had closed herself off. With the exception of her sisters, no one knew the real Savannah anymore. Zach had at one time, but he had given that up. Could she allow him back in?
Before she could answer, he sighed and said, “Here I am, asking you to share, and I haven’t done much myself, have I?”
Relieved at the reprieve, she answered, “Not a lot.”
“Then ask me something … anything.”
The temptation to ask about other relationships was there but she held off. Not only because she dreaded learning about other women in his life but also because he would expect the same from her. How on earth was she going to explain that in ten years, her relationship history was as barren and dry as the Arizona desert?
Family was a relatively safe topic, at least safer than asking about other relationships, so Savannah started there. “You said that after you left here, you didn’t see your mother for a while. How are things between you now?”
“Better, but still strained. Finding out who my real father was didn’t exactly enhance it. I’ve always felt more like her big brother than her son.”
“Is she happy with your stepfather?”
“As happy as I think it’s possible for her to be. Leonard still dotes on her and Mom eats that up. As long as he treats her as if she’s the most important person on the planet, she seems satisfied.”
The one time she had met Francine Adams had been enough for a lifetime. Knowing what he had put up with growing up made Savannah admire Zach even more.
“Did you ever resent having to be the grown-up in the family?”
“Of course I did but I had no other choice. Keeping the family together was priority one for me. I did what I had to do to make that happen. When you have no choices, life can be damn simple—survival and nothing else.”
“Are you still close with Josh?”
“Yeah. Maybe even more since we’ve grown up. He calls me once a week, if he can. Other times, we email each other.”
“And the army? You said you liked it.”
“After I got used to it, yeah, I liked it. I got the discipline and structure I was looking for and needed. I finally felt as if I was doing something worthwhile.”
“Why did you leave?”
He was silent for several seconds and then said, “I was finishing up my second tour in Iraq. Got some shrapnel in one of my legs. When I got out of the hospital, I realized the zest I’d had before was gone. When it came time to sign up again, I just didn’t.”
She swallowed and asked the one question she didn’t want to ask but had to. “And relationships? Girlfriends … wives?”
When he shifted, she lifted her head to face him. “I won’t lie to you, Savannah. I’ve had a couple of relationships, but nothing that lasted long and never anything serious. Nothing like I had with you.”
She knew she should be happy about that, but for some reason she felt only sadness for them both. If things has worked out the way they had planned, they would have been married for several years, probably would have had at least a couple of kids by now. Don’t go there.
When he lowered his head and softly kissed her lips, Savannah savored the sensation but couldn’t respond. As if he understood, he lifted his mouth from hers and whispered, “It’s getting late. I’d better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Savannah watched him walk away. She wanted to ask him to stay but she felt too vulnerable. Tomorrow she would be stronger, less apt to give way to temptation. She needed to get her head on straight. Last night had been different—they’d satisfied a desire, scratched an itch. But tonight … if tonight had shown her anything, it had revealed that Zach was wanting more than just sex. And Savannah honestly didn’t know if she had it in her anymore.
She looked out into the backyard and the wilderness beyond. Coming home had become so much more complicated than she had planned. Not only was the man who’d crushed her heart wanting to start up again, she might well have uncovered the truth of a terrible crime. What she learned from Mosby tomorrow could change the course of so many lives forever.
MOBILE, ALABAMA
COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL
The beeps and clicks of the machines beside him were distant and faint. It was a sound he’d heard on numerous television shows over the years and one he’d