Chapter Sixteen – Zak

“Good morning.” Zak placed a tray of food on the bed in front of Louise, then leaned down and kissed her lips.

“What’s this?” Louise asked, sitting up in bed.

“Breakfast.” Zak looked down at the tray. “I told you I can cook toast. The jam is homemade too, but not by me. Dean would have made someone a good wife.”

“I can see what it is.” Louise put her hand up to his cheek. Zak turned his head and pressed his lips against her palm. “What I should be asking, is why?”

“Because I want to show you how much you mean to me, how much last night meant to me, and I needed to do it without spending any money.” He watched as she fought to keep a smile off her lips.

“Thank you. But you didn’t have to.” Louise picked up a piece of toast and spread some of Dean’s strawberry jam on it, before offering it to Zak. “Share it with me.”

“OK.” He climbed on the bed, and sat next to her, eating toast and sharing the cup of coffee he’d made for her too. “You are working at the sanctuary today, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “I have plenty of time.”

“Sorry, I got you up early. I just wanted you to myself for a few minutes, before you become a mom again.” He slipped his hand into hers. “I checked on Storm, by the way, she is still sleeping.”

“I could get used to having you around,” Louise admitted, then she sighed.

“Don’t think about him,” Zak said gently. “Don’t let him invade our lives. Not yet.”

“You know he’s not going to go away,” Louise stated the same thought he’d already had.

“I know. He did not come all this way to simply turn around and go back to whatever rock he climbed out from under. Not without trying to get whatever he came here for.” Zak put his arm around Louise, and she drew her knees up to her chest, resting her head on his shoulder.

“That’s the worst thing, I don’t know what he wants.”

“You don’t believe he simply wants to be part of your life, of Storm’s life?” Zak asked.

“He’s not the same kind of person as you,” Louise said, turning to look at Zak. She kissed his lips softly. “He doesn’t see the value of a family life, of nurturing his child.” A single tear ran down her cheek. “I wish I’d never met him.”

“But if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here now, in my arms.” He lifted his head and listened as Storm woke up and began to cry. “And you would not have that beautiful daughter of yours, whom you love, and who loves you.”

“That’s the thought I hang on to.” Louise slipped her legs over the edge of the bed and reached for her clothes. She quickly dressed, and then said, “It’s the first night Storm’s slept on her own.”

“She’s getting older. If you want we can ask Dean about decorating one of the other bedrooms for her.” His eyes danced with humor as he added, “Or you could move in here with me, and we could decorate your room.”

“Aren’t you the opportunist?” Louise asked, but she smiled back at him. “Let’s take it one day at a time.” She walked to the door and pulled it open. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“My pleasure.” He watched her as she left the room, feeling a sharp pang of loss. If he could, he would spend every minute of every day with her. However, he knew they needed space, or else their happily ever after might end a lot sooner than they thought. Zak could never grow tired of Louise, but she might grow tired of him.

Zak drained the coffee cup, and then placed everything on the tray before he carried it downstairs. The kitchen was a hive of activity as Dean made breakfast and Louise warmed a bottle for Storm.

“Morning,” Dean said happily.

“Morning,” Zak replied. “I will get started on the dishes from last night.” He had forgotten they had been left unwashed.

“Wait until after we’ve had breakfast, then you can do them all,” Dean replied. “I’m guessing you two had a nice evening.”

“We did,” Zak said. He risked a glance at Louise, who was blushing furiously.

“So you are officially mates?” Dean asked. “I only want to know if it’s something I have to keep secret.”

“No secret,” Zak replied.

“No secret,” Louise agreed. She turned to talk to Dean, worry etched on her face. “But something else happened.”

Dean paused, the eggs sizzling in the pan forgotten as he picked up on the distress in Louise’s voice. “Are you OK?”

“Storm’s real father is in town.” Louise blurted the words out fast.

“Is he.” Dean’s usually calm expression changed to that of a gathering thundercloud. “Did he say what he wanted?”

“No. Well, he said he had come for me and Storm, but I don’t believe that is all there is to it,” Louise said.

“I think you might be right,” Dean said. “No offense. But if he’s fool enough to let you go when you needed him, he’s not likely to have had a sudden change of heart.”

“What if he knows I left Storm and thinks I’m an unfit mother?” Louise asked suddenly. A sob erupted from her, and Zak was there by her side, holding her close.

“No judge would take Storm from her mother and give her to that man,” Zak said vehemently.

“Zak’s right. Especially now that you are settled here, and have people to support you.” Dean turned back to his eggs, his hand gripping the pan until the whites of his knuckles were showing.

“Listen, why don’t I go and see him?” Zak suggested. “I can try to figure out what he wants.”

“No,” Louise shook her head. “No, this is my problem, I don’t want you getting involved. Either of you.”

Dean looked at Louise over his shoulder. “I am going to talk to Suzie, I think she needs to be made aware of this latest news.”

Louise nodded. “I can drop in on her later. I don’t want to put you to any trouble, Dean.”

“No trouble, I was going to call her later today anyway. Maybe I should drop in on her instead.”

“Isn’t she busy making wedding plans?” Louise asked.

“She is, but the wedding isn’t for a couple of months. Something about waiting for a garden to be in full bloom.” Dean placed the eggs on a plate and added toast. “Breakfast.”

“I’ve already eaten,” Louise said. “I’m just going to grab a cup of coffee and go get Storm dressed. I have to leave in half an hour.”

Zak sat down with Dean to eat breakfast, while Louise left the room. Both of them listened to her footsteps on the stairs before they spoke. “This guy, Ajax, he looks like trouble,” Zak said.

“I figured as much. Just from the scraps Louise has told me.” Dean cut into his egg, the yolk oozed out. “I’d like to rip his throat out, but that is not going to do anyone any good.”

“Louise thinks he’s here to figure out how to leverage the situation. But since I’ve only just met her, this isn’t about me.” Zak ate some food, but he didn’t really taste it; he was too preoccupied with Louise and Storm’s welfare.

“I can’t see him having much interest in me,” Dean said. “So that leaves Louise and Storm. But what leverage? Why would he want them back after all this time?”

“I really want to ask him,” Zak said.

“You heard Louise, she said no, and you have to respect that,” Dean told Zak.

“I am going to respect it. I only hope Louise doesn’t go and see him alone.” Zak turned his worried face to Dean. “If he hurts her, I will not be responsible for my actions.”

“Hey, calm down.” Dean set his knife and fork down. “Don’t be the weak link in all this.”

“What do you mean?” Zak asked.

“You go in there, all fists and fury, and you might just give the guy the leverage he needs. Think about that,” Dean said, pointing at Zak.

“Yeah, I hear you.” Zak finished his food and poured more coffee. “There has to be a way to get rid of him.”

“The only way that is going to happen is if we find out why he is here. I will speak to Suzie and ask her to dig into the guy’s past. She might have access to his files.” Dean stood up as Louise came back down the stairs. “Let’s try to act normal.”

Zak nodded and got up from the table to meet Louise as she came downstairs. “Want me to take her?” He held out his arms and Storm came to him.

“Will you look after her, with Dean?” Louise’s concern was evident.

“I promise. The only thing I plan to do today is to go into Bear Creek for a guitar. After that, I will be here with Dean. She’ll be safe.” He watched as she kissed Storm goodbye. “Do you want me to follow you to work? I can tail you on my bike.”

Louise shook her head. “No. Thank you. I have to stand on my own two feet. And I don’t think Ajax came here to hurt me.”

“Are you sure?” Zak asked.

“Positive.” She kissed Zak on the cheek. “Look after Storm, and Dean. I’ll be OK.”

“I miss you already,” Zak said as she left the house.

“Charmer.” But she grinned back at him all the same. “Bye, Dean.”

Dean came to stand next to Zak as Louise walked to her car. “Bye, take care.”

She started up the engine and drove off down the driveway. It was all Zak could do not to hand Storm over to Dean and follow her. He sensed Dean was equally concerned.

“Tell me, Dean. What is the story behind that car?” Zak asked to distract them both.

“Louise needed a car, and would not let me spend too much money on one,” Dean repeated what Louise had already told Zak.

“I looked under the hood,” Zak said, as they went back inside the house and shut the front door.

“Your point?” Dean stopped walking and faced Zak.

“The new parts are worth more than the car.”

“I know.” Dean cocked his head and leaned forward as he spoke to Zak. “But Louise does not, and I want it to stay that way.”

“I promise not to tell.” Zak would never want to make Louise feel bad. “One more thing.”

“Yes?” Dean asked testily.

“She doesn’t receive any funding from Social Services, does she?” Zak asked.

“Nope, they stopped paying the grant when Louise turned eighteen. I arranged to apply for some funding through Suzie, and there was a small grant paid, which I give to Louise as an allowance.”

“The rest you cover yourself?” Zak asked.

“I do,” Dean admitted. “I wanted to give her some breathing space.” Dean’s face clouded with anger. “A mother is supposed to stay home with her child. Now I realize Louise wants to support her family, but I didn’t want her being forced to go out and work full-time while Storm was raised by strangers.”

“That secret stays with me too,” Zak said, “At least until you think she needs to know.”

“She’ll never need to know,” Dean insisted. “She feels like a burden as it is.”

“Well, let me help with the bills while we live here,” Zak offered.

“Zak, I don’t need your money,” Dean insisted.

“I know, but a man has his pride.” Zak shifted Storm in his arms. “This is my pay-it-forward moment.”

Dean’s face cracked into a grin. “Like I said, you always had a way with words.” He held out his hands and Storm went to him. The two men headed to the kitchen, where they had another cup of coffee, before Zak started on the dishes and Dean took Storm outside. “I’ll call Suzie a little later and see what information she can dig up. But right now, we are going to play in the garden, aren’t we, Storm?”

Zak watched out of the window, but could not help worrying about how the issue with Ajax was going to be resolved.

One thing he would really like to do was run the man out of town, and out of their lives forever, but this was not his choice alone. He could not control Louise’s life.