Page 53 of Connected By Souls

“We did! I found one that Mimi says is very rare. She’s making me a special bracelet for my birthday,” Luna says excitedly.

“I see you have one of my anklets on Emma.” Mimi points to the crescent moon sea glass on her ankle.

“Yes, I do.” Emma looks at her anklet. “I wanted to tell you how much I love it. Your work is beautiful. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.”

“She started doing the moons for Luna.” I wink at Luna.

“I love anything to do with the moon phases. I guess it’s because of my name,” Luna laughs.

“I’m glad you love my work, Emma. I’ll have to find you something special for your birthday too.” Mimi says, placing her hand on Emma’s cheek.

“Who’s ready to eat?” Mom yells over to us. Dad is following her with a tray of chicken. We all get settled at the table, and I smile as I look at Emma, laughing at something my dad says. She fits in just like I knew she would.

ChapterTwenty

Emma

I’min love with his family. In a way, it made me miss my parents, but the pain never came that I had gotten so used to feeling whenever I was reminded of what I didn’t have. I felt at peace knowing they would be happy that I felt so welcomed and at home here.

After dinner, I help clear the table, and I’m about to offer to help Sage with the dishes when Mimi walks in. “I’m going to steal Emma for a bit. You guys have got the kitchen covered, it looks like.” She eyes her three grandkids. Mimi takes my hand, leading me out the back door. Turning, I look at Noah. He shrugs his shoulders and grins at me before turning back around and helping his mom with the dishes.

Leading me down the deck to the yard, we see Hurley and Nala rolling in the grass before they chase each other around. “They sure are having fun.” I laugh at their playfulness.

“They never tire of doing that. It’s nice that they get to spend so much time together.” Making our way to the dock, we follow it down to where the boat lift is. I notice a small boat house on the end with two Adirondack chairs in front of it.

“Such a cute little boat house. It matches the main house perfectly.”

“My husband, Noah, and Jaxson built that little house for Sage. She likes to come down here to mediate and read, and it gives Jaxson a place to store some of his boat items. When the boys come home from fishing, we’ll come down here to sit and watch them clean the day's catch.”

Going inside the boat house, she grabs a lighter and lights the tiki torches and the candle on the table by the chairs. “The wind should keep the bugs away tonight, but you can never be too careful here with the mosquitoes and no-see-ums.” She takes a seat on one of the chairs. I’m not sure what a no-see-um is, but I agree with her and sit down next to her.

Turning to me, she smiles. “You remind me a lot of myself at your age. We have more in common than you know. Noah told me about your parents. I hope that’s ok. I went through something similar, and he knew I could relate.” I nod my head at her slightly, letting her know that I’m okay with Noah telling her.

Staring off into the water, lost in thought, she continues. “I was younger than you, at seventeen, when I lost my dad to a car wreck. My mom didn’t get out of bed for weeks. I was the oldest, so it was up to me to care for my three younger siblings. Six months later, my mom died from a brain aneurysm. One minute she was there, and the next minute she was gone. I took both of their deaths hard. I never really got to grieve for my dad because I was thrown into caring for my siblings, but when my mom died, I went into a deep depression over losing them both. Our aunt and uncle took us all in, and since they were never able to have children, we were welcomed with open arms. I tried to be happy, but I had this emptiness in my heart that nothing would fill.”

Tears fill my eyes. I know all too well about that feeling. She squeezes my hand before continuing. “Then I met Frank, Noah’s Papaw. He was funny and goofy and made it his mission to make me laugh every day.” She smiles at the memory. “I fought him so hard in the beginning, almost wanting to punish myself for even thinking of being happy, but our connection was too strong. I finally let myself be free of the pain and guilt that had caged me in. We were married a couple of months later.” Looking me in the eyes, she says, “I see that same connection between you and Noah, and I’m sure it scares you just like it did me.”

Nodding at her, “It does scare me, but I’m trying really hard not to be afraid.” I admit softly. “Noah came out of nowhere, and it’s like a lifetime of emotions crammed into a short amount of time. I’ve done a lot of healing to get past the pain and guilt. Noah has been a big part of that, but the fear is always in the back of my head. I’m so afraid of giving my heart fully again. What if I do, and he leaves me too soon like my parents?” I voice my biggest fear to her.

“But what if he doesn’t leave you too soon? I had the same fears after losing my parents, but if I had let those fears control me, I wouldn’t have had these fifty-three years with Frank. Fifty-three wonderful years with Frank, three beautiful children, and more grandkids and great-grandkids than I can count,” she says, smiling. “You have to ask yourself the one important question I had to ask myself. Would you be able to walk away from him? The fear of walking away from him and never seeing him again was greater than my fear of losing him.”

Could I? I’ve only known him for less than a month. Most would laugh at how fast we seem to be moving, but I can’t picture a life without him in it. My heart hurts at the thought of walking away from him. Shaking my head, I know with certainty. “No, I can’t walk away from him.”

Smiling and patting my hand, “Then walk towards him dear, and don’t look back or look too far ahead. Walk beside him and take each day together and hold onto it tightly. The rest will work out the way it’s meant to.”

I reach over and hug her. “Thank you,” I whisper.

Patting my back, she says, “I have a feeling about you two, and I’m never wrong. You have found each other again, and I couldn’t be happier.” She releases me and starts to stand.

“Again? I don’t understand.”

“Why yes, dear, some souls have several lifetimes together. Frank and I have, and it makes sense that you both have too. A strong bond with one another doesn’t come along often. Your souls recognize each other. Now, we should head back before Noah thinks I’ve kidnapped you.” She blows out the candle and puts the caps on the tiki torches.

Could what she said be true? Could we have met before in another lifetime? It would make sense why he is so familiar to me, and I do feel like I’ve known him forever. I’ve read books about past lives and couples that swear they’ve been together before. It’s always fascinated me. I just never thought it would happen to me. She’s got me intrigued now.

When we return to the house, everyone is relaxing on the patio sectional with lit tiki torches around the area. They have string lights hanging above, and I love the fairy-like look they create. Noah smiles when I walk up and pats the spot next to him. I curl up next to him as he puts his arm around me. “How was Mimi?” he asks softly. “She didn’t scare you off, did she?”

Shaking my head, I put my arm around his stomach. “No, she told me about her parents, and it helped me see things differently. She’s pretty amazing, just like you said.”

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