17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Z ara wished her hand was free, so she could slip it in Will's as he walked her up the stairs to AJ's apartment, but both of their hands were full of Zara's stuff. She'd avoided packing up everything in her entire apartment, though at this point she never wanted to step foot in there again.

He stopped in front of the door and set a bag down and knocked.

"Coming." AJ's voice nearly sang from the other side. The door opened. "Hey, guys. Come on in." She reached for one of Zara's bags.

She handed AJ a bag full of kitchen items and stepped into the little apartment.

Will followed but only took a few steps in and set Zara's stuff down. "Did we get everything from the truck?"

Zara turned to him with a questioning look. He'd double-checked before they closed the tailgate.

He was uncomfortable in AJ's apartment.

Zara set her bag down and closed the distance to him. Sliding her arms around his neck, she pulled him close.

He slipped his hands around her waist. "I should get going. You girls have a good night." He touched his forehead to hers. "I'm just a phone call away. Okay?"

"I know."

"Good." His mouth captured hers and held it captive.

She tightened her arms but pulled out of the kiss. She didn't want to be apart from him tonight.

His arms completely surrounded her middle, and he held her as close to his body as possible. He whispered in her ear. "You'll be all right."

"I'd be better if—"

"Zara." The way he breathlessly said her name made her draw back.

Too much temptation.

She stroked the side of his face and nodded. "Good night, Will."

His smile grew. He paused as if he was trying to choose his words. Would he say he loved her? "Good night, Zara." He gave her one more quick kiss and stepped away. "Thanks, AJ. Good night, ladies."

AJ said, "Night."

Will winked at Zara then walked out the door.

She closed it behind him and leaned her back against the door.

AJ came toward her and chuckled. "You've got it bad."

"He's pretty great."

AJ gave a half nod, half shrug. "Let's get you settled." AJ picked up the bags Will had left. "I did some picking up and moved a few things out of the extra bedroom. It'll take a bit more, but if you are interested, you can move in here to stay." She turned with a silly grin. "That is, until you and Will get married."

Zara's cheeks grew warm. "We'll see. Are you sure you want a roommate?"

AJ's smile faded. "I am."

There was something more behind AJ's eyes, but Zara didn't press her.

AJ showed Zara the second bedroom and ditched her stuff in there. Even if she was still going to sleep on the couch, at least she'd have a spot and a room eventually.

"Have you heard from Doug? Did they make any progress?"

Zara sighed. "Will and I met him at the station. They've got nothing. Put out a BOLO on Ernie and Rainie, but they haven't found them. Even have a uniform outside their trailer, but they haven't been seen."

"Weird and a little suspicious."

"That's what I said." Zara's stomach tightened. "But Doug's still not convinced. Says that Ernie doesn't have a history of B maybe it would take time to be fully in her life too.

Two tall bookshelves stood in the corner by the TV. Zara wandered over and perused the titles and the photographs. The picture of a little girl. Maybe four years old. Too cute. She looked just like AJ. Probably her niece. One of Will's nephews looked exactly like him.

The popcorn popped in the background. The sound drove the quiet out, but it didn't take the tension away.

When the popcorn stopped, Zara turned. But AJ vanished into her bedroom.

How bad had Zara screwed up by asking about the guys? The gross feeling in her stomach made the popcorn sound disgusting. Had she ruined the developing friendship? Did she need to find a different place to live?

AJ reappeared. The tip of her nose was red, and her eyes were moist. She held a photo album to her chest. "Come here." She went to the dining table and set the album down.

Zara walked around the couch. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Don't apologize. I want to show you something." AJ opened the album to a photograph of three little kids. Unmistakably ten-year-old Will, AJ, and Logan, arms around one another, dressed up in costumes including bows and arrows made of sticks.

"Oh my goodness." Will was adorable as a kid, even cuter than his nephew. "What are you dressed as?"

AJ put her finger on Will. "Will Stutely. Little John—his middle name is John, so it fit perfectly—Logan John. In Howard Pyle's version of the story, Will and Little John were the best of friends, so it fit. Plus, at that age, Logan was so much taller than Will. He was always six months ahead of Will."

"Who are you? Doesn't look like you are Maid Marian."

"Robin Hood. I insisted Robin was a girl's name anyway."

Zara chuckled. Somehow that fit AJ perfectly.

The three kids looked so happy.

Zara glanced at AJ's face. Her smile was huge, but her eyes held sorrow. She took a deep breath and risked the question. "What happened?"

"We were so close … it's a really long story. One I'm not sure I'm ready to get into tonight, but to put it simply, Logan and I had a falling out. I'm ready to mend the bridge, but I'm not sure he is." She looked back at the picture. "I miss those guys. They were my best friends. The three of us were inseparable as kids. Always had each other's backs." She flipped the pages of the photo album and showed Zara more pictures. So many pictures of the three of them playing outside, making forts, and riding bikes.

Zara's heart ached for her friends, so she had to almost literally bite her tongue to keep from asking more questions about what had happened. Logan seemed fine being in the room with AJ this morning. They'd worked together to get her out of that bathroom.

AJ sighed and stepped away from the album. "Are you up for a movie, or do you need to go to sleep?"

"I slept most of the afternoon, so I'm really not tired."

"Funny or action?"

"Funny."

They grabbed the popcorn and a couple of IBC root beers, settled on the couch, and watched a silly Robin Hood spoof.

When the movie was over, they picked another one. Zara didn't want to try to sleep. The likelihood that nightmares would plague her sleep was too great. AJ didn't seem in a hurry to go to sleep either. But neither of them talked about any of it. Instead, they watched goofy movies until they could no longer keep their eyes open.

Will sat on his back deck as the morning sun turned to midday sun. He pored over his Bible, Romans in particular, and prayed. Most of his prayers circled around Zara in one way or another. He prayed for their relationship, that he would have wisdom and strength against temptation, that she would feel safe and loved. He also prayed for her safety, that they would catch whoever was tormenting her.

He'd talked to Doug this morning. The detectives still had nothing. Ernie and Rainie were nowhere to be found. They hadn't come home, and their credit cards remained unused.

He gripped his cup of iced coffee and risked breaking it. Lord, please give Doug guidance to solve this situation.

The low hum of a car engine echoed from the front of the house. Zara. As soon as he heard the car door shut, he hollered. "I'm out back."

She came around the side of the house. Her flowing sleeveless blouse danced in the wind.

His hormones revved. Remember that self-control I was praying for, Lord? "Hey, beautiful."

Her cheeks warmed. "Hey." Her hoarse voice cracked, and she touched her throat. "Ugh. I want my voice back."

"It'll come. Need some water or such?"

She lifted a water bottle with her other hand. "I've drunk so much water and tea, I think I'm going to float away."

He stood and reached for her hips. Pulling her to himself, he met her lips with a tender kiss. "Well, if you don't have much of a voice, maybe we shouldn't talk." He winked at her.

With her free hand, she shoved him away. "Delayed gratification, my dear."

"Fine. Keep me honest. Hungry, or did you just wake up?"

She giggled. "I've been up for a bit but never did eat. Only coffee. Didn't really sleep much though."

"Dreams?" He traced the side of her face with his fingertips.

"A few, but AJ and I stayed up too late watching movies."

"Plural?"

"Yeah. If we're going to be roommates, this could be a problem." Zara chuckled.

"Roommates?"

"You really can only ask one-word questions?"

He shrugged.

"But yes, she's invited me to move into her apartment. She's got a second bedroom."

"I know."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah." He looked off into his backyard. He really loved that Zara and AJ were growing closer. Maybe old wounds could be healed. But he didn't know what Logan would think. They had avoided talking about AJ for years.

"It's not going to be awkward?"

He met her eyes. "No. I don't want it to be. AJ and I were good friends once."

"She showed me pictures from when you guys were kids. You were adorable."

"Were? I'm not anymore?"

Her laugh caused her to cough. She took a swig from her water bottle. "Adorable isn't the word I would typically use for a grown man. Handsome, dapper, gorgeous. Those might apply to a grown man."

He couldn't help but fish for the compliment. "And do they apply to me?"

She swatted his chest. "Uh, yeah." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He kissed her again, but this time he pulled back. "Let's go get some lunch."

She stepped out of his embrace.

After picking up his Bible, notebook, and coffee, he led them inside and through the dining room. A twinge picked at his stomach. It wasn't like Zara hadn't seen the inside of his house before, but that was before their fight, before he realized how afraid she was of being abandoned. All his forgotten projects lay all over his house, especially the rec room across from the dining room.

He had such great ideas for this house. It was old and massively outdated, but the bones were good. He had yet to finish updating even a single room, and it had been seven years. He had all the doorknobs laid out in the rec room—which should be called the wreck room. Right next to all the gallons of paint.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom." Zara set down her water bottle and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "Back there?"

He nodded. As she disappeared, he set his Bible on the shelf in the den then went to the kitchen, with its 1970s cabinets, and searched for lunch items. He pulled out deli meat and cheese.

Zara came back in laughing.

He turned to her. "What?"

"Your bathroom. Pink tile? So manly!"

He chuckled. "One day I'll get to that one. But I don't use that bathroom much so … I have some awesome ideas though."

"Always the idea man. Follow-through. You really have a problem with that, don't you?"

His chest grew tight. "I finished painting the master bedroom. That wallpaper was a bear to get off so, trust me, that was a task. I can finish something." Would this scare her off again?

"Cool your jets. I'm teasing, silly." She wrapped her hands around his arm.

"Not funny after the fight we had last week."

"Probably."

He pulled his arm out of her hands and draped it around her. "I may be great at starting things, but this"—he pointed back and forward between them—"I'm definitely following through on."

"Good." She kissed him on the cheek. "Now, what's for lunch?"

They grabbed condiments and other sandwich toppings along with the bread and built their sandwiches.

As Will twisted the tie back on the bread, he was struck with an idea. He took the tie off and knotted the bag instead. He turned to Zara and propped his side up against the counter. "This might be rushing things a little, but I want you to know how serious I am about us."

She set her plate back on the counter and rested her hip against the counter in front of him.

He manipulated the twisty-tie into a ring with a little bow on top and held it up between them. "It's not much of a ring, but let it stand as a promise from me to you. I love you. I promise to seek God and pursue you unless He says differently. And if it is His will, which I really hope it is, and I'm feeling pretty certain it is, I'll replace this with an engagement ring."

Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink as her eyes pooled with moisture. She lifted her left hand and offered it to him.

He slid the twisty-tie onto her ring finger.

"I love you too." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He raked his fingers into her hair and drew her face to his. Her watermelon lip balm was sweet just like her kiss.

Her fingers made a trail around his middle and up his back. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. He loved this woman, and he wanted her to know and understand the depths of that love. He'd die for her, but more than anything he wanted to live for her. He never wanted her to doubt that he'd be by her side regardless of what happened in life. He'd keep her safe.

But that started with drawing out of the kiss.

He pulled his lips away but kept his face close to hers. "How about those sandwiches?"

She sank against him and laughed. "Eating is definitely a good idea. I love you, Will Cooper."

"Good. You believe me that I love you too and want to prove it to you for the rest of our lives?"

She nodded and rested her head against his shoulder.

He held her close. Thank You, Jesus. Help me to do right by this woman. Help me to love her like You love her.