Unbreakable Love (3 page)

“Enough,” she bellowed. “Do you really think I’m mad about the car accident?”

Nate wasn’t sure what to say so he nodded no, suddenly feeling much smaller than his 6’ 3” frame.

“That’s right,” she went on, “You touched Jennie and you were specifically told not to touch her.”

For the first time since her arrival, Nate didn’t feel scared; instead, he was confused. He knew he had been told not to touch her, but he assumed it was just because she was the opposite sex and physical contact could send the wrong message. The rule was no romantic relationships with the one you protect and an angel had to be careful not to mislead their protectee. Still, it was a handshake, innocent by anyone’s standards, so why was Celeste all up in arms about it?

“I’m sorry,” Nate said sincerely, “I didn’t realize that it was such a big deal.”

The lines in Celeste’s forehead softened and a small, almost indiscernible smile replaced her scowl. “Just don’t do it again,” she said firmly.

Nate joined her on the couch to finish telling her all about his progress with Jennie. When he was done, Celeste stood to leave. Before she could reach the door, Nate called out, “Wait—I got you something.” He slipped back into the kitchen and returned with a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. “Nobody was buying them and the little girl looked like she was going to cry,” he said sheepishly. Nate paused and gave her his most charming smile. “Besides,” he finished, “I know they’re your favorite.”

A cautious smile spread across Celeste’s face. “You know you can’t bribe me,” she warned, still trying to sound stern.

Nate placed the box in her hand and then produced a wrinkled bill from his pocket. A small, husky laugh escaped from Celeste’s lips as she took them both.

When she reached the door, she paused for a second and looked back. “This one is really important,” she said, her face now solemn. “It has to be done right or a lot of people will suffer needlessly.”

Nate looked down. Celeste wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. “I got it,” he said, suddenly serious, and then, without the formality of using the door, she was gone.

Jennie asked Nate to meet her at work Friday night. Following her directions, Nate easily found the pet store. The heat of the day was still bearing down even though the sun was beginning to set, spreading streaks of orange and red across the horizon. As directed, Nate wore a bathing suit and a T-shirt so that he could be part of the traditional pool count. When he pulled up, he could see Jennie through the large glass doors carrying a small dog in one arm and toting a parakeet on her other shoulder. Fascinated, he sat in the car for a minute and watched her.

First, she put the dog in its kennel and then the bird in its cage. After sweeping the floor, she moved back to where the cats were kept. Almost ceremoniously, she opened all the cages, letting the felines out to join her on the floor. He wished he could hear what she said to them as she stroked each one, making sure to give them equal attention. Nate found himself swept up in the moment as he saw another side of her. She was tender and affectionate. He’d only known Jennie for a few days, but with every passing day he was more impressed by her. It was no wonder she had been assigned a protector; she was remarkable and would do a lot of good in this world.

Jennie glanced at her watch and then began scooping the kitties one by one to return them to their cages. Nate climbed out of the car and walked briskly to the door. Trying not to startle Jennie, he knocked quietly on the glass to get her attention. Jennie looked up and smiled before unlocking the door with her key to let him inside.

“I’m almost ready,” she said, “I just have to find Sebastian. The little renegade is hiding because he hates his cage.”

“I’ll help you look,” Nate offered.

Together they searched until they found Sebastian holed up in the cabinet beneath the cash register. Jennie tried to hold him in her arms as they walked to the cages, but the marmalade cat thrashed and writhed, trying everything to escape his impending fate.

“Can I try?” Nate asked with arms outstretched.

Jennie smirked. “Good luck,” she said, “this one is trouble. I can’t get anyone to adopt him because of his devilish nature.”

Sebastian’s legs flailed wildly as Jennie handed him Nate. Nate folded him into the crook of his arm and held him firmly but not enough to completely restrict his movement. Almost immediately, Sebastian began to visibly calm down. By the time they reached the cages, he was lying in Nate’s arms on his back with his belly fully exposed, his legs curled and relaxed.

Before placing him back in his cage, Nate scratched his belly with his free hand, making the cat sound like a tiny lawnmower as waves of purring rolled through his body. He was putty in Nate’s hands and when it came time to put him in his cage there was no resistance. Jennie watched, unable to conceal her amazement.

“That cat hates everyone,” she said. “How did you do that?”

Nate couldn’t actually tell her that all animals are soothed by the presence of an angel, so he tweaked it a little.

“Animals just like me, I guess,” he said almost shyly. As he spoke, his skin flushed with color, giving away his discomfort.

“I guess so,” she replied as she opened the door to let them out of the store.

“Do you want to drive?” he asked as they walked, hoping she would offer to take her air-conditioned car.

“Yeah, it’s hot,” she replied.

Nate and Jennie met Marissa and Braiden at Marissa’s house, and then they were on their way. As they drove toward the mountains, organized neighborhoods gave way to undisturbed desert and the darkening night. Nate couldn’t imagine why anyone would live this far out, but as they began to pull up a long steep driveway that appeared out of nowhere, an enormous house came into view. Even from the base of the driveway, Nate could see that the house was made mostly of glass, supported by towering steel beams. The entire thing looked like a modern glass castle nestled in the mountainside. Every room was ablaze with light, and they could see an endless stream of teenagers milling around inside. The closer they got to it, the more Nate found himself staring unabashedly at the magnificent structure and the party inside. Braiden saw his face and laughed. “Told you, dude,” he said.

Inside, music was pumping through speakers hidden in the ceiling above. A river of sound flowed effortlessly through the house, making the walls seem like they were pulsing with the heavy beat. As soon as they walked in the door, Jennie was pulled away by a friend who Nate still hadn’t met.

“Come to the pool deck—the kegs just got here,” Jennie’s friend said to her.

By the way she stumbled up the long set of stairs dragging Jennie behind her, Nate could tell she’d dipped into the booze long before they arrived. Soon Marissa and Braiden wandered off to talk to their friends, leaving Nate standing in the middle of the living room with strangers. Several girls that he had seen on campus seized the opportunity to get his attention. A tall, thin blond wearing a bikini top and a skimpy pair of shorts latched onto his arm and hung on him as if she was unable to survive without his support.

“What’s your name, blondie?” the girl asked, flashing her big brown eyes at him seductively.

Before he could even answer, another girl appeared out of nowhere and took his free hand.

“Hi, I’m Lexie,” she said.

Obviously, the first girl wasn’t happy about the competition because she wrapped her arms around his shoulder to expand her territorial grip on him.

“And I’m Zoey,” the girl who was now hanging on him bubbled.

“I’m Nate,” he said, reverting back to manners that had been engrained in him forever.

“I like that name,” Zoey gushed. “Come with me to the pool deck, Nate. I want to take a dip.”

Sensing she was losing the battle, Lexie turned her attention to the guys in the room who weren’t commandeered already and slinked away after spotting her next conquest. Nate wasn’t sure what to do. He was here for Jennie, but he wasn’t completely immune to the touch of a beautiful girl. In the end, he decided to follow her up to the pool deck where he figured Jennie was by now.

Nate followed Zoey up two flights of stairs, passing bedrooms framed in glass with heavy curtains hung for privacy and offices filled with rich mahogany desks and bookshelves loaded with books that looked like they’d never been read. The house seemed to go on forever, crisp and pristine, until they finally reached the third floor. As soon as they reached the top floor, Nate began to see what all the fuss was about.

Just off the stairs was huge home gym better equipped than most professional gyms. High school kids were hanging all over the equipment, trying to impress each other, beer spilling carelessly all over the floor from their paper cups. To the left of the workout area was another wall made of glass, except that right in the middle of the wall were massive glass doors that when pulled apart created an opening that blurred the lines between inside and outside, letting the warm fall air rush in. Just beyond those doors were an expansive deck and a pool that seemed to drop off the edge of the mountain. Nate had seen a lot things in his life as a protector, yet somehow he was still impressed by the pool and the view.

Zoey led him by the hand out the large open doors and onto the deck. Several beer kegs had been set up, and kids were filling and refilling their flimsy paper cups. Nate looked around. It didn’t take him long to find Jennie.

She was standing with her back against the wall, having what looked like a heated conversation with a boy Nate had never met. The boy stood in front of her as if he was blocking her path, and they were exchanging angry words, using not only their mouths but their entire bodies to show their frustration. Finally, Jennie pushed her way past him. Without ever seeing Nate, she walked sullenly to the edge of the pool and sat down.

Despite the noise and chaos around her, she seemed lost in her own thoughts. Nate was just about to detach himself from Zoey when the music went silent and was replaced by a high-pitched whistle. With that whistle, everyone turned their attention to the big glass doors—as if they were anticipating what would happen next, everyone but Jennie who sat staring blankly at the pool in front of her. Then out of nowhere, someone yelled, “Yaaah, pool count,” and what seemed like every teenager in the house came running, pulling off T-shirts and shorts, plunging into the pool, bodies stacked on bodies. Suddenly the pool deck became complete chaos, and if Nate hadn’t been watching Jennie, he might have missed her being pushed into the pool in all the commotion. Instantaneously his protector instinct kicked in and he sprang into action, throwing off Zoey’s hand and running toward the water at lightning speed. Everywhere he looked there were bodies pushing off one other, so many that it was hard to tell where one began and another ended. Determined, Nate scoured the pool with his eyes, sorting through what was now out-and-out pandemonium. Then, for just a split second, Nate saw Jennie being shoved and trampled before he lost sight of her again.

He screamed “Jennie!” but his voice was drowned out in a sea of noise.

No one was going to help him. With incredible ferocity, he jumped into the water and began physically moving people around so that he could get to her. In people’s drunken states, they thought a fight had broken out and began shoving one another. In seconds, the situation went from bad to total mayhem. Finally, Nate was able to get hold of Jennie’s arm with one hand, and he cleared the way while pulling her to the surface with the other. As soon as he could get her onto the deck, he leaned over her, listening for any trace of air moving through her lungs. Her face was already beginning to show bruises and her chest was completely devoid of the rising and falling that comes with life. Nate felt physically ill, but he had to hold it together. He was here to do a job. He could only hope that Celeste would forgive him for touching her.

He checked her airway. When he knew that it was clear, he began CPR. His capable hands pressed down rhythmically on the soft skin of her chest, forcing her heart to perform. When that was done, he would use his own air, pushing it straight into her lungs, willing her to breathe. Once the partygoers took notice of Nate and Jennie on the deck, they began to calm down. Soon all that could be heard was the sloshing of water as people climbed from the pool and hushed whispers while an anxious crowd gathered around Nate and Jennie.

After the first round of CPR, Nate began to hear faint breathing. Instinctively, he took her hand and held it tight.

“Come back to me, Jennie,” he pled, raw anguish seeping from his words.

Jennie could feel that sensation again. It felt far away but stronger this time. Waves of light and contentment rolled through her like a healing balm. Suddenly she became conscious of air moving through her lungs where they had been empty before. It hurt; every breath stung. Then all at once, her senses began to focus in on his hand connecting to hers, sending those incredible sensations. Her eyes felt heavy and she had to force them open by sheer will. Every message coming from her brain screamed open your eyes. They fluttered and then she was trying to focus, trying to handle the overwhelming light coming from the pool and overhead deck…at least until he bent over her fragile body and then she saw his face hovering, terrified. As soon as her eyes opened, he let go of her hand. He had to. If she had been stronger, she would’ve yelled NO! but her vocal chords wouldn’t work yet. It was still all she could do to breathe and move her eyes to look around the room.

“She’s gonna be okay,” she heard someone say in the distance.

After considerable effort Jennie got control of her voice and she cried out ,“My hand, take my hand.”

Nate smiled. She would be all right. He brought his face close to hers and whispered, “Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Jennie shook her head weakly but clearly, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke her next words.

“Take me home.”

Nate grabbed an oversized towel from a lawn chair and wrapped Jennie in it, taking care not to touch her again. He was already afraid he would be taken off her case because of his carelessness, yet he didn’t regret his choice. He would never regret it. Effortlessly, he scooped her up and carried her out to the car. Neither spoke on the drive home. Jennie’s strength was beginning to return. She could still feel a residue of that healing sensation flowing through her. Whatever it was seemed to make her feel better with every passing minute, not just emotionally but physically as well.