She gave him a look but got up and stood by his side. “Now, y’all know that Angelina is now my old lady, yeah?” At the murmurs of assent, he continued, “Today, she said yes when I asked her to marry me.” More cheers came from the group and he paused again. Looking directly at her, he held out an envelope and at the puzzled look on her face, said, “Cherub, the rest of the Officers and I met and decided that you deserved a portion of what was recovered as well. Because without your help, none of the monies would have been recovered. We took it to the Brothers and they agreed as well.”
“But…I mean…are you sure? I didn’t do it with any kind of expectation, Zeke, other than to help y’all recoup what was taken.”
“Yeah, Cherub, we’re sure. Use it for whatever your heart desires.”
She took the proffered envelope and sat back down and then, upon seeing the amount of the check looked back at him and shook her head in disbelief. “Yes, Cherub.”
When a whiny Melora came up rubbing her eyes, she excused herself from the group and gathered up both girls, taking them in and getting them bathed and put down for the night. “Guess what, my sweet girls,” she said as she tucked them in.
“What, Momma?” Melora asked.
“Well, Momma is getting married. Mr. Zeke asked me to marry him today and I said yes,” she told the two little girls.
“What does married mean?” Cailyn asked.
“It means that Mr. Zeke will be my husband and I’ll be his wife. All of us will live together, and he will be your stepfather, like I will be Thad’s stepmother.”
“Do you get to wear a pretty dress?” Melora questioned.
She laughed softly before replying, “All three of us will wear pretty dresses, sweetie, yeah?”
“Yes, Momma.”
“Love you my sweet girls. Sleep tight.”
With “love you Mommas” ringing in her ears, she left the room keeping the door cracked and headed to find Zeke. Seeing that everyone else had split for the night with the other parents apparently getting their kids down as well, she headed to his room. He was sitting over in the small seating area that she had somehow missed earlier. “C’mere, Cherub and let’s talk, yeah?”
Walking over to him, she sat down and he immediately pulled her into his arms so she was cradled against his chest. “Love you, Cherub.”
“Love you, too, Zeke. What…what did you want to talk about?”
“Our pasts, sweetheart. You okay with that?”
She took in a deep breath before replying, “Yeah, I guess so. What do you want to know?”
He looked at her and could see the worry in her eyes. Smoothing back her hair, he kissed the tip of her nose and said, “Nothing bad, sweetheart. I know that Laser was the only one you’ve been with and based on some comments you’ve made, as well as your reaction, I’m guessing that you weren’t first on his mind whenever you two were physically intimate.”
Lowering her eyes because, well jeez how embarrassing could it be, she softly said, “No, I wasn’t and I was too stupid to realize any different. I know you know he cheated, and would often say I was cold which was why he cheated, but honestly, if he had done a third of the things you’ve done since knowing me, it would have been a hundred percent better.”
Her statement stunned him. “Are you saying you never enjoyed it? At all?”
“Every once in a blue moon, yes, but most of the time, it was over before it started for me.”
He tilted her face up so she had to look at him before telling her, “That will never be us, Cherub. While I’m sorry my former Brother was an asshole like that to you, I gotta say I’m looking forward to all the ways we’re going to improve your education, yeah?”
With her face now flushed from the implication his words left, she gave him a shy smile. “I’m looking forward to it, Zeke. Because today has been wonderful.”
Kissing her quickly, he said, “Yeah, Cherub, it has been and I’m kind of looking forward to more of the same tonight. Now, about me. Gayla wasn’t my first, and after she left, I only sought out release whenever it was necessary but I mostly took matters into my own hands. But you need to hear me loud and clear, Cherub, okay? You are my last. Period. And if there’s anything we need to get through or work through, we do it together, no matter what aspect of our lives that involves, from the kitchen to the bedroom, yeah?”
With his words ringing in her ears, she could do nothing but look at him. He was holding her like a beloved, precious thing and he had absolutely no clue how it helped heal broken pieces inside of her that she didn’t even know were broken. “I hear you, Zeke. You’ll teach me what you like, right?”
“Cherub, we will learn together what we like from one another.”
“Okay. Can we start on those lessons any time soon?” she asked, smiling up at him.
He grinned back as he replied, “Yeah, Cherub. We can.”
Chapter Seventeen
Waking up the next morning cocooned in his arms, she was deliciously sore in a way she had never felt before. Thinking over the past night and how many times they had made love before finally passing out, she wasn’t sure if her legs would work yet or not. A nuzzle at her neck and a raspy voice in her ear asking, “Did you sleep okay, Cherub?” had her rolling over and smiling at the man who had made dreams come true without even realizing.
“Yeah, I did, Zeke, although I think I passed out. Oh! I told the girls last night that you asked me to marry you and I said yes.”
He looked at her with interest. “What did they say?”
“They wanted to know if they got to wear pretty dresses.”
He barked out a surprised laugh before he said, “They can wear whatever they want, Cherub. Do you know when you want to get married?”
“Was hoping you had some ideas?”
“Always been partial to wintertime, Cherub. Would that give you enough time to get things going?”
“Zeke, we don’t have to go through a lot of trouble. We can just go to the courthouse.”
He looked at her while slowly shaking his head no. “Cherub, you deserve the whole thing: the dress, the shoes, the flowers, all of it and I won’t let you settle for anything less, y’hear?”
She closed her eyes in defeat because she knew that President tone meant he was serious. “Okay, Zeke. So, when in the winter?”
“How about the Friday after Thanksgiving, Cherub? Then we’ll all be together for Christmas under one roof because I’m presuming that despite the change in our physical relationship, we aren’t moving in together until we’re married.”
“I…I’d rather not, Zeke, more for the kids’ sakes than ours. How can we teach one thing and do another? Even us being intimate sort of bugs me for that reason alone and the only thing keeping me from going on the full guilt trip is the fact that we’re adults, not children, y’know?”
He looked at her and understanding crossed his face. She had grown up in a rigid household where her morals were always called into question, even though she was a good girl. Some things were harder to overcome than others. Cupping her cheek, he kissed her gently before saying, “I get it, Cherub. We can work around it, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Now, about those lessons…”
Chapter Eighteen
Two Months
She woke up sick to her stomach and was glad that Zeke was out on a run so he wouldn’t catch it. Neither would the girls as Dex and Renda had taken them for a week before they started four-year-old PreK. Getting up, she went into the kitchen and got some ginger ale and something for the headache and then went back to bed. Two hours later, she woke up feeling worse with the nausea causing her to fly to the bathroom where she threw up everything including the kitchen sink. A little more ginger ale, which didn’t stay down long, and she realized she was hot. She made her way to the kitchen and took her temperature, not surprised to see she was running a fever. Grabbing more ginger ale, she added a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water, as well as a pack of s
altines, before she headed back to bed. The best thing to do was let it run its course and she once again thanked God that none of the people she loved were home so that they could be spared.
***
Her phone pinging alerted her to an incoming text and she roused enough to see it was from Zeke telling her he would be back the next day and was looking forward to their week together, since Thad was off at a cross country camp before he started back to school the following week. She managed to send him a response saying “okay” before she fell into a restless sleep, broken by occasional bouts of vomiting, as well as shivers even as she knew she was burning up. She sipped at the fluids she had gotten; glad she had grabbed the biggest bottles because she wasn’t sure she could make it back to the kitchen to save her life.
***
He pulled up into her driveway the next morning, glad to be back home. He didn’t mind the occasional runs, but hated to be away from her or the kids any longer than necessary. He had run by the new house and was excited at the progress made and decided that they would be making a run over there once he had shown her how much he missed her. Knocking on the front door, his smile of greeting turned to concern when she answered the door-her eyes were sunken in and she looked almost green. “Cherub?” he asked gently.
“Zeke, I’ve got a bug of some sort…you probably shouldn’t…oh no…” she got out before she turned and made her way into the bathroom where she once again started throwing up. God, how can there be anything left? I’ve been throwing up for what seems like forever! She smiled in gratefulness when she felt the cool damp rag against the back of her neck. Talk about seeing someone at their worst she thought.
“Cherub? Sweetheart, you’re burning up. Where’s the thermometer?”
“Bedroom. Nightstand.”
He ran and grabbed it and made her take her temperature. Looking her over again and seeing what the result was-one hundred and three-he scooped her up and carried her to his truck, which he had left there in case she needed it when he went on the run. He got her buckled in with a bag “just in case” and then headed to the emergency room. Something was going on beside a simple stomach bug and he wasn’t going to rest until he found out what it was.
***
She was triaged quickly and an IV inserted to start her on fluids while they ran tests on her blood and urine. In between bouts of vomiting, she all but collapsed in the bed, and even with the warm blankets they had brought her, she still shivered.
“So, young lady, I see you’re having a bit of tummy troubles, eh?” the doctor said as he walked into the room, her chart in his hand.
“Thinking it’s more than that, doc,” Zeke growled out. “She’s running a fever and has chills even though she’s burning up.”
“Well, she definitely has the flu, so we’re starting her on the anti-nausea medicine to stop the throwing up. But there’s something else going on. Were you aware you were pregnant?”
She looked over at Zeke in wide-eyed amazement. That had never crossed her mind, after all she had been told the likelihood of ever getting pregnant after the girls was slim to none. The surprise on his face morphed into joy as he smiled at her, and the relief she felt that he wasn’t upset was so overwhelming that she burst into tears.
“Ah, Cherub, those better be happy tears, yeah? This is great news!” he said as he tried to console her.
“I-I-I know,” she said, sobbing. “It’s…it’s another miracle, Zeke.”
He smiled because it was indeed a miracle. The doctor cleared his throat and said, “Because you’ve got the flu, Miss Jones, we want to keep you for a day or so to get your fluids straightened out. You were dehydrated. I’ll be sending down an ultrasound technician as well so we can make sure everything is okay with the baby.”
She nodded, still unable to speak coherently. A baby…she was having Zeke’s baby!
Shortly after the doctor left, the ultrasound technician came in with the staff obstetrician. As they put the gel on her stomach, she clasped his hand tightly. “Alright you two, ready to hear your baby?” the technician asked as she turned the machine on.
“Yes, please,” Zeke said.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh…the sound filled the room, strong and fast. The tech tried to point out the various parts, but the two of them were so focused on the miraculous sound they were hearing, they missed much of what she said. She printed off the pictures and handed them to the couple, smiling at the looks of awe she saw on their faces. But her heart turned over when she saw him take the cloth and gently clean off her abdomen before he kissed it gently. She left the couple alone, lost in their own thoughts.
***
As he watched her sleep, he prayed-for their new baby, for her to get better, for the three kids they already had. He had sent a text to Dex in case they had tried to reach her, and to Preacher who had taken Eva over to clean her house before they came up to the hospital. They hadn’t stayed long, just long enough for Eva to assure herself that Angelina was going to be okay, and chastise her for not calling.
He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, grateful again that God had brought her to him. Seeing her move restlessly, he put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Shhh, Cherub, sleep, yeah? Need you to get better so our baby grows big and strong.”
***
What a difference a few days made she thought as she waited for the nurse to bring the discharge papers in so Zeke could take her home. Home. After finding out about her pregnancy, they had talked and decided that he and Thad would move into her place until their house was finished. Since she was considered a high-risk pregnancy according to the obstetrician, the build would continue but they wouldn’t move into the new house until after the baby was born. And it was a good thing she worked from home because she was on a light bedrest regimen. She could still work from bed and relax and keep everyone happy; the doctor, her friends, and most especially, Zeke.
Seeing the door open, she smiled as he walked into the room, clean clothes in a bag for her. He came over and gave her a kiss and asked, “What can I do to help you get out of here faster?”
“Need a shower, handsome.”
He grinned as he helped her get up and over to the bathroom, where he insisted she leave the door cracked in case she needed help. He took the discharge paperwork from the nurse when she finally came in, and as soon as Angelina heard the other voice, he was amazed at how quickly she finished up. “Eager to leave, are you?”
“Uh, yeah. This bed is not my temperpedic that’s for sure!” she said, laughing.
Smiling, he sat her in the wheelchair that was hospital policy and then wheeled her out to his waiting truck. Getting her up and settled into the seat, he kissed her and said, “Let’s go home, Cherub, yeah?”
“Yeah. Thank you, Zeke.”
“For what, Cherub?”
“Not leaving my side other than when I made you go get my clothes today.”
“Wild horses couldn’t have dragged me away,” he told her as he carefully navigated out of the hospital.
Chapter Nineteen
Two Months
It had been a bit of an adjustment moving in together as things had to be shifted so that Thad had his own room. The teen had taken it all in stride, despite her concerns. He loved playing with the two little girls and they adored the attention that he and his friends lavished on them. Plus, living together and being pregnant had her all over the place emotionally, and she found herself crying more than she thought was possible. Zeke had held her to the semi-bedrest and she wasn’t allowed to do some of the simplest things, like clean or cook. While most women would exult at that, she knew it was one of her languages of love and how she showed those she loved that she cared. Frustration ate at her and of course, the girls had picked up on it. Then again, she mused, Thad had stepped up there as well, helping the girls keep their room clean, keeping his own room clean which was a miracle for a teen boy, and keeping the yard mowed and trimmed.
Everything came t
o a head one Saturday morning when she went to get something from her office and he told her he would get it. “Zeke, for heaven’s sake, I’m pregnant not incapacitated. And I’m doing well, you heard the doctor yourself at the last appointment! I’m not taking any risks or anything, hell, we haven’t had sex since we found out!”
He counted to ten. Then he did it again. Finally, feeling calm enough, he said, “Cherub, look, I understand you’re frustrated. But you and that baby mean everything and I don’t want you doing anything that could bring harm to either of you.”
“Zeke, handsome, listen, we are taking care. And, we can still have sex. I promise, nothing will harm the baby. I was only so sick because of the flu, yeah?”
Looking at her, he could see the earnestness in her expression. He knew she wouldn’t lie to him about something so important, so he did the only thing he could think of-he kissed her. A quick, close-mouthed kiss that soon turned into a raging inferno of passion that built up to dizzying heights. Scooping her up, he carried her back to their room, closing and locking the door before he carried her over to the bed. “Cherub, you’re going to be the death of me,” he said, as her hands were everywhere.
“What a way to go, eh, handsome?” she said, teasing him as she worked to pull his shirt off and get his pants down.
He burst into laughter and then took pity on her, stripping the rest of his clothes off before undressing her. Looking at the fullness of her body, already curvy and now even lusher, his eyes darkened and he leaned down to nuzzle at her overly-sensitive breasts while his hand stroked her hip and baby bump.
Her Kinsman-Redeemer Page 15
