and stomach leaped in glee. That had been one of their favorite places to eat when they were dating. It’d been cheap and good. “Gumbo and fried catfish?”
A smile she hadn’t seen in ten years flashed over his face. “Hush puppies and slaw, too.”
Savannah headed to the door. “I’ll set the table and pour the tea.”
Zach released a quiet, relieved sigh as he followed Savannah down the stairs. She had every right to demand he leave. Coming in uninvited hadn’t exactly been his brightest idea, but ever since he’d seen the graffiti this morning, her safety had been a concern. The dinner was a cheap bribe. He knew if he could get her to open the door, the food was his magic key inside. He hadn’t anticipated that she wouldn’t answer the door. Alarm had zoomed through him that something had happened. Before he knew it, he was looking for the hidden key. Yesterday, she had told him she had a gun—he was damn lucky she hadn’t shot him.
He had never been one to overreact, but with Savannah he’d often done so, and in extreme ways. Zach refused to question why after ten years nothing had changed.
The next hurdle would be getting her on board with his plan. Gibby’s suggestion last night had given him the idea. Would Savannah see through it to his real reason—mainly just to be with her? He mentally shrugged. It was worth a shot.
Grabbing up the box of food he’d placed at the front door after he’d come into the house, he headed to the kitchen. Savannah had already filled their glasses with ice and was now placing plates and silverware on the kitchen table.
“I made fresh tea this morning. That okay with you? Or I have Coke, if you’d rather.”
Shaking his head, he put the box of food on the table and began to unload. “Tea sounds good. It’s been a hot one today.”
She poured tea into the glasses. “I didn’t even see the sun today.”
“I passed by around noon and saw that Carrie and Sylvia were keeping you company.”
“I guess you could call it that.”
“You’re exciting news to Midnight. Not every day a favorite daughter returns.”
Her nose scrunched in a cute grimace. “We both know I was never a favorite of anyone’s. But thanks all the same.”
He disagreed. She’d been a favorite of his from the day he’d met her. But bringing that up would be sure to spoil the easy atmosphere they had going right now.
“I did learn something interesting from Sylvia and Carrie, though.”
He took a bite of a crunchy hush puppy and swallowed. “What’s that?”
“Apparently you’re the number one catch in Midnight.”
It was Zach’s turn to grimace. “That’s because ninety percent of the male population here is either married or over eighty.”
She laughed and popped a piece of catfish into her mouth and then closed her eyes on a groan. “Oh my gosh, I’d forgotten how good this stuff is.”
Mesmerized, Zach couldn’t look away. She was just so damn beautiful and still didn’t seem to be aware of her appeal. That had been one of the first things that had attracted him to her. Savannah had always been self-deprecating about her looks, saying that Samantha and Sabrina were the beautiful ones. And without a doubt her sisters were attractive, but compared to Savannah, they were poor imitations of the real thing.
“I’ve heard more gossip in the last twenty-four hours than I have in twenty years, most of it surrounding you.”
He cleared his throat. “You know a lot of the gossip in this town is fabrication.”
She tilted her head, her brows arching slightly. “So why’d you come back here? Ten years ago, you hated everything about this town and couldn’t wait to leave it behind.”
Zach didn’t bother to tell her that her statement wasn’t quite true. He hadn’t hated everything. He took a long swallow of tea and shrugged. “At first, I had no intention of staying. My plan was to sell my house and go someplace as far from here as possible.”
“What changed your mind?”
Another opportunity to delve into the past, and one he wasn’t prepared to take right now. If they could keep up this easy back-and-forth for a little while longer, then maybe, at some point, he could open up the gnawing dark abyss that contained the truth. For now, he relished being able to speak to her without the open hostility she’d shown before. The less seedy side of why he had decided to make Midnight his