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Zeke’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to him and sharing his warmth. She shivered even though she wasn’t chilled at all. The irony that she now had a different man to lean on in her worries wasn’t lost on her.

Eventually her son would come back to her. Their relationship would grow stronger in spite of this little bump in the road. But until then, she could focus a little more on the relationship directly in front of her.

She twisted her head around and gazed up at the man who had settled her heart. “Zeke?”

“Hmm?”

“I want to say something, but I’m not sure how you’re going to react.” His arms seemed to tighten around her even as he leaned back enough to get a good look at her face.

“You can tell me anything,” he assured her.

“I think I’m falling for you.”

He didn’t move or speak right away. Her heart tripped over itself like a clumsy newborn animal. She shouldn’t have said it. Too soon. This was all too soon.

Her body revolted along with her thoughts and she attempted to pull away from him, but his hold on her remained. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“Agatha,” he said, stopping her struggle.

She still couldn’t bring herself to gaze into his eyes.

“I love you, too.”

Her head snapped up and she gaped at him. “Really?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like this,” he whispered.

She rested her cheek against his chest. “Good. Me neither.”

21

Zeke

Bittersweet.

That was the only way Zeke could describe how he felt about his growing feelings for Agatha. There was so much about her that he wouldn’t have thought he could ever learn to tolerate, like her incessant need to do things herself when any normal woman would have accepted help.

They still butted heads over different issues when it came to the rebuild of her home. It wouldn’t have mattered if four weeks or four months had passed. They still wouldn’t be able to agree on things such as ordering the projects to make a job easier or safer.

Arguments over certain tools and how to use them also occurred, and he was constantly reminded how capable she was. On top of those stressors, he had a secret he was keeping from her, and every day that secret weighed on him more and more. Thomas still hadn’t mentioned why he had lied to his mother, and for the time being it appeared they’d decided to forget the incident had happened.

It might have been difficult for anyone who didn’t know Agatha well to see how much it still bothered her to not know what was going on. But Zeke could. He could almost feel how heavy her heart was, how distrustful she was whenever her son spoke to her. If Zeke wasn’t so worried about Agatha choosing her family over him, he might have just spilled the beans to get it over with. Except this wasn’t even his secret to tell, so he’d suffer right along with the woman he loved if only to spend a little more time with her.

The evenings were what he looked forward to the most. After a long day’s work, they could spend some quiet time together without prying eyes or the frustration over the distance growing between Agatha and her son.

Most of the time they spent together was out in the clearing from their first date. Picnics didn’t happen often, but they weren’t necessary when he could settle back on a blanket in the meadow, hold her hand, and stare at the sky.

Zeke traced his thumb over her soft hand as they looked at the glittering sky. She shifted so her head could rest against his shoulder and sighed. “You know what’s funny?” she asked.

“Hmm.”

“I keep thinking about what’s going to happen when the house is done.”

He smiled. “You’ll get your home back, and so will I.”

She snickered. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She lifted herself up onto her elbow and gazed at him. Her eyes and skin glowed from the natural light of the moon, bright and angelic. “What are we going to tell people when they realize we’re still seeing each other when we don’t have to.”

“What do you mean?”