Zeke, Elizabeth Lennox [readnow .txt] 📗

What to do, what to do?!

Then she thought of something. Could he have gone…?

Pulling out of the parking lot, she made her way out of town. Zeke’s truck was bigger and had better clearance, but her small sedan was determined and she drove it carefully down the dirt road and over the ruts and holes.

There! She saw the flash of blue! It was Zeke’s truck! It was by that spot near the creek!

She barely took the time to turn off her car before she threw open the door and looked around. “Zeke?” she called out.

A moment later, Zeke strode through the trees, his eyes alert. “Abby? What’s going on? What’s wrong?” he demanded, tugging her into his arms protectively as he scanned the area.

Abby laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I was wrong!” she whispered, holding him close. “I was so wrong!”

Zeke froze, barely registering what she said. Especially since her soft curves were pressed against his body and…damn it, she felt good!

“How were you wrong, love?” he asked, not really caring. She was in his arms and that was all that mattered.

“I was wrong to push you away. I love you!” she told him, pulling back so that she could look into his eyes. “I love you so much that it scares me. And that’s why I pushed you away.”

He understood what she’d been going through. “You’re afraid that I’ll die and you won’t know where or why. Like what happened to your father.”

“Yes. But it’s more than that, Zeke.” She moved closer, placing her hands on his chest. “You scare me because I love you so much. So if anything were to happen to you, I don’t know if I’d survive.”

He sighed and pulled her in close. “I’ll give it all up. I’ll resign from the Army.”

She laughed and hugged him tighter. “No, you won’t!” she countered. “My mom arrived and…” she stopped, looking up at him. “Wait a minute. She said that you called her?” She looked at him. “You called my mom?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I saw you one day and you looked awful. I knew that you wouldn’t talk to me, so I looked up your mom and told her that you needed help. That you were upset.” He kissed her. “I sent her a plane ticket because I knew that you needed someone.”

“Zeke,” she sighed, her heart swelling with the love she felt for this man until she thought her ribs might actually crack. “I love you!” she whispered. “I love you so much and I promise I’ll never push you away. But you can’t resign.” She looked at him. “You love what you do. My mom reminded me of that about my dad earlier tonight. My dad loved what he did. He believed in his work and he was good at it.” She moved closer. “She also said that she’d never been happier than when she was with him. And no man had ever measured up to him. So she said that she was glad that she had all those years with my dad.” She lifted up onto her toes and kissed Zeke. “I want to be with you. I want those years, however many there are. I want to know everything there is to know about you, Zeke. And if something happens to you, I’ll know that we had those years.”

“Abby!” he groaned and lifted her into his arms, kissing her and running his hands over her body. “I love you so much!” he told her.

Abby laughed. “Will you marry me?”

He chuckled in response. “Isn’t that my line?”

She shrugged. “Hey, get with the times, big guy.”

He kissed her again. “Yes!”

Epilogue

Abby beamed when she saw the cars pull down the long driveway. She’d been waiting by the window for the past fifteen minutes, so it wasn’t a surprise.

What was a surprise were the doors that flung open and four spirited young children that burst from the vehicle.

Angela, Abby and Zeke’s oldest daughter, yelled out the window. “Slow down! You’re going to hurt Gramma!”

Abby laughed, shaking her head as she pulled open the front door. “Don’t you dare!” she called to her grandchildren, all of whom threw themselves at her, arms and heads knocking in an effort to be the first to hug her.

“Oh, it’s so good to see all of you!” she said, closing her eyes as she savored this moment.

“What’s all this noise?!” a booming voice called out from inside the house. “I don’t believe I authorized any noise today!”

Abby laughed as all four grandkids pulled away, yelling and screaming with excitement as they performed the same ritual for Zeke as he knelt down to their level. Abby smiled at the craziness, thinking about how much she still loved him. He was still just as tall and handsome as ever. The years had slowed both of them down, but Zeke still worked out and he still took her breath away.

“How you doing, Mom?” Angela asked, laughing as she walked up the stairs to the beach house behind her kids.

“I’m doing pretty well, dear. How are you?”

Angela turned and they watched as her husband, Dwayne, greeted Ben, Angela’s brother who had pulled up behind Angela in the driveway.

“How did Ben convince you to drive all four kids in your car?”

Angela groaned. “I lost a bet,” she admitted. Ben and his wife, Jane, stepped out of their car, shaking Dwayne’s hand and laughing about something.

“What was the bet?”

“Oh, I challenged him to a game of darts. Ben won by one point.”

Abby shook her head. “Don’t let your father hear that you lost at darts,” she warned, linking her arm through