“There will only be two after your next try, right?”
She nodded. “Somehow, I don’t feel as possessive of the other two as I do the ones I’m planning to take on in April.”
“Maybe that means something.”
“I don’t know. All I know is, I’ll give it one more try and then I’m done.”
He reached over and gently moved the sparkling bracelet she hadn’t taken off since Christmas. “There are only two people who know what a huge sacrifice that is for you.”
She bit her trembling lip and then stared back out the window as they approached the dealership. “Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
“For the moment.”
She didn’t want to ask what he meant by that. There were too many directions it could take, and she wasn’t going to open that box.
After loading her car with her things, they stopped at a restaurant and ate dinner. Sondra had been sure she wouldn’t want to eat with all the stress she’d been under, but the missed lunch was enough to destroy her theory. She finished her entire meal and even had some room for dessert.
Zack did a thorough circuit of his condo before he let Sondra walk through the door. When they were settled into his leather couch, he asked, “Were you planning to go to work on Monday?”
She nodded. “I need a couple of days to recuperate. They aren’t expecting me back, and with everything that’s happened, I’m not sure I could face anyone until then.”
He reached over to massage the tense muscles in her neck. “We both need a little down time. I still need to take care of some things in Salt Lake, but I’ll be back tomorrow night and we can do something you want to do.”
“The only thing on my list is to get my laundry done.” She drew in a sharp breath thinking about what the last load of laundry had shown her and then continued, a wobble in her voice, “I have nothing else on my agenda but sitting around with my feet up.”
He patted her leg and then stood up. “Jade gave me a copy of ‘Heaven is for Real’ at the funeral. She said it was a comfort to her. I haven’t seen it yet. We’ve had enough bad experiences lately that I thought we could enjoy a movie tonight. Would you like to watch with me?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice. Bad experiences. What an understatement.
When the young girl introduced herself to the Burpo boy as his miscarried sister, Sondra couldn’t stop the tears. “I’m sorry,” Zack said as he grabbed a box of tissues. “I guess this isn’t a good movie right now.”
She shook her head and then managed as he moved to turn off the player, “No. It’s fine. I think I needed to see this.”
“Are you sure?” He didn’t look convinced.
She nodded and reached to pull him down next to her. “I want to finish this. It’s a wonderful story.”
He settled on the couch, pulling her close, and watched the rest of the movie.
“What a beautiful picture.” She exclaimed as a painting of Christ was displayed at the end.
“I always imagined He looked like that.” Zack said.
“It does make him seem very approachable.” She dabbed her eyes with a fresh tissue. “I needed to see this tonight. Thanks for sharing. Seeing his miscarried sister makes me think that Nikki hasn’t lost any of her babies, after all. Even the ones I carried for her. I think they’re all sealed to them and waiting in heaven.”
Zack bent down and kissed her gently on the forehead. “I believe in a loving, just God, and I think this particular idea has merit. How could a boy who isn’t even LDS nail so many gospel ideas without them being real?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m feeling real hope for the first time since…”
He bent down and covered her lips with his own. The warm sensation of his lips moving gently against hers stopped her thoughts. She closed her eyes and reached around his neck to pull him closer. Reluctantly, he pulled away and stared in her troubled eyes a moment. “I think I need to head to bed.”
A rock settled in her stomach as he pulled away and moved to his room. The click of the tv as it switched to sleep mode drew her attention. She stared at the blank screen a moment, wishing fervently that things could be different. But she had made a promise, and she meant to keep it. The lives of her young relatives depended on it.
She moved leaden feet to her own room. The memory of the truck driver motivated her quick shower. All alone after three nights with Zack, she managed to fall asleep without soaking her pillow. The two tears that escaped didn’t count.
* * *
Zack’s ring tone pulled her away from her laptop. She’d been looking over business emails as a distraction. Who knew her life would be more exciting than the drama of divorce court?
“Hi, Sondra? I’m sending you a picture the dealership sent me. I thought you’d like to see it.”
“Thanks. I’ll check it out.”
“I’m sending it on to the police department as well.” Her heart skipped a beat at his serious tone.
“I’ll call you back after I’ve seen it,” she promised.
She closed the call and then opened the image he’d sent. It was a picture of some kind of tubing. Across the cut metal was a word that looked like “Shattered.” She gasped and buried her face in her hands. She trembled as she re-dialed the last number called. “What am I supposed to do?” Her voice shook.
“You may have to quit your job.” Zack suggested. “I don’t think it’s safe for you until they find whoever is stalking you.”
“I can’t just walk away from my job. I’m a single woman. How am I supposed to pay my bills?”
Zack was quiet a moment. His voice instilled confidence she didn’t think she had. “Last I knew, the certificate we signed says we’re married. I don’t think Jake will mind if you take some time off given the current situation, and your clients might be expecting you to have some time off with your new husband.”
“What about that case I’ve been working on for months? I can’t just walk away from that.”
Zack took an exasperated breath. “We’re talking about life and death here. YOUR life. Maybe it’s time for you to think about your own needs for once. You seem to be very good at watching out for everyone else.”
That stung. His tone spoke volumes.
“I AM thinking about my life. You won’t be around forever. I just can’t walk away from my career. And I really do have bills to pay. Obligations to meet…”
“D&C 83:2 says…”
“‘Women have claim on their husbands for their maintenance, until their husbands are taken.’ I know that one, but you’re not really my husband and I can’t expect you to maintain me.” She protested.
“Well, you are my legal wife. I can handle the maintenance part. Won’t you at least think about it? Clearly, there is someone after you. They’ve killed your dog. They very nearly killed both of us. I don’t want them to be able to try again.”
“If I hide out, they’ve won.”
“If you hide out, you won’t be dead.”
She was silent a moment. How could she argue with that? “Would you object if Jake allowed me to continue the work on my case from home?”
“Which home?” His response was too fast.
“Yours, at the moment. You may think I have a death wish, but I really can’t even stand thinking about going back to my own house right now.”
“Smart girl. When are you going to start looking for a new home?”
“I don’t know. I can’t even think right now.” The image of the word across the clearly cut brake line was nagging at her. She’d seen that same “s” somewhere, and it wasn’t just on the back of Dewk’s house.
Chapter Twenty-One, Endless
Sondra tried to convince herself that her curiosity about Zack’s day had more to do with trying to distract herself from whoever was after her and less to do with how he had spent his day. It was a failed attempt. Given the fact that he had proven he would willingly put her needs first, she wondered what would kee
p him in Salt Lake City on the day after they’d discovered the brake lines had been cut.
When he arrived at the condo later that afternoon, he didn’t enlighten her on his activities. It annoyed her more than she wanted to admit that she didn’t feel free to just come out and ask. Instead, she asked, “When will you be going to Germany?”
His brows drew together in a concerned frown. “The flight leaves on Monday. Did you want me to cancel? I can fly out in a couple of weeks instead.”
Not wanting to act like a damsel in distress despite feeling very much like one, she steeled herself. “I’ll be fine. I don’t see how anyone who knows me would know where this condo is. I feel secure here.”
“I’m glad you feel that way.” Relief flooded his face. “You can stay here as long as you like. I’ll be checking in regularly. If you ever want me back, just call and I’ll take the next available flight.” A shadow fell across his face. “When you do the… procedure… please let me know. I’m within a day’s flight if you ever need me.”
Sondra dropped her gaze and stared at her hands, which were folded in her lap. It took all her self-control to keep them relaxed. She wanted to run to him and beg him not to go. But she’d been a woman on her own for too long, and she wasn’t going to take advantage of him.
The weekend flew by with Zack being courteous and careful. He kept his distance and she ached for something more.
Monday morning Zack walked in the office with Sondra. They both talked to Jake, who was happy to accommodate her request to work from home until the stalker was caught. “Will you be able to attend court?”
“There are enough law enforcement officers there and the metal detectors keep the weapons out, so I don’t see why not.” Sondra said.
“She can use a rental car to drive to court.” Zack interjected. “That way, her own car won’t be at risk.”
Jake nodded. “Good idea.” He stood up to hug Sondra. “We’ll miss you here in the office, but we’ll be in touch.” He turned to Zack and shook his hand. “I can understand your concern over her safety. It sounds like you’re both making some sound decisions.”
Zack sent a concerned look to Sondra. “I’m going to be out of the country, so I’m trusting she’ll be cautious while I’m gone.”
Jake raised his brows in surprise. “You’re not taking her with you?”
Zack shook his head. “She said she’s been working on a case for months. I didn’t want to pull her away from it.”
Jake turned his gaze to Sondra. “Is it the Stanford case?”
She nodded.
“You have put a lot of work into it, but I think we could find someone else to take over.” Jake’s hesitant tone meant he didn’t want to split the couple but he also wanted her to finish the case.
Sondra met Zack’s eyes. He was trying to stay neutral. She had a feeling he didn’t want her in Germany with him, and that stung. She turned back to Jake. “I’ve put too much work into it, and turning it over would mean I’d need to be in the office so I can work with the replacing attorney. I don’t think it’s safe for me right now. You have my cell phone. I will be reachable through that. In the meantime, I’ll finish the work I’m doing on the case and will continue to work on the other projects you’ve given me.”
“That’s sounds fine. If we need to meet in person, maybe we can arrange something at the courthouse.” He escorted them to his door and watched them walk down the hall before returning to his desk. They hadn’t reached the front door before he had dialed the police department. A threat to one of his attorneys was a threat to him, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, the lieutenant he talked to didn’t have any more insight than Zack had offered.
* * *
Sondra pulled under the covering of the airport drop off. Knowing he was going to be gone for endless months was making it hard to stay in her attorney mode. Would he even want to come back? He had what he wanted from this arranged marriage. He hadn’t promised to stay involved through a second set of babies. She couldn’t even work in the office, so keeping her clients from knowing she was pregnant wouldn’t be hard. She didn’t need the arranged marriage any longer, either. But she desperately wanted to make this relationship an eternal one. Would he even think about her in the coming months?
While these thoughts were distracting her, Zack had stepped out of the car and retrieved his bags from the back seat. Realizing he was about to leave, she couldn’t stop herself. She threw open the door of the idling car and ran around to launch herself at him. So much for self-control.
He responded with his delightful dimpled smile and bent down to meet her eager kiss. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his lips against hers. She groaned as his lips moved to lightly nibble on her ear. One of her feet lifted off the ground as he moved back to her welcoming lips. She reached up to touch his cheek. “Don’t forget me.” She whispered.
He chuckled as he settled her back on her feet. “No chance of that. Remember, I’ll be in touch. Stay safe.” He swooped down for one more kiss and then turned and headed into the terminal.
Her iron will was butter where he was concerned. She couldn’t help but smile as she climbed back into the car. Having an iron will wasn’t much fun. And if his body had reacted the same way hers had, he would definitely be coming back for more.
* * *
As he had promised, Zack called regularly. As in daily.
Jake felt confident enough in her abilities that he had given her a few more cases. “Just to keep you busy.” He’d said. He knew her well enough to know this forced isolation was very difficult. He must’ve also known she missed Zack.
As the months passed and the investigation stayed at a stand-still, Sondra grew restless.
She had opted not to buy a new house. She wanted her next home to be one where she and Zack would be raising a family together. No way was she going to make that kind of choice without him. Besides, living in his condo almost felt like having him there. There were no more incidents with the “Shattered Stalker” as she’d come to think of him or her, and she’d followed Zack’s advice in driving a rental to court.
* * *
“You did an outstanding job on finding all those assets.” Jake complimented her as he met her after the Stanford case had been decided.
“Yes. It took a lot of digging. Mr. Stanford was determined to keep his funds out of the hands of his wife.”
“Noelle was fortunate to find us.” Jake smiled.
“All I know is that it took a lot of work. Months. I’m happy to have that done, and happy that Noelle has what she deserved. Half of everything.”
“Not many attorneys would have put in all that extra effort.” He observed as they walked to the parking lot.
“It’s like waving a red flag when I find out a man has been lying to his wife about his assets. I was horrified to find out she didn’t even know how much he made. Her name wasn’t even on his bank account. How can a man do that?”
Jake chuckled. “You should know by now that a lot of men do it.”
“I don’t care how many do it. It’s still wrong. And I’ll fight to the last penny if I find out that’s what a man has done. How degrading for Noelle.”
Jake grinned. “She’s not feeling degraded right now, I’ll bet. To the tune of $500 mil.”
“And she thought they were poor.” Sondra huffed. “I hope she enjoys every penny.”
“My guess is she’ll enjoy every minute she’s not with her ex.”
“That’s for sure.” Sondra waved as she climbed into her white rental car.
She was going to spend the evening with Nikki and Brad. Brad had started back to work part time. He was almost back to his pre-cancer weight and remission was a word everyone was willing to say. What a joy for Nikki and Brad. And what a joy they would find in their children.
Sondra took a deep breath. She was still determined to carry out the promise she had made to her sister. Whether or not they could adopt, the four f
rozen embryos were still there waiting for their chance at life. She wasn’t going to walk away from that. One more try. She had promised.
But her dreams about Zack were getting more urgent. She would wake up covered in sweat, terrified that he’d died and they’d never been sealed. Their daily talks had solidified her desire for their eternal companionship. They were best friends, and she wanted nothing more than to kneel at the altar with him.
With her promise to Nikki, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him exactly how she felt. Despite the warmth of his voice over the phone, she wasn’t certain he shared her feelings. The kiss at the airport had been entirely her own idea.
She’d gone back to having her weekly skype visits with her parents, careful to keep Zack out of the conversation. She’d hadn’t mentioned the Shattered Stalker, either. Those were two topics she didn’t want to burden her parents with. They needed to keep their focus on their mission.
* * *
“Brad is welcome to come in and look at the babies. He can leave during the implantation.”
“Are you sure?” Nikki pressed.
Sondra nodded. “I’ll be perfectly modest while we’re looking at the babies. There’s no reason he can’t be here for that.” She suddenly wished Zack could be there for the start like he’d been there at the end for the other set of twins. Thoughts of that dark night almost brought tears, but this was a joyful moment she didn’t want to ruin.
Zack’s time in Germany had been extended, and he wasn’t expected to be back until November. She had promised him she’d move in with Nikki and Brad if she felt at all tired.
She’d already made arrangements. The last pregnancy had been draining just a few days after the implantation. She wasn’t going to risk the babies by trying to handle this alone. Working from home meant it really didn’t matter where she was living. Jake wasn’t making an effort to push her back to the office, but they were both aware that no headway had been made in finding who the Shattered Stalker was.
Brad and Nikki watched the vibrant, moving cells. She reached out and almost touched the screen. She smiled at Brad. “Our babies.”
Lined With Silver Page 21