Page 9 of Betrothed

I didn’t know him then. I didn’t know the way Zeke worked himself to the bone for Blooms and everyone in the house. I didn’t know he’d given up everything—given up law school to help his sister. Didn’t know that he’d finished his degree in the sparse hours of the night only when everyone else was taken care of. Didn’t know that he provided all legal services to the women in the house at no charge. AndI didn’t know that my stomach would continue to flutter every time our eyes met or the rush of heat that would occur any time we happened to touch.

I didn’t know any of it, and it was for the best.If I knew then what I knew now about Zeke Williams, I would’ve had a harder time resisting him.

Harder but not impossible.There were other, more important reasons to ignore the attraction I felt. Actually, only one reason. The most important reason.Jake.I couldn’t have one misstep if I was ever going to see him again.

“You know he has a lot on his plate, Callie,” I said with a sad smile. “He doesn’t even have time to set up his real office…” I flicked my eyes around the room one more time and shook my head. “At some point, I will bring this to him, but I’m not there yet, and I’d rather have all my ducks in a row when I do.”

“Okay.” She bit her lip, her eyes scanning my expression. “You know you can trust him, right?”

That was the crux of it.Ididtrust him, just not completely. Not yet. And it had nothing to do with Zeke and everything to do with me—everything to do with Stan and the life I’d led for the last eight years.

“Of course.” My chin dipped with the weight of my half-truth.

“Okay. I just can’t file anything for you or give you legal advice. I can only give you the literature. Zeke would have to…”

“I know,” I assured her calmly and repeated my promise, “And I’ll talk to him about what’s going on when I’m ready, but for right now, I just want to read all the right information for myself, so I understand what needs to be done.”

At some point, I was going to have to bring this to him. My greatest vulnerability.But that point wasn’t now. I would do whatever it took to get Jake back.Anything.And I wasn’t ready to trust Zeke until I was sure he’d fight justas hard—as boundlessly—for my son as I would.

“Okay.” She released my arm. “I’ll have those books waiting for you when you get home.”

“Thank you.” Goose bumps prickled my skin, and I checked my watch. “I’ve got to run.”

“Yeah. Go. And if you need anything for the Beach Bash, let me know.”

“I will,” I said over my shoulder and beelined for the door.

“Kenzie…”

I paused and looked back at her.

“I just want you to know that if you need anything or want to talk, I’m here.” Her kind smile made my chest squeeze. “I know you have a lot of resources at the house, but I just mean as a friend.” Her eyes dropped for a second. “I know how hard going through recovery can be. My sister went through it… and an abusive relationship. Not that it’s the same for everyone,” she rambled, her compassion shining like the sun through a thicket of clouds.

“Thank you,” I choked out, fleeing down the hall before she could see the tear that managed to escape.

As soon as I stepped outside, a raindrop splattered on my nose.

Crap.

Clouds darkened the sky, the low rumble in the distance an ominous threat. It was that time of the summer when storms came on hard and fast. I wasn’t all that worried; my work for the night was indoors, but if it was still raining by the time I left the gym, I’d have to grab a taxi, and I didn’t want to spend the money.

Reaching the edge of the sidewalk, I switched my bag of supplies to my other shoulder, checked for traffic, and then jogged across the street to the famed coffee shop, catching its red-haired owner on her way out.

“Hey, Laurel.”

“Kenzie! Hi,” Laurel greeted me with a hug like I was family rather than just the woman who cleaned her business. “How’s everything going?”

“Good.” I beamed and nodded, afraid that she might’ve seen me come out of Zeke’s office.

I cared about these people; I truly did. The way they welcomed a recovering drug addict without judgment or bias brought tears to my eyes on so many occasions. They never once looked at me like I was broken or something to be pitied.But none of them knew the extent of what I’d been through and the danger that still existed. None of them knew that dragging my body out of a narcotics addiction was the easy part of this battle.

“Oh, good. I left you a plate of lemon poppyseed muffins on the counter because I know they’re your favorite.”

“I think they’re everyone’s favorite,” I countered wryly.The lemon poppyseed muffins at Ocean Roasters were their most popular pastry and the first thing to sell out every morning.And she’d saved some for me.Once again, my chest squeezed.

“Well, that might be true, but these are yours to share as you wish.” She winked.

I laughed. “Thank you.”

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