by Elle E Kay
“I’m sorry about the baby, Zach.”
His eyes filled with tears. “Until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t cried since my junior year of high school when my father abandoned my mother and me. Now, I can’t stop.”
She handed him a tissue. “Do you think she’ll come home?”
“I have to believe she will.” He swiped at the corner of his eye.
“You sound confident.”
“I’m trying to have faith. Keep praying for us, Ames.”
“I will.”
They arrived at the airport and he hurried inside to the baggage claim area. Her plane should arrive any moment. Since it had a connecting flight, he’d been able to beat it to Scranton. They watched as passengers made their way to the carousel to claim their luggage. Fifteen minutes passed, and the luggage was gone with no sign of Addison. Then a thought occurred to him. She wouldn’t have bags. She might’ve walked right out of the airport and he would’ve missed her.
He looked at Amy. “We need a car.”
“I ordered a car before we left California. It should be here. Let’s check.”
They exited the building, and there was a car waiting for them. It was a sleek limousine that was about as subtle as a tank. “Maybe the next time we’re in rural Pennsylvania we can order a ride that will fit in better. Maybe you could get us a pickup truck,” he said.
“Sorry.”
They climbed into the back of the monstrosity and headed for Lake Bethel.
When he pulled up in front of Addison’s house, all was quiet. He left Amy in the car while he knocked on the door. When no answer came, he walked back to the car. “My mother mentioned a new cabin rental place on Route 487 in Benton, it’s only about fifteen minutes from here. Head out there and see if you can book a cabin for each of us. I‘ll wait here. She’ll show up, eventually.”
“Are you sure she won’t go to her mother’s house?”
“She’s too independent. If anything, her mother will come here.”
“Call me when you know something.”
“I won’t be able to get cell service without hiking up the mountain, but if Addison comes home, I’ll call from the landline.”
Addison’s mother pulled into the driveway and leaned over the passenger seat pointing toward the stairs. Her eyes followed her mother’s finger. There standing on her top step was the man she’d been fretting about the entire ride.
“You should’ve known he’d follow you.”
“He’s a fool.”
“No. He’s in love.” Her mother reached over and gave her a hug. “I’m going home, so you two can have some privacy.”
Privacy. Something she’d dreaded from the moment she said ‘I do.’ She let herself out of the car and walked toward her waiting husband.
“Why did you leave me?” His eyes were glassy with unshed tears. “You promised me you’d stay.”
“You know why I left. I’m sure Amy told you everything.”
“She did, but I deserve to hear it from you.”
“Yes. You do.”
“You’re my wife, you can’t run off whenever there’s trouble.”
“I know.”
“What do you mean, you know? If you knew, why did you leave?”
“I didn’t know when I left, but I know now.”
“Mama Scott?”
“Yeah. She set me straight.”
“Can we go inside?”
She took her key out with shaking hands and attempted to insert it into the lock. After her second failed attempt, he gently removed the key from her hand and unlocked the door. He waited for her to enter and then bolted the door behind them. “Let’s talk about it, Addison.”
She glanced around her house. “I left this place a mess. Clear a spot and take a seat.”
“It’s not a mess. You’re neurotic.”
“Did you come all this way to make fun of me?”
“No. I didn’t. I came here to bring you home.” He glanced around the room. “I need to use your landline.” She got him the phone, and he made a call to Amy letting her know that he’d be staying the night. Then, he turned back to her. “How did I miss your plane and get here before you?”
“I flew into Philadelphia. The flight to Scranton was booked to capacity.”
“I see.”
“I’m glad you came.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“I am now.”
He gave her his most charming smile as he stepped closer. “Will you come home with me?”
“I’m exhausted. Can we talk about it tomorrow?”
“No. That’s a cop-out. Don’t you think I’m exhausted? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through in the last few hours?
“I think I do.”
“Then tell me why you left me. I don’t want to hear Amy’s version. I want to hear yours.”
“I don’t want to repeat it. It sounds stupid now that I’ve prayed about it and talked it through with my mother.”
“Tell me anyway.” He settled in on her couch and waited for her to do the same.
“Nikki threatened to hurt you if I didn’t get out of the picture. I believed her, so I left.”
“You left to protect me?”
“Yes.”
“It’s my job to protect you.”
“I think we’re supposed to protect each other.”
“You had to know I would follow.”
“I didn’t. I thought maybe you wouldn’t since I wasn’t giving you what you wanted anyway.”
“You can’t be serious. You’d think that little of me?”
“I don’t know. I’m messed up.”
“Yes, you are if you think I would let you go without a fight.”
“Please don’t be angry. I was trying to do the right thing.” Her chin quivered, but she couldn’t stop it.
“Don’t cry. I’m sorry.” He scooted closer to her on the couch. “Stop crying. Please. I’m begging you. You’re going to make me cry again and twice in one day is too much.”
She didn’t stop, so he tucked her into his chest and wrapped both arms around her. When she stopped crying, he reached for one of the tissues on the coffee table, and he handed it to her. She moved away from him and dabbed her eyes.
Scooting closer to her, he lifted her chin, so she was forced to look into his eyes. “I have a confession.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
“The night you came home from the hospital, you were a tad loopy and shared some of your secrets with me.”
Her face burned as she realized to what he was referring. “Oh, no.”
“Darling, you have to start trusting me.”
“I trust you.”
“No, honey, you don’t. If you trusted me, you would’ve told me the truth without needing to be in a drug-induced stupor.”
“I’m so embarrassed.” She covered her face with her hands, and he pulled them away from her face.
“Stop hiding from me.” He leaned in closer. “I love you.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“I love you, too.” Her lips parted, and he kissed her with a tenderness that lent truth to his words.
“Your secret only makes me love you more.”
“You’re crazy.”
“I’m the one who’s crazy when you’ve been hiding something so sweet and perfect? I prayed for a godly wife, but I never imagined I’d be granted one. I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do.” She wrapped her arms around him and put her head on his chest.
A few minutes passed in blissful silence, before she ruined the moment by pulling out of his embrace. “Zach, what are we going to do about Nikki?”
“I’m not sure what the legal recourse is, but I’m sure Amy is on the phone with my lawyer trying to figure it out.”
“Amy is a keeper. I don’t know where you found an assistant like her, but you should pay her more.”
“I know. She’s probably the bes
t-paid assistant in California, but if you want me to give her a raise, consider it done.”
She smiled.
Zach continued, “I’m sure we should be able to get a restraining order. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a start. After you left, we learned she’d been faking the pregnancy. She was pregnant, but she had an abortion before she even told me about the baby. I had no rights, and she was within her legal right to kill my baby. How messed up is that?”
She put her hand on top of his. “Very.”
“The thought sickens me. I made a stupid, foolish choice by being with her, but now I’ll live the rest of my life knowing I had a child whose mother murdered him.”
Her tone was gentle. “How do you know it was a boy?”
“The ultrasound the private investigator found.”
“I’m so sorry.” She put her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.
“Will you promise me something, Addy?”
She nodded.
“Don’t ever leave me again.”
“I won’t. I’m sorry, Zach.”
Bravely, she stood and held her hand out to him.
“I don’t want you to take this as a rejection, sweetheart, but let’s wait until you're healed. You’re hurting from the accident, and I don’t want to cause you any more pain.”
“Will you hold me until I fall asleep?”
He nodded and took her hand.
Zach was rummaging around in Addison’s kitchen when she appeared in the doorway. “Where are we going to church today, darling?”
“I guess we’re going to my church in Benton.”
“We could go to my mother’s church in Shickshinny.” He leaned back against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles.
“That would be fine.” She rubbed the back of her neck.
“Nah. We can go to your regular church. It’ll give you a chance to tell your friends how the wedding went. It looks like we will have to go out for breakfast after church. There isn’t anything in here that’s salvageable. I’m surprised you didn’t clean out your refrigerator before I picked you up for the wedding.”
“I have another confession.”
“Do you now?”
“You may want to sit down for this one.”
He sat at her kitchen table and watched her as she paced back and forth in front of him.
“I thought you were joking with the emails about getting married. Not for one moment did I think you were serious.”
He put his feet up on a chair. “How were you ready? Your mother and sister came to the airport. You had your wedding gown.”
She picked at her nail polish while she answered him. “I told my mother about the emails, and she, thankfully, took them more seriously than I did.”
“I can’t imagine your shock when I showed up on your doorstep. Why didn’t you tell me?” He busted up laughing.
She raised her gaze to meet his. Her cheeks were as red as he’d ever seen them. “Embarrassment mostly, and the money you’d shelled out to prepare for the wedding. I didn’t want to disappoint you, plus there was that part of me that desperately wanted to marry you and hoped you weren’t joking the whole time.”
“I think that’s my favorite part of you.”
“Which part?”
“The part that is madly in love with me even though she hates admitting it to herself.”
“It is?”
“Are you glad we’re married, darling?”
“More than you can imagine.”
He stood and crossed the room taking her into his arms being gentle, so as not to hurt her while her ribs healed. “Do you know how much I love you? How much I’ve always loved you?”
She shook her head. His lips lowered to hers, and he kissed her with a hunger he hoped would show her a fraction of the depth of his feeling for her. When he ended the kiss, she lifted her lips to his and kissed him again. Nothing could’ve pleased him more.
Zach escorted his bride into her church to the whispers of several of his former neighbors. He’d forgotten that about small-town life. Everyone in Lake Bethel knew both of them, and when one person found out about the wedding, it would’ve spread through the congregation and the rest of the town in a nanosecond. He grinned down at his bride and laced his fingers through hers. Might as well let them see how in love they were so they could stop speculating. “Isn’t that your sister?”
She visibly flinched. “Yes. That’s her.”
“Is that Ben she’s with?”
“It is.”
“I thought he moved back to Maryland when they divorced.”
“They’re not divorced.”
“I thought they were.”
“Separated.”
“Oh.”
“I guess we should sit with them.” She made her way to their pew and slid in beside her sister. He followed suit.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Addison poked Parker in the ribs with her elbow.
Parker leaned close to her sister. “I guess what you said got to me, so I came to a Wednesday night meeting, and the pastor suggested I come again today.”
“I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Addison glanced over at Ben and waved her fingers in his direction.
“What are you doing in Pennsylvania?”
“It’s a long story that involves his crazy ex-girlfriend, so I don’t think we have time to squeeze it in before the sermon. Come out to eat with us after, and I’ll fill you in.”
“Is it okay if Ben joins us?”
“He’s welcome. He is still your husband, right?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“Well, he’s family, so he’s welcome.”
“Thanks.” Parker gave Addison a brief hug before they were asked to open their hymnals and sing hymn number 350 “Tis’ So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” He reveled in the sound of his wife and her sister’s voices as he sang along with the rest of the congregation. The two would make a great duet, a soprano and an alto, both voices strong and clear. The words of the song called him to reflect, and once again he recognized his failure to trust in Him who gave him life.
The flight back to California was so much nicer than the commercial flight she’d taken to Philadelphia. She leaned against her husband and reveled in the feel of his muscular arm across her shoulders. When she nuzzled his neck, he groaned.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You’d better stop that if you want me to behave myself.”
Not wanting to push her luck, she eased up on her flirtations. It felt great to be free to show affection for him now. The weight of her secret had prevented her from expressing herself. Now, she felt unencumbered.
When they arrived back at the mansion, she practically skipped to the front door. A shot rang out before she could get inside. A glass panel inches from her head exploded. The driver dove on top of her to protect her from the next shot. Another man inside the house opened the door and drug her inside. Then the driver followed them inside and barked out orders. Several armed men ran outside and covered Zach so he could get inside safely.
“What’s going on?” Her voice trembled as she searched Zach’s eyes. “Who are these men?”
“They’re our bodyguards.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you hired bodyguards?”
“I was hoping to be discreet about it, but after what happened to you and Javier, I thought a bodyguard was a safer option than a regular driver.”
“I should say so. I think he saved my life.”
“It seems he did. Let’s go upstairs. They’ve already contacted the police, so we don’t have long before we’ll have to give our statements.”
She heard another gunshot. “Someone is still out there shooting! Do you think it’s Nikki?”
“Most likely.” He rubbed his temples. “I don’t think anyone else wants us dead.”
They hurried upstairs to the master bedroom, and she tried to shake off the dread that was building in her stomach.
When would this come to an end?
Alternating between pacing the floor and cuddling up under a blanket on the loveseat, she waited for the police to call her downstairs to give her statement. There wasn’t much to tell them, so it didn’t take long. Back upstairs, she clung to Zach, grateful that he hadn’t been hurt. Hours had passed since the attempt on their lives, but every noise in the house made her jump.
Zach stared into her eyes. “I think we should go to a hotel for the night.”
“I can’t be afraid in our own house. I’ve got to get used to living here.”
“No you don’t. If you have trouble with it, we’ll move.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Crazy, yes. If that means I’d move anywhere for you.” He packed a bag for her. “We will stay in a hotel tonight, I’ll have Ames set something up. We need not decide tonight whether we want to move.”
“Amy doesn’t know about this.”
“No. I imagine she doesn’t.” His brow furrowed. “She’s not going to like it.”
Amy grabbed Addison’s arm. “Who's the hotty in the hallway, and why did I get the third degree before being allowed to see you?”
“The ‘hotty’ in the hallway is our bodyguard.” Zach answered for her. “He saved my wife’s life this evening.”
“Saved your life? How?”
“Someone tried to shoot me. Or else they intentionally missed by inches. Who can know?”
“The nut who tried to shoot you would know. Did they get her? Was it Nikki?”
“Surprisingly, no.” Addison let out a deep sigh. “She has an airtight alibi since she was in jail at the time of the shooting.”
Amy crinkled up her nose. “No way.”
“Yes way.” Addison flopped down on the bed. “I’m sure she was involved, but we need to find the proof.”
“I’d like to know how we’re supposed to start a family with crazy people trying to shoot at us.” Zach paced the floor.
“Whoa there, Zach. Take your time. You’ve only been married for two-weeks. Give the girl some breathing room.”