Page 88 of A Texas Hero

Thank God for small favors. Maybe she should enlighten him as to why she wasn’t seeing anyone else. She happened to be in love with him, and she needed to tell him that. He might not like it; he might be uncomfortable with the weight of expectations, but screw it. She had to stop worrying so much about other people’s feelings. She had to stop thinking they were her responsibility. Archer had told her point blank that she wasn’t in charge of his feelings, one way or the other.

Now was the time.

“Archer, listen. There’s something I have to tell you and it’s important. I love you. What I mean is I’m in love with you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but it all happened so fast. The truth is I’m not going to see anyone else and I don’t want you to see anyone else, either.” She took a deep breath. “There, I’ve said it! I don’t care if it sounds needy or jealous or possessive. It’s the truth. I love you and I don’t want anyone else but you. I’ll wait. It’s all good.”

“Hello? Hello? Zoey? Are you there? Damn. Zoey, I’m going to have to let you go. I can’t hear you. Good night, babe. I’ll try calling again.”

Oh. My. God. She had just bared her soul and he hadn’t even heard her! Or, he had heard her loud and clear and was just trying to let her off the hook. He wasn’t ready to jump feetfirst into love after a few dates.

Zoey immediately FaceTimed Twyla. “Archer just phoned from Asia, and I told him I love him!”

Twyla smiled into the camera. She knew how significant this was for Zoey.

“That’s amazing, and what did he say to that?”

“Nothing. If he’s to be believed, we had a bad connection and he didn’t hear what I said.” Zoey lowered her face to indicate how downtrodden she felt.

“Maybe you really did have a bad connection,” Twyla, the voice of reason, said.

“Does this ever get any easier?”

“Telling the man you love that you love him? Why, yes, especially when you can do it in person. It’s far easier then.”

Zoey groaned. She got the message. She should have waited, but the irony of all ironies wasn’t lost on her. The lover of love, the champion of amour, the giver of hugs, had never uttered those three little words to a man before. And it was about time. The minute he got back, the second she laid eyes on him, she was going to tell him. No more hiding behind the safety of a screen or the phone to reveal her feelings.

Archer called her about once a week after that, rain or shine. It had been mostly rain lately, as September turned into October. Zoey appreciated it, but she’d probably never look at a one-strike fire log in the same way again; she wanted a raging wood fire like the one Archer had made. On the phone, they didn’t chat about much, keeping it light, but Archer indicated that there were some political tensions in the city, nothing to worry about. Still, Zoey did watch the news more than she usually did. Tensions were escalating in the region and the press secretary announced a travel restriction.

One afternoon, when Archer had been officially gone for thirty days, the news reported that the Chinese ambassador and his staff had been removed from the embassy and were headed out of the country for safety reasons. Zoey saw the back of Archer’s head as he quickly moved through an airport with an entire crew of people, the ambassador in front. Zoey went to work the next day anyway, vowing to stay away from the news. Following that, Archer was radio silent, even after she sent him a flurry of text messages.

Tee came into the boutique later that day, dressed in slacks, a white button-down shirt and tie. He looked like an Archer wannabe.

Zoey burst into tears. Tee might be dressed like Archer, but he didn’t do it for her in the slightest. Archer had those amber eyes that were so expressive and tender, and he had a way of listening to her that made her feel like he valued everything she said. Nobody was ever going to be able to take his place.

“Oh, hey, hey.” Tee awkwardly held his hands up like this was a holdup and he’d give her everything he had if she would only stop crying. “Please don’t cry. What happened?”

Debbie from the Salty Dog had been shopping for a holiday dress, and Mrs. Finch for something she could send Ruby for Christmas. They both surrounded her within seconds, offering tissues and hugs.

“What did you do to her?” Debbie asked Tee.

“Nothing!”

Zoey shook her head. “He just reminded me of Archer.”

Tee straightened. “Thanks, dude.”

Zoey looked up. “Archer is…he might be in trouble.”

“Oh, no, honey,” Debbie said. “What is it?”

“Don’t you watch the news?”

They both shook their heads vehemently. “Oh, heavens, no.”

“Well, I’m going to stop, too. But there was some problem at the embassy in Asia and they had the military out in force. They sent the ambassador home. The one Archer was working with.”

“Great, honey! Doesn’t that mean he’s coming home?” Debbie said. “Nothing to worry about then.”

“That’s right,” Mrs. Finch said, patting Zoey’s back. “Why, I bet he’ll be home lickety-split. Wait and see!”