AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She got out of the truck and stormed toward the building’s entrance. The second she got inside, she saw them. Her boyfriend and her son. Neither of them moved when they saw her. Agatha glared at them. Fine, if they wanted her to make the first move, she would.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?” she said, hands on her hips.
Thomas glanced toward Zeke, moderately surprised that she was talking to his boss instead of him. Zeke’s expression remained schooled.
“I decide to stay in the city for one night and you two can’t bother to give me twenty-four hours to show up again? I’m a grown woman, not a child.”
“Mom, to be fair, you took Mr. Callahan’s truck without—”
She shot him a dark look. “Mr. Callahan let me borrow it yesterday.” She shifted her gaze to the man in question. “My apologies if there was a time limit I wasn’t aware of.” Agatha dug the keys from her purse and shoved them into his hand. “There. You have your truck back.”
“That’s not what this is about, Agatha,” Zeke said.
“Oh? Let me guess. I’m too vulnerable to spend one night on my own in town, just like I’m too vulnerable to oversee the work on my home.”
Once again, Thomas glanced toward Zeke. He shook his head as if he needed to clear it. “You weren’t where you were supposed to be. The truck was gone. And you weren’t answering your phone. What did you expect us to think?” Thomas said.
“I expected you to give it a day. It’s not like we live in a crime-riddled city. We moved out here to get away from all of that, or don’t you remember? You said the city wasn’t where you wanted to be. I moved out here for you.”
Thomas flinched and looked away, that aloofness she’d grown to expect rearing its ugly head.
“The boy has a point. You could have at least left us a message or told someone where you were going to be.”
“What do you care? You’re just the guy who wants me to get out of his cabin,” she snapped. Her patience was officially gone. The threads of her logical side had all but frayed, and she could no longer see the light. This was what she’d been so anxious about. She craved her independence. She needed to know that people respected her and trusted her to take care of herself.
Zeke stiffened. His eyes clouded over with something dark, almost sinister. If she didn’t know him like she did, she might have been worried.
Agatha had struck a chord. From the beginning she’d always wondered if Zeke simply wanted his sanctuary back. During the good times, those concerns were buried deep. Part of her knew she shouldn’t have even unearthed them, but it was too late now.
“Mom!” Thomas’s voice rose. “Mr. Callahan’s been generous and you know it.”
All at once, everything around her settled. The storm brewing within her, the reality of how she was behaving. None of it was appropriate.
She flushed, ducking her head so she didn’t have to meet either one of their gazes. “You’re right, Thomas. Zeke—Mr. Callahan, I’m sorry. Based on what I saw getting installed yesterday, I think it would be best if I moved out of the cabin and started living at the house again. I can go without an oven until it’s delivered and stay in one of the guest rooms upstairs.” Agatha peeked at her son. “I just need to pack up my things.”
Thomas shot an uncertain look toward Zeke, then nodded. “I can drop you off, but I have to put in my shift and won’t be able to drive you home until after.”
“I can do it,” Zeke said gruffly.
Before she could decline, Thomas cut in. “Thanks, Mr. Callahan. We owe you so much. Mom? Let’s get going. I have to be at work in thirty minutes.”
Agatha avoided looking directly at Zeke as she said, “Sorry again.” She prayed their next encounter would go smoother, but if she were honest with herself, she knew better. There was still dust in the air that needed to settle before either one of them would be able to figure out what to do next.
23
Zeke
Zeke wouldn’t know how to describe the fury that burned from every organ he had. It was more than just fury. It was terror. When he’d returned to the cabin to find it empty, his first thought had been that Agatha had gone for a walk to clear her head.
He’d spent a good thirty minutes stomping through the brush looking for any sign of her, only to remember that his truck was supposed to be at the cabin and there was no sign of that either.
But realizing the truck was missing only complicated matters even more. Agatha could be anywhere. What did she need with his truck? And that wasn’t to say that she hadn’t returned it to his house and then gone somewhere else.
Twelve painstaking hours this worry festered inside him, making him wonder if he’d ever see her again. There was a reason he kept those he loved close. There was less of a chance that any of them would get hurt.
Then Thomas showed up at the cabin, and that was when Zeke knew that something bad had happened. In his gut, he could sense that something was wrong.
Thankfully, Thomas only blamed himself for his mother’s disappearance. He had already apologized several times for his mother taking the truck without permission and pleaded for Zeke not to press charges. He was overheard speaking to someone on the phone over concerns that his mother had gone off the deep end.
