Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (10 page)

Billy
anxiously
shouted “Hurry up and play with us!”

Connor
spoke calmly and evenly
to the little men
. “If I do, you cannot
make fun of me.” They nodded and everyone
began
looking at
him
and Mark.

Mark removed his silver t-shirt and walked in. Everyone saw how well built
he is; even if he only copied Connor’s
structure on his frame
.

Connor
sighed and removed
his
sleeveless shirt.
He
dropped it on the bank and when
he
turned around everyone saw
his exposed
torso. Unfortunately everyone gawked at
the
chest. The silence broke with Jim’s speechless whistle. “That’s some build you’ve got there. And that tattoo isn’t too shabby.”

“Wow, Mr. Connor, you
’
r
e
huge
!”

“Thanks, Tyler!”
Connor
said while entering the cool water.

They
spent another hour swimming
and then the group
stepped out to dry off. It was time to teach a new survival skill. “Alright everyone,
gather
around me for a new lesson.” Everyone dropped what they were doing and sat in a loo
se circle around Connor
.
Once everyone calm
ed
and settled
in
he
pulled
his
pack to
his
side and pulled out one of the empty soda cans.
He
brandished it before everyone and they became intent on what was said. “This simple
aluminum can,
can be a lifesaver if you have nothing else
to use
. Tell me what you can do with it.”
He
waited and listened to everyone’s guess. “Very good. You can use it to boil water or as a way to transport an ember to a
nother
fire
bundle
without it going out, but you can also use it to help in fishing.” Everyone shared a look of disbelief. Even Mark didn’t know
this trick
.

Connor
grabbed the pop-tab
between his
fingers and worked it back and forth until it came off.
He
tossed the
hollow
can
over
to Billy and
Connor
held the tab
up in front of everyone
. “You can make a hook out of this
…
Tyler, Billy?” The boys perked up. “Can I ask you to go find some grubs and insects that we could use for bait?
”

“You can count on us!” Tyler said and they stood up.

“Here, take this, but be ve
ry careful. This isn’t a toy.” Connor
held out
Tool
by its handle
. “There is a dead
and rotting
tree
back
over there. Cut into the bark and collect the termites and grubs. Don’t worry I
already
checked for snakes and didn’t find any. It looks like we will have to find your treat tomorrow.”

Billy grabbed
Tool and the brother
s
went
over
to where
he
pointed.

Connor
then showed everyone how to shape the
ringed
tab into a hook. He
then handed everyone else an empty can and they began making their own.

About thirty minutes later the brothers safely returned with a ca
n full of
live
bugs. Billy handed
Tool back and showed Connor
all the b
ait
they collected.

Connor
told everyone to empty
out
their canteens and they dra
n
k everything. They screwed the lids back on tightly
to seal in the trapped air
. While they did that
their instructor
pulled out the roll of fishing line
from
his
pack
.
Using the hatchet side of Tool
to
cut twelve
strips
of fishing line
he
handed each pers
on a thirty foot length. With his
instructions and demonstrations everyone fastened their hooks to the end of the line. Then they tied a portion of the string to their canteens, about two and a half to three feet down. They all tied the other end of the line to a
firm,
hand
-sized
stick. It would save their fingers
from getting cut
if they caught something
and
would help them to bring their catch
on shore
.

Everyone was given
the
live bait and they put it on their hook.
They
walked to the lake and spread out. Everyone tossed their canteens with their baited hooks
into the still lake
. The canteens served two purposes and the first serves as a weight to get the line out there and the other is to serve as a bobber.

Brittany, Ray and Terri caug
ht a fish while everyone
else
lo
s
t
miserably
when the can became empty
. They were kind enough to
share with everyone. Mark and Connor
declined
their offers
because
they
could go months without food
and weren’t the least bit hungry
. They didn’t need to know that though.

While everyone slept
,
Connor
kept watch
over everyone
while relaxing in the comforts of a tree.

Tyler and Billy didn’t get their snake
this weekend
, but they weren’t disappointed because they both caught larger fish than their parents
,
yesterday
. Everyone said they would be back for more
lessons
, but Jim and his family would come back
again
in
two
month
s
,
when school
ended
for summer
.

Connor
tried contacting Sarah on the way home, but she put up a
strong
mental barrier. Her emotions were confusing and
he
was unable to know if she
remained
upset or
if
was it
something else. Mark saw
his
confused worry and patted
him
on the back.
H
e didn’t have any advic
e
for
the
situation
. It was
annoyingly
strange to feel so…
human.
It was difficult to not know wh
ere
the problem
lay
s
with
the woman he loves above all else
.
He
didn’t know how to get
him
self
into a better position
, but it was time to pay the piper.

Mark went home
to Kara
as
Connor
walked through the woods.

Once inside the clearing
of their home
,
his
bond told
him
that Sarah
sat
in the living room and most likely laying on the sofa.
He
walked to the door and took a deep b
reath before entering to meet his
fate.

He
stepped inside.

The first thing in
his
vision was the dining table holding
a large
assortment of items
,
all geared toward an expecting mother. There were so many things that would do perfectly for a child
’s needs
. The other women
of his
life
went all out with the
ir
gifts.
They
would need all the help
they
could get.

“There isn’t anywhere we can put them.”
A
harmonious an
d velvety sweet voice chimed. His
eyes drifted to Sarah as she laid comfortably on the sofa with the fan above her
spinning,
keeping things co
ol. She laid with her feet in his
direction so she could watch
him
with the most glorious green eyes
he’s
ever seen or will ever
come to
see.
Her breast rose and fell with each
slow and
calm
breath. Her hands were resting comfortably over her barely swollen belly. Even laying
down,
she showed an ethereal beauty none could ever hope to surpass.

Before she could say anything else
Connor
dropped
his pack on the floor and made his
way to her side.
He dropped to his
knees and spoke apologetically. “Please forgive me for not telling you. I thought everyone would like to have some girl time
together
. Please don’t stay angry at me.
How may I make amends?
”

Her eyes narrowed and she sat up.
They
looked at each other
–
eye to eye
–
and she spoke evenly. “That was a mean and foolish trick to play on me, but”
S
he finally smiled the smile that is
for him
alone. “I did have a pleasant time
with everyone
. I didn’t like the surprise
part
, but the thoughts and planning
they made
showed me that your family and mine
,
love me the same. Plus we might actually need some of those supplies
sooner than we can imagine
.” Then she placed her soft palms to either side of
his
cheeks. “You’re forgiven, my Knight.”
Sarah then leaned forward and pressed her soft and warm lips
on
to
his
. “Now where are we going to store those supplies until you finish the
ir
new room?”

He
sighed in relief. She wasn’t mad
and it wasn’t difficult to figure that the chi
ldren would need their own room
. Sarah only wanted to make
him
think she
stayed
upset
because she didn’t communicate and she
managed to
mask her emotions
well
. “They can stay in the corner by the fireplace for now. If I get started right away the projects will be complete by Thursday evening.”

She smiled pleasantly and my heart began thundering. It was in response to the new emotion that dominated her. She shook her head slowly. “You’ve been gone for too long and I want my mate.” She grinned and threw herself at
him
.

When
Sarah
awoke Monday morning
,
Connor made
a large
breakfast
to celebrate her return to being a teacher
.
She didn’t want to annoy Jenny so she
took
another of
the daily vitamins
packets
.
She
showered and attired a black t-shirt and white pants because it
i
s a school and the s
tudents don’t need to see what she
wear
s
specifically
to arouse
her
mate.
She
grabbed
the heavy
books and headed for the door. Connor escorted
her
to the tree line and
they
kissed before separat
ing.