Falling for Zeke, page 8
“Do you think we could spar? I’d love to learn some techniques taught in that discipline.” Jake pushed his hand through his hair.
Sam’s eyes went wide before her mouth spread into a pleased smile. “Yeah, sure. I’d love to do that.”
“Hey, I want to learn how to take Zeke out with one hit, too!” Rafe yelled from where he played the punch on repeat.
“She can teach all of us her spidey secrets later. We have to get to the doctor, and you all have a job to get to.” Zeke placed his hand on Sam’s lower back and guided her toward the attached garage. The touch sent tingles up his arm.
He smiled in satisfaction as the guys all groaned and picked up their stuff. She snatched up her purse and Eva’s backpack as they passed a side table and glanced up at him with a smile.
“Why are they muttering like cranky three-year-olds?” Samantha stepped into the garage and walked around the front of the Bronco.
“This job is some fancy three-day charity event up in Aspen. There’s usually a lot of prep work, but not much action. Added to that, they’re not happy since they’ll have to stay there the next two nights.”
The rest of the morning went by uneventfully. Zeke waited in the doctor’s lobby while Samantha took Eva back for her appointment. He’d only had one kid come and ask him if he was a professional wrestler or something. He chuckled as the mother rushed up and apologized as she pulled the kid away. Now Zeke, Samantha, and Eva sat in the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub waiting for their lunch to arrive. Eva had begged to sit next to the window so she could watch if any trains came through. So there they sat, squeezed into the crowded area around the bar, at a table up against the window.
He couldn’t help but stare as Samantha helped Eva with a maze on the kids’ menu the waitress had given them. Sam glanced up at him and smiled softly before turning back to the paper. The simplicity of the moment displaced something in his heart, like shifting blocks until they fell into place.
He wasn’t sure when his thoughts had veered, but they now settled firmly into the possibility of a life with these two. Not just at work as part of his team. He fidgeted, his lungs having difficulty breathing. Could he open his heart up again? Was he really considering placing himself in danger like that? Samantha and Eva laughed and shared a hug when they finished the maze. The noise of the busy brewpub fell away to the happiness of this thought. Yeah, the risk would probably be worth it.
The waitress came with their meal, and Eva clapped in delight at the smiley fries lined up next to her cheese pizza. The rich aroma from his French dip instantly made his mouth water.
Eva squealed and pointed out the window. “The train. Look, Mommy, the train.” The train pulled up to the depot across the street, and Eva pressed her hands and face up against the window so she could watch.
“You guys picked the perfect time to have lunch,” the waitress said as she placed Sam’s salad on the table. “The train leaves every day at 12:10.”
“I want to ride on the train someday.” Eva’s eyes were still wide with awe.
“Someday, baby,” Samantha said as she pushed her salad around on her plate.
“I told you to get a sandwich.” Zeke took a big bite out of his and groaned dramatically. He spoke around the bite. “So good.”
She reached over and snagged his other half.
“Hey!” Zeke protested.
She took a bite and closed her eyes, nodding as she chewed. “I should’ve listened to you.”
“We could share. Split our meals in half.” Zeke motioned to their plates.
“You’d do that?”
“For you? Yeah.” Could she see that he meant much more than sharing a meal? That he would do just about anything for her?
She held his gaze, her expression softening. “Thanks.”
He tore his gaze away and pushed his plate against hers to transfer some of his fries. Shuffling his foot, he accidentally knocked up against hers. Instead of pulling away, he kept his foot there, leaning it into her. She looked up, a question on her face.
He slowly smiled, his heart racing in his chest. “Sorry.” He wasn’t sorry at all.
“It’s okay.” Her breathy and low voice eased into his chest.
Eva turned around, her body fairly brimming with excitement, and dug into her lunch. She started chattering around the food in her mouth. Samantha shifted, and just when he thought she would pull her foot away, she leaned it more solidly up against his. His lips tweaked into a smile as he chomped onto a fry. This was turning out to be a fantastic day.
Samantha squinted at the cards in her hands, trying to remember all the rules to this game. She wasn’t succeeding very well. Not with the memories of the day bombarding her mind. She thought about how Zeke had split meals with her, putting the au jus dip in between their plates so they both could dip. Then, when they’d walked across the bridge to show Eva the Colorado River, she hadn’t missed the sense of family that had overwhelmed her and caused her eyes to tear up. Thankfully, she had blamed it on the cold, autumn air that blew strong on the bridge.
Zeke had played with Eva all afternoon while Sam had gotten some work done. Their laughter and chatter had wrapped around her heart and lodged there. She hated to say that she had gotten little work completed, what with all her inner debating going on.
She glanced at him across the coffee table. He had a slight smile pulling up one side of his mouth. He was gorgeous, with his dark brown eyes that lit up every time he saw her daughter. Eyes that seemed to penetrate her soul as he stared at her. She pulled her sweater away from her body twice to cool off.
Zeke shift his cards in his hand, his forearms flexing as he did. She had never really cared much about big muscles, but on Zeke, they equated warmth. Safety. She desperately wanted to know what it felt like to have his powerful arms wrap around her. Not just while he was instructing her to shoot, though how she’d hit anything with his scent twined so completely around her, she’d never know. No, she wanted to experience what it felt like to be captured in his arms for the sole purpose of holding her. She wanted to trace the ridges of his muscles and the design of his tattoos with her fingertips. Whew, it was getting hot. She fanned herself with her cards.
“Are you hot? I can turn the fire down.” Zeke moved to get up, and she grabbed the leg he had stretched out under the table.
“No, I like the fire. It’s homey.” She shrugged and reached for the hem of her sweater. “I think I just need to lose some layers. My Texas blood can’t decide what to do with this Colorado weather.”
She pulled off her sweater, glad she had worn a tank top underneath. When she got herself situated, she glanced across the table, her mouth frozen open to tell him something witty. His stare took her all in, from the top of her head to the tip of her fingers and back up again. It wasn’t the lusty looks she got from men, even Garrett when they’d been together. No, Zeke’s look was warm and left her feeling cherished. She loved that feeling. Her heart hammered in her chest.
“Mama, it’s almost my song.” Eva stood and wrapped her arms around Sam’s neck, breaking the connection that tethered her to Zeke’s stare. Sure enough, The Princess and the Frog movie was at Eva’s favorite part.
“Your song?” Zeke asked as he set his cards on the table.
Eva scurried over Sam, kneeing her in the face and pushing her head back to get to him. He laughed, then covered it by looking stern.
“You just about trampled your mom, squirt.” He easily caught Eva as she tossed herself into his arms.
Sam wondered if he’d catch her if she did the same.
“Sorry, Mama.” Eva barely acknowledged Sam before turning back to Zeke. “Mama said she thought the name in the song was beautiful, and that I was sure to light up the sky and shine bright like the moon.”
“She was right. You shine so bright it almost hurts to look at you.” While his smile was big, Sam wondered at the emotion in his tone.
“Dance with me.” Eva jumped up and pulled on his arm.
“Dance with you?” Zeke made a face. “I’m not so good at dancing.”
“That’s okay. I’ll teach you.”
Zeke stood up fast, scooping Eva into his arms. She shrieked and hugged him tight. As he twirled with her—Eva’s smile large and happy—pain radiated from Sam’s chest and brought tears to her eyes. She blinked rapidly, grabbing her cup and going to the kitchen. She needed distance, space to catch her breath from the scene before her. She knew what it was like growing up without a father. Though Sam tried to be with Eva as much as she could, making sure her daughter never felt the loneliness that had defined Sam’s childhood, she also knew there would always be a hole not having a father created. A safety she remembered from her vague memories of him.
She filled her cup with water, gulped half of it down, then pasted on a smile as Eva called her over.
“Mama, come dance with us,” Eva cried out as Zeke spun her around and lifted her high in the air.
“Oh, no.” Sam moved back to the living room and placed her cup on the side table. “Three’s a crowd and all that.”
She bent to sit when a strong arm snaked around her waist. The smoky, earthy scent of Zeke and Eva’s bubble gum ice cream surrounded her in a delicious combination. Her muscles relaxed into the pull of peace that surrounded her, and she stiffened her muscles with a jerk, placing her hand on his chest to steady herself.
Eva sighed and placed her head on Zeke’s shoulder. “So this is what it’s like.”
Zeke shot Sam a questioning look. She shook her head and shrugged.
“What what’s like?” he asked, jiggling her with his arm.
Eva giggled and wrapped her arm around Sam, including her even more into the embrace. “What that family in my movie feels like.”
Zeke’s eyes widened, and his muscles tensed. Sam’s stomach hardened in dread. What would he say? She moved her mouth to say something, but her words froze in her throat. He gazed at Sam, his body loosening slightly as he nodded. His hand inched up her back.
His eye contact didn’t waver as he swayed to the movie’s music. “Yeah, squirt. This is what family feels like.”
“I love it.” Eva nuzzled into Zeke’s neck.
Sam watched in fascination as Zeke’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His chest expanded as he inhaled, and, as he exhaled slowly, he closed his eyes and pulled Sam up against him. She squeezed her eyes shut against the sting of tears and laid her head against his neck. His heart pounded against her hand in a frantic pace that matched her own. They continued to sway long after the firefly’s song ended.
Chapter Ten
Zeke laid a sleeping Eva into the tent he’d set up for her in the third floor sitting area. When he had first suggested they stay in the main house for the weekend since the guys were all gone on the job in Aspen, he had only been worried about their safety. He felt much better with her under the same roof, even though they were on the top floor and his living quarters were in the basement.
For some reason, one he wasn’t willing to explore too deeply, he didn’t worry as much when Sam and Eva were snug in their place with the guys at their own. But with all the guys away for the job, Sam and Eva had seemed too exposed without the team protecting their flank during the night. Now he wondered if he’d ever be able to relax when they went back to their apartment.
He ran his finger along Eva’s sweet cheek, pulling his hand back and making a fist. He crawled out of the tent, making sure to not make any noise. Then he stood there staring, wondering what it would be like to tuck her into bed each night. What it would be like to actually be a family rather than to just feel like one.
Sam stepped up next to him, her presence expanding his chest even more. “Zeke? Is everything okay?”
He scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t expose his train of thought. “Will she be all right here?”
“Are you kidding me? You saw how thrilled she was with this setup.” Sam’s quiet voice filled with laughter.
“But what if she wakes up in the middle of the night? Won’t she be scared?”
“With how busy the day was, she’ll sleep clear through to morning. Besides, I’ll leave my door open. If she wakes, I’ll hear her.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the entryway.
When she loosened her hand to break the connection, he squeezed his. She glanced down to their joined hands, and his heart raced like he’d just run three miles through the jungle … while being chased. She raised her gaze to his and cocked an eyebrow.
“Are you tired?” He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, sending sparks shooting up his arm.
Her “no” came out more breath than voice as she shook her head.
“Will you sit with me for a while?” He held his breath.
She nodded, and lightness filled him until he felt weightless. He led her downstairs and pulled her to the couch. He motioned for her to sit and had a sense of loss when she pulled her hand out of his. He gathered his courage and situated himself in the middle of the couch instead of the opposite end, laughing at himself when it took almost as much nerve as when he would breach buildings full of enemy combatants.
Sam bit her bottom lip, distracting him so much that he almost missed her question. “What happened with your ex?”
He jerked and leaned away, his mouth going dry. His thoughts rushed for a way to not answer the question without being rude.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “It’s just that you know everything there is about me, and I know nothing about you.”
Guilt slammed into his chest. If he wanted to explore the possibility of something more with her, he had to open up. He swallowed the rock in his throat.
“She decided she wanted a different kind of family than I could provide her.”
Sam’s forehead furrowed.
He sighed and ran his hand over his head. “She met this guy who was better situated than I was, so while I was deployed, she left and got married. Sent me an email telling me we were done.”
“No.” Sam covered her mouth with her hand.
“I never saw her or her daughter again.”
“But you’re loaded.” She whacked both hands over her mouth, and her eyes widened.
Zeke laughed and grabbed her hands away from her face. He traced the lines on her palm. “I wasn’t always loaded. That actually just happened two years ago. It’s been a blessing in setting this business up the way I want to, but I’m glad I didn’t always have it. I might’ve ended up like Gregory Payne.”
“You’d never be like that.” Her insistence warmed him more than the citrus sunshine of her scent.
He squeezed her hand and leaned closer. “Why not?” His voice came out gravelly.
She shrugged. “Maybe you would be, but it’s hard to imagine. You’re nothing like Garrett or Gregory.” She groaned. “I just need to zip my lips.”
He grinned, thinking he knew the perfect way to do that.
“I just wish Chase had ended up being Eva’s father, then this whole mess would’ve gone away.” Sam leaned her head back against the couch.
Her words cooled the fire burning through his veins, and he lowered his eyes. “Why did you wait so long to have Chase get tested?”
“It was hope, the massive hope that my calculations had been wrong.” Her laugh was self-deprecating. “I always was too good at math.” She cleared her throat and turned to him. “So I know your grandpa left you a boatload of money. Were you close with him? What about your parents? Where are they?”
“My dad and grandpa didn’t get along, so I wasn’t able to see my grandpa much. It’s kind of sad since my dad’s an only child and so am I. You’d think they could’ve put aside their differences.”
“You’d think so, but I’m not the best judge of what family would do.”
“You’re a great mom to Eva.” He squeezed her hand.
She lifted her face to him. “Thanks.” She smiled, and the world fell out from under him. “What about your mom?”
The question slammed him back to reality. He cleared his throat. “She left when I was nine. Decided she wanted a new family. I guess that’s the story of my life.”
“What? Why would she do that?”
“To be fair, she and my dad never really got along very well. She got pregnant while they were dating, and they got married. Then she met someone she fell madly in love with, so she left. She was tired of all the arguing.”
“Where is she now?”
“California, I think. After she left, I went back and forth between the two houses. But my stepfather already had kids, and I didn’t fit in with her new family.” Zeke went back to tracing the lines in her palm. “After a couple of years I stopped going, and she stopped pretending to care. My dad and I have a solid relationship, though. I could always depend on him, and my stepmom Jodi is amazing, sending me care packages with essential oils and homemade cookies.”
“Is that why you smell so good?” She sniffed deeply, closing her eyes.
Zeke’s mouth went dry. “Yeah. She worries about me. Sent me some roller bottle full of vetiver and sandalwood. Said it would ground me, calm my nerves. It actually helped, so she’s been supplying me ever since. She sends unique blends to the guys, too. Makes them call her Mama J.”
“I love it, love the way it wraps me in warmth when you’re near.” Sam sighed and leaned into him, placing her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you had them. I didn’t really have anyone, not really. My mom was so busy at the hospital saving lives that she never had time for me. When she died in the car crash, I really found out how stifling loneliness could be. I never want that for Eva.”
He turned his face, his lips brushing against her hair. “She’s lucky to have you.”
She shook her head and stared into his eyes. “No, I’m blessed to have her. She’s everything to me. I would do anything to keep her safe and loved. Anything.”
His breath caught at her ferocity, at her warrior spirit that fought her enemies and conquered them. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, sending a jolt through his body.
