intentionally pressed her small, perky breasts
against his arm forced the subject change.

“I moved here from Washington, just about two
hours outside of Seattle. It looks almost like it does out here. It
was a pretty place with a thick forest teeming with wildlife and it
was peaceful. I have always loved and respected nature.”

“As do I. Everything returns to nature
eventually. You cannot take from nature without her getting
something in return. Anything we take also gets taken from us, to a
degree.” He turned his eyes on her seriously. “One way or another!”
He stared straight again. “That’s why we must work with nature, not
against.” Staring straight ahead they continued walking.

“You think the same way I do.” And that was
the truth.

***

When Connor knew that the clearing to her
house laid just up ahead, he stopped walking and looked down into
those captivating green eyes. “Were back, Sarah.” She still had her
arm wrapped around his and after a minute of contemplating she let
go, but her eyes never left his. For a brief moment they were in a
private world. Eventually they broke eye contact and hungered to
reconnect. They walked silently through the brush and into the
bright clearing till he stopped suddenly.

“Dang! I forgot!” He said a little too loudly
and she jumped.

“What’s wrong, Connor?” She asked with
genuine concern.

“I was supposed to go camping with my
grandfather this weekend. That’s his truck.” In the driveway of his
house were three vehicles, a silver Honda that belongs to Jenny, a
brown jeep which is Mark’s and a red pick-up truck which belongs to
his grandfather. Connor turned to look at his beautiful companion.
“Sarah, Kara and the others will be worried about you. I know my
sister has told everyone what she saw by now. She isn’t the patient
kind of person. When you’re done with your father, will you come
over to my house and show them that you’re ok? It will ease their
concerns.” He looked up into the trees to think. Once a decision
became clear he said “Better yet, how about I stay here and wait
for you.”

“I think that would be for the best. I have
to give you something in return for saving me and bringing me back
home safely.” She started blushing again for some reason. Whatever
she thought had allowed him to enjoy her expression. He liked
knowing that he was capable of doing that.

“I do not need anything, but I will be right
here. I’ll see you soon.” Connor sighed as she turned to leave. Her
beautifully long hair billowed out in the breeze. The breeze
engulfed him in her scent and his body reacted in a way that didn’t
want her to leave his side ever again. And the way she moved as she
walked will forever be firmly fixed into his mind.

The sway of her curvaceous hips became almost
hypnotic and intoxicating because it was beyond impossible to look
away from such perfection.

As Sarah briskly walked away from
Connor and through the high grass she had a sudden thought.
“Maybe Mother might know why I am having these
weird sensations when I am with or even think of Connor…and why I
was unable to read his mind.”
She turned around and
asked him a quick question because he still stood within hearing
range. It took a moment to spot him because he blended so well with
the trees that it frightened her. “I have to make a phone call,
I’ll need about fifteen to twenty minutes of personal time. Is that
alright?”

He nodded saying “I’ll be waiting right
here, Princess.” And those simple words sent her heart into another
marathon.
“Endearments annoy me to the
point I’m uncomfortable, but when he says them… I really hope that
I don’t get a heart attack. I’ll never tell him that it would be
worth it just to stay by his side and hear more.”
She
smiled while turning back to her house.

The outside walls of the Branderson’s
log cabin desperately needed to be repainted, grass needed to be
cut and the weeds pulled out of the flowerbed. The grass had grown
wildly from years of neglect, but at least it remained green and
healthy instead of a dead looking brown. She saw the darkness of
her northern bedroom window and realized the curtains were still
open.
“If Connor could see so well in the
dark and track me down he’d surely be able to see into my
room.”
That thought made her flush in embarrassment
and the tips of her ears burned.

As she walked across the field she realized
that her feet were caked in nearly a pound of mud. Sarah went over
to the water hose by the backside of the cabin and rinsed off her
dirty feet. Upon entering the back door of her home, she noticed
that her father stayed fast asleep on the sofa. Lucky for her he’s
a heavy sleeper and it takes a lot to wake him up, especially after
drinking so much. She heard him talking in his sleep as she walked
right by. “Jillian… come home… miss you so much.” And he shifted
his seating arrangement to lie on his side, not even noticing or
acknowledging her presence.

She stepped into the bathroom and removed
every article of her dirty clothes. Hot streams from the showerhead
pulled the aches from the muscles and joints while she freshened
up. Stepping out of the shower she wrapped a towel around her
middle and quietly entered into her room. Before she even
considered turning on the light, she closed the curtains for some
modesty. A clean bra became the first article to be equipped and
her favorite lacy black panties came next, followed by a tight grey
t-shirt and snug blue jeans. She began brushing her damp hair as
she walked over to the phone, which laid on the nightstand. Sarah
took several deep breaths before dialing the familiar number of her
old house.

It rang four times before being answered by a
familiar chirpy voice. “Branderson residence, this is Jillian
speaking!”

“Hello Mother.” She said casually and
evenly.

“Sarah! Sarah, what’s wrong?” She turned to
an anxious tone.

“Nothing is wrong, Mother. I just needed to
ask you something.” Feigning boredom wasn’t an easy task from the
way she truly felt at the moment.

“Go ahead,
Sweetheart
.” Jillian knew Sarah hated nicknames
and endearments. She was just trying to goad her into anger. It
didn’t work because she had other things upon her mind.

“When you first met Father and chose him as
your mate. How did you know he was the right man for you?” Sarah
now suddenly felt curious about their relationship for the first
time in decades.

“It has been a
very
long time since you have asked that
question.” After a short pause she said “Hmm… Well honestly I could
never take my eyes off of him, especially when he wasn’t looking.
When he spoke, I hung onto his every word. As he walked with me I
noticed every movement in his steps and even when the wind caught
his quicksilver hair.” She had unmistakable awe and desire coating
her voice, even after so many centuries. “Even now just remembering
the first time we met seven hundred years ago, he still makes me
tingle everywhere and gives me goose bumps all over my body. And
when we do touch it feels like a lightning strike in all the right
places if you know what I mean.”

“Wow… Mother, that sounds so very romantic.”
Sarah said in little too perky of tone, still not taking her
mother’s innuendos seriously.

“Ok Sarah, now tell me, how Jack is doing? He
doesn’t feel happy at the moment. He’s asleep, but it feels as if
he’s in pain…” She sounded a little worried.

After a minute of carefully choosing her
words Sarah came up with, “Mother, you know how Father gets when
you aren’t near. It isn’t a pretty sight at the moment. He’s
drinking heavily to keep himself occupied and not think about
anything with clarity. Plus you already know his emotional climate
better than anyone else or you wouldn’t have asked.”

“I’m sorry Sarah. I will be done here in
about a month and I will see you soon.” She said in a sincere
apology. “Hang in there. You know he isn’t always this way.”

“Ok, Mother I have to go, I have school
papers to grade and more forms to fill out.” Sarah said just to
leave and meet Connor as soon as possible.

“Oh by the way, Sarah,” Jillian put in just
before she could hang up “I cannot wait to meet this boy who has
gotten you so very hot and bothered.”

“It’s no use hiding it from
her now.”
Her mother can always tell a liar from a
mile away.
“Mother, how…?” Sarah practically yelled
into the receiver and stopped before she could wake her
father.

“Sarah, you’re three hundred years old and
still lacking compared to my level of experience.” At that Jillian
hung up the phone while laughing. Sarah stared openly at the
speaker for nearly a minute before finally hanging it up. The last
sound her mother made before hanging up was an unsettling laugh
that Sarah was unable to shake from the echo in her mind.

It sounded like an ominous witch’s
cackle.

“Crap, well it’s no use denying it now.” She
said quietly to herself. Sarah got up and put on a clean pair of
socks and slid into a pair of nearby sneakers from one of the dozen
cardboard boxes she hadn’t had the time to unpack yet.

Quietly she left the house while making sure
her father remained asleep. She made her way back across the field
and saw that Connor remained standing in the shadows. This time she
was unable to see him until he moved forward to meet her. It still
seemed strange seeing how he could become practically one with his
surroundings, almost like a chameleon. She suspected that if he
wanted to he could be stepping on her foot and she wouldn’t be able
to see him if he didn’t want her to.

“Welcome back, Princess.” He said while
smiling her smile on his perfect lips.
“Hot
and bothered was right.”
At that thought she tingled
and goose bumps rose all over her body.
“Great, Mother you just had to give my body another
idea
.”

They walked side by side towards Connor’s
house. He reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently while
saying “Don’t worry about anything, they will love you at just a
glance. Just beware of my sister.”

She looked over at Connor’s house to see it
in a new light. The building had been painted a semi-gloss white.
At a window near the front door she saw movement as a red blind in
the window snapped back together and not two seconds later she
heard a girl shout inside the house “Brother’s back! Brother’s
back!” A short girl about Sarah’s height came charging out of the
house. She wore a pink and white stripped shirt along with beige
pants. She came running outside barefoot, looking very excited and
relieved. She seemed about seventeen or eighteen years old with the
same sandy blonde color hair, but her hair was cut shoulder length
unlike Connor’s shaggy style. Her eyes were not Connor’s piercing
hazel, but a deep and rich chocolate brown.

Sarah looked at Connor questionably
“Brother?”

“It’s one of Kara’s habits that she’s never
grown out of ever since she was a toddler.” He explained
kindly.

The little girl “Kara”, she said under
her breath trying to remember the girl’s name, jumped into the air
trying to tackle her
big
brother, but he stood casually and caught her in his arms
while giving her a midair hug.

As he let her down, she squeaked while
turning to Sarah. She had a warm and welcoming smile. “I’m so glad
Brother was able to find you. We were so worried that you were
injured or something. You’re actually pretty hot in that outfit.
And your eyes. I’ve never seen such green eyes and you’re not being
a redhead.” Then she ran into Sarah giving her a hug as well, she
pulled away quickly saying “Hi! I’m Kara.”

Her energetic nature felt rejuvenating.
“Hello Kara. I’m Sarah, your new neighbor.”

Kara beamed with pride and seemed obviously
pleased, and suddenly hugged her yet again.

Behind Kara stood three more people near the
front door of Connor’s house. As Kara released her hug, they all
started walking in their direction. An older looking gentleman with
a fit physique and a dark tan walked up and spoke first. He wore
leather ranch boots with black pants and a blue and white checkered
shirt. His hair color stated mostly white with a few brown strands
mixed in and his eyes were a faded blue full of mischief. “I’m
David May, but everyone calls me Granddaddy.”