The Curse Of Spring (Book Two of The Seasons Trilogy)

Chapter 18

Cole

We lay there together for a while, watching the rain beat against the windowpane. A gentle sound which soothed me, and seemed to stop the flurry of thoughts which threatened to bombard my mind.

We'd just had s*x. No - rephrase - Harley and I had just made love. s*x was just a physical act, but with Harley I felt as if my soul was reaching out for hers. It was a strange feeling, but it felt right.

"So, do we talk about what just happened?" Harley asked after a while, turning in my arms to face me.

Why do women always want to talk?

"Yeah, I guess so," I responded, not entirely sure where she was wanting to go with this "talk".

She lifted her hand and trailed my jaw with her fingertips, a slight smile playing on her lips. It was obvious that she wasn't displeased by what had happened, so at least there was that.

"I'm sorry I launched myself on you," she blushed slightly before she continued. "But I have no regrets."

I smiled at her before I kissed her gently. "I have no regrets either," I said softly, brushing the stray strands of hair away from her face with my fingers.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked, worry in her eyes. "What if I never get my powers back? What if I'm stuck like this, no powers just useless to the rest of you? I would be a liability, someone you have to look after for the rest of our lives or at least until we are no longer in danger."

I took a deep breath and shook my head slightly, leaning forward to kiss her on her lips.

"You don't get it, you could never be a liability. That's the whole point of us being soul mates."

She looked at me sceptically, her doubt obvious.

"What is it?" I urged, a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Don't get me wrong," she started slowly, chewing on her lower lip. "I just don't get this whole soul mates thing. I mean, how do you know?"

"You mean other than the fact that my tattoo formed when I kissed you?" I shot back, strangely on the defensive.

"Yeah. I don't have that memory, I don't know when or how my tattoo came about. As far as I knew, I was a rebellious fourteen year old who found a willing tattoo artist," she sighed, rolling over to lie on her back. "I don't know. There's just a part of me that has to question all of this."

I stared up at the water stained ceiling, evidence of the leaky roof I'd had repaired in the years since I left St. Margaret's. I understood that Harley was torn, but it frustrated me that she had to second guess everything. The only thing she did seem to accept was that she was originally April.

We lay there for what seemed like ages, until I heard the dinner bell ringing from downstairs and immediately got up, the routine drilled into me from a young age.

"What's happening?" Harley got to her feet quickly, panic in her voice.

"It's just dinner, let's get dressed and go down. We should call Jay to let him know we're not going to be back this evening anyway." I responded, pulling on a shirt.

Harley rummaged through the cupboard and found a dress Alana must have left behind - a floral summer-y one which was too tight around Harley's bust but I guess beggars can't be choosers. We trod down the stairs with the rest of the kids and took seats at the head of the table next to Emily and her assistant. The kids filled in the rest of the seats and bowed their heads as we recited the thanksgiving prayer, digging into the food when Emily gave the signal.

As always, the food was great. Although I guess food is always better when you haven't had to cook it yourself.

"Wynter, I wanted to discuss the budget with you if possible," Emily said softly and I could tell that she was nervous.

"Yeah, of course. Is it not enough? I can add extra into the account if that's the case…"

She cut me off with a shake of her head. "Oh, no. I haven't touched that money, I feel too bad to. You and Alana have worked so hard for that and, well, it's just," she took a deep breath, obviously realising that she wasn't making sense. "It's just that the boiler keeps breaking and needs to be replaced. The church are struggling to fund their own running costs, so I want to ask if we could use the money."

When Alana and Rhett had gone on the run last year, they had been forced to spend a few nights at the orphanage. It was then that they had discovered the disrepair of the old place and the two had decided to try help fix it up. Alana went as far as to open an account in Emily's name, just so that Emily could use it as and when she needed. We frequently put money in it, but we also knew that Emily always felt bad whenever she had to withdraw money.

I took Emily's hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, "that's what it's there for, Em."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Harley watching my interaction with Emily with clear interest.

"Alana and Rhett were here last week. They stopped by on their way to meet their families at some ridiculous museum," Emily changed the subject with the skill of a politician.

Harley immediately sat up straighter, obviously intrigued.

"Their families are still involved?" She asked.

"Yes, of course! Even with the awful situation they found themselves in, they communicate with their families through some online internet book page," I fought the urge to roll my eyes at Em's lacking knowledge of technology.

Harley was quiet, silently contemplating Emily's words. When she finished, she excused herself and went to Em's office to call Jay.

"Is everything OK, Wynter?" Emily asked, taking my hand in hers.

I sighed and confided in her as I always did, the words spilling out of me. It always felt good.

"My boy, there are some things you need to just have patience with. She will come around and realise that you two are meant for each other, it's just going to take time," Emily smiled slightly before she continued. "For once you will have to work at getting a woman to fall for you."

I raised my eyebrow at that comment and was rewarded by laughter from both Emily and her younger assistant.

"You'll see, kid," Em laughed, nodding her head to the office where Harley was just emerging. "I'm going to enjoy hearing how you've wooed her at the end of this."