Fools in Love by Jill Sanders

Author:Jill Sanders [Sanders, Jill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945100642
Publisher: Grayton Press

Chapter Twelve

Watching small puffy clouds float slowly overhead, Kate smiled as she trailed her fingers over Tom’s shoulder blades. She was too blissfully unaware of her surroundings to notice that she was tracing a jagged scar on his skin at first. The massive thing covered his left shoulder blade and ran down his back to disappear under his armpit.

When her fingers stilled, Tom shifted to lie beside her. He rested his head in his hands as he leaned up on his elbow.

“How did you get that?” she asked.

Tom sighed. “It was the day my mother and brother died,” he said, his eyes avoiding hers.

They were lying naked on the beach blanket as the sun shifted slightly in the sky. She didn’t know how much time had passed, nor care. All that mattered was that he had been what she’d wanted. What she’d needed.

Hearing this news, however, she sat up and hugged her legs to her chest. “You didn’t mention that you’d been hurt.”

He shifted until he was sitting beside her. “I… don’t like bringing it up.” He shrugged. “It was just skin deep.”

She twisted slightly until she could see the scar. She hadn’t seen him without a shirt before. He’d worn tank tops before, but had never gone fully shirtless.

The scar looked a million times worse than her little L-shaped one, making her feel foolish for the slight vanity she’d felt earlier when he’d traced it with his fingertips.

She traced the jagged white skin with her fingertips and when she reached his ribs, he sucked in a breath.

“This is more than just skin deep.” She turned again until their eyes locked.

“There’s nothing really there. Under there is fat, a few smaller muscles, bone. Which wasn’t affected.” He shrugged. “Thirty-six stiches, some antibiotics, and I was good to go. Compared to your months of physical therapy and possible lifelong limp, my incident was a cakewalk.” He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. “Want to take another dip?” He motioned to the water.

But it had already cooled off. The sun had shifted and gone behind one of the tall rocky walls that closed the cove off from the Pacific.

Shaking her head, she sighed. “I’m tired and a little cold.”

He reached over and handed her clothes to her. “We can head back?” he suggested.

She stopped him from standing up by placing her hand on his arm. “Tom, thank you for today. It’s been my first full outing since coming home.”

He smiled at her and nodded quickly, then he pulled on his shorts and started to gather everything up.

When he helped her back into the rubber raft, she took one last look at the cove and tried to sear every detail into her brain, not knowing if she’d ever return to this spot.

Getting up the ladder to the sailboat was somehow more difficult than going down. Finally, Tom flipped her over his shoulder and went up the ladder as if she weighed nothing.

She laughed when he set her down gently on the bench.

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