Where Shadows Linger (Intertwined Souls Series Book 2)
Page 48
“Yeah.”
“Not a problem, Stretch. I’ll see him tomorrow and give him the specs. This is for your anniversary this August, huh?” Earl returned the ring to Zoe and she replaced it on her finger.
“Yeah. I should be able to save for the costs in time, so be sure to have him give you an estimate as soon as possible.”
“What are you two talking about?” Eva asked while leaning against the doorframe. She yawned.
“Why are you up?” Zoe asked.
“Wondering where you got to. I’m finding I can’t sleep without you.”
“Earl has something to tell us.” Zoe easily sidestepped Eva’s question and went to her side. “So, Wiggy, tell us?”
“You woke up because you knew Earl had something to tell us?” Eva asked.
“Not exactly.” Zoe grinned and glanced at Earl.
“I have decided to go back to teaching,” Earl announced. It took only seconds before he was rushed by both women. “I take it you like the idea?”
“That’s so exciting. Which school are you going to teach at?
“Are you going to teach History and English again?
“What—” A flurry of questions followed that announcement. Earl took a step back and held up his hands to stop them from asking more questions.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” Earl put up a hand. “I haven’t taught in ten years.”
“You taught Zoe and Elena.”
“That’s different, but it re-ignited the fire.” Earl smiled. “I’m going back to university for a refresher course.”
“You’re going to become a student again, in order to become a teacher?” Zoe quipped.
“Yep. Now would the two of you please go back to bed?”
Eva kissed him on the cheek, and then she put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders and led her back into the bedroom.
If there were ever two people who deserved to be happy, Earl thought, it is those two. It had been quite a year with meeting Eva at the biscuit factory, meeting Zoe, then the time with Muller and Rhimes, and now this Greta woman. “I’m getting too old for all this excitement.” Earl chuckled.
Epilogue
“Oh, Evy, don’t stop!”
“You like?”
“Uh huh.”
Eva smiled down at Zoe, who was sprawled below her on the beach towel. She spread the warm suntan lotion over smooth skin, massaging the liquid onto Zoe’s back, eliciting moans of pure pleasure.
Zoe hummed while Eva’s soft hands spread the warm liquid over her back. It was clear that she was feeling very relaxed.
It was a hot and sultry Sydney day, the heat was baking the sand and Sydneysiders were doing the hot foot shuffle across the beach. The beach was packed with sun worshippers in various states of undress. Young children played near the water’s edge while their protective parents looked on. Eva glanced up from her enjoyable suntan lotion duty to see Earl coming towards them. He was dripping wet from the surf, holding his surfboard under one arm and a clump of seaweed in the other.
He put a finger to his lips and grinned at Eva as he approached. Eva shook her head and slowly backed away. Zoe almost turned around when Eva’s hand left her back but not in time to prevent Earl’s “attack”. Earl had given his surfboard to Eva, came right over the prone Zoe, and dropped the wet seaweed on her back.
“Ahhhhhhh!” Zoe screamed loudly as the seaweed landed on her bare skin. She sat up and glared at Eva, then grabbed the offending seaweed and threw it at Earl. The seaweed lay at Earl’s feet in the sand.
“What? Eva offers you up to the seaweed God and you throw it at me?”
“Hey, don’t look at me!” Eva put her hands up in protest. She pointed to Earl, who had wisely chosen to stand back.
“You are in big trouble, mister!” Zoe got up and chased him down to the surf, squealing when he stopped and easily picked her up, tossing her over one broad shoulder and walking purposefully into the sea while she wriggled and kicked in protest.
Eva watched them having a mock fight in the water. Zoe yelped at being dunked, and Eva laughed at the antics of her partner and their friend. She sat back on a low chair, extended her legs, and dug her toes into the hot sand. Zoe had bought her a pale blue one-piece swimming costume, which she was wearing under a light cotton shirt. She put on a pair of sunglasses and sat back to enjoy the sun. It had been a few days since they had gone through yet another traumatic event in their lives. Eva had chosen to take a couple of days off from work to take care of herself and Zoe. She needed to reassure Zoe of her love, and just be with her. Henry had, reluctantly, went back to work even though he wanted to take the day off and be with them at the beach.
Eva picked up her book, intending to read, when she caught sight of Earl trying to teach Zoe how to swim. Her fearless partner was trying to pull Earl into deeper water but he was not moving. She fingered the light cotton shirt she wore and sighed. She thought back to how courageous Zoe had been when she was going to confront Greta. “I’m not going to let her think she’s beaten me,” Zoe had said.
Eva decided it was time to stop letting Muller dictate to her, time to stop being afraid. Her father could not hurt her anymore. They were not in her life but her father’s legacy was. She was allowing him to be in her life.
“Enough.” Eva said aloud as she put her book down, pulled off her cotton shirt, and put it with the rest of their clothes. After laying her sunglasses aside, she got up and walked towards the sea.
Zoe was making a valiant attempt to float but kept laughing when Earl tried to let go of her. Eva entered the surf and reached Earl. She tapped him on the shoulder. Her friend turned around with a surprise look on his face.
Mimicking Earl’s earlier gesture, Eva put a finger to her lips to prevent him from letting Zoe know she was there. Coming around Earl, she replaced his hands, keeping Zoe up with her own. When Earl was far enough away, she leaned down and whispered, “I’ve got you.”
Zoe’s eyes flew open and she twisted around. “Eva!”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Zoe touched bottom and turned to Eva, who was standing in mid-hip water next to her with a smirk. “You’re in the water?” Zoe asked stating the obvious. “Your shirt?”
“I left it with our other clothes,” Eva replied enjoying the joyous look on Zoe’s face. “It’s time I stopped being scared. I remembered what you said about not allowing Greta to think she’d beaten you. It made me think that I’ve allowed Muller to do that to me for too long.”
“Oh, Evy!” Zoe hugged her. More than anyone, Zoe would understand how much courage it took for Eva to expose her back.
“Do you want me to teach you how to swim?”
“Do I? Yes!” Zoe splashed around and turned to where Earl was standing. “Sorry Wiggy you’re out of a job!”
Earl merely laughed and waved to them as he went back to where he had left his surfboard.”
Eva took Zoe’s hand. “Hang on to me-“ Eva didn’t need to finish that sentence when Zoe leapt into her arms as they a few meters from the shore.
“You’re going to get burnt now.”
“Well, would you blow on my back to cool it down, if I do?” Eva asked, causing Zoe to look up at her and nodded vigorously.
“Kiss me,” Zoe demanded.
“Out here?” Eva asked, indicating all the people in the water and out on the shore.
“Yes,” Zoe replied and wrapping her legs around her waist. “I don’t care what people think. I love you, and if I want to kiss you in the sea, then I’ll kiss you in the sea.”
“Zoe?”
“Hmm?”
“You talk too much.” Eva kissed her, letting her hands roam under the water and causing Zoe to moan.
“Oh, this is much better than learning to swim.”
Eva laughed as she went into deeper water with Zoe still wrapped around her. She had not gone swimming in years, and the feel of Zoe nuzzling her neck while they stood in the surf was making the experience all the more enjoyable
. “We’re going to the mountains next week.”
“Hmm, more climbing.” Zoe waggled her eyebrows, earning herself a passionate growl from Eva.
Eva felt eyes on her back. She turned her head and saw Earl watching them from the shore, grinning broadly. He shook his head and, hefting the surfboard, turned to find a good place to catch some waves.
The End
This is not the end of Eva and Zoe’s journey.
READ ABOUT BOOK 3: HIDDEN TRUTHS
Historical lesbian romance in Post War Australia.
Love. Strength. Courage.
In the third book of the Intertwined Souls Series with Eva and Zoe, Hidden Truths continues the journey of two extraordinary women, Eva Muller and Zoe Lambros.
It’s 1950 and Eva and Zoe have settled in Australia, forging a new life for themselves. The Greek Civil War has ended and with it comes the news that could cause Zoe's inheritance to be lost unless she goes back to Greece to reclaim her property. Zoe is reluctant to expose Eva to the pain of revisiting the town that almost killed her. While at an impasse of what is to be done, the decision is made to not only go back to Greece but also back to Germany.
Along the way, they are reunited with family and friends, and are forced to contend with their own haunted memories and unexpected revelations that test their courage, strength, and faith.
Please visit Mary’s official site http://www.nextchapter.net for Mary’s blog, Lucia Nobrega’s Illustrations and the Photoshoot images with Eva and Zoe models: Penny (Zoe) and Kat (Eva) Cavanaugh.
ABOUT MARY
Mary D. Brooks lives in Australia and has been writing for forty years including short fiction stories for various Australian magazines and some non-fiction articles. Mary published her first novel "In the Blood of the Greeks" in 2001 and that soon became evident that there was more to the characters and their story that needed to be told so the Intertwined Souls Series was born. Mary works as a web designer in addition to being the chief editor and owner of the AUSXIP Network,. When she's not writing, reading, creating art or designing new sites, Mary travels when the travel bug hits and is always on the lookout for new adventures. Mary’s latest venture is to open the doors of her own publishing company AUSXIP Publishing.
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