Read Healing Trace for Free Online Page B

mourned."
    He handed her the brush. She pulled
the bristles along the curvature of his head. "I wish my hair would lay
straight the way yours does."
    "When you're done getting the
tangles out, gather the hair at the top of my head in your left hand, and don't
let go of the rest."
    She thread her fingers through the
strands, surprised at how much softer his hair was than hers. "Okay."
    "Separate that handful into
three equal groups. You'll have to hold two in one hand, just hook the strand
on the left side over your pinky. Don't worry about keeping it tight, you'll be
able to pull it snug as you go."
    It took her two tries, but she was
able to keep all the groups separated in her hands without losing them.
"All right. I think I got them."
    "Cross the right one over the
center strand, and then the left one over the new center strand."
    "Like a regular braid,
right?" She followed his directions and waited. "What now?"
    "This is the tricky part.
You'll want to go back to the left side, but this time use a free finger to
grab more hair hanging on the edge of my temple without losing the bunch you
already have separated in your hand. You'll want about an inch worth."
    She dropped the hair she'd already
gathered and groaned.
    "Don't stop. You should do
okay now, if you keep the other two strands away from the one you lost hold
of."
    Running her hand back through his
hair, she divided it in a line, grabbed more, and held tight. "Do I cross to
the middle one?"
    "Yes." He trembled.
    She snorted. "Did I give you
the willies too?"
    "Yeah." He lifted his
arm.
    She smiled. Her stomach warmed,
knowing exactly how he was feeling. Who knew braiding hair was such an intimate
act.
    "Okay, I got it." She let
her elbows fall to her sides. "My arms are shaking."
    "If you learn to braid, your
arms will get stronger," he said.
    She couldn't hide her smile. Before
now, she would never have guessed that the man who'd bucked her every step of the
way while taking care of him was capable of lighthearted teasing.
    "What's next?" She pulled
his hair tighter and stretched her legs out on each side of him.
    "Do the same thing on the
left. You want to go back and forth, gathering more hair from the sides each
time and bringing them into the middle, until all my hair is back into a simple
braid that starts at my neck." He lifted his arms and hung them over her
knees. His hands rubbed her lower legs. "Concentrate on keeping the
braiding tight and if you drop one, hold the others so you can pick up where
you stopped."
    She continued bunching his hair,
pulling, rearranging her hands, and keeping each strand separate. Halfway down
the back of his head, she noticed he still stroked her legs. She chewed on her
lip. He made it difficult to concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing.
    "I've ran out of hair to pick
up on the sides." She rested her arms again.
    "Did you end up with three
strands?"
    "Yes," she said.
    "Go ahead and finish the rest
of my hair the regular way now." He dipped his chin to his chest.
"When you get to the end, I'll show you how to tie it off without using a
rubber band."
    The rest of the process was
familiar to her, and she quickly came to the end of the strands. "Here it
is."
    He reached back and took the bottom
of his braid from her. "Watch."
    She marveled at the way his big
hands made fast work of tying the end of his braid. He impressed her with how
easily he'd taught her how to braid hair. Sure, there were stray strands
sticking out around his head at odd angles, but she could see the way the black
strands weaved together and held his hair back from his face.
    "I did it! Now I'll have to
practice on my own hair when my arms regain their strength. Who knew that was
so hard." She wiggled her way around him and stood. "Let me help you
up."
    She held out her hand. He grasped
her wrist, and pushed himself off the floor, until he stood in front of her on
one foot. She reached up on tiptoe and without thinking, kissed him on