A Perfect Match by Kathleen Fuller Page B

roughened palms still covering her shoulders. She continued.
    â€œHe couldn’t find work here, so he went to Florida to help out his cousin, who owned a construction company. He said he’d be back in a few months, and he promised to save every penny, just as I promised to do from my job. By the time he returned, we’d have enough money to get married. I waited for him.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I never doubted him for a moment.”
    â€œHe didn’t come back, did he?”
    She opened her eyes. “I wrote him dozens of letters. He wrote me two. Six months after he left, I found out through Rose that he’d married someone he’d met in the settlement there.” Even though the pain wasn’t as acute as it had been, it still smarted.
    â€œI’m sorry.” Gently he rubbed his hands over her shoulders.
    â€œYou don’t seem surprised.”
    He shook his head. “I’ll admit, I suspected someone hurt you. I figured that was the reason you were pushing me away.” He cupped her cheek. “But I want you to listen to me carefully, Naomi. I’m not David. I would never hurt you like he did. And I promise, I’m not going to leave and never come back.”
    â€œBut you’re going to leave.”
    He dropped his hand from her cheek. “I have to. Middlefield is my home. But—”
    â€œSo you see how this won’t work?” She pulled away from him, her eyes burning. “I can’t geh through that again, Zeke. I can’t sit around and wait to see if you’ll come back, then discover you’ve met someone else.”
    â€œNaomi, that won’t happen. I wouldn’t hurt you.”
    â€œBut what if—”
    Zeke put his finger to her lips. “Naomi, you can’t live your life like that.”
    â€œEasy for you to say. You’ve never had your heart broken.”
    â€¢â€¢â€¢
    â€œYou’re right,” Zeke said. Finally, she’d admitted why she didn’t want to see him anymore. But he knew she wasn’t any closer to giving him a chance than she’d been when he first arrived. Still, he wasn’t going to give up. Pursuing a woman was new to him—usually he was the one being pursued. “I’ve never had my heart broken,” he had to admit. “But here’s something you don’t know. You’re breaking my heart now.”
    She brought her fingertips to her mouth. “I don’t mean to.” She turned away from him again.
    Frustrated, he reached out to touch her, wanting her to face him, wishing she could see how much he wanted her to give them a chance. Lord, what do I say? What do I do?
    Then he realized he’d done everything he could. Said everything that could be said, at least right now. And still she hadn’t changed her mind. “Okay,” he said, trying to keep defeat from straining his voice. He fought to speak the words he knew were a lie as he let his arms fall to his sides. “I understand.”
    She spun around, a surprised expression on her face. “You do?”
    He nodded, even though his heart was shattering. Now he fully understood how she’d felt when David abandoned her. And through his pain, he could honestly sympathize with hers. Which made the fact she wouldn’t let him comfort her even more difficult to take. “I can’t make you trust me.”
    He’d always known God had someone special for him, a woman who would complete him. But the Lord had never promised Zeke things would be easy. Maybe that was part of God’s plan after all. The Lord didn’t always answer prayers the way people expected Him to. Zeke knew that firsthand when he’d prayed for years that his parents would stop fighting with each other. They finally did, but in exchange they barely spoke to one another. And here was Naomi, the woman he’d prayed for, who seemed to be within his reach, but might as well