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Zeke disappeared from her view and she leaned against the washing machine, her hand to her chest. Whether it was the sneaking around or the endorphins released from starting a new relationship, it didn’t matter. Right now, she felt seen.
Pulling her lips between her teeth, she nibbled on them, if only to prevent herself from smiling like a crazy person.
Footsteps approached, and she hurriedly pulled away from the washer to open a cupboard that hung above it.
“Mom? There you are. I’ve been looking for… you.” Thomas glanced around the laundry room. “What are you doing in the dark?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him as nonchalantly as possible. “The men were working on something electrical and they shut off the power.” It was the only thing that came to mind that would make sense.
And it would have worked if her son hadn’t been so nosey. He reached over to the light switch and flicked it upward, illuminating the small laundry room with the light from overhead. His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. “Really?”
Agatha huffed, striding over to the switch to flip it off. “Yes, really. They must have gotten done with it. But there’s no sense in wasting electricity, is there?” She headed back to the cupboard only to realize that it was empty except for a box of fabric softener sheets.
She could feel her son’s gaze on her, drilling into her back. It wasn’t hard to assume he was judging her or assuming something was up. And he would be right. Her only prayer would be for him to drop whatever it was he might think was going on with her and leave her be.
Her hand wrapped around the box and she spun to face him. “What did you need, dear?”
Thomas’s eyes darted from her face to the box and back. “What do you need those for?”
Agatha lifted the box, moving it from one hand to the other. “I still have laundry to do, and Zeke doesn’t have the dryer sheets I like at the cabin.”
“There’s a laundry room at the cabin?”
At least she didn’t have to lie this time. “Of course there isn’t. But there is a stacked washer and dryer in that hall closet. How do you think I’ve been able to keep my clothes clean? I could have sworn I showed you when I gave you the grand tour.”
To his credit, Thomas looked chagrined. The cocky look he sported left his face in a flash and he broke eye contact. “I wanted to tell you that I won’t be able to make dinner tonight.”
“Really?” Agatha winced at the utter relief in her voice, made worse by the way Thomas shot her a surprised look.
“Yeah. I’m going to put in some extra hours. Callahan is offering overtime for anyone willing to camp out and move the cattle over to the Baker ranch temporarily. I’ll only be gone one night, mostly to make sure everything is settled and there aren’t any predators. You gonna be okay?”
She snorted, waving the box through the air. “I’m perfectly fine, dear. I don’t need you to babysit me. This isn’t the first evening we won’t share a meal together, and it won’t be the last. You go have fun.”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it fun…”
“Sweetheart, it’s about time that we accept you’re going to be finding your own way in the world.” Her stomach tightened even as the words escaped her throat. The conversation she’d had with Zeke had only made her realize just how attached Thomas was to her, and she wasn’t doing him any favors by letting him continue to fret about her. She smiled, moving closer to him. “One of these days you’re going to find someone to care about, and you’re going to have to shift all your focus to starting your own family. It will be okay.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?”
She nodded resolutely. “And when you get back, I’ll have your favorite ready for dinner.”
“Sloppy Joes?”
“Who do you think I am? Of course sloppy Joes.” She laughed. “Now scoot. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do before you leave later.” She hurried him out the door, once again relieved she didn’t have to come up with a fib to keep him away.
Now all she had to worry about was what she might wear for when Zeke picked her up later.
17
Zeke
Zeke felt young again. There was something about being with Agatha that made him feel so much more alive. That wasn’t to say that he’d been needing a relationship to fulfill him all these years. He knew better than to believe it was so simple.
Agatha was the reason. The way she always had a response for everything, while irritating at times, was also amusing. She had a knack for keeping him on his toes.
Zeke chuckled as he got ready for his date. This was the start of something new, something exciting, something he hadn’t known he needed.
He found himself looking forward to really getting to know this woman beyond what he had discovered he liked about her already. As soon as he finished buttoning his shirt, he grabbed his hat from his bed and hurried downstairs.
