EPILOGUE
Ezekiel
Sierra hung up with her father as they walked up the steps to Zeek’s front door a couple of hours later. Her father had called to inform them that his plane was landing at Orlando International Airport this evening. He let Sierra know he was ready to bury Zeek on his own land.
Once her father spoke with Zeek, learned that he and Sierra were handfasted, he was slightly less willing to spill Ezekiel’s blood.
When Big Row learned that Zeek was going to prepare Ms. Cassandra’s house for him to stay in as long and as often as he wanted, well, then it was all my son-in-law this, my son-in-law that.
Zeek smiled, shaking his head.
“Looks like I’ll have to get most of your stuff moved out of your place by this afternoon,” EZ said putting her backpack on the entry table. She smiled and joked about getting her full deposit back, then she went silent.
Zeek looked over at her and tracked to the place she was staring.
Chupa was curled up in front of Odin.
Odin was frowning, he looked put out that the kit was in his personal space.
Sierra screeched, ran across the room, and lifted the small kit into her arms.
“How did you get here? Don’t you ever leave me. I missed you so much!”
“Odin must have let her in through his doggy door. It can only be activated if he’s beside it.”
Sierra kneeled down and reached for Odin next.
“There’s my beautiful big-hearted boy,” she said nuzzling his neck.
“Looks like you got the family you envisioned after all.” Zeek smiled and squatted down beside her, rubbing a hand over Odin’s healing injuries. He kissed Sierra on the temple.
A beep sounded from his office. He stood and walked to the back of his house.
After a few minutes, he heard Sierra rummaging through the kitchen, likely looking for something to make breakfast with. She must have gotten curious about where he’d gone, because when he looked up from his desk, she was standing in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” she asked, stepping into the room.
“It’s a good thing I set up those cameras,” he said pointing to the monitor. She rounded the desk to see two men, one white and one...
“Isn’t that Maribelle’s cousin?”
“It is. He works for Inheritance Investments and Development. The man beside him also works there, I think he heads up the construction arm of the company.”
“You have got to be shitting me,” she muttered as he played the video of them dumping wet soil and buckets of liquid farther down the same fence line. “Why are they doing this?”
“I own the six acres of land running alongside Ms. Cassandra’s.
When she sold me her seven acres, the developers had been after her for years but she didn’t want them to have it.
The land’s been in her family since before emancipation.
Her granddaddy was white and her land was the only thing he gave to his Black descendants.
She wanted me to have it since my family’s worked the land for decades and my property butts up against hers.
She sold it to me last year before she got sick.
“Apparently IID ain’t above playing dirty to try to get me out of here and get the land.”
“They are going to jail!” Sierra snapped.
“Do you know where they’re currently building their development?
The chemicals may be coming from one of the areas they’re building in.
If they make it seem like the pollutants are coming from your land then maybe they think they have a better case to get you to sell. ”
He followed her as she raced back to the living room and picked up her purse.
She called her boss who was going to meet her at the lab to get the sample results and look over land holdings.
Her boss planned to coordinate with a few governmental agencies about IID, and they would determine if the company knew about the actions of their staff.
“This is our home. Our haven,” Sierra said as she opened the door.
“It’s our future,” Zeek said, raising a copy of the disc with the security video. “And we defend what’s ours.”
He reached for his keys as Sierra strapped Chupa to her chest and walked to the front door with Odin trotting beside her.
“Wildflower and Wildfire!” she said called out excitedly. “The dynamic duo defending the wilds of our love.”
He grinned and shook his head. She was so corny.
“And vanquish all evil that threatens it,” he said because it felt good to be corny with her.
She walked back to him and stood on her toes, kissing him.
“You are so easy to love, Ezekiel Evers.”
“And you are my soul’s light Sierra Rowan...soon to be Evers.”
“Ha!” She shouted, walking to the truck. “Baby you might as well drop the soon-to-be and call me Sierra happily-Evers-after!”
“You got it, Si.”
I am so fucked, he thought, shaking his head as he locked the front door.