Finding Our Forever: (A Defining Moments Novel) (32 page)

JUST AS WE’RE
finishing up dinner, Cord arrives at our table and pats Eli on the back.

“Hey, Eli,” he says with a bright smile. “How are you guys doing? How was dinner?”

“Cord!” Eli barks out. He stands up and gives him a guy-hug before continuing. “Dinner was amazing as always. How are you?”

“I’m good. Real good. Are you coming to Claire and Tyler’s wedding this weekend?” he asks quickly, scanning the restaurant and then snapping his fingers at a waitress who is standing a few feet away texting on her phone. She scurries off when she realizes she’s caught.

Who are Claire and Tyler?

“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Eli replies smiling at him. “Mom will be home tomorrow.”

I watch as Cord’s face swings back to Eli’s and I can see he wants to ask more questions, but he just nods before speaking. “Well, it was good to see you again. I guess I’ll see you two this weekend.” They shake hands, and Cord hugs me gently before rushing back toward the kitchen.

Eli places his hand on my lower back and we start toward the exit. “Who are Claire and Tyler?”

“Oh, shit. I forgot to tell you. My mom’s best friend Claire is getting married this weekend, and I wanted you to come with me. Do you have to work this weekend?” he rushes out.

“Unfortunately, I have to work Friday and Saturday, but I have Sunday off. When is the wedding?” I ask.

Eli groans before he responds. “It’s early Saturday afternoon.”

“I can’t go, Eli. I’m scheduled for an eight to eight shift that day, and I’m still too new to be asking for days off.”

“I understand. I’m just sad you can’t go with me. My mom will be back and she’s been dying to meet you. I mean, I know you’ve technically met her, but really meet her,” he tells me. “But you said you have Sunday off, right?” I nod in answer. “Want to come to a family dinner with me then? She’s having everyone over for dinner Sunday afternoon.”

“I’d love too,” I tell him. “I’m really looking forward to meeting the real Ellie.”

He smiles brightly before helping me into his truck. On the drive back to my house, I fiddle with the radio and stop on an old country song I love. Eli just shakes his head and smiles.

“Is it weird that I even missed your terrible taste in music while we were apart?” he taunts me.

“What? Who has terrible taste in music? You better take that back, Elijah Harper!” I squeal at him.

He just laughs and grabs my hand again, bringing it to his mouth and kissing the back of it.

And for the third time in two weeks, he walks me to my front door, kisses me on the cheek, and waits until I’m inside and the door is locked to leave.

WHEN SUNDAY FINALLY
rolls around, I’m exhausted. Yesterday was a hard day as we’d lost one of the little girls on our floor. Rosie had been fighting leukemia for the past two years and contracted a nasty case of pneumonia. Her weakened immune system could not fight it off and she’d passed in her sleep. I’d locked myself in the bathroom for twenty minutes trying to pull myself together. Michael came in twice to cry with me and console me. I’d considered meeting Eli up at the wedding reception, but after that shift, all I wanted to do was cry and sleep. I’d texted him and told him I wouldn’t be coming and that we’d lost one of our little ones. She was twelve, but she was somebody’s baby. I know my heart will never get used to this part of the job.

After taking a shower and starting to get ready for my day, I see the huge bags under my eyes and try to put some makeup on them, which just makes it worse. Whatever.

Just as I’m about to pour myself another cup of coffee, there’s a low knock at my front door. Diesel and Daisy are asleep in my bedroom and even they didn’t hear it. They’re losing their touch.

I peek out the window and am surprised to see Eli standing with a white paper bag and two large coffee cups with steam coming out of the top.

Opening the door, the tears start the second my eyes meet his. He’s here to comfort me and help me through this, and I love him a little bit more. I open the door to let him in, and he places the bag and coffee on the little entry table right inside the door before pulling me and my tear-stained face into his chest. One of his hands comes up to my head, holding it to his chest, and the other is rubbing gentle circles on my back, soothing me.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispers into the top of my hair, kissing my head over and over again as he lets me cry. “Are you sure you can do this job, Sara? I hate seeing you in pain like this.”

I pull back from him and look up into his concerned face. “I love this job, Eli. I can’t even tell you how much I love those kids. Losing one of them is horrible, and it will never get any easier, but I know in my heart that taking care of those sick babies is what my life was supposed to be about. Every single time I step onto the floor, my soul is happy. I’m meant to care for them. It’s what I was born to do.”

I watch as tears fill his eyes before he pulls me to him again. I’m not sure how long we stand just inside my doorway, holding onto each other, before Diesel and Daisy realize Eli is here and almost maul us.

After splashing some water on my face and reapplying a little makeup, I meet Eli back in the kitchen where he has set out the scones and coffee he brought. We chat about how his mom’s trip to Italy was and how beautiful Claire’s wedding was last night. When he tells me he thinks his mom and Cord will be back together again soon, I’m not surprised. I remember how upset he was when she was in the hospital. I could tell even way back then that he loved her, because I remember thinking I hoped someone looked at me like that someday.

Eli spends the day with me, trying to keep my mind off losing Rosie. When it’s time to head to his mom’s for dinner, my heart is a little less heavy, having been able to let Eli shoulder some of my grief.

The moment she opens the front door, I know where Eli got his amazingly big heart from.

“Oh, sweetie, you come hug me,” Ellie croaks and then pulls me into a crushing hug. “I am so sorry, sweet girl.” The tears threaten, but the fact that she is rocking back and forth like a mom with her child makes my throat about close up. Eli rubs my back and tells us he’s going to go find the guys, who are all sitting out back with Cord. He called it. They’re already back together and she’s only been home a few days.

When she lets me go, she wipes the lone tear that slipped from my eye and then turns me toward the kitchen and ushers me forward, chatting as though that moment didn’t just happen. Eli is so her son, and it makes me laugh.

“So, tell me about your trip to Italy,” I request, trying to get off the subject of Rosie’s loss.

For the next thirty minutes, I help Ellie in the kitchen and she tells me all about her trip. I hope someday I can go to these amazing places she’s describing. It sounds as though this trip was exactly what she needed. She looks over-the-moon happy.

We eat dinner, chatting amongst each other. Ben hasn’t said much and I’ve caught him looking at me a few times. When I get up to start taking the dishes into the house, Ben jumps up to help me, and I immediately know what’s coming.

The second I drop the dishes in my hands into the sink full of bubbles, I feel Ben step up beside me.

“How is she?” he asks me, his voice sounding defeated.

“Ben, I told you—” I start to reply, but he shakes his head and interrupts me.

“I’m not asking you to tell me anything, Sara. I just need to know if she’s okay. She won’t answer my calls, she doesn’t respond to my texts, I’ve stopped by her house a million times and she’s either not there or won’t answer the door.”

“She’s hurting. She’s trying to put on a happy face for me when I do see her, which isn’t often. She’s closed me out completely and won’t tell me what the hell is going on, so unless you want to fill in the blanks for me, that’s all you’re getting out of me,” I lecture him.

He mumbles something under his breath, drops the dishes in his hands into the sink, and storms out of the kitchen.

That’s what I thought. I knew he wouldn’t tell me what he did, but it ended that conversation just as I knew it would.

Once back outside, Ben excuses himself, saying he has a headache and is going home. Destry came with him, but Eli tells him he’ll take him home later if he wants to stay, which he does. At one point during the night, Destry and I are the only two on the back porch.

“Eli did tell you that Tynlee is just a friend of mine from Boise, right?” Destry asks me, and I nod in response.

“I just wanted to make sure that her coming to visit me didn’t get in the way of you and Eli’s relationship,” he continues. “She went back to Boise a couple of days ago, so it’s not an issue anymore.”

“She wasn’t an issue to begin with, Dez. Don’t worry about it,” I tell him firmly. I may not like his friend, but I’m not threatened by her anymore. Eli has never given me a reason not to trust him and he said he wasn’t with her.

“I know she can be overly flirty and didn’t want you to think that Eli would ever do that,” he tells me, his voice kind of cracking.

“Are you in love with her?” I ask him.

“I do love her, but as a best friend. I’m not
in
love with her,” he reports. “She’s not what you think she is, Sara. I’ve never met a more broken person.”

Because I know Ramzi’s past and everything she’s been through, I know what he’s talking about. Z is crass and bitchy and flirty as hell, but she has a heart of gold. You wouldn’t know that unless you spent the time breaking through her hard exterior.

“Well, then I’m glad she has you as a friend to help her. Real friends are hard to come by. If she’s that kind of friend to you, hold on to that friendship tight,” I reply honestly.

Just then Ellie and Cord step back outside, followed by Eli, holding snacks and a glass of wine for me.

Ellie shipped a bunch of wine home from Italy before she left and she explains to me that the one I’m drinking was from her favorite vineyard. We chat and laugh for a little while longer before my exhaustion creeps back up on me, and I start yawning.

“As much as I’ve enjoyed this evening, I think it’s time for me to head home,” I announce after my third yawn in about five minutes.

I hug Ellie and thank her for dinner before hugging Cord and telling them both goodnight. As we’re making our way out to Eli’s truck, Destry announces he wants to be dropped off first since he doesn’t want to watch us “make out.” It makes Eli and I laugh.

After dropping him off at their house, Eli drives back toward my place. I must have fallen asleep before we get there because the next thing I know, he’s lifting me out of his truck and into his arms. He whispers, “Baby, where are your keys?” and I lift my purse from around my body, digging into it without ever opening my eyes. When I find them, I lift them out and he takes them from me and maneuvers himself sideways to get the key in the door with the hand resting under my knees.

Once he’s laid me on the bed, he takes my shoes off and pulls the covers up over me, tucking them around me. Leaning forward, he kisses my head before turning off the lights and leaving. I vaguely remember hearing him let the dogs out and refilling their water bowl.

WHEN I ROLL OVER
this morning, I admit I’m a little disappointed that Eli hadn’t stayed. I mean, we’re not to that step yet, but I do miss sleeping in his arms.

After using the bathroom and brushing my teeth, I head into the kitchen to start coffee, but stop and smile when I see what he did before he left last night. He set out my favorite coffee cup and set up the pot so all I had to do was turn it on.

I flip it on and turn to the fridge to get the creamer, and there on the fridge is a handwritten note from Eli.

Good morning, beautiful! I will be here to pick you up at 10:00 a.m. We’re going to the lake to relax for the day, so wear something lake appropriate and pack a sweatshirt in case it gets chilly later. -E

I glance at the clock and see it’s just after nine, so I jump in the shower to start getting ready while the coffee brews.

At ten till ten, there’s a knock at my door. I holler “come in” as I make my way down the hallway and watch as Eli’s frame fills the doorway. Can you miss someone you’ve only been away from for eight hours? Yeah, I missed him.