The morning light slowly fell over the handsome features of the man lying in the bed in an old farmhouse bringing him to wakefulness.  He opened his eyes and glanced around the room, trying to place where he was.  His hand came up to rub his eyes, but instead met the bump on his head and everything from the previous night came rushing back.

The accident…the cold…the house and lights…the woman…the heat…the pajamas!

JC looked at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed.  10:09. He sat up and groaned, his head pounded with each heartbeat.  He swung his legs off the bed and prepared to stand up. 

Once standing, he swayed a bit before he got his balance back.  He opened the bedroom door and headed to the bathroom.  After closing the bathroom door behind him, he noticed a stack of clean clothes on the counter.  It was his clean clothes from the night before and on top was a toothbrush in a new package, toothpaste, and a hairbrush.  She has thought of everything. 

Finishing in the bathroom, JC walked past the door where he slept and tossed the pajamas on the bed before heading to where he someone singing softly to the radio. 

Laura was quietly singing along with a song on the radio, her back to the living room door as she stirred a pot of chili on the stove.  She was nodding her head and swaying quickly to the beat.  I just love a good bass beat in a song. 

She didn’t pause a step when her cell phone made a sound that meant a text message had just come through.  She kept up with the beat as she opened the phone, read the message, and sent a reply, still not looking up.  Once sending the message, she turned around and glanced up quickly at the clock.  But before she could note the time, she caught JC’s eyes.  Laura stopped dancing instantly, blushing as she realized from his stance he had been there for a while. 

Laura walked over to turn the radio down as she asked, “Good morning, did you sleep well?” 

“Off and on.  You don’t have to stop singing on my account.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard better in your day and done much better than what you just heard.”

“No, I’m serious, as long as you sing for fun or enjoyment, that’s all that matters.”

Laura decided a change in subject was necessary.  “Sit down, are you hungry?  Do you want something for your head?”

JC pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.  “Yes to both, cereal is just fine though.  I don’t usually eat much in the morning.”  He had taken note of the boxes of cereal on top of the fridge.

Laura grabbed the pills out of the cupboard and quickly filled a glass with water.  She placed both in front of him before getting the supplies for his cereal breakfast.  After grabbing a bowl and spoon, Laura noticed JC’s hands were shaking as he tried to open the pill bottle. 

“Here, let me do that,” she said as she brushed his hands out of the way. 

“I don’t know why I’m so weak,” JC said in frustration. 

“What do you mean you don’t know why you’re so weak?  Don’t you suppose that being in the cold for 5 hours could do that?  Or having a bump on the head and being unconscious?  You were in shock.  Speaking of which, how’s your head doing this morning?”

Laura placed the pills in front of him and before she could think, reached up and pushed his hair off his forehead to get a better look at his head.  During her sleepless night, she had convinced herself that his hair had not been as soft as she had remembered. 

She needed no more convincing.  The longer strands twisted around her fingers as she gently moved them aside.  Focus on the injury.  Just put all your attention on the injury. 

“Ummm…I don’t think it’s gone down much since last night.  After you eat, you can lie down on the couch and we’ll put some ice on it.”  Laura finished getting his breakfast ready and placed it in front of him.   

“My head feels like it’s barely attached and the only reason I know it is is because of the constant pounding.”

“I just hope that you don’t have a concussion or anything serious,” Laura said as she sat down at the table across from him. 

JC waited until he finished chewing before he said, “I don’t think I do, I think rest will do wonders.”

Laura laughed, “You can certainly get that here, especially with the snow still coming down. 

JC decided that he liked her laugh; it was full of joy as she looked at him.  Laura got back up to stir the soup in the pot.  “You must have put a spell on my dogs; they usually don’t behave so well around strangers.”

JC realized he had barely looked at the dogs since he had gotten up, he had been so focused on Laura he hadn’t even looked around. 

“Well who do we have here,” JC asked as he called the dogs over. 

“The big one is Kasey and the little one is Freddie.”  Laura said as they started jumping up on JC.  “No, no, get down.”  Laura grabbed their collars and pulled them back. 

“Oh, they’re alright.”

“Not if they jar your head and disconnect it from your body!  I’ll put them on the back porch until they calm down a little.”  Laura took the dogs to the enclosed back porch and shut the door. 

JC quietly finished his breakfast before picking his bowl and spoon up to place them in the sink. 

Laura noticed what he was doing and smiled to herself.  She certainly hadn’t expected a huge star like JC to pick up after himself. 

“Are you ready for the ice pack now?”

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“Go ahead and get comfortable on the couch,” Laura said as she turned and grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer behind her before she walked into the living room and carefully placed it on JC’s head.

“Does that feel better?” 

“Yeah, it does,” JC said as Laura looked deep into his eyes.  She cleared her throat before grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch and covering him up.  She grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table in front of the couch and handed it to him. 

“I should have asked last night, but do you want to use the phone to call someone to let them know you’re ok?  Parents, friends, girlfriend?” 

“Yeah, I’d better, I told my mom that I’d text her last night, she’s probablyfreaking out right about now.”

Laura walked back into the kitchen and grabbed her phone before handing it to JC. 

“Make yourself at home; if you need anything else just ask.”  Laura looked into his eyes once more before returning to the kitchen. 

JC looked around the house for the first time as he laid on the couch after leaving a message for his parents.  It was warm and inviting, not at all like his own mansion.  The furniture didn’t match, but it was comfortable and you could tell that someone lived in the house and didn’t use it as a stopping place.  The pictures on the wall were beautiful scenes of flowers and landscapes.  From his place on the couch he could hear the radio being turned back up and Laura start to sing along again as she worked in the kitchen.  The soft singing lulled him to sleep. 

As JC tried to roll over on the couch, he realized he couldn’t.  That fact more than anything jolted him awake.  He looked down toward his feet and realized he had two dogs lying on his legs.  When they realized he was awake, they jumped up and came towards his hands to be petted. 

“Kasey, Freddie, get down,” he heard in a whisper from the kitchen. 

“No, they’re ok, I’m awake.”

Laura came into the room and sat down in the loveseat across from the couch.  “I hope they didn’t wake you.”

“No, they were perfect angels,” JC stretched and swung his feet to the floor as he sat up. 

“Ha, I know better than that,” Laura said sarcastically.  “They are very rarely angels, but they are interactive.”

“Interactive?”

“Yeah, they don’t sit much.  Not like my parents dogs, who do pretty much nothing.  Give Kasey a ball or Freddie a Frisbee and they will play all day, especially if you are trying to do something else.”

“I love dogs,” JC said as he picked Freddie up and put him on his lap, while Kasey plopped down on the cushion beside him. 

“They certainly like you.”  Then after a pause, Laura said, “Would you like some more medication and the ice pack again?”

JC looked around and realized the ice pack was indeed gone; Laura must have removed it while he was sleeping. 

“Yeah, but I can get it,” JC said as he started to get up. 

“No, don’t worry about it, I’ll get it, you just stay there.”

“Well, I’ll at least use the restroom really quick.”

Both JC and Laura smiled to themselves as they each left the room in different directions. 

Later than night

Laura laughed as JC finished his story over their shared meal at the kitchen table. 

“Aren’t siblings great – always good for some blackmail or telling embarrassing moments?” 

Laura and JC had had a great time eating together.  They had completely forgotten about the snow that continued to fall, time had gotten away from them.  They had finished eating their supper almost 2 hours ago, but had stayed at the table to talk and share stories about each others lives.  Time had flown by and they got to know the real person across the table – not a superstar or a façade. 

Laura looked down as Kasey whined at her feet with a desperate look on her face. 

“I’d better let the dogs out real quick before we have an accident,” Laura said as she got up from the table.  She went outside with the dogs so JC decided to take the opportunity to start cleaning off the table. 

He loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and started wiping down the counters with a wet soapy cloth. 

“It is freezing out there, brrrr,” Laura shivered as she came back into the kitchen.  “Thank you so much for clearing the table.”

“I would put the leftovers away, but wasn’t sure where you kept containers or anything.”

“I think I can handle that.  Care to watch a movie tonight?  If you want, go ahead and pick one out.”

“Sure, what do you want to watch?”

“Anything, pick something you want to watch.”

JC walked into the living room and over to the bookcase where Laura kept her movies.  Looking over the selection, he wasn’t sure what to pick.  Do I go with romantic, comedy, action?  Action, definitely action, JC decided quickly.  While he was drawn to Laura, he wasn’t sure he was ready for any romantic attachments to her. 

“How’s Sherlock Holmes, Laura?”

“One of my favorites,” she called back from the kitchen.  JC put it into the DVD player and got comfortable on the couch. 

Laura walked into the living room and stepped over JC’s feet to grab a blanket and pillow from the seat beside him before she sat down on the loveseat across the room. 

“Hit it,” she grinned from across the room at him.  JC felt his heart take a leap as he pushed the play button on the remote.  “Can you turn the light off, it’s much better if you watch it in the dark.”

JC turned the overhead light off and adjusted the pillow behind his back.  “I live to serve, milady.”

Laura chuckled from her place across the room.  JC decided to take a chance and a leap of faith.  “Why don’t you come over here so you can really stretch out and we can share the blanket?  I’m still a little cold and my head hurts a little.”  JC felt a little guilty when he saw the look of concern cross Laura’s face in the flickering light of the TV. 

“I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you lie down and I’ll hold the ice pack on for you.”  Laura quickly grabbed the same frozen bag of peas from the freezer as JC made room for Laura sit down on the cushion at his head. 

Once Laura sat down, she placed a pillow in her lap and patted it to suggest to JC to place his head down.  Once he was in place, she gently placed the cold pack on his temple. 

“How’s that?”

“Perfect,” JC said looking up into her eyes. 

Laura jumped a little when the music increased in volume on the TV to signify the start of the movie.  “Oh, look, the movie is starting.”  Laura let out a shaky breath as JC turned his attention to the movie. 

Then it was JC’s turn to release a breath as Laura’s hand settled into his hair, normally she was not so forward.  He held his breath as her hand began to massage his scalp.  He couldn’t stop himself as a moan of pure satisfaction escaped his lips. 

Laura giggled when she heard that.  “Are you in pain, should I stop,” she said jokingly. 

“Ahhh…don’t ever stop.  That feels so good.”

“You know, what goes around comes around.  I’ll be expecting my scalp massage later.”

JC grabbed her hand that held the ice pack, neither noticing when the pack fell to the floor, and looked up into her eyes, saying seriously, “Name the place and time and I’ll be there.”

Laura found she couldn’t look away from the honesty in his eyes.  Her eyes roamed over his facial features as he raised his head up toward hers.  With his free hand, JC reached up and placed it behind Laura’s head to guide it toward his approaching lips.  Their eyes closed as their lips touched so very lightly.  Even at the light touch, fireworks seemed to explode around them both, Laura sucked in a breath, and JC took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.  Neither of them had ever experienced anything like what was happening between them.  Their souls connected and nothing else existed but the two of them.  JC slowly pulled back and took the hand from behind Laura’s head to brush the hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear.  He let out a shaky breath, looked deep into Laura’s eyes, smiled, and turned back to the movie that neither of them were paying attention to. 

Laura’s hand came up to rest against her still tingling lips as her other resumed massaging JC’s head.  Her entire world had shifted and she knew that nothing would be the same again. 

JC had the same thoughts running through his mind.  He had felt as if he had found what he had spent his life looking for.  His eyes brightened as he felt the trembling in her hand that was running through his hair. 

Not much was said during the rest of the movie.  Each of them was concentrating on how they were feeling.  JC couldn’t get over how cared for he felt as Laura ran her fingers through his hair.  And Laura was trying to get over the sparks she was experiencing after JC had pulled her hand to hold on his chest, occasionally brushing his thumb over her fingers.  Nothing would be the same again. 

After silently finishing the movie that neither paid much attention to, each went to their separate bedrooms to prepare for bed.  They each faced a sleepless night, tossing and turning and trying to understand what was happening between them.