Honor jerked in her seat as she seemed to crash land back into the present. “I-I’m here,” she managed to acknowledge before she leaned forward to bury her face in Zeke’s neck. “I hate remembering,” she whispered against his warm skin, inhaling his fresh pine scent deeply. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Sometimes I get caught back there and it’s hard finding my way back.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, baby. Nothing at all,” Zeke assured her gently, his kind words sincere and heartfelt. “I just wish sometimes I could go back with you so I could drag you out of those memories.”
“Me, too,” Honor admitted with a watery chuckle. After a long silent minute, she softly uttered words that nearly broke his heart. “I’m afraid they’ll get me next time, Zeke. They’ll get me and finish what they started. They’ll destroy me.”
His arms constricted around her as she gave voice to her worst fear. “I will NEVER let anyone hurt you like that again. I don’t care what Suarez said before he died. I don’t care what I have to do. I will not let those animals touch you. Anyone that wants to harm you is gonna have to face me first, and if you remember, I make a fairly formidable opponent.”
“I know,” she sniffled, wiping her finger under her damp nose before lifting her head to look at him with still wet eyes. “You can stay,” she murmured. “Heck, you’re the only one besides my family I could even tolerate staying in my space. But I’ve got a condition, too. I want a Christmas tree. And not that fake one that I was trying to drag down from the attic. I want you to take me out in the woods to find a real one.”
Zeke grinned as he heard his woman trying to bargain with him. Honest to God, he’d find a way to bring her the moon if that’s what she really wanted, but he couldn’t help having a little fun with her first.
“It’s like ten degrees out there, Kitten? Do you know what happens to a man’s gonads when they have prolonged exposure to those kind of temperatures?”
“Nope. Nor do I care. I want one of those Douglas firs that daddy planted on the back of the property,” she clarified, remarkably unconcerned about the horrors his dick might face in the elements.
“Your sisters won’t like it if I drag you out in the cold and you get sick, you know. You just had surgery a few weeks ago,” he pointed out as Honor stood and hurried toward the rack where the warmer coats were hanging. “I’m takin’ my life in my hands if I agree to this.”
“God detests both whiners and wimps, Ezekiel and you are doing a stunning impression of both right now,” she declared as she slid a thick coat over her narrow shoulders.
“God created the McKinnon girls, Kitten. He gets where I’m coming from right now,” Zeke stated dismissively, walking across the room to stand in front of her. “But if you truly want me to risk life and limb to bring you your ideal Christmas tree, I’m gonna need one thing.”
“I already agreed to let you live here until you find who’s tryin’ to do me ill, Zeke? What more could you possibly want?” Honor huffed peevishly.
“Another one of these,” Zeke grinned before bending to capture her unsuspecting mouth indeed.
And as his lips molded to hers, Zeke decided it was beginning to look like a very Merry Christmas indeed.
Chapter Five
January 2016
If the month of January was unusually cold in Paradise County, TN, then the temperatures inside the McKinnon household was positively frigid. Because while a truce might have been drawn between Zeke and Honor to get through the Christmas holidays, it surely expired during the first full week of January.
There was an icy war being waged in the normally quiet town, and at the center of it all stood two of Paradise’s most beloved citizens: their hardworking Sheriff, Ezekiel Monroe, and the town treasure, Honor McKinnon. And given the fact that the two primary adversaries currently cohabitated, there was some real concern that the war would eventually become a bloodbath of epic proportions.
Left and right, sides were being chosen, bets were being taken, and battle plans were being put into place… and that was just by Orla McKinnon inside the I Don’t Care Café.
Oh, yes. The power struggle was very real and most people expected all out anarchy to break out at any moment.
And all because of what should have been a tiny, insignificant disagreement.
It was sad. Truly.
But as both opponents refused to back down, the conflict had quickly escalated.
And now the battle raged.
It was clear that someone needed to do something before all progress was lost between the two roomies.
Of course to end the hostilities, one had to understand the origins and history of it…
~~***~~
January 17, 2016
7:24 am
The bell above the café door tinkled as Sheriff Zeke Monroe burst inside, his dark face stormy. Spotting Harmony McKinnon Stone standing behind the counter with her husband Jake, his eyes narrowed. Barely sparing a glance at the patrons of the half-full café, he stomped toward the front of the restaurant. “Where is she, Harmony?”
Biting her lip in much the same way her baby sister did when she was in trouble, Harmony moved closer to her husband. “Sheriff. What a surprise seein’ you here,” she greeted him with a bright smile and a loud voice. Too loud.
Glaring at the eldest McKinnon sibling, Zeke shook his head. He wasn’t a fool. He could see what she was doing. “You can try giving her a head start if you want, Harm, but I’ve got this joint surrounded. The only way she’ll get out of the parking lot is in the back of a squad car. Now, you wanna tell me just where is she?”
Joining her sister at the counter in a show of solidarity, Faith McKinnon Turner adjusted her sleeping baby daughter in her arms. “Now, Zeke, I’m not sure who you think we’re harboring in our kitchen, but…”
“I don’t think anything. I happen to KNOW you’re hiding your baby sister. Deputy Hightower reported seeing her get out of your Aunt Orla’s vehicle. Since the car’s still in the lot, I think it’s safe to assume that Honor is still on the premises. And no matter how sweet that smile of yours is, Faith, I’ve got no problem arresting you for aiding and abetting if you don’t send Honor out here right now!”
“What’s all the racket out…Uh oh,” Zeke heard a familiar aged voice begin to gripe until the elderly owner of said voice locked eyes with him. “Well, hells bells and little green apples! Who ratted us out and called the po-po?” Orla McKinnon asked with an accusatory look at Harmony’s husband, Jake.
Jake held up his hands in humble supplication. “I swear, it wasn’t me, Aunt Orla.”
“Nobody called me, you ornery woman,” Zeke growled, glaring at a woman he’d thought was his ally. “I figured it out on my own when I heard the call over the police scanner that one of my deputies was in hot pursuit of a fire engine red Camaro with an old lady behind the wheel and a young woman riding shotgun. The math was pretty easy from there. Although the next time you decide to commit a crime with your niece, you might wanna rethink your choice in vehicles. Seriously, Miss Orla,” Zeke growled in frustration, “Don’t you think a red Camaro is a bit much at your age? Honestly, they clocked you doin’ seventy in a thirty-mile zone in that thing.”
“Yeah, my baby can FLY! Besides, I was tryin’ to outrun the fuzz you sicced on us,” Orla reasoned with a shrug of her shoulders. “So really, it’s your fault. If you hadn’t put out an APB on Honor, I wouldn’t have been doing my impression of Mario Andretti.”
“Really? How’d evading the cops go, Miss Orla? The way I heard it when Deputy Hightower finally pulled into the lot behind you, he said you had to roll out of the car onto the pavement. If Honor hadn’t been there to help you back to your feet, you’d probably still be out there on the asphalt. Now, for your trouble you’ve got bruised knees and a three hundred dollar fine,” he admonished.
Orla grinned. “Worth it.”
Zeke rolled his eyes at the old woman. “Why don’t you let me go with you this weekend to
pick out a car more appropriate to your age?”
Orla pursed her lips. “Sonny, the day I let my local lawman pick out my ride is the day you’ll find me toes up in the local cemetery. My Camaro has just the amount of get up and go that a woman my age needs. I’ve got to compensate some way, don’t I? Besides, I think you got bigger troubles brewing than my choice in vehicles, don’t you?”
“Come to think of it, yeah, I do,” Zeke agreed, shifting his gaze back to Harmony and Faith. “Your sister, girls. Produce her now or live with the consequences. You both know it’s too soon for her to be back at work, and I can’t believe any of you allowed it,” he said as his eyes swept the family behind the counter.
“I was just the wheel man,” Orla stated dismissively. “They’re the ones that said she could work in the kitchen,” she added, jerking her thumb at her nieces. “They called Patience and took a vote on it though. Honor won by a 2 to 1 margin.”
“That wasn’t a fair vote,” Harmony complained. “If Patience had actually been on the premises instead of safely at home with the triplets, she would have been too scared to vote against Honor, too.”
“So, you caved?” Zeke questioned mildly.
“Do YOU like telling Honor ‘no’?” Faith asked sharply, shaking her head.
“I swear, you gals would help Honor commit a cold-blooded murder and hide the body for her if she asked,” Zeke grumbled tiredly. “As it is, I’ve already got your baby sister dead to rights for vandalism. Do y’all wanna help her add evading arrest and obstruction of justice to her growing list of charges?”
“You are not seriously sittin’ out here publicly contemplatin’ what YOU are gonna charge ME with, are you?” Honor questioned as she stood staring at him just inside the doorway to the kitchen. “You can NOT be serious!”
Inhaling deeply as his eyes zoned in on his obviously irritated female, Zeke reminded himself that he loved this woman. He loved her more than anything in the world and he’d surely miss her if he strangled her. “You. Here. Now,” he growled, pointing from her to the floor beside him.
Honor’s brow raised in challenge. “Oh, I don’t think so. You see, I don’t blindly obey your almighty commands. Perhaps, you should consider getting a dog for that. After you get the devil out of MY HOUSE, of course!”
“Honor, I’m begging you to lose the attitude because you are THIS close to pushing me over the edge,” Zeke warned, holding his thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart.
“What happens then? Do you fall down and go splat?” Honor questioned dryly as her Aunt Orla cackled.
“She gets her attitude from me,” Aunt Orla informed one of the elderly customers sitting at the end of the long counter. “Makes me proud as punch, it does!”
Glaring at the old woman, Zeke reminded himself not to be distracted. “Look, Kitten, unless you want me to arrest you…”
“Oh, please, get over yourself,” Honor sputtered dismissively. “I let the air out of your tires, Zeke. It’s hardly the end of the world. If you’d just listened to reason last night and agreed to me coming to work this morning, I wouldn’t have been forced to take such drastic measures once you fell asleep last night.”
Faith, Jake, and Harmony took a few shuffling steps backward as Zeke’s jaw clenched and his face turned red. “The charge against you would be vandalism, Honor. You tampered with a police vehicle. That’s a crime.”
“Yes, a vehicle which my tax dollars helped to purchase. So really, you could say that I only tampered with my share of your car,” she reasoned easily, lifting her chin as she adjusted her blonde ponytail. “I, however, have several charges I could file against you. And unlike yours, mine would actually STICK!” she yelled, her eyes flashing dangerously as she nailed him with an irate glare.
“This just gets better and better,” Aunt Orla chortled. “Tell us ‘bout these charges, Peanut.”
“Well, let’s see,” Honor began, tapping her finger to her teeth as she pretended to consider the question. “Where do I even start?” she asked. “Hmmm… I think we’ll start with the indecent exposure and work out way out from there. Or should I call it public nudity? Since only I was there to witness it, I’m pretty sure I had it right the first time. Sheriff? Thoughts?”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Harmony interjected, her eyes dancing with eagerness. “What exactly did our good, upstanding Sheriff expose to you, little sister?”
“And why exactly do you want to know, Mrs. Stone?” Jake questioned an instant later.
“Eh, hush up, Jacob. We all wanna know the answer to THAT question,” Aunt Orla retorted.
Zeke stared at Honor in shock. “I’ve never exposed anything to you that you didn’t want to see, Kitten.”
“Not true. Or was that NOT your naked hind end streakin’ through my kitchen on the way to the laundry room just yesterday morning?” Honor returned smartly. “I don’t know of any other strange men living in my home.”
“You saw that?” Zeke yelped, his cheeks turning a ruddy red hue as every eye in the café focused on him.
“Twice. You streaked back to the bathroom when you didn’t find what you were lookin’ for in the laundry room,” Honor informed him, crossing her arms over her gingham apron.
“We were out of bath towels, and I thought you were upstairs in your sewing room,” Zeke grumbled under his breath. “I had to dry off with a hand towel.”
“Well, we might have had a supply of towels if more than just me took it upon themselves to start a load of laundry, wouldn’t we, roomie?” she asked on a hiss.
“Alright, fair point,” Zeke admitted guiltily. He hated laundry, but if it meant that much to Honor, he’d make an effort. “You can stop airing our dirty laundry. No pun intended.”
“No, I don’t think I will, Ezekiel,” Honor replied staunchly. “Now then, let’s talk about how he’s gone and stepped all over my second amendment right to bear arms by hiding all my guns!” she notified the café at large conversationally. “Yep, every single one of my firearms has come up missing since you’ve been staying with me. For somebody that claims he wants me to be safe, you sure don’t care if I’m prepared to meet the bad guy or not.”
“Maybe that’s because you threatened to shoot me on my second week in the house with you. And I’m the GOOD guy, Kitten,” Zeke fumed.
“That was your fault! You messed up all my TiVo programming trying to watch the blame Super Bowl. I’m a girl that – up until recently – lived alone! I don’t give a wooden nickel about a foolish football game. You messed with my Daryl Dixon time, Sheriff, and most women will tell you that’s a shootin’ offence. Completely unforgiveable!”
“She’s right,” Faith agreed with a nod. “I’d kill Cain if he got in the way of The Walking Dead.”
“See! This is what I’m saying,” Honor said, waving a hand at her sister before turning back to face the sheriff. “This so-called lawman had been abusin’ his authority and relishing depriving me of my rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of peaceful blame night where I’m not forced to watch Sports Center on ESPN!”
“I asked you if you minded us watching it last night and you said it was fine,” Zeke countered defensively, reaching up to yank his Stetson off his head and throw it down on the stool beside him.
“Don’t you know that ‘Its fine’, is code for ‘Give me the remote, asshole’?” Jake asked in a low voice.
“Obviously not,” Zeke snapped.
“Oh, enough about the stupid sports show,” Orla huffed. “Tell me more about the sheriff’s naked butt, Honor? Is it as firm as it looks? Can ya bounce a quarter off it and make fifty cents? Did you only get a rear view, or did full frontal come with the show? C’mon gal, important questions need quick answers!”
“Don’t you say one word about the state of my ass to that woman, Honor,” Zeke ordered sternly as Honor blushed.
“The bottom line – and once again, no pun intended – is I think you might have overstayed your welcome in my home, Ezekiel. Much lik
e the smell of fish, unwanted guests begin to stink after the third day and you’ve been smelling something fierce for a while now,” she informed him primly, clasping her hands in front of her waist as she stared innocently at him.
“Now, Honor,” Zeke chided, amused. “What would your mother say right now about that most unwelcoming attitude you have?”
“Holy crap. He brought Momma into it,” Faith whispered violently to Harmony.
“The fool’s clearly lost his mind,” Harmony returned uneasily.
“Moron,” Aunt Orla cackled. “Harriet, God rest her soul, woulda cut your ding-a-ling off at the root for streakin’ in her kitchen.”
“True though that may be, Auntie, I think my mother would be impressed that I’ve managed to maintain my sanity for this long. She raised me to be a good hostess, and heaven knows, I’ve tried. But you, Ezekiel, could make a preacher cuss on Sunday. You’ve been nothing but a demanding, domineering pain in my derriere since you took my house hostage. I swear, you shadow me when I so much as wander toward the bathroom. And when it’s not you, it’s one of your trained monkeys watching me like some kind of science experiment. I’ve had enough! I told you last night that I intended to come back to work and find some kind of normalcy again. You chose to believe I’d cede to your will. Your error in judgment doesn’t translate into being either my fault or my problem.”
“No, but willfully draining the air from my tires most certainly is,” Zeke roared. “What if I’d gotten a call out?”
“The SUV Abel loaned me – but you STILL won’t allow me to drive – is parked in the garage.” Seeing the look of shock on his face, Honor smiled. “Forgot about that, didn’t you?”
Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) Page 11