Absentminded Angel(Divine Creek Ranch 20)(72)
He dropped the brush on the bed and went to the fireplace to add another log and stir up the embers a little.
Her words echoed in his mind as he tried to frame a reply, hoping he wouldn’t come off sounding crass or unfeeling. “I didn’t do anything to deserve a bad heart, at least I don’t think I did. And I don’t think Patterson did anything to deserve his ‘number’ coming up and…being the heart donor. I needed, and Patterson provided. It’s unfair in so many ways to so many people, any way you look at it. But it happened, regardless. Maybe karma, or fate, or whatever brought us into your life for the sole purpose of giving you a shoulder to cry on, someone to be a rock for you. And to believe in you.”
He pulled back the covers on the bed as she returned her towel to the bathroom and then sat down on the bed and beckoned to her with the hair brush in hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she came to him on the bed.
“I want to brush your hair.”
Disbelief showed in her eyes. “You do?”
“Correction. I would love to.” She inched closer and turned her back to him. He gathered the silky mass and began brushing through it from ends to scalp. In the light of the fireplace, her skin glowed golden and every so often he felt her shudder as she leaned back against his calf. “Feel good?”
“I love it. I’ve never known a man who liked to brush hair.”
Kendry chuckled and said, “I’ll have you know I can even braid your hair.”
“No.”
“Yes, ma’am. Nothing fancy or anything, but I can braid.”
“I love having my hair brushed. It’s relaxing and your hands feel good. It’s kind of sexy that you don’t mind doing things like that.”
She turned to him and glanced down at the scar on his chest. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He smiled encouragingly, already having an idea what was coming.
She turned to him and he continued brushing, smoothing the hair back from her face and drawing the long shining mass into a tail over her shoulder that curled around his hand.
With a fingertip, she brushed the long scar that ran the length of his sternum, and the touch sent a tingling wave down his spine that ended in a slight shudder. His heart responded by pounding a little harder at the way she affected him.
“Is everything okay here, now? Will you…”
“Will I be all right for the long haul?”
Her eyebrows drew together and her look was almost guilty as she nodded. He closed his hand around hers and flattened it over his heart. “I take a daily medication, and I see my specialist a couple of times per year. Life’s always a crap shoot but he said I’m a good bet. Patterson and I were a good match.” He dropped his gaze, and then added, “I hope it doesn’t sound bad for me to say that. I know he was loved and is missed. I don’t mean it to sound disrespectful toward that loss.”
She shook her head. “I was afraid you would think I was asking you if you were a good bet for the long haul. A question I don’t even have the right to ask.”
Oh yes you do, kitten.
“Then neither of us should worry because I didn’t take offense. It’s not a big deal to talk about that with you. Besides, my heart’s yours now.” Unable to resist, he brushed his fingertips through her hair one more time and said, “You look like a Christmas angel with all this pretty blonde hair.”
She chuckled and said, “Trust me, I’m no angel, unless it’s a fallen angel.”
“But even fallen angels are still angels to someone.”
Her cheeks turned pink and she sniffled and then chuckled as she pushed playfully at his shoulder. Then she suddenly turned serious. “You need to know something. Two things, actually.”
“What’s that?” he asked as he laid the brush aside and pulled the covers out of the way and motioned her to get into the center of the bed. He slid in beside her, resting on his side and watched as she tried to collect her thoughts and she brushed her hands across her cheeks again. He grasped her hand gently and felt the moisture there, kissed it and held it to his chest. “Hey, none of that. Just tell me.”
She turned her face to his, and his heart ached at the way she smiled but her chin also trembled, looking so vulnerable. “I love you, too.”
With a chuckle he brushed his lips against her warm brow. “That’s a good thing though, right?”
“Uh-huh,” she whispered. “But, I think you need to know the whole truth about Whit’s father.”
His heart thudded and he felt a curious falling sensation.
* * * *
Presley Ann broke out in a cold sweat. The wariness in Kendry’s eyes increased her anxiety and she suddenly lost the words she was about to say. He’d told her he loved her and she wanted him to know the truth. All of it.