Zeke

 

Zeke heard the hissing sound of the shower coming from the room next door. He rolled over and smiled at the realization of where he was and with whom.

 

His stomach flipped as he relived the details in his mind. She’d be a tough one to forget. But maybe he wouldn’t have to forget her. Maybe this could really be something. That thought caused his eyes to widen. How do I act around her? Are we still just friends? Oh man, why does it have to be so complicated?

 

He jumped out of bed and picked his clothes off of the floor. He’d shower in the main house and leave Sophie to have some privacy to get ready. What if she thinks I’ve done a runner? Stop over thinking it, man. Be cool.

 

After showering in the main bathroom, Zeke helped Tina chop fruit for breakfast.

 

“Jeffrey will be back later today,” she said. “It’s strange that he won’t know about any of this.”

 

“I still think you should tell him,” Zeke offered gently.

 

“I might. I will. When the time is right. But hopefully, you’ll catch your guy so soon I won’t really need to reveal everything.”

 

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Zeke said cheerfully.

 

“Were you both comfortable enough last night?” she asked, flipping pancakes in a frying pan.

 

Zeke sniffed, and his chopping got faster. “Yeah, of course. Thanks.”

 

“I hoped it was OK there was only one bed... but then I figured, you two seem close enough you wouldn’t mind. And there was a sofa if you needed space.”

 

Zeke cleared his throat and nodded in agreement.

 

Tina grinned. She was clearly fishing for details.

 

“That’s the fruit done,” Zeke said just as Sophie appeared in the kitchen.

 

She smiled shyly at the ground. “Morning.”

 

“Morning, honey,” Tina said cheerily. “You’re just in time for breakfast. Pull up a chair.”

 

Zeke desperately tried to make eye contact with Sophie. He needed to know everything was OK between them; that it hadn’t been a mistake. He wanted so badly for her to shoot him one of her trademark shy little smiles, but she was avoiding his direction.

 

They ate and chatted about the sunshine. Tina was going to visit some friends before lunch and Zeke said he wanted to go home and research how to find someone. He had an idea of an old boss he should get in touch with. Finally, Sophie looked at him. It sent a wave of relief through him to lock with those cool blue eyes.

 

“Oh really?” she asked.

 

“Yeah, I’ll explain on the way... that is, of course, if you’re free today and want to help. You really don’t have to.”

 

Sophie smiled. “Of course I’ll come. Do you really think I could miss all the action?”

 

He grinned and ate the last bit of pancake off his fork.

 

Tina smiled and paused with her fork in mid-air. “You know, you kids should really just get all this awkward stuff out of the way and get together. There’s no point in wasting time with all the ‘should we, shouldn’t we?’ stuff. Life’s too short.”

 

Zeke smiled. “You’re right there. Life is too short to waste time.” He looked at Sophie who was trying and failing to contain a huge grin.

 

“I don’t want to overstep the mark,” Tina continued, “but you’d be really cute together. I don’t understand why you say you’re just friends.”

 

Zeke cleared his throat. “We’re just getting to know each other.”

 

“Yeah, it’s been, like three weeks...” Sophie chipped in.

 

Tina nodded. “Very wise. You just have a good time getting to know each other. That’s the best part. I’d love to go through all that again with Jeffrey. He was so handsome and swept me right off my feet. My dad hated him – this cocky, young soldier waltzing in and stealing his daughter’s heart, but I knew Jeffrey was the one for me.”

 

Sophie leaned her face on one hand as she listened intently. “That’s so sweet. I haven’t got a protective father for you to contend with, so you’re lucky there,” she said, turning to Zeke.

 

He swallowed hard. Were they supposed to be a “thing” now? What if he couldn’t match up to what she deserved and that after they’d found the attacker, she was bored with just plain old non-life-threatened Zeke? He really didn’t know her at all. Maybe she got off on danger.

 

They thanked Tina and left, telling her to call the moment she felt uneasy about something.

 

In the car, Sophie turned in her seat to face Zeke as he drove. “So, tell me who we need to go visit next.”

 

He smiled. She really was enjoying all this. “OK. When I was in the shower, a name sprung to mind – Nathan, my former commander. He knew everything about everything. He’s bound to have people on the inside who can help do a little digging. Or even just help us work out if Troy has anything to do with this or if we’re barking up the wrong tree.”

 

“Can’t hurt to find out. We need all the help we can get.”

 

After a long pause, she said, “Aren’t you scared? I mean, do you worry he could be trying to kill you again at any minute?”

 

“Of course,” he said, taking his eyes off the road for just long enough to meet her inquisitive gaze. “But I’m more focused on catching him. Determination kills fear every time. I’ve seen the worst things in life. I suppose I’m slightly numb to it. But don’t get me wrong, I’m treading carefully at every point. I don’t know if you noticed any of the checks I did to this truck before we set off?”

 

“No,” Sophie said, her eyebrows arching in surprise. “I didn’t notice a thing. Wow, you’re good.”

 

“Anyway, I’ll see if I can get Nathan’s number and arrange a visit. But for now... let’s enjoy the sun.” He indicated left and pulled off down to a secluded lake lined by trees.

 

When Sophie hopped out of the passenger side, she shut her eyes and held her face up to the sky, letting the warm rays wash over her skin. Zeke crept up and planted a kiss on her cheek before running off to the forest path. She let out a laugh, which echoed across the water as she caught up with him. As much as they both felt compelled to investigate, they needed to take a break from thinking about it. Nature, in all its calm, warm glory, was what they needed to blow away any tension between them. When Sophie tripped on a branch ten minutes into the walk, Zeke caught her with the crook of his arm and their eyes locked for a few seconds longer than expected. He was in trouble. This was more than just an investigative partnership. If he could have, he would have taken her right then and there on the tree-lined trail, but a dog-walker, humming a happy tune, put an end to that thought.