Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) (27 page)

Honor knew that Diego’s
woman had been killed by his father, and though the pain was decades old, it
was still an injury to the man’s heart that had never healed.  She couldn’t
imagine living her life every day if Zeke was gone from her world.  The mere
thought made her stomach pitch and roll.

“He might not even
want to talk to me after the way I acted,” she worried out loud, nervously
fiddling with her necklace as she stared at Diego with apprehensive eyes.

“That’s as unlikely
as it is that I will sprout wings and fly.  You’re looking for reasons to delay
the inevitable.  You cannot hide from your life forever in this house.  Sooner
or later, your sheriff and your sisters will tear it down, piece by piece to
get to you.  The only thing that’s held them back for this long is the twice a
day phone call they get from me, assuring them that you are alright.”

“You’ve been talking
to them?” Honor’s jaw dropped.

“Why do you think
you’ve been left alone?  Honor, you must ask yourself if you want the good
Sheriff back in your life badly enough to accept the therapy you need in order
to keep him there.”

Silent for a long
minute, Honor’s mind recalled the last several lonely days.  She couldn’t sleep
without him.  She didn’t have any appetite for food.  And almost every waking
second, he consumed her thoughts.  Was the price she’d pay by going to therapy
worth having Zeke back in her life?

The answer was obvious.

Meeting Diego’s eyes,
she stood.  “I’m going to get changed.  You’ll drive me to him, won’t you?”

Diego’s espresso
colored eyes twinkled. 
“Sí
,
niña
.  I will take you as soon as you are ready.”

5:15 am

Honor

Honor sat, statue
still, gazing out the clear glass window of Diego Fuentes’ Escalade at Zeke’s
adorable Cape Cod bungalow.  Situated just minutes from her parents’ farmhouse,
she used to enjoy knowing how close he lived to her, his proximity offering her
an extra layer of safety.  Today, she wished the distance between their homes
had been further so that she would have had a few additional minutes to prepare
for seeing him again.

She hadn’t called. 
She probably should have, but honestly, she hadn’t wanted to give him the
chance to refuse to see her.  She wouldn’t blame him after the way she’d spoken
to him almost a week ago, but she thought that maybe if he saw her face and
knew how sorry she was, he’d allow her to plead her case with him. 

She knew he was in
there.  His SUV sat parked under the covered carport.  Ice must still be
staying with him, too, since his old truck was pulled behind Zeke’s boat. 
Thankfully, she knew Zeke was an early riser, often waking before the sun was
even up so at least she wouldn’t be pulling him out of his bed to talk to her.

“Honor,” Diego’s
soft, accented voice prodded gently, “Nothing will be solved here in the front
seat of my vehicle, querida.”

“I’ve really screwed
things up this time, Diego.  You heard the things that I said to him the last time
we saw each other.  Ezekiel may not even want to see me,” Honor mumbled as she
lifted her thumb to chew her nail nervously.  “What if he tells me to leave?”

“Then you will turn
around and get back into my car and I will take you home, and you will be able
to know that at least you tried,” Diego responded easily.  “But I seriously
doubt that your Sheriff would ever send you away.  Especially since he calls me
several times a day to ask if you are alright.  You are frightened for nothing,
Little One.” 

“Ice is in there,
too,” she murmured, staring at the deep red front door.  “He hates me.”

“I seriously doubt
that.  No one I know could ever hate you.  He might be concerned for his
brother much like your sisters worry for you, but I very much doubt he hates
you at all.”

Eyeing the stone path
that led to the front door, Honor swallowed hard.  “Will you go up there with
me?”

Diego offered Honor a
tender smile as he reached over to squeeze her hand.  “Si, preciosa.  We will
go together.”

Honor nodded as she reached
out to unlock her door.  Waiting until Diego climbed out and circled the
vehicle to open her door, she took a deep breath as she hopped down from her
seat onto the gravel driveway.  Finding it unseasonably warm for a late April
morning, Honor quickly shrugged out of her forest green cardigan and threw it
back into the car.  Adjusting her heather gray t-shirt, she rubbed her sweating
palms against the skinny legged khaki’s she’d chosen to wear. 

“You ready?” she
heard Diego question quietly as she heard the birds chirping in the trees
overhead. 

Marching up the
pathway to the house before she lost her courage, Honor stepped up on the porch
and rang the doorbell, holding her breath.  Seconds later, when the door opened
to reveal a sleepy eyed, less than welcoming face of Ice Monroe standing just
over the threshold, she felt her heart plummet.  Much like folks thought about
a crypt keeper, he was the last person she wanted to see or talk her way past. 
“Ice,” Honor murmured uncomfortably.  “Is your brother here?”

Zeke’s older brother
simply raised an eyebrow.  “That depends,” he offered with a disapproving look
down at the woman standing in front of him.  “You finally decide to pull your
head out of your butt?  Or are you just here to fuck with his emotions some
more, Honor?  Because if you are, you can just turn that cute little ass of
yours around and go back the way you came,” he suggested, gesturing toward the
highway behind her.

Honor’s teeth
clenched at Ice’s condemning tone.  “First off, don’t you speak to me that
way.  I’m sick to death of your rudeness, Ice, and I’m done putting up with
it.  If you want to continue acting like a jerk, you can do me the courtesy of
telling me what exactly I’ve done to offend you,” she ordered with a violent
whisper. 

“Me?  Nothing at all,
Honor.  I just don’t happen to see you as the Princess of Paradise County the
way my brother does.  See, I’ve grown a little weary of seeing my poor bastard
of a brother moping around, waiting for you to see what’s right in front of
your face.  I’m sick to death of watching him put his heart and soul on the
line in an effort to make sure you get the help you obviously need.  Christ
almighty, girl, I get it.  You’ve seen the evil shit men can do.  Got that
memo.  But you’ve also seen good men willing to put their own lives on the line
for the women they love.  Your daddy was one of those.  So was your uncle.  And
in case you had your head buried in the sand,
all
your brothers-in-law
would die for your sisters.  So if you're here to fuck with Zeke’s head some
more…”

“Not that it’s
any
affair of yours, Zachariah, but I
am
here to apologize and try to make
things right with Ezekiel.  What I’m not here to do is take your abuse.  Either
move aside so that I can try to repair some of the damage I did or tell me to
go and not come back.”

“I strongly suggest
you move aside and allow the young senorita to talk to the sheriff, Señor
Monroe.  Otherwise I feel certain you’ll have a problem with not only myself,
but tu hermano as well,” Diego Fuentes’ menacing voice agreed as he nailed Ice
with a look that would have chilled a lesser man.

Ice shrugged, his
broad shoulders rising and falling carelessly as he scratched his belly.  “That
a threat from the great Mexican thug of Paradise County?” Ice asked with a cold
smile.

“You may take it as
exactly such,” Diego returned dangerously as he pressed closer to Honor’s back,
his dark eyes simmering with anger.

Looking between the
two posturing alpha males, Honor rolled her eyes.  “For heaven’s sake!  Stop
it!  Both of you.  Ice is just bein’ an – excuse my language – an asshat!”

Ice’s eyes drifted
back to Honor’s face as his lips twitched slightly in amusement.  “An asshat?”

“If the sombrero
fits, amigo,” Diego murmured as he directed an evil grin toward the other man.

Ignoring Diego, Ice
stared into Honor’s eyes, and he asked his next question softly.  “You for
real?  You wanna fix things?”

Honor’s cheeks
flushed.  Discomfited, she shifted under his scrutinizing gaze.  “Yes,” she
admitted huskily, hanging her head.  “I was… I was awful to him, and I need to
make it right.  Over the last few days, I’ve come to realize that while I don’t
know what Zeke and I will ultimately end up being, I need him in my life.  I
miss him something fierce, Ice.  Please, let me try and apologize.”

“You miss him enough
that you’re gonna finally agree to get the help you need in order to try and
figure out exactly what y’all are gonna be to each other?” Ice questioned in a
low voice.  “Because honest to God, Honor, I’m not sure how much more of this
my brother can take.  Emotionally, he’s walking a thin line since you and he
fought.”

Jerking alarmed eyes
up to Ice’s serious face, Honor nodded.  “I’m going to try, Ice.  I promise.”

Lifting his hand to
cup Honor’s jaw, Ice’s harsh face softened a bit.  “You’re a good girl, Honor. 
You always have been, but that stubbornness of yours…it’s your one flaw,
darlin’.  Don’t let it be your downfall.”

Honor nodded.

“He’s out back with
Thunder and Lightning cleaning out the fence row,” Ice shared.

“Already?” Honor
asked.

“Without you, Zeke’s
been like a man possessed, honey.  If he doesn’t keep his hands busy, he finds
himself in a fight.  Usually with me.  I’m hoping that you can put a stop to
that.  I don’t think my jaw can handle any more of my little brother’s right
hooks,” he said, reaching up to gingerly prod his cheek.  “Do me a favor and
put the poor bastard out of
my
misery.  You know where the back door is
better than me,” he invited, flapping his hand toward the kitchen.

“Do you need me to
stay, querida?” Diego asked, touching Honor’s arm lightly before she could
charge toward the back door.

Looking to Ice for
guidance, the other man scoffed.  “He ain’t gonna tell you to leave, Honor, if
that’s what you’re worried ‘bout.”

Honor nodded before
turning to Diego.  “I think I’ll be okay,” she murmured.  “Thank you so much
for everything, Diego.”

Brushing a kiss to
her forehead, Diego squeezed her arm.  “If you need me, I’ll be at your café. 
Would it be safe to tell your sisters that you’ll see them tomorrow morning or
are you going to take a few more days’ vacation?”

“Tell them I’ll see
them all tomorrow.  It’s time to act like a grown up again,” she declared with
a faint smile.

“Good girl,” Diego
praised, winking at her.

“Thank God,” Ice
groaned.  “I love Miss Orla, but she’s burned my eggs every single morning this
past week.”

“Are you sure that
wasn’t intentional?” Honor asked as she stepped into Zeke’s living room. 
“That’s pretty much her go-to move when she’s angry at a customer.”

“Well, I did send
back my eggs the first day for being runny,” Ice mused, sighing heavily.

“Mystery solved,”
Honor returned with a cheeky smile before hurrying toward the glass patio doors
that led onto Zeke’s back deck as Ice muttered a curse behind her.

5:30 am

Zeke

“God damn it!” Zeke
hissed angrily as he drew back his hand as the thorns from the wild rose bush
tore at his flesh.  An hour ago, it had seemed like such a good idea to take
his bad mood out on the weeds clogging up the wooden fence at the back of his property.  
Unfortunately, now all he wanted to do was lift his leg and use his boot to
kick down the old wood boundary marker.  Of course, his neighbor wouldn’t be
too happy since it was actually
their
fence. 

Shirtless and
sweating, he pulled his white handkerchief from the back pocket of his faded
jeans and swiped at his damp face.  Looking up to see his brother’s two giant
Rottweilers, Thunder and Lightning, chasing each other through the yard, he
shook his head.  Now that was a life he could enjoy, he thought as he watched
the animals play.  Those pups had nothing more serious to do than compete in a
game of tug of war with an old frayed rope they’d found on his deck.  He envied
them their simple life.  He lifted a hand to adjust the battered old brown cowboy
hat on his head before he bent over and grabbed his bottle of water off the
ground.

Tilting the plastic
bottle to his lips, he ignored the sound of the opening patio doors behind
him.  Probably his brother, come to yap some more about how he was wasting his
life waiting for a woman who didn’t want him.  If Zeke had to listen to his big
brother’s philosophies regarding the opposite sex one more time, he was going
to finally just break the guy’s jaw so the doctor could wire it shut.

At least then he wouldn’t
be forced to listen to Ice’s bullshit about how women were born fickle and the
best a man could hope for was to catch her on a day where she wasn’t either PMSing
or hormonally imbalanced. 

“I told you to leave
me the fuck alone, dickhead.  I’m not in the mood for any more of your
bullshit, Ice,” Zeke warned before draining the water from the bottle with a
few quick swallows. 

 “Well, I’m not your
brother, but I wouldn’t blame you if you directed those same sentiments at me. 
I probably deserve them a lot more than he does,” a soft, sweet voice remarked
from the raised deck of his house.

Zeke dropped the
empty water bottle with numb fingers as he jerked around to face the woman
behind him with a slack jaw.  Unable to believe what he was seeing, he whispered,
“Honor?”

Watching as she
nodded slowly, Zeke felt his heart begin to pound.  He’d waited for this
moment.  He’d prayed for it.  Imagined it in a hundred different ways and
planned for it in a thousand. 

But nothing… nothing
could have ever prepared him for it.  For her.

“Do you want me to
go?” she asked faintly, her fingers tapping nervously against her leg as she
met his gaze with a worried frown.  “You do.  You want me to go,” she
whispered, her face turning beet red the longer Zeke stayed silent.  “It’s
okay.  I understand.  I can go,” she said when he continued to remain mute,
still and staring at her as though she was a ghost. 

Fuck, her leaving was
the last thing on Earth he wanted, he thought desperately.  Jolted into action
when he saw her spin back toward the sliding door, Zeke bolted toward her. 
“Honor, no!  Don’t leave.”  He quickly climbed the wooden steps of the deck,
finally reaching her level to face her.  A thousand thoughts ran through his
jumbled mind as he got a good look at her after almost a week apart.  She
appeared worn and a lot paler than he liked, and her eyes appeared bruised,
standing out on her face because of the dark circles she wore underneath
them.   Her t-shirt seemed to swallow her tiny frame, and if he had to guess,
he’d bet she’d lost at least ten pounds.  And while he knew he didn’t look much
better than her after a week apart, it still bothered him that he hadn’t been
around to take care of her.  God damn it, he should have never stayed away from
her this long, he mentally berated himself.  To hell with giving her the space
she needed… if this was what happened when he entrusted her care to other
people, she could just learn to deal with his presence in her life.