as much humor as possible in with the news she’d heard since she had returned home. Glad to hear Sammie’s laughter, she settled back against her pillow with a relieved sigh.
“So how’s the packing coming?”
“I’ve got most of Granddad’s room packed up. I’m spending the next few days in the library. I’d forgotten what an extensive book collection he had.”
“Okay, I’m calmer now. Let’s get back to Zach.”
“Oh, Sammie, I don’t know. The moment I saw him … it was like the first time. He’s even more beautiful than before and almost everyone here loves him.”
“Including you?” Sammie said softly.
A swelling ache developed in her chest. No, she couldn’t love him again. Not after everything she’d gone through … she just couldn’t. Instead of denying it as she should, she said, “I don’t know.”
“If nothing else, Savvy, find out why he did what he did before you do anything crazy. Okay?”
Her sister was right. She’d almost fallen into bed with Zach before she knew what really happened ten years ago. That would have been beyond stupid.
“You’re right and I will.”
“I’ve got to get ready for work. Keep me updated. Okay?”
“Will do.” Unable to let her worry for Sammie go, she added, “Call me if you need me. Okay? I can be there in just a couple of hours.”
Her sister didn’t ask what she meant, she simply said, “Thank you, Savvy. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Dropping the phone on the nightstand, Savannah rolled over in bed and pulled a pillow over her head. Hiding from her problems wasn’t really her thing, but maybe, for just today, that’s exactly what she would do.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Hands pressed against the wall of the shower, Zach let hot water gush over his head as the memories he had squashed for the past few hours returned full force. Savannah had been within seconds of climax. He had felt her pulsing against him, had heard the soft hitch in her breath—something he remembered from past experience. Just before she came, she would release the softest and sweetest little gasp. He could get hard just thinking about that small delicate sound.
He’d almost had what he had been longing and dreaming about for years. But with that one phone call, everything had come to a screeching halt. Not only had it been painful for both of them to stop, he knew full well they were going to have to start all over again. Just how long would it take to get back to that place? Who knew, but he wasn’t going to stop until they both got what they wanted.
The hell of it was, the untimely interruption had been all for nothing. The vandals at Miller’s Feed and Seed weren’t the same people. Not only had they caused more damage than was typical of the other vandalisms, the idiots hadn’t noticed the camera in the corner recording every move they made. Now two teenagers were locked up, their parents were furious, and Zach was no closer to catching the other idiots than he was before.
He hadn’t slept but that wasn’t an issue. As an Army Ranger, he’d gone for a couple of days or more without sleep. Didn’t mean he would be in a good mood, though. Sleep deprivation combined with an unquenched thirst for Savannah just made him doubly pissed.
He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. Drying off quickly, Zach was dressed and headed out the door in a matter of minutes. Going by to check on Savannah before he went to work was probably not a good idea. She was most likely still asleep. And if she wasn’t, it meant she hadn’t slept well. The reason she might have had difficulty sleeping was one of the reasons he wanted to see her. If he could clear the air as soon as possible, maybe he could regain some of the ground he’d lost last night when he’d walked out the door.
No, he wasn’t stupid. He knew they had a lot more to get through than that one event. However, he did owe her an apology. If there was one thing the past had taught him, it was to own up to his mistakes. And he had one major one to make up to Savannah. Question was, would she let him?
After another hour of tossing and turning, sleeping only a few moments at a time, Savannah gave up. It was close to eight o’clock and all she had to show for it was a headache and a severely overheated body.