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“Like in town? Right now, we see each other every day to work on the house at least for a few hours. What happens when the house is done? I don’t see you coming over for breakfast every morning.”
His lips curled into a crooked smile. “Why not?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. On top of that, we’ve been spending nearly every evening together as well. We’re going to have to say something. I mean… what if it’s time we stop hiding it?”
He lifted his hand and pushed it into her hair as he cupped the side of her face. “Are you sure?”
“Why not? We’ve been spending so much time together. We’re about as close as a couple can get without being engaged or married.” Her body stiffened, and she glanced away briefly. “What I’m trying to say is that I think Thomas has started to assume that something is going on that I’m not telling him, too. It’s the way he looks at me. We’re strangers. I think it would be a good idea to tell him that we’re dating and just be done with it.”
Zeke sat up. “I don’t know if that would help matters much.” He stared out at the dark tree line, resting his forearms on his raised knees.
She shifted beside him, scooting closer. “Why do you say that?”
“Because your relationship is already strained, and the reason is because he’s keeping something from you. Do you really think he’s going to be thrilled about you doing the same? What if he blames you for doing so just to get back at him?” It could happen. Zeke had considered this once he’d found out about Thomas’s secret girlfriend in the city. On the other hand, it could go completely different. Confessing their relationship might make Thomas feel secure enough to confess his own.
Both had a chance of ending badly for Agatha and himself—a fact he wasn’t ready to deal with at the moment.
“I never thought of that,” Agatha said. “His hiding whatever it is has definitely created a wedge between us. I don’t want to make it worse. But what else can I do? I can’t just stand by and act like everything is okay. It’s not.”
“I didn’t say it was.” Zeke peeked at her, finding her staring at her hands. That disappointment tore at him. He was being the selfish one now. Keeping her from talking to her only family—now that was something she could break up with him over. His stomach knotted and churned with guilt. At this point, there was no way for him to come out on top, and he’d just have to accept it. It didn’t matter that Agatha was the first woman he’d thought twice about in a romantic way. She needed to know, and he’d simply have to live with the outcome.
He took a deep breath and faced her, but she cut him off.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t tell him about us until he’s ready to come clean about what’s going on. I don’t want to make this argument with him about our relationship, and if he were to use it against me, I’m not sure how we’d deal with it.” Her forced smile didn’t reach her eyes. In fact, the emotion there was the same as it had been for the last couple of weeks. “Besides, I like this—you and me. It’s nice not having to share you with anyone yet.”
“Yeah…” he said. “Me too.”
* * *
Another week passed, and the secret Zeke kept from Agatha was now messing with his sleep schedule. He had a hard time getting to sleep, and when he did, it wasn’t restful. The only thing that kept him going was knowing he was protecting her in a way she might not realize she needed. If he’d learned anything from her, it was that she needed control just as much as he did.
Unearthing this secret would take that control away from her.
The cabinets were going in today. Drills and saws numbed his senses, and he was able to dive into his work because Agatha had told him she was planning on heading to town for some paint swatches for the upstairs rooms.
Studs needed to be found and the cabinets anchored. They had slabs of marble for the countertops. Then it would be on to the tiling work. Everything was finally coming together, and his conversation with her regarding what would happen next came to the forefront of his mind.
Eventually everything would have to come out. Nothing could be secret forever—and he wasn’t so sure he wanted to keep hiding how he felt about her anyway. It had been fun—made him feel young again—but it was time to be mature about all of this.
This evening he’d tell her exactly that. She would listen to logic. She’d be able to see that he’d been protecting her, and then she could clear the air with her son and everything would work out.
Still, his insides revolted. What if she didn’t? There was still a real possibility of that happening, too.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but I drove all the way to town and the paint shop was closed.” Agatha dropped her purse down on a step ladder in the kitchen. “Thank you for letting me borrow your truck. Sorry I wasted the gas.” Her focus swept through the kitchen and a smile flooded her face. “This looks great.”
“What are you doing here?” Zeke charged through the kitchen and attempted to herd her into the living room, but she darted around him.
“I told you. The paint shop was closed so I just came back.”
“But you said you were going to get some lunch and maybe pick out some hardware, too.” She was back too soon. There was a lot more going on in the kitchen than had been as of late—a great deal more than possibly everything before this point except for the framing.
And suddenly, his nerves were shot. He could think of a thousand ways she might get hurt or worse just by being in this room. He thought he was worried about her finding out that he was keeping a secret from her, but in reality that was nothing.
Zeke would never forgive himself if Agatha got hurt.
When he stepped in front of her, blocking her from being able to get a better look at the work being done, she shot him a dark stare. “What are you doing, Zeke?”
“Nothing.” His knee-jerk response did nothing to shift her focus from him.
