Page 10 of Amaze

“You haven’t been to church in fifteen years?”

“To my credit, I hadn’t been in twenty years before we met,” I reminded her.

“That’s crazy.” She shook her head.

“I take that back. I went to my dad’s funeral.”

“Amaze Johnson, you know funerals don’t count.”

“Who’s to say what counts?”

She just shook her head and smiled for a minute. A smile broke through my own lips as I lifted my lukewarm coffee and finished it in one gulp. Wesley wiped her mouth and hands on one of the napkins, then placed it on her plate.

“Church first, Maze. I need to make sure you’re covered before you go making those kinds of moves.”

“I’ll be there. I’m willing to do whatever makes you feel better, Wes. Just let me know the time and place.”

“Let me use the bathroom before we go home.”

I wanted to ask her who said we were going home, but that would ruin my surprise. Instead, I focused on the most important part of what she said.

“Before we go home, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to stay in the place you’re in, or should I find us a new place?” I asked her.

“That’s a good question.”

“You’re the only one who can answer it. If you want to stay there, it’s fine. I don’t have enough rooms for all three of us.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Absolutely.” I nodded.

I didn’t want to pressure Wesley about moving in together, but I didn’t plan on sleeping without her too much longer. Fifteen years was a long ass time to go without my wife. The three months that I added had been torture. Us not being together was over. I just needed to give her time to get comfortable with the idea of us again.

My arms were securedaround Maze’s hard body as the vibration of his bike comforted me. I had missed this more than I could have ever imagined. My dreams and fantasies were nothing in comparison to having the real deal back in my life. I felt like I was living in a never-ending dream. I rested my head on Amaze’s back as I considered his offer to find a new place for us.

I knew the place that I bought for Anthony and I was temporary. I figured it would work to help us start over. It had been an amazing change of direction, being able to live without constant security or cameras all over the place. It was still close enough to Anthony’s school that I could make sure he got there every day.

If I was being honest, a large part of me had kept the faith that Amaze would come back for us. I didn’t feel right living in one place and knowing that he was alive and well in another. It didn’t sit well with me, and it never would. I needed to be near my husband. The only thing that gave me pause was our son.

There had been so many changes to our lives lately that I just wanted to keep some level of normalcy for his sake. I couldn’t just rip him out of his school and change his whole life. At the same time, I knew it wasn’t exactly safe staying when there was no doubt that Zachariah knew where we were. It was time to have a conversation with my son. For now, though, I just wanted to relish in the pleasure of Maze’s company. There would be time to make a decision soon.

With my head resting on his back, I almost fell asleep until we turned and started riding on the grass. I lifted my head so that I could look around and see where we were. My brows knitted, but my face lit up with intrigue as we drove closer and closer to a field full of hot air balloons.

Amaze didn’t stop driving until we were right in front of the field. He parked his bike and helped me get off before removing his helmet.

“This is crazy, right?” he asked, smiling like a big kid.

“Yeah. I had no idea this place was out here. I wonder how often they do this.”

“Let’s go talk to them,” he suggested.

After taking off my helmet, I watched as he walked from the paved parking area onto the grass. I followed apprehensively until Amaze slowed down and extended his hand to me. I sped up and slipped my hand into his.

Maze had never been the nosy one. That was always me. I was curious about how things worked and how often the company brought the hot air balloons here. Although I didn’twant to disturb these folks with a whole bunch of questions, I knew for a fact that Maze didn’t mind doing that.

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