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"Ahhh Josie, that sound should be bottled and sold" He smiled down at me when I looked up at hi, sloshing the hot water overthe process over

"My mother is the only other person who has ever washed ers through o I took for granted hoonderful it feels"

"You were a child Of course you took it for granted," Samuel answered quietly

"I knohy my mother washed my hair," I said, brave behindmy hair, Samuel? I’ve washed a lot of people’s hair down at the shop Not one of them has ever co your hair for the same reason your led after playing in the barn?" I teased

"Because it feels good to take care of you" His voice was both tender and truthful

My soul sang "I’ve taken care oftime," I replied quietly, incredibly ood at it You’ve taken care of everybody else for a long tio at that, and I didn’t pursue the conversation It took too y, and I felt ht, and his firh the inky darkness as the light pooled just beyond us, leaving our faces in shadows Sa the thick sections around his fingers tightly, pullingmy throat as he forced the excess water out of my hair I heard hi ths, rinsing the hair until the water ran clear

Again he wrapped his hands inand then swathed my head in the towel he’d laid on his lap Samuel left me momentarily and straddled the bench below rasped ,on his chest He took the hand towel and lightly driedthe water froround as he lifted my face towards his His hands smoothed my hair back, away froht in anticipation of a kiss, but instead, he threaded his left hand into htly rough cheek back and forth against the silkiness of esture was so loving, so gentle, and my eyes stayed closed under his simy closed eyelids I felt him pull back, and I opened my eyes His eyes held mine in the dark I wanted desperately for him to lean in and kiss my lips

Samuel’s hands framed my face, and he seeers traveled lightly down my arms and over my wrists until he held each of h the breeze and lightly trickled downlittle rivulets of desire where his hands had just been

"Do you remember the first tihts were slow and heavy, my mind soft frohtfully "It was after we argued about Heathcliffe You were mad atain "I wished I hadn’t said anything You justabout how Sa

"You were thirteen years old! A thirteen-year-old as beautiful, wise, patient…and infuriating! I just kept thinking, ‘How does she know these things?!’ You quoted that scripture like you’d studied it just for the purpose of teaching ot up and walked off the bus! I was so bloay that Ithere when everyone else was gone I ended up having to walk hoot nervous and thought I was up to so pretty strange"

I looked down at our clasped hands, goose bu up my arms as his thumbs made slow patterns on my skin

"1 Corinthians, Chapter 13…how did you know?" His voice contained a note of wonder "I don’t care how brilliant you were, thirteen-year-old girls don’t quote scripture off the cuff like that"

I shook my head a little and smiled "A feeeks before you and I had our ‘discussion,’ I was sitting in church with o to church very often, but Aunt Louise drug her bunch to church every week She always said she needed all the help she could getand I liked church"

Sa hed, and proceeded to defend , and I always felt loved there Anyway, that particular Sunday soht it was theI had ever heard I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find it again because, you’re right, I wasn’t very familiar with scripture I told Aunt Louise I was sick and ran ho "1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13" all the way to ot home I pulled out my-"