Page 33 of Connected By Souls

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I head into the house, unable to stop the grin on my face. She must have worked through some things and decided to take that step toward me. Once we spend more time together, I can ease her into the truth about me being Beck Hunter and our past life connection. The most important thing is that she’s walking towards me.

I work late on the house, feeling energized by our texts earlier, and head home to shower. On the way, I grab takeout from Rusty’s so I don’t have to cook this late. Tomorrow, I have a full afternoon helping with another roofing job. Hurricane season has officially begun now that we’re in September, so lots of people are getting their roofs secure.

I grab a beer from the fridge and go to the back deck to let Nala out and eat my dinner. I can hear the waves crashing against the shore. I don’t see any lights on at Emma’s, so she must be in bed already. I take a bite of food as my phone rings.

“Hi, Sis.” I take a drink of my beer.

“I was just checking up on you and seeing how it’s going with Emma,” I hear Bella say through the phone.

“It’s going really good. We had dinner at my house on Thursday after she got off work, and I got to know her better.”

“How much better?” I hear her laugh.

“Not what you’re thinking, unfortunately. I’m trying to be good here and take my time. It’s getting harder to resist her, though. She’s been through a lot this past year.” I sigh. “She just needs a little more time to process all these emotions that she’s feeling. She did text me today out of the blue, which I took as a good sign. She also agreed to a full day with me on Saturday. I’m taking her to the lighthouse.”

“Wow, the lighthouse. That’s a big step for you. Well, it sounds like you’re doing everything right. I’ll talk you up real good Thursday, so don’t worry.”

“I forgot about you girls taking her out.” I groan at the thought. “I guess keeping her to myself for a while is out of the question?”

“Not a chance. It’s nice to share. I expect to see her Sunday night at Mom and Dad’s too.”

“I was going to ask her on Saturday.”

“Perfect! I can’t wait to meet her. I know we’re going to be best friends.”

“I’m sure you are. She’s very easy to like. Just please don’t let Mom tell any embarrassing stories.”

“I’ll try my best, but you know, Mom. She loves to brag on us kids, and that usually comes in some sort of embarrassing way for us.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Well, I better let you go. I have some edits to do before bed and a video shoot in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you too, Sis.” I head back in to take a shower and go to bed. I’ve got a big roofing job tomorrow and need all the sleep I can get.

* * *

By the timeI climb into bed on Wednesday night, I’m bone tired from the day. Two days of hard labor will do that to you. At least I finished the roofing job today, so I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the week. Needing to hear Emma’s voice, I grab my phone and dial her number.

“Hi, Noah.” I smile at the sound of her voice.

“Hi, Emma. What are you doing?”

“I’m laying in bed.” She laughs softly. “What are you doing?”

“Same. I just got home not too long ago and wanted to hear your voice.”

“I’m glad you called. I was missing yours as well.”

“Were you now? That’s good to know. How was your day at work?”

“Busy. I’ve been helping Miss Sylvia get the art room ready, so we spent the day going over supplies and moving things around.”

“I’m glad you can turn that room into an art studio for the kids. I love the library, but it needed some updates.”

“Well, you can thank Beck Hunter for that. The donations that were made make this all possible. The kids are going to love it. I’m really excited.”

I’m glad the donations I made are helping her out. I’ll have to make another one soon so she can put it to good use for the kids. “Those kids are going to be lucky to have you there. A new art room and all those programs you’ve been working so hard on, they’ll be in heaven.”

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