Hey, book bae!
If you read Strumming My Pain, you already know the main characters of With His Song. Eva is the sister of Elise, a woman who saw her boyfriend’s murder unfold during one of the most intimate of moments. After this happens, she goes to Legacy Lakes for protection, where she meets Izeah Moses - Hezekiah’s brother.
As soon as Hezekiah sees Eva and learns a little bit about her, he’s smitten with her. He KNOWS she belongs to him, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Hezekiah is a natural born leader and protector. He has a savior complex… but Eva doesn’t want to be saved. She doesn’t want to trust another man because the father of her son, Miles, is giving her hell on earth!
While Eva battles Miles, she finds herself seeking the peace and comfort of Legacy Lakes… and Hezekiah, but it is not easy. Eva wants freedom and a new start in life, however, she wants to get both on her own terms in her own way. Hezekiah literally has the key to her future in his hand, and all he wants in exchange is her heart and a place in Saint’s life. You’ll have to read it on the 16th to find out if she gives him that :)
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Sneak Peek
Unedited
On his way home, Hezekiah called Eva, but it went straight to voicemail. He wouldn’t be surprised if her phone died overnight and she hadn’t bothered to charge it yet. He was surprised, though, when he pulled into his driveway and saw a red car parked in it. And he was even more surprised when he looked on his porch and saw Eva seated with a sleeping Saint in her lap. Hezekiah thought he’d be happy to see her again when the time came, but the only feeling consuming him now was worry.
If Eva was in Legacy Lakes, it had to be for a reason – and there was no part of Hezekiah that told him it was a good one. After taking in a deep breath, Hezekiah got out of his car and headed in their direction. Standing over her, Hezekiah pushed her flowing hair out of her face. Eva smiled, but it didn’t lift to her puffy eyes.
Had she been crying?
Who in the fuck made her cry?
Trying to restrain his anger, Hezekiah inhaled a shaky breath and took a step back. He was way too damn attached to this woman and her child. This was his second time seeing her and he was already ready for war over her.
Hezekiah unlocked the door and grabbed the bag in the chair next to the one Eva was sitting in. His eyes were focused on a still sleeping Saint, and Hezekiah couldn’t help but smile. Though he’d seen no pictures of his father, Saint looked like every bit of his mother. That was good. Because he was her baby. And the last thing Eva needed was a daily reminder of the man who had fucked her over in the worst way… even if he did give her the best gift possible.
After quietly shutting the door behind them, Hezekiah led them to his bedroom since his guest rooms had never been furnished. Eva placed Saint in the middle of his bed, and after encasing him with all the pillows Hezekiah had to offer, she sat on the edge of his bed. It was obvious that she wasn’t ready to talk yet, so Hezekiah left to give Eva her space. He went into the living room and called Elise, not surprised that she and Izeah were headed that way as soon as he told her that Eva was on his doorstep with Saint.
Hezekiah paced in his living room, unsure of how much time had passed before he heard Saint’s sleepy whimpers. Grabbing a banana from the kitchen, Hezekiah headed back to his room. The sight of Saint rubbing his eyes as Eva rocked him caused a slow smile to spread across his face. Saint was currently infatuated with bananas. He only had four little, tiny teeth, but he loved putting them to work.
His chocolate cheeks were chubby, and there was something about his little rolls on his arms and legs that always made Hezekiah want to pick him up and tickle him whenever he saw a picture of him. Hezekiah tried to hand Eva the banana, but she shook her head.
She pouted, realizing, “You noticed,” before smiling. Hezekiah nodded. “You want to break it up and give it to him?”
“You sure?”
Eva nodded. “Yea. See if he will recognize your voice and face from FaceTime.”
“Saint,” Hezekiah called, and Saint immediately looked up at him with a smile. “What’s up, lil man?”
Stretching his arms out, Saint melted Hezekiah’s heart as he requested silently to be held. With no hesitation, Hezekiah picked him up and walked him over to the recliner on the side of his bed.
“What you been up to? Yo’ old lady been treating you right?”
Saint’s head bobbed as he spoke his own language, getting a laugh out of both Hezekiah and Eva. He continued to talk to Saint and ask him questions, and Saint continued to give him responses that he couldn’t understand. Well, he could understand when Saint said no no no, sure he was trained to understand that from home. He was at that age where he was scooting around trying to get into anything he possibly could.
As Hezekiah fed Saint the banana, he tried to keep his eyes from Eva. Whatever was going on with her had her soul tired. And troubled. She’d laid back and fallen asleep on the edge of his bed. Hezekiah started to put her in it correctly and cover her up, but he didn’t want to wake her, so he took Saint out of the room and closed the door instead.
While they waited for Elise and Izeah to arrive, Hezekiah played nursery rhymes for Saint on his keyboard. He started to give him a piano lesson on his organ but figured he was probably too young for that. The whole time he played, Saint’s small fist gripped the back of his shirt as he bounced and sang along… and Hezekiah was sure that there was no place else he’d rather be.
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Are you ready to read about Eva’s heart being serenaded by Hezekiah’s song? Let me know in a comment!