Page 31 of Sweet Silver Bells

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That kiss.

“I will go with you,” Olivia clarified. “If you sing that song. I’ve never heard anything like that. It was so, so . . . “

“Cheery,” Hunter suggested.

Olivia just stared at him.

Cutting her off, another strike perhaps.

Despite the waves of emotions, the concussion, the arousal, the relief, the despair, Hunter wanted so badly to save her, to bring Olivia out from the forest. He took a deep inhale, and on his exhale, his voice boomed, so deep, vibrating down through the roots of the greenery he stood within.

Hunter cleared his throat, finding his voice, the voice he had lost when he lost Sarah, the voice inside him that once laughed and meant it, that nurtured students with a passion, that loved, that loved so hard it molded him.

Maybe it was finally time to have a voice like that again.

Sarah, did you send her?

It was a leap, but he had nothing else to go on. There was no other way to justify bringing along a deranged stranger, drawn in by the childlike holiday songs he hummed.

“Jingle bells,

Jingle bells,

Jingle all the way.”

Olivia’s face lit up, awe and wonder speckled her cheeks like glitter falling from the trees above her. She opened her mouth, filling herself with music, and began her duet.

“Sweet silver bells, all things to say, throw cares away.”

Hunter felt the power; he felt the forest shift, creaking and growing while his vision faded in and out. She stopped when she noticed him stumble, despite standing still, towering over her.

“I’ll come,” she whispered, putting her hand in his.

Hunter stared at that hand, at her skin so pale it looked bathed in moonlight, even though it couldn't shine through the thick clouds of forest trees.

“Your heart,” Olivia said, her eyes moving up to catch his, to keep him in her spell. “It’s beating so loud. Is that for me?”

For her.

It was because Hunter felt terror trying to overshadow his chivalry, his bravery. This woman would change his life, and he feared he might regret it, regret helping someone who wasn’t asking for help.

But maybe she can help you.

Hunter found a speck of courage. He only needed a little to convince himself that this was right. That he would do this for anyone, not just a beautiful woman who kissed him, who pulled him so far into her that he may soon struggle for air, drowning in those enchanting eyes.

“Yes,” he answered. “My heart is beating for you.”

With that, Olivia took her first step out from under the trees since she had fled there, looking for shelter, looking for safety, looking for the acceptance of the plants and the trees. Here was the first person she might be able to trust since her father had died.

Olivia's grip was crushing, tight, as if she might never again let go of Hunter’s hand.

He didn’t mind.

8

CHAPTER EIGHT.

“Ihear these,” Olivia said, staring in wonder at the beige-gray faux leather dashboard of Hunter’s parked car. Her eyes were wide, curious, but still sharp, ready to bolt at the slightest threat.