wasn’t looking for zing. She had goals to achieve, and getting mixed up with any guy was not on her agenda until much later in life.
An image of the one boy she’d give serious thought to shoving aside her agenda for popped into her head. Slightly shaggy, golden-blond hair framed a handsome, intelligent face. His well-built, muscular body was at least six feet tall, and the confidence in his long-limbed swagger only added to his mystique. Completely out of her league and sphere of knowledge, Zach Tanner had secretly fascinated her from the moment she saw him. Not that he knew she existed. Having him notice her was only within the realm of her nighttime fantasies.
Zach was everything dreamy and sigh-worthy. She had first spotted him two years ago, when she’d been in town on an errand. He had been talking to Mr. Henson, the owner of Henson’s Grocery. Actually they’d been arguing. Henson was shorter, but much broader and had the fierce look of an angry, snarling bulldog. Zach hadn’t backed down. They’d almost been touching noses, their words heated and loud. Henson had been accusing Zach of something and he had been denying it. Unknown to either of them, Savannah had stood several feet away and watched the whole interlude. She had only caught bits and pieces of the argument because she’d been so fascinated by Zach. The way he’d stood, his shoulders so straight with an air of pride and self-assurance she could only imagine, fascinated her. He had seemed so mature … maybe even more so than Mr. Henson.
From that moment on, she had been on the lookout for him. Whenever she caught a glimpse of him, he always seemed preoccupied, as if he had a lot on his mind. Midnight was a small town and everybody knew one another. Being the kind of person who listened much more than she talked, she picked up more information than most adults thought she should know. Oddly, she didn’t know all that much about Zach and his family. She knew he lived on the other side of town and that his mother, Francine Adams, was a divorcée. And though Savannah had heard more than a few whispers of “floozy” and “harlot” in relation to Francine, she knew little more than that. Zach had a brother named Josh who was two years younger than Savannah and played on the football team.
A heavy arm came over her shoulders, startling her. She twisted her head around to see an obviously drunk Billy Bartell sitting beside her, grinning. His face was flushed with color and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.
“Why don’t we go to the car and make out?”
Her stomach roiling at the thought, Savannah shook her head. “I’m really enjoying listening to the band.” Hoping the exercise would sober him up, she pushed away from him and jumped to her feet. “I love this song. Let’s dance.”
Billy grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. Alcohol-tainted breath covered her face, making her stomach turn even queasier. “Let’s make our own music.”
Breath held to avoid the alcohol stench, Savannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the cheesy comment. She tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. She tugged again. “Let me go.”
“Not till I’ve had a taste of you.”
Horrified, she stopped struggling to gape at him. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, Savannah. Everybody warned me you were the uptight one. But with sisters like Samantha and Sabrina, there’s got to be more to you. Underneath that straitlaced, prissy air, I know there’s a wild woman. Loosen up a little.” Holding her with one hand, he reached into his jacket with the other and pulled out the silver flask. “Take a little sip and let’s have some fun.”
Not only had he insulted her, he had insulted her sisters, too. Torn between getting away from him and slapping him, Savannah took the flask he held out to her. She watched the triumphant grin disappear from his face as she poured the liquid onto the floor.
“Hey!” He grabbed her arm. “Stop that! That cost a lot of money.”
More furious at her own poor judgment than she was at the louse Billy had turned out to be, Savannah used both hands to push him away. “I’m leaving.”
“You’re not going anywhere, you ungrateful little bitch.” He grabbed for her again but she managed to jump away in time.
“Back off, you jerk.” Though she knew several eyes were on them, Savannah pushed her