allow the man to go into the marriage uninformed. Though Francine had good qualities, her number one priority would always be herself. Having Leonard know that fact up front would prevent any unpleasant surprises down the line—such as him leaving the way Zach’s stepfather had.
Much to his surprise, Leonard held no illusions about his future wife. He told Zach that he had been a widower for over five years and missed being married. He had enough money to support Francine and her needs. Her lack of maturity charmed him instead of turning him off. Having her depend upon him for everything was exactly what he was looking for.
Deciding that the man did indeed know what he was getting into, Zach had given his approval. He just hoped Leonard could handle being a full-time caretaker for the rest of his life.
Though he loved her, Zach held no illusions about his mother. When she hadn’t been dating, searching for a new husband, or trying to steal someone else’s husband, she had been miserable. She had told him once that having a man in her life gave her purpose.
Instead of turning right onto Beach View Drive to go home, Zach made a left onto Grant Road. The convenience store was only a couple of blocks away. Hopefully he could get into bed before midnight, since he wanted to get up early for a couple more hours of study time. Glancing over at the high school on the right, he wondered about all the cars and then remembered that this was senior prom night.
How could he have forgotten the prom? Josh was there. Though his little brother wasn’t a senior, one of the senior girls had asked him to take her. Josh, being Josh, had refused. The kid did everything he could not to incur any added expenses. Zach wasn’t having it and had insisted that he go. He hadn’t been able to go to his own prom, not that he would’ve wanted to go, but choosing not to go was a hell of lot different than not being able to afford to go. Zach was determined his little brother get all the advantages he hadn’t had. That included proms, dances, dates, and all the other things most teenagers took for granted.
Zach took a sweeping glance at the full parking lot but didn’t see the car Josh was driving—a baby blue Lexus—Leonard’s gift to Francine on the day of his proposal. Maybe he’d parked on the other side. As Zach drove by, his headlights swooped across the far end of the parking lot and he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Blinking to clear his sight, he saw what looked like four guys standing in a circle. Though they were in a dark area, away from the streetlight, their menacing stance and total focus told him they were surrounding someone. Some poor kid was about to get an ass-whupping.
He told himself he was too tired to intervene. Early on, before he’d learned a few hard-earned lessons, he’d been the recipient of several of those beatings. They weren’t fun but they’d toughened him up. Besides, the army recruiter had told him to stay away from anything that could cause him trouble. One more blight on his record and his dreams of being in the service would be toast.
A few yards later, Zach slowed to a standstill. How many times had he wished for someone to come rescue him or help him out? No one ever had. Was this guy wishing for the same thing?
The badass reputation Zach had worked hard to earn could now deter even the toughest asshole from bothering him. Maybe just by showing up, he could scare the little shits away and help a kid out.
Mentally shrugging, Zach made a quick U-turn and headed for the entrance to the parking lot. Whether he could just make verbal threats or he’d have to knock a few heads together no longer mattered. The closer he came to the menacing circle, the more imperative it seemed for him to put a halt to whatever was about to happen.
Not bothering to park, Zach stopped within a couple of yards of the group and turned his lights on bright. Four young men, two dressed in tuxedoes and two in casual clothes, whipped their heads around and glared. Oh yeah, he’d definitely interrupted their good time.
Zach opened the car door and got out slowly. “You guys having a party or what?”
“What the hell do