Page 56 of Sparrow's Grace

Then Mackenzie printed out a few pictures and handed them to me. A tear slid from the corner of my eye as I looked at the images, smiling, then I handed them to Zeke. He smiled at them too, then looked at Mackenzie and asked, “I need six more copies, please.”

I looked at him, confused, “Six more copies. For what?”

He grinned, looked at me and then winked, “Explain my madness later.”

I shook my head. After she printed off six more pictures, she answered a few unspoken questions I had. She looked at me, then at Zeke, and asked, “Okay, that’s the gist of everything. Do either of you have any questions for me?”

At the shake of my head, I looked at Zeke and waited, he looked at me, searched my eyes, and then he asked Mackenzie, “I’m not sure if this is something you’ve asked. But for my peace of mind, I need to know if sex will hurt the baby.”

Mackenzie cocked her brow, then I saw a mischievous glint in her eyes. “And if it will?”

Zeke didn’t hesitate to answer, “Then I’ll keep using my hand in the shower until it's safe for her.”

Mackenzie looked at me and smiled. She fucking smiled wide.

Then she winked at me and whispered, “You got a good one, sweetheart.”

“I know,” I whispered right back and tried like hell to fight another current of tears that were wanting to trail down my cheeks.

Then Mackenzie looked at Zeke and shook her head, “No, Zeke, sex won’t hurt the baby.”

Over the past couple of weeks, Zeke bent over backward to show me that I could trust him.

Maybe this was all too soon.

But you know what? I found myself not caring. Not in the slightest.

And then I looked up into his eyes, saw everything I needed to see, and what I needed to see? Was the man of my dreams, someone who wasn’t perfect, but was perfect for me.

That was when I whispered, “Take me home.”

He froze.

His eyes searched mine deeply.

In a ragged breath, he asked, “Are you sure?”

I nodded, “Show me what making love is supposed to be like.”

“You said you wanted to take things slow?” he asked, breathing deeply.

I nodded, “I know. But… Zeke, I’m ready to live for me. I want you to help heal the scars on my soul. Will you do that for me?”

And before I could catch my next breath, I was up and in his arms as he carried me bridal style out of the women’s clinic and then straight to his truck. All the while, the staff was laughing right along with me.

I was laughing and through my laughter, I asked him, “Zeke, what are you doing?”

“Not taking any chances of you changing your mind,” he said as he stomped towards his truck.

I chuckled, “We were supposed to pay and set up our next appointment.”

I was unprepared for what he did next when I said the wordour. At that word, he froze, looked at me, and when I was finished speaking, he slammed his lips down on mine.

Mackenzie just stood there, and waved and giggled, “Don’t worry. I’ll get the payment from Zeke later and text you with your next appointment.”

Through the open door as Zeke buckled me up. Yes. Buckled. Me. Up. I asked her, “Is this normal?”

She giggled some more, “Yep. Though I have never seen Zeke act like this before.”

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