“Stop!” she whispered when he was less than a foot away from her.
Zeke stopped, looking directly into her eyes. “What is it?”
“Are you a member of a Delta Force Team?” she blurted out. He watched as she held her breath, waiting for his answer.
Normally, he didn’t confirm nor deny his position. The teams worked best in secret. They were better able to move around and get things done if no one knew of their existence. But the policy was that significant others were privy to a team member’s job.
“Yes, I am,” he confirmed, then waited, wondering what she would do or say.
For a long moment, she didn’t say anything. But he saw the tears well up in her eyes. “Honey, it’s not a big deal,” he assured her, reaching for her.
She stepped back and he let his hands drop to his sides. “It is,” she whispered. “It’s a huge deal.”
He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard a grating in her voice now. “Tell me what bothers you about my job.”
She huffed a bit, running a shaking hand through her hair. “What bothers me? Seriously? You’re one of those crazy people who literally run into danger and…do stuff!”
“Yeah. That’s sort of the whole point of the Army, isn’t it?” he teased.
“No!” she snapped, then closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “Okay, yes. But….” She stumbled for a moment, then opened her eyes. “My father was a Navy SEAL, Zeke.”
“Yeah. I know that. So you understand…”
She sliced her hand through the air, cutting him off. “I understand that you put yourself in grave danger whenever you go out into the world.”
“Yes. But we’re well trained, honey. We don’t go in blind either. There’s a lot of technology that helps us stay safe.”
She started pacing. “That’s probably true, Zeke. But here’s the problem.” She gripped the back of her big club chair, her knuckles turning white. “I’m in love with you,” she whispered, closing her eyes and her body seemed to bow with the release of her admission. “I’m so madly in love with you and…and now I find out…” she stopped, the tears escaping from her closed eyes.
Zeke didn’t hesitate this time. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, honey. I’m in love with you too.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back, feeling her arms move around his waist. “Marry me, Abby,” he urged when she pressed her whole body against him. “I know that we’ve been together for only a few weeks, but I know that you’re the woman I’ve been waiting for. You’re the one. And I’m the one for you too. I know it. I can feel it when you give yourself to me.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “You’re the one for me.” But she pulled back, slipping out of his arms and Zeke knew a moment of panic. “I love you so damn much but…I can’t marry you!”
“You love me,” he repeated with vehemence.
“Yes. I do. And I don’t think I’ll ever not love you, Zeke.” She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I love you so much, but my father…” she hiccupped as the memories came flooding back. “He was so big and strong and brave and he never hesitated to dive head first into dangerous situations.” She sobbed, curling her arms around her stomach as she sat down on the sofa. “He was my hero, Zeke. He was so wonderful. But he would disappear.” She looked up at him. “He’d just disappear and we wouldn’t know where he was or what he was doing. We’d never know when his team would be coming back, or even if they would come back.”
He bent down, looking into her eyes. “I’ll always come back to you, Abby.”
She smiled weakly through her tears, reaching out to cup his cheek. “You can’t promise me that, Zeke.”
He knew that was true, but he didn’t like that reality. “Abby, we’re good together. We love each other!”
“I do!” she gasped, nodding her head. The tears were coming so fast and furiously, they dripped onto her knees. “I love you so much!”
“Then don’t do this!”
“I have to! I can’t…be with you. When my father died, it nearly killed my mother. And I was devastated. I can’t go through that kind of pain again.”
Zeke stared at her, shaking his head as he stood up. “We’re not over. This isn’t over between us,” he told her, pointing his finger at the carpet between them. “I’m not giving up on you, Abby. But I’m going now. I’m going to give you a bit of space.” He stepped closer and she shrank back. Zeke ignored her body language and went with his gut now. “We’re not over!” and he kissed her. It was a hard, brief kiss, but he pulled back and walked out.
Chapter 9
Abby had no idea how she made it through the week. By Friday evening, she could barely drag herself into her apartment and close the door. But that was as far as she made it. Instead of sitting on the sofa, she slid down against the closed door of her apartment and…sobbed. She’d cried so much over the past few days that the skin around her eyes was raw. Cathy had asked about her red eyes that first day, but Abby had shaken her head and walked away. She knew that the other doctors and nurses were asking about her, but none of them were brave enough to ask her directly. Abby suspected that their deference was due to Cathy’s intervention and she was grateful, but Abby couldn’t form the words to thank her friend.
And at the moment, she didn’t have the strength to get herself up off of the floor.
She
