Page 40 of Keeping Her Safe

“You did pretty well last night.” He slid closer to her.

“No, I didn’t. I know my weaknesses. My mom never wanted me here. Sometimes, I can feel her disappointment in me, just for being here,” Zephyr said.

“You don’t know she didn’t want you here,” Zachary argued.

“I know she didn’t. Even if Charley had let her come back, she wouldn’t bring me here. When I was nine, we got evicted and lived in our car for five months. She still worked, so I would sit in the car in the parking lot for her shifts. It was hot; that’s what I remember. That summer, we had nothing; she sold anything worth anything. We were at the bottom, but in reality, she had a house here that we could have lived in. But she never brought me here because she didn’t want me here where her girls were.” She looked at the house across the street with tears in her eyes.

“Your sisters lost their mom young and never knew what happened to her. Their dad was cold and uncaring to them. He treated both Della and Zoey like garbage until the day he died. They have scars too; Kate Hart left all her children scarred.” He had pulled her into his arms and was rubbing her back.

“She did. They deserve to know she’s dead,” she whispered through her tears.

“They do, but only when you’re ready.” He pushed her away slightly and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

“So, we’re going to a pumpkin patch?” she asked.

“Yep. We’re riding with Max and Della and the girls,” he said, getting up and pulling her to her feet. Before he let go of her hand, he lowered his lips to her still-damp cheeks and kissed each one before gently kissing her on the mouth. With the arm that was not holding her hand, he circled her waist and pulled her tighter to him. “You are beautiful, Zeph, even when you cry.”

“You don’t have to say that, Zachary,” she whispered and looked away from his brown eyes.

With his hands, he turned in her face so that it was looking at him. “No, I don’t have to tell you how beautiful you are, but I am going to because you are. Every time I see you, there is something about you that takes my breath away. I loved the long, wild curls that would wrap around my fingers when my hands went into them. I love the straight, sophisticated beauty that you have right now. And I love that it curls up when it gets wet, defying your attempt to tame it.”

“It’s just frizzy red hair.”

“And that’s just your hair, beautiful. Tonight, I’ll tell you how beautiful the rest of you is.” He kissed the top of her head, right on the hair he loved so much, then he pulled her out of the room and down the stairs. They got their coats, hats, and shoes on and waited for Max and Della.

They went outside to wait, and thankfully, it wasn’t as cold as it had been the night before. Zephyr was happy that the sun was out. As she leaned against the railing and looked around the neighborhood, Zachary walked up behind her and pulled her back into his body. She leaned her head back against his shoulder as his hands slipped under her coat and sweater to rest on her stomach.

She felt him gently bite her ear and whisper hotly, “Do you know how sexy it is that I am reading a book you wrote while you’re writing a book about the same people not six feet away from me? That you’re weaving a story as I am reading it. One day, I will read that story, knowing I was watching you as you wrote it.”

Moaning at his words and his touch, she whispered back, “Do we have to go?”

The response she got was a laugh, and he quickly spun her around and kissed her. Drawing her tongue out with his, he deepened the kiss until a horn honked nearby. Her eyes were not able to focus as he pulled away and said, “They’re here.”

The ride to the farm was shorter than Zephyr had thought it was going to be. When they’d left the porch, her body had been keyed up, and it hadn’t dissipated during the drive. She and Zachary were sitting thigh to thigh in the tiny backseat of the van. The entire time, he had either held or played with her hand. She got the feeling he loved the fact that their hands were complete opposites, his being large and brown and hers being small and pale. During the trip, he had put their hands together to see how much bigger his was than hers. He spent time analyzing the scars and marks on her hands. At one point, he had slid her mother’s ring off her hand and looked at it, then slid it back on.

When they had finally arrived at the farm, there were over a dozen cars in the yard, all families eager to get the best pumpkin. Evie was watching them as they arrived, sitting in a lawn chair by a cash box.

As the group approached her, she got up and gave Della a hug, and then the two little girls got one as well. The girls took off towards the swing set, and the adults were left alone.

“Evie, you remember Zephyr and Zachary, right?”

“From last night, yes.” Evie turned to the younger couple.

“Hi, Evie. Jasper was at our card game today,” Zachary said.

“Is this where you grew up, Evie?” Zephyr was breathless.

She had always thought she would have no feelings for the place. Her mother had loved it and hated it at the same time. Zephyr had been brought up on stories about both the greatness of this land and the prison it was to Kate. Now she looked around and felt that this was home, the type that you could spend a lifetime somewhere else, but as soon as you took one step on this land, you belonged.

Home. She looked around and wondered if she had said it out loud, but Zachary was talking to the couple and Evie. Zephyr was able to wander off. At this point, she didn’t care what anyone thought. She had waited a lifetime to stand here.

Feeling Zachary’s eyes on her, she knew she was safe and knew he would protect her. He would let her do what she needed to, even if he didn’t understand it.

Fourteen books, thousands of words typed and handwritten, and close to ten years of time, all to describe this place. Every book took place on this farm, a farm she had never seen; never smelled. But it was all here. No matter where the characters traveled, it was here. Her mother had spent years talking about this place, imprinting it on Zephyr’s mind.

Slowly, she sat down in the grass and picked a small piece of the short lawn and analyzed it. Smelled it, touched it, tasted it. Then she dropped it in its many friends. She remembered smells her mom would talk about. The air was clean.

Soon, she felt Zachary sit down behind her and pull her to his chest. She closed her eyes and leaned into his strength. “It’s okay, Zeph,” he whispered.

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