Page 35 of Mountain Man's Valentine
12
Cole
Her tears are coming faster now, hot and salty and uncontrollable, and they come out faster than I can wipe them away.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to learn this about me,” I say, scooping Valoria up behind her knees and under her arms. I cradle her small body, and she wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face into the crook of my shoulder.
“Cole, I amsosorry.”
I don’t say anything; I just kiss her hair and take her back home, walking her through the house and finally putting her down when we get to the ensuite, where I’ve drawn her a hot bath.
“Get out of your clothes,” I command, and she pushes her coat off her shoulders, then quickly, confidently pulls her t-shirt off. She stands in front of me, her eyes red, her body trembling. But in her eyes she is resilient, and she wants to know why I hid this from her.
“I told you not to go into my office, love,” I say, taking her hand as she steps into the tub. The water is steaming hot as she dips her toe in to test the water. “Too hot?”
“No,” she says, slowly stepping over the edge with her other foot. “No, it’s good.”
She sits down slowly as I take my loofah off the edge of the tub and squeeze some body wash into it, and I sit down beside the tub next to her. She pushes her hair over her shoulder and I slowly move the loofah over her back and neck, and she sighs deeply.
“You asked why I was here all alone,” I start, “and my sister is part of the reason. It makes me angry to think about what happened.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” she says in a small voice, putting her chin over her shoulder, “but I’d like you to.”
“I told you how I developed this app to aid hospitals. The app matches organ donors with recipients, and it really works. It’s agreatapp. It’s a good program. It’s saved lives.”
“Cole, what you’ve done is amazing. It’s incredible.”
“But Val, there is one person I couldn’t save.”
She turns around to me, the water shifting slightly in the tub as she moves, and she leans forward, putting her pretty arms under her chin on the edge of the tub.
“You can’t save every person, Cole.”
Val reaches out and puts her hand in mine.
“Icouldhave, though. I should have.” I feel that frenetic anger inside me, the feelings that I’ve tried to push away for so long, grind into my body. I feel it in my guts, in my fuckingbones. “I should have been able to save her. I had the app in development for a long time. For alongtime. It started as my thesis project when I was in grad school. But I never finished it. I just didn’t push myself hard enough. And then there was the accident.”
Val leans back, taking the loofah from me, and motions with her eyes for me to come join her in the tub.
I didn’t want love for a long time. I didn’t think Ideservedit. But the draw of Val is so strong that I can’t stop myself from accepting her love. She shines.
I strip off my clothes slowly and start to get into the tub, facing her.
“Yousurethis water isn’t too hot, doll?” I ask as I lower myself into the water.
“You like the cold, huh?”
“I guess I don’t like being too comfortable.”
She gets closer to me and links her fingers through mine sweetly. And I lean forward, taking her face in my hands, and I kiss her.
I kiss her, and I keep kissing her.
