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Sarah ran. She ran to the side of the barn and stood looking up into the stormy sky. The world seemed as confused as her. As angry as her. She saw the clouds moving overhead and the lightning strike across the sky. The wind started kicking up and she stood there just watching it.
The tears stopped and she just listened as her mind played over and over again the words. ‘I knew Trent.’ ‘I met you once.’ ‘He said that if anything happened, at least he would know that he tried to help his parents find love, but if not, he was fine with it, because his Mom deserved to be loved by someone like me, who would love her and never walk away.’
“Oh, Trent, why? What do you want me to do?” Sarah just stood looking at the sky.
“He wants you to do what you want, Sarah. He wants you to be happy.” Brody spoke from behind her.
Sarah turned and met his eyes. “Why? How did you find me?”
Brody shook his head at her, “I didn’t find you. You found me. I had no idea who you were until you turned and looked at me. I knew your face. I’d never forget it. I saw it every night. After losing Trent, I tried not to see it every time I closed my eyes, but it was there, Sarah. You were always there.”
“No, Brody. No. How could you say you fell in love with me? You didn’t even know me. I can’t do this again. You can’t be in love with a fantasy you’ve made up. Ted did that and look where that got me. I can’t do this, Brody. My heart can’t take it.” Sarah turned her back to him.
“You're wrong, Sarah. I did partially fall in love with you, in a fantasy. But you were real to me. Trent and I talked all the time. He told me about you. About him growing up, about the woman you were. The strength you taught him. I felt like I knew you. When you showed up here, I realized I didn’t know the half of it. The first time my eyes met yours, I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I would never recover from that impact.”
“Stop it, Brody! Just stop!” Sarah let the anger fuel her. “You don’t know me from pictures and conversations with my son. There is no way.”
“That’s where your wrong, Sarah. That picture, I still have it. I’ve looked at it a hundred times. I never gave it back when Trent was killed. I couldn’t. I couldn’t let you go. I have a few pictures of Trent and I, as well, I can show you when you are ready, but don’t tell me how I feel. Actually, meeting you was something I never thought would happen, but I’ll be damned if I’ll throw away this chance meeting. I’ll be damned if I won’t fight for you. I’m not Ted. I’ll never be Ted. I want you in my life. I want Bella in my life. I know we have a lot to know about one another, but I’m willing to learn, Sarah. I’m right here. Just turn around, please, Sarah. Give me the chance.”
Sarah heard the pleading in his voice. She heard the words he spoke to her, but could she do this? She barely knew this man, but yet she felt like she’d always known him. She felt something every time he looked at her. Every time he touched her. His words, ‘From the moment I looked at you, I saw nothing but strength, courage, grace, and absolute beauty.’ Those words struck her hard. She spoke them out loud to him, “Tell me, Brody, those words, were they from the day you met me, or from the day you held my picture?”
Sarah didn’t know why it mattered, but she had to ask. Something inside of her needed to know. She heard him behind her, but she couldn’t turn around. The thunder cracked and the sky opened up and poured down on them. The rain came so quickly that it soaked them almost instantly, but neither of them moved.
Sarah felt him move closer behind her and she held her breath for a moment, waiting for him to speak.
“Turn around, Sarah, and look at me before I answer.”
She waited, but he didn’t say a word. Sarah turned and faced him, letting the tears roll down her face, since they were hidden by the rain. She tipped her head up to meet his eyes and she waited.
Brody reached out his hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek, then said, “From the moment I looked at you, your picture, I saw nothing but strength, courage, grace, and absolute beauty. The moment I looked into your eyes, when you stepped out of the truck and locked eyes with me, I saw the woman who was meant for me. I was given a gift by you coming here and I sure as hell am not going to return it.”
Sarah gasped at the rawness of his words, the honesty behind his eyes, and she didn’t think before she threw herself into his arms. He pulled her to him and lifted her up till her legs encircled his waist, and he backed her up so that her back was braced against the barn.
“I won’t give you up, Sarah. Never again. I lost a chance once to have you when I was a coward and left because I felt like I didn’t deserve you. I won’t do that again. I still don’t deserve you, but I need you, Sarah. I always have.”
Sarah had her hands on his face, and she needed him too, but she wasn’t ready for more. She wasn’t ready for all he wanted. Was she? “I can’t, Brody. I can’t offer you anymore than right here and right now. I’m still leaving. My life is somewhere else and yours is here. I can’t.”
Brody smiled at her and repeated the words his sister told him, “That’s just geography, Phoenix. I want your heart. I want you, I’ll move heaven and earth for that.”
Before Sarah could protest, before she had the chance to say another word, Brody’s lips crashed down on hers. He devoured her mouth with a hunger she’d never experienced. She felt the press of his body against hers and she felt weightless wrapped around him, pressed hard against the barn. He controlled the kiss. He didn’t back down to her whimpers and moans, he just took more. His hips rocked into her, and she felt herself falling apart around him.
The intensity of his mouth on hers, the words passed between them and the constant pressure from his hardness rubbing just the right place, was throwing her body into overdrive. She pulled her mouth from his and moaned.
********
Brody felt her body shaking and he knew she was going to fall apart in his arms, and it was damn beautiful. When she ripped her lips off of his and moaned, he almost lost it himself.
Sarah met his eyes and asked him, “What is happening? Brody, what-”
Her words were cut off with another moan and Brody moved in to nibble her ear and down the side of her neck, while he continued to rub against her and rock his hips into her. He heard her gasp as he continued to nibble, suck, and bite down her neck until he hit that spot just between her neck and shoulder; he bit down and pressed his hips harder into her and sent her over the edge.
“Brody, oh my God!”
Sarah’s body shook in his arms, and he didn’t let up. He continued to nibble the spot he bit, and he continued to rock his hips against her until her grip eased around him and he felt her body melt around him.
“Sarah. That was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever felt or seen. God, you are amazing. So responsive, so incredibly sexy, and I want to do that over and over again to you. Please give me the chance to show you how much I want you and need you. Don’t give up on me. Don’t walk away.”
Brody didn’t let her go. She tried to move out of his embrace, only he had her pinned. The rain still fell around them and Sarah still shivered in his arms. He kissed back up her neck and hovered at her lips, “Tell me you’ll give us a chance.”
Brody leaned in and nibbled her lower lip and Sarah arched her hips into him and whimpered. “Tell me you want this too, Sarah.” He gently took her lips, just brushing his over hers, and then pulled back slightly to kiss down the other side of her neck and nibble his way down to that same spot he nibbled and bit on the other side. Just as he got to the connected spot of her shoulder and neck, the thunder cracked and he bit down, evoking a yell of his name coming over her lips to compete with the sound of mother nature’s wrath around them.
Brody licked the spot and kissed it, pulling back to look in her eyes. “Tell me, Sarah. Tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything.”
Sarah’s hands moved from around his shoulders, into his wet hair, and Brody held his breath waiting for her to say something. Her body was already speaking to him, but he needed to know where her heart and head were before he could move forward. If she couldn’t feel the same for him, he didn’t know if he’d survive. He didn’t know if he’d be able to continue living this empty life that only came alive when she stepped into it.
Brody met her eyes and he wanted to believe what he saw, but he didn’t trust it, he needed her words. “Tell me, Phoenix. Tell me.”
Brody watched as Sarah’s mouth moved and waited for the sound to hit his ears. “I- I, God, Brody, I don’t know what is happening to me. This between us has been pulling me. I’ve not felt this connection before. Not even with Ted. I feel so much right now, but I can’t rush this. My heart can’t take anymore, Brody. I can’t be broken again.”
Brody shook his head. “I’m not going to break you, Phoenix. I want to be there to help hold you together. I want to be there through it all. I want to know that I have a place with you, a place in your life, your heart, and your soul. If you tell me I have that chance, I’ll take that. I’ll wait till you’re ready. I won’t push you. Your life baby, your terms.”
Sarah looked in his eyes and said, “I want that. I need that, but I need some time, Brody. This is a lot to take in. So much has been happening and I need to take a breath. I don’t want to break either of us. Can you give me some time?”
Brody kissed her lips gently. “Yes. I’ll give you time, but I won’t give you distance. I need to touch you. I need to be around you. I want to hold you in my arms. Can I have that?”
She leaned in and kissed his lips, then said, “Yes.”
Brody lost his control, he took her lips as soon as the words left them and he took them hard, sweeping his tongue into her mouth and owning her with the kiss he placed upon her. He wanted her to know through that kiss that he wasn’t giving up on her, he wasn’t going to walk away, and that he wanted all of her.
