Balancer's Soul (10 page)

They shook hands and he immediately
noticed the abrasions on her palms. He looked at Connor while still
holding her hand gently. “Looks like you fixed her up alright... I
know your handiwork anywhere, Son. What did you use to clean her
hand?”
“So he quizzes and teaches Connor,
no wonder he is so good…”

“Sage.” He said instantly and evenly.

David let go of her hand and slapped Connor
on the back approvingly. “Good boy, keep using your head, that’s
why it’s on your shoulders and not on your rear.” David turned back
to Sarah and showed an innocent face that wasn’t quite so innocent
to ask. “So Sarah, how did you like spending the night with my
grandson?”

Her answer was looking down at her suddenly
interesting shoe strings and blushing brightly, like a red neon
sign.

“Daddy! Don’t ever ask a lady that kind of a
question. How old are you?” The chastising came from the other
woman. She was a beautiful middle aged woman, Sarah assumed to be
Connor’s mother. But something was somehow off.

“Mentally or physically?” Returned the riley
old man.

“I’m sorry dear, don’t mind him he’s usually
harmless. The other part is when my mother has him.” She shook
Sarah’s hand carefully, knowing about the injured palms. “I’m
Jenny, Connor’s mother.” She gave one of the warmest and welcoming
smiles Sarah has ever seen before. “Sarah, is it? Was Connor able
to make it to you before it rained last night?” Concern etched on
her features.

Jenny stood a head taller than herself, but
still a head and a half shorter than her towering son. Jenny’s
build claimed itself of about average size with hair as long as
Kara’s, but leaned lighter towards golden blonde than her
children’s sandy blonde hair. She had on sandals and sweat pants
along with a sleeveless dark blue blouse.

“Yes, he made it before it rained. He took
really great care of me.”

“I’ll bet he did. Brother can track down
anything.” Kara added proudly.

“Ms. Sarah? I didn’t know it was you
out there, but you could not have been in better hands.” Said a boy
from history class...
“Matt, no it’s
Mark…”

“I know that from experience, Mark. Thank
you.” She said in full agreement.

“Ha… even if a tiger crossed your path
you would have nothing to worry about with my buddy Connor looking
out for you.” Mark smacked Connor’s back in a playful manor. At
that they both glanced at each other, Connor stifled a laugh while
Sarah couldn’t hold back a small giggle.
“Wrong feline, Mark.”

The others looked at them in confusion, but
they couldn’t and wouldn’t explain.

In the silence that Jenny broke she asked
“Sarah, did Connor find anything wild for you guy’s to eat?”

“Yes. He scrounged up some wild apples.”

An almost annoyed look crossed Jenny’s face
as she looked at Sarah. “That’s nowhere near good enough. Everyone
come inside for a real meal! I’ll make some food for everyone.
First though… Connor you go wash up, you’re filthy.” Everyone
obeyed except Mark.

“Sorry Ms. May, but I have to get to work by
three. You know I have to work at the diner, late shift again.
Gerry cannot run the business all by himself.” Mark explained with
a moderate sigh.

Waving goodbye, Jenny said “Ok. Thanks
Sweetie for watching over Kara until I got home. It was a big help
to me.”

“Any time!” He said with a smile and began
walking towards his jeep.

“Mark! Hold on a minute Bud.” Connor called
to his friend.

“Yeah? What do you need?”

Connor bound up to him and said “To say thank
you myself.” Connor balled up his right fist and Mark did the same.
They punched each other’s fist in a playful display of friendship.
“I owe you one.”

“No way, Connor! Let’s call it even from you
carrying me that one time.” Mark said adamantly while smiling at
his tall comrade.

“Done!” He said while wearing a different
smile that wasn’t Sarah’s, she began wondering just how many sides
this young man has.

As Mark drove off in his jeep, Sarah just
noticed that everyone had already went inside the house except
Connor and herself. She could not help but ask “You carried
him?”

“You caught that...? Well a few years back,
when Mark first moved into town and I was thirteen, he found out
that I went out camping practically every weekend and he wanted to
try it out for himself. He asked my granddaddy for permission to
tag along and got it. We both went camping with Granddaddy up
around where I found you, but just a little further north, by my
recollection. On the way up to our destination Mark sprained his
ankle, quite painfully, even though I didn’t know how or where he
could have sprained it. The ground we traversed seemed flat though…
I carried him back here to my house, on my back, because I didn’t
want him to walk at all. It began bruising quite quickly, so I
carried him all the way here so it wouldn’t get any worse.” He said
calmly.

“How far did you carry him?” curiosity
kicking in

“Oh I’d say… just over ten miles.” Connor
shrugged apparently remembering carrying his friend over such a
distance and not phasing him.

Her thoughts went wild at that.
“Wow! What a man. No better yet
My
Man
!… Ten miles of that terrain…what is he
made of? Steel? Carbide? Titanium? ...Wow!”

“Brother? Sarah? Get in here!” Kara yelled
from the doorway with a wry smile chiseled on her lips. Her brown
eyes kept scanning between them strangely.

Connor walked over to the garage and put Tool
away on a wooden bench. He came back to her and they entered his
house together.

Once inside she kept getting more
astonished by this family.
“How
beautiful.”

Sarah came into the living room first and
found everything quite exquisite. It wasn’t extravagant by any
means, but it was very tasteful. The walls were a dark hunter green
and on the walls were pictures and detailed paintings that took
one’s breath away. Hardwood floors and no carpet floored the entire
house, giving the house a natural look. In the center of the room
sat a leather, three person couch and to either side of it were two
recliners. In front of the sofa stood a beautifully crafted coffee
table that had intricate designs of a leafy vine on its top,
bending around the lip and wrapping down the legs. Off to the side
of the room laid a red brick fireplace that looked like a
comfortable place to sit in front of during the long winter months.
They also had a nice flat-screen TV that fit properly against the
wall that faced the seating arrangement.

“Connor, who painted all these pictures and
made this table?” She asked in wonder of this elegant room, knowing
very few items were purchased.

“Kara painted everything you see, she is
quite a talented artist. On the other hand I built and crafted the
coffee table and sofa. The recliners we bought.” He said brightly
with a calm smile touching his lips.

“Wait a minute…
you
made the table and the sofa?”

“Yes, I am quite good with my hands.” He
smiled her smile again.

“Let’s keep going before I
faint in your arms.”
And he began to move forward,
like he sensed what she desired to do. “The kitchen is straight
ahead.” Connor guided her into the sun colored kitchen. An oak
dining table sat in the center of the kitchen. On the table were
five plates, five glasses filled with water and the same number of
forks and paper towels. She had to ask anyway, “Don’t tell me you
made this table too?”

“He sure did.” Jenny answered as she stood
over the sizzling stove, cooking up something delicious smelling.
Sarah’s mouth began watering eagerly. She pointed over her head at
the cupboard. “He made those too. He even made the frames to our
beds along with the dressers.”

“I taught him how to woodwork as a child and
he became quite adept at it.” David added with a playfully proud
grin.

Connor stood behind her and knew he bent down
because she could feel his warm breath caressing her ear. He spoke
softly while her heart went into overdrive. “I’ll be back soon,
Princess. You cleaned up for me, now I need to do the same for
you.” At that he left to walk down the hall.

As she heard the bathroom door shut,
another wild thought sprung to mind.
“I
wonder what he looks like without any clothes on…”
And
the mental picture sent an exciting shiver throughout her entire
body, curling the toes inside her shoes.

“Sarah, what are you daydreaming about? Get
in here.” Kara chirped.

“Oh, nothing. Don’t concern yourself with it,
Kara.” Kara huffed, got up, walked over, grabbed Sarah’s wrist and
led her to a seat. She really was impatient like he said. But Kara
couldn’t take the mental image of Connor that stayed fixed in her
mind, making Sarah smile all the more.

***

Stepping out of the shower Connor
thought,
“I wonder what Sarah looks like
naked?”
and that put a large, satisfactory smile on
his face. He step in front of the mirror and noticed that he needed
to shave. Putting some shaving cream in his hand he started
lathering he began hearing his mom ask from down the hall and
through the shut door. “Well Sarah, where are you from?”

In her velvety voice she replied “I’m from
Washington, the state, not D.C. From a place that looks somewhat
like it does around here. Lots of trees and animals, I really don’t
really like big cities and my family prefers the quietness, even if
they sometimes say otherwise. It gets too crowded most of the time.
We like natural places and small towns.”

“So you’re used to spending time outdoors?”
His grandfather questioned.

“Yes, I am. I just couldn’t help trying out
these new woods. I got caught up in the beauty of this place and
before I knew it I was lost.” She said shyly while lying her rear
off. If Kara, who most certainly did, explain what happened, they
didn’t call her out on it.

After he finished shaving and putting
on another clean black long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, he stepped
out of the bathroom. Connor took a quick right and dumped the dirty
clothes in the laundry room. He took a quick whiff of the smell
coming from the kitchen.
“It smells like
Mom is making grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone.”

His grandfather continued saying “That
happens to the best of us.” and started laughing loudly.

Connor walked in the kitchen and saw
Sarah sitting at the table. Kara sat directly across from her and
when Jenny finishes cooking she will sit next to her. David sat
oddly, with a funny twinkle in his eye, one seat away from Sarah.
It was an obvious setup. He walked over and sat between them.
Connor knew that his family did this particular seating arrangement
on purpose, but the mastermind was none other than his very own
grandfather.
“I’m on to you, you sly old
man. Well I don’t mind one bit. I’d rather sit with her
anyway.”

Her green eyes twinkled even more than his
grandfather’s when she finally spotted him, he smiled and she
smiled back. She said in front of everyone “You clean up quite
well, Connor. I hardly recognized you.” She made everyone
laugh.

“Thanks. You do too.” He whispered in her
ear, making her blush.

Kara bounced a conversation right in. “He
looks quite handsome if he wants to. By the way I saw you at school
yesterday, are you a new student?”

Sarah smiled at her as if Kara reminded her
of someone. “No, no I’m not a student I’m the new American History
teacher at the school.”

Astonished, Jenny jumped in saying “My word,
you’re so young, you look maybe eighteen or nineteen years
old!”

Apparently Sarah was ready for this
accusation. “Don’t let my looks fool you. I am actually twenty two
years old.” As she said this Connor looked at her out of the corner
of his eye. She still looked firmly at Jenny, but she gently laid
her hand on his thigh.
“Ha, she is
much
older than she
appears.”

Accepting Sarah’s answer she followed up with
“A History teacher? Well that’s Connor’s worst subject. May I ask
you something?”

“Sure.” Sarah said with honest interest.

“Can I ask that you tutor him? I can pay you
for your services.” His mom asked hopefully, history was the only
subject he wasn’t particularly good at, to those that didn’t know
otherwise.

Sarah turned to look at him for a moment and
her hand remained on his lap. She turned back to Jenny while she
still worked at the skillet. “I’ll do it, but I’ll only do it for
free since Connor rescued me. That seems like a fair trade, don’t
you agree?”

Jenny sighed in relief and then began
smiling. “Sarah, you’re a life saver. I mean it.”

“No I’m not, but Connor certainly is.” And at
that she squeezed his thigh in appreciation. And he couldn’t help
but smile.

Just then, Kara in her hyper and
excited voice exclaimed “Yes he is a hero in this house too! He’s a
protector and never harms anyone unless someone he loves is in
danger.” At that Connor suddenly stiffened as his instinct warned
him and Sarah seemed to be the only one who noticed.
“Kara! You wouldn’t.”
Kara continued
“Has Brother showed you his secret? That’s why he always wears dark
long sleeve shirts. He has a huge…”

***

“KARA
!!!”
Connor yelled in anger and Sarah removed her hand from his leg
because of the sudden and unexpected startle. His expression
changed into the battle ready one he showed earlier, he was ready
for a fight and his direct, withering gaze focused solely upon her.
She saw Jenny drop one of the grilled cheese sandwiches on the
floor from Connor’s sudden outburst. When Kara looked at Conner’s
face she shied away like he never showed this side of himself to
her before. If Sarah wasn’t there during the cougar attack she too
would have been deathly afraid.