Heaven's Touch by Jillian Hart Page A

worry. I promise to help you. Kaylie, do you remember how to use the ladder?”
    â€œDo I!” Eager to be the first one in, the little girl walked importantly the few feet to the access ladder, gripped the big metal rails and backed down into the water. Cadence caught her by the elbow and steadied her while Kaylie gripped the edge of the wall.
    â€œExcellent.” Figuring she’d best get Jacob into the pool before he implemented an escape plan, she called him next.
    Highly uninterested, he climbed into the water and took his place beside Kaylie. No big deal.
    â€œDon’t splash, hotshot,” she reminded him as she called her next student, a quiet little girl.
    Madison was tentative, but she did a good job. As did the next four students.
    She’d left Westin for last, so he could watch the others and see nothing scary had happened to them.
    He looked at her with big eyes, so dark and familiar it was like looking at Ben when he was that age. “Do I hafta?” he whispered so only she could hear, while darting glances at the kids already in the water beside her.
    â€œI’ll be right here. I won’t let you slip, okay?” she reassured him, holding out both hands to help Westin down. “Jacob, no splashing,” she called over her shoulder.
    â€œYou know my mom and my uncle Ben.” Westin nodded as if he were coming to a decision, and gripped the ladder rail with all his might. His entire hand turned white. He shifted weight uncertainly and stretched to find the next step with his right leg.
    â€œYou’re going great. Just keep coming.” She cupped his elbow, gripping him firmly so he wouldn’t fall.
    Tension quaked in his tensed muscles, and his little arm felt so frail. But like Ben at that age, he was tough. He shifted his weight again, reaching downward to the next step before his toes hit the water.
    â€œSee? Almost there.”
    â€œThis don’t grab like the river.” A smile brightened his face and the tension eased somewhat.
    Victory. Cadence helped him to the edge and made sure he was holding on tight. As soon as he discovered his feet touched the ground and his chin was just out of the water, he relaxed and joined in with the other kids hopping and splashing a little in place.
    â€œLet’s see your bubble faces!” she called out. “Everyone show me.”
    She puffed up her cheeks with air and made sure Westin knew to join in. With only a look he was puffing up, too, like a cute little blowfish, and they practiced blowing bubbles in the air first.
    As involved as she became teaching her beginner class, she could never quite forget the tall, lean man in the upper row watching her.
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    Ben couldn’t take it anymore. The big clock on the far wall read 11:50. He’d lasted twenty minutes. He’d given it his best, but he was done.
    Another minute of watching Cadence and he was going to break the promise he’d made to himself. No more regrets. No glimpses back at old failures. Which was easy enough to do as long as he wasn’t anywhere near Cadence Chapman.
    She seemed to be the only person he could see. Every time he deliberately tried to watch Westin nervously lowering his face to blow bubbles on the water’s surface or holding tight to the side of the pool and learning to lie out on his stomach and kick until he splashed, Ben’s gaze strayed to Cadence. Every time. What was wrong with him? He commanded himself to look away. But his eyes kept finding her no matter what he did, and there seemed to be no willpower strong enough to stop him.
    Her dark hair gathered high into a single braided ponytail, she waded between the kids, giving them pointers and encouragement. The blue one-piece she wore was modest, but the color matched her sapphire-blue eyes and the sight of her took his breath away. Her heart-shaped face was softened by the water droplets flung her way as the kids kicked harder and harder. They were