Charity's Storm (Charity Series Book 4) (15 page)

             
“Are you alright?” I heard someone ask, but I was too angry to reply.
Maybe if I ignore them, they’ll just go away.
I thought to myself.             

             
I reached for my paintbrush when a hand suddenly grabbed it and slightly grazed against mine. I felt a tingling in my hand at the simple, feathery touch. I gasped and gazed up at the face that belonged to the hand. My anger slipped away in a flash. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t even remember what I had been mad about to begin with. Actually, I couldn’t even remember my own name as I stared into the most amazing and gentle pair of eyes I had ever seen. They were gray with green streaking through them, but it wasn’t the color that surprised me, it was the fact that they were staring into mine as if they were memorizing them. They were gentle, compassionate, and—worried. But how could that be? I didn’t even know this person.

             
We both stood, each of us still holding onto the end of the same paintbrush. He chuckled, seemingly nervous, and I returned the laugh. He was the cutest guy I had ever laid eyes on. Handsome wasn’t the word that described this man. He had his black hair swept to one side, covering most of his forehead, with sweet squinty eyes surrounded by long, dark lashes, dimples on both sides of his chin, and the straightest, white teeth I had ever seen on anyone outside of a magazine. The word ‘adorable’ described him utterly and completely.
What was I doing, staring at this guy? I didn’t have room in my life for a man, no matter how cute they were.   

             
He glanced down at the paintbrush and quickly released it. “Oh, sorry,” he said, rubbing his hand through his raven hair. “Um, are you alright?”

             
I blinked rapidly a few times, coming to my senses. “Oh, uh, yeah,” I shrugged. “I’m fine.” Then I shook my head. “I mean, no! I’m not fine! Those careless kids knocked over my painting and ruined it!” I barked, my previous anger returning to me. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you, of course. Forgive me,” I said placing my hand to my chest and continuing to pick up my things.

             
“No need to apologize. I saw the whole thing. Kids nowadays are more into themselves than others it seems. Here, let me help you.” He knelt again and helped me collect all of my things. 

             
“Thank you,” I said, taking the last of the items from his hands.

             
“Oh, my name is Tucker Mitchell,” he said, extending his hand in greeting.

             
I quickly shoved all of the things under my arm to free the other and took his hand in mine, smiling sweetly. “It’s nice to meet you, Tucker Mitchell. My name is June Russell. And thank you for your help.”

             
He smiled in return, a crooked grin that had me mesmerized. When he smiled, his eyes squinted and his nose scrunched in an adorable way. To my surprise, I actually found myself giggling
. But I never giggled like a silly school girl
. I covered my mouth once I realized what I had done, but the laughter was already building.

             
“June?” he asked. “Let me guess, you were born in the month of June?”

             
I pointed my finger at him and winked. “Oh, you’re good,” I teased.

             
He shrugged. “Yeah, well, I work hard at it.”

             
I laughed at him again, which caused him to laugh and scrunch his nose, and that caused me to laugh again. He laughed at my laugh, and I laughed at his. Suddenly, we were both laughing hard and for no good reason. It felt good. I had had a crappy day and now it felt good to laugh, despite the fact that my painting was ruined and I would have to start over. At that moment, I didn’t really care about that as I gave in and continued to laugh. And every time I glanced over at him, he was laughing too, with his crooked mouth and that scrunched up nose. At once, I dropped everything on the ground and bent over in heavy, silent laughter.

“I’m sorry,” I tried to say through the laughter, but it sounded more like a mouse squealing. Now, I knew I was embarrassing myself, but I couldn’t seem to help it. Every time I tried to reign it in, I would laugh some more. Tears were flowing from my eyes as I wiped at them.

              “Oh my, oh my,” I gasped, grabbing my ribs as I tried to catch my breath.

             
“Um, are you gonna be okay, June?” he asked, with traces of laughter still in his voice.

             
I held up my finger to indicate I needed another minute as I forced the last of my laughter to submit, and the thought that I might wet my pants helped too. I straightened. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I needed that. Thanks, Tucker.”

             
He scratched his head as if confused, “Okay, well I’m not sure what I did, but you are very welcome. I’m always glad to help.”

             
“Well, that you did.” I folded up my easel, grabbed my things and shoved them into my bag, and stood straight to face him again. “Thank you again, Tucker Mitchell. You are a wonderful human being.” With that, I strolled past him and back down the beach. Despite my attraction to this adorable young man, I didn’t have time for a relationship.

             
“Uh, hey! June Russell!” he yelled. “When will I ever see you again?”

             
I waved my hand in the air but didn’t turn. “Oh, let’s let fate decide.”

             
“But, but…”

I plastered a huge smile on my face as I continued to walk toward home. Hmm, it was unfortunate that I was happy alone. This Tucker Mitchell looked to be a prize for any girl with an open heart. Too bad it wasn’t mine.

Coming Soon!