The Wildflower (Completed) (Southern Nights)

Chapter 21

“The Heart of a Wildflower”

2013 © Copyright All Rights Reserved

Elizabeth could barely sit still in her seat.  She was feeling so many emotions right now that her heart felt as if it was about to burst right out of her chest.  She was anxious and scared, happy and ecstatic.  Her toes tapped frantically against the floorboard, and if it wasn’t for the seat belt strapping her down in the car seat she was pretty sure that she’d be bouncing all over the place.

Zeb reached over and placed a calming hand on her thigh.  “Calm down, sweetheart.  You’ll get to see him soon enough. ”

After the torturous waiting, they were finally on their way to pick up Brandon for the visitation that Zeb somehow miraculously managed to obtain.  Now that they were only minutes from seeing him, Elizabeth’s nerves were beginning to get the best of her.

It all started when she first woke up this morning.  As usual she rolled out of the bed and was going downstairs to start the coffee pot when her stomach lurched, forcing her to make a quick detour to the bathroom.  After barely making it in time, she knelt down in front of the porcelain throne and proceeded to puke her guts out.

Zeb had been really sweet, coming in only seconds behind her, holding her hair back from her face and handing her a cool washcloth to clean up afterwards.  After her little stint, her stomach leveled out and she ate some toast.  But even now, three hours later, she still felt like an emotional train wreck.

Since learning about the visitation she had been so worried.  She worried that for whatever reason Brandon wouldn’t like them and maybe even come to hate the fact that they were suddenly trying to disrupt his normal life.  When she voiced her concerns, Zeb constantly tried to reassure her that Brandon would love them no matter what, but it still didn’t stop that little fear that niggled in the back of her head.

They pulled up in front of a little one story dilapidated house and Zeb turned off the car.  Elizabeth looked out the window and stared at the small fenced in yard.  Something just seemed like it was off to her.

She blew out a heavy breath that ruffled the loose tendrils of hair framing her face.  She turned around and faced Zeb.  “Is it me, or does it seem like something isn’t quite right?”

Zeb looked past her and towards the house.  He frowned and shook his head.   “There are no toys,” he said barely above a whisper.

“Huh?”  Elizabeth turned and stared back at the house.

“Brandon is a five year old boy.  There should be a bike or plastic trucks, a ball or something for a little boy to play with, but there is nothing.  If we were just passersby, we’d never guess a child lived in this house.”

Zeb had a good point.  Nothing about this sat well with Elizabeth.  She looked down at the plush dog she was holding in her hands.  She picked it up yesterday as a gift for Brandon.  She fingered the soft dog's ear.  “All children should have toys to play with,” she mumbled sadly.

“He will,” Zeb swore through tightly gritted teeth.  “Once he is back with us where he belongs he will have a yard full of toys to play with; that will be for damn sure.”

All Elizabeth could do was helplessly watch as Zeb stepped out of the car.  She could literally feel the anger radiating off of him and even see it with all of the short jerky movements he used as he stalked towards the door.  Zeb wasn’t just angry; he was flat out pissed off.

Taking the three steps in one leap, he stood erect on the porch with his hands tightly fisted by his sides and rang the doorbell.  It didn’t take long for the door to open revealing Nicole dressed in what Elizabeth thought had to be the shortest dress ever worn on this side of the Mason Dixon line. She marveled at the gravity of the woman.