Chapter Five
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Leann had argued with Zach but that had been a complete waste of her breath. Even Dizzy had agreed that Leann should take every precaution for her safety. Dizzy wasn’t worried for herself as she wasn’t in the same class as Leann, nor had she been in the same social circles. Zach had offered to stay at Dizzy’s and sleep on the couch so Leann wouldn’t have to pack up, but his large frame on the tiny sofa would be an engineering feat. No way was he going to fit, let alone comfortably.
So she packed her things and followed him without complaint. Well, not too much.
Since moving to Tremont he’d purchased a small bungalow in a family-oriented neighborhood not far from Jason and his wife Brinley. Unlike many bachelor pads she’d seen, Zach’s house was decorated and homey with photographs framed on the mantle and walls, big throw pillows on the sofa and in front of the fireplace, and the scent of… Was that potpourri, or maybe a candle?
“This is nice,” she remarked as he set her suitcase down at the entrance to the hallway. “You’ve certainly done a lot to the place. Is that cinnamon I smell?”
Shrugging off his light jacket, he hung it on the peg next to the door before taking hers and doing the same. “I made snickerdoodles last night when I couldn’t sleep. There are dozens left. Are you hungry?”
Snickerdoodles? The huge muscle man with a black belt made cookies? Hell yes, she wanted one. Maybe more.
“They sound yummy. They’re one of my favorites.” She followed him into the kitchen. “Do you bake a lot?”
She wanted to ask him even more questions but she didn’t know quite how to phrase them. The house looked like a home. Like a family lived there, not a single guy who traveled all the time.
Then a horrible thought occurred to Leann. What if he had a girlfriend he lived with and she had done all this cozy decorating? What would she think about him bringing home a stray that he had to protect from a killer?
After washing his hands he placed cookies on two plates, handing one to her. “As much as I can. I had to learn to cook and clean when I was younger and taking care of Gigi and Aubrey. Of course, back then gourmet cooking was macaroni and cheese. I hope I’ve improved a little bit since then.”
She bit into the chewy cookie and the flavors exploded on her tongue. Damn, this was good. “I think you’ve got a lock on this cookie recipe. These are delicious.”
He pushed the cookie jar closer to her. It was a bear with a big stomach and the head came off so a person could reach in to get the cookies. “You can have as many as you like. If you’re hungry for real food I can fix you something. I try and keep my pantry well-stocked.”
Him or this woman she hadn’t seen yet?
Looking around casually, Leann popped a second cookie into her mouth. “So do you…live here alone?”
She’d tried to make the question sound natural but Zach wasn’t fooled. He smiled and laughed a little, his own gaze roaming his comfortable home.
“I do and I know what you’re thinking. Others have commented on it, too. It looks like a woman lives here.”
She didn’t want him to think– Shit, she didn’t know what she wanted him to think.
“No, that’s not what I was asking at all.”
He dug three more cookies out the jar. “I don’t mind explaining. When me, Gigi, and Aubrey were growing up we didn’t have anything like what you would call a home. We lived in a cramped, run-down apartment because that’s all my mom could afford. She had a bad drinking problem and there was never enough money. All of our furniture, clothes…everything we had really was someone else’s castoffs. We ate cheap food and prayed that we didn’t get evicted, which by the way happened quite a lot. So I always told myself that when I had the chance I would have a real home. It may not be the most masculine thing to pick out color swatches and dishes but I don’t care. I have what I’ve always wanted.”
Tears stung the backs of Leann’s eyes. She’d heard about his childhood but she hadn’t connected that to this. Zach was clearly nesting here and building the life he hadn’t had growing up.
“I…I don’t know what to say. I think it’s lovely but I can’t help but feel badly about your childhood years. You must think I’m the most spoiled woman on the planet to complain about my family growing up when you had to deal with much more than I could ever imagine.”
His gaze fell to the floor and she realized she’d hit the nail on the head. He had thought she was a spoiled rich girl. But then he looked up and their gazes clashed, his own blue eyes dark with emotion.
“I did kind of think that until I actually met you. It’s just that your family would go on and on about how they missed you. From where I was standing it seemed like you didn’t care. Of course, I should have known it’s never that simple. It’s just…I would have given anything to have a family like yours.”
This man was so surprising. He looked big and tough, rarely speaking. But when he did he had a raw honesty that touched her heart. With his childhood he should have been hiding his emotions, scared to trust but he was just the opposite. He simply put himself out there and the world could like him or not.
“You have them now,” she replied softly. “And thank you for not hating me. I swear I’m a nice person.”
“I know that. I’m sorry for thinking that you weren’t, even if it was for a short time. It couldn’t have been easy growing up with the name Anderson.”
Her problems were petty compared to his. “You can’t even compare it to your situation. It’s so superficial.”
He braced his hands on the counter and leaned closer. She caught a whiff of his scent, clean and manly. Just like him. “It’s not a contest, Leann. Which one of us had the worse upbringing? My problems don’t make yours any less real.”
“I think about it, you know,” Leann found herself saying. His honesty pushed her to be more as well. “Moving home.”
“Your family will be thrilled if you decide to.” He held up his hands in surrender. “But don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me. I have a feeling if Jason knew you were thinking about it you’d never hear the end of it.”
“You know my brother well,” she joked, grabbing another cookie. “I appreciate your discretion. You know, your house is better decorated than mine is. I feel like a home economics failure. These cookies are better than mine too. If you can make lasagna I’m going to crawl away in shame.”
Luckily, he took her ribbing well and threw his head back and laughed, rich and warm. My oh my, Zach Gibson was an attractive man. The fact that he could color coordinate a kitchen and make cookies only made him more so.
And I’ll be living here until the killer is caught.
“If it makes you feel any better Aubrey helped a little. She has a good eye for color so she’d show me paint and fabrics and I’d say yes or no. But the cookie recipe is all mine.” His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “And I make a mean lasagna. A good pot roast too.”
“Will you share your recipes?”
Rubbing his chin, Zach appeared to think about her question. “I’ll make you a deal. If you let me show you some self-defense moves, I’ll share my recipes. Deal?”
With a killer on the loose, it wasn’t a bad idea to learn more about defending herself. Plus, these cookies were fantastic.
“Deal.”
Maybe staying with Zach wouldn’t be so bad after all.
* * *
Zach wasn’t a good sleeper at the best of times but when he was trying to keep another human being safe it was even worse. Jason had sent him a text that the cops were going to send regular patrols by the house and Zach had an excellent security system, but he still couldn’t rest comfortably knowing that there was a killer out there going after popular girls from Leann’s class.
Was it revenge? Or was someone using the reunion as a cover for something else? A sleight of hand to push the investigation in one direction while the guilty party pursued their real target? There simply wasn’t enough evidence at this point to decide.
Knowing he wouldn’t sleep much tonight, he made a saucepan of hot cocoa – a better version than the one he’d made for Gigi and Aubrey all those years ago – and camped out in front of his laptop to do some research on the two victims. It was possible the women had more in common than just being friends all those years ago. He was deep into Carole Russell’s financials when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Leann.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked, twisting in his chair to where she was standing at the entrance of his kitchen looking positively adorable. She was wearing red plaid flannel pajama pants and an oversized grey sweatshirt. Her feet were bare and she’d polished her toes a bright scarlet that should have clashed with her hair, but somehow didn’t.
She’s off limits. Don’t forget.
“I thought I was being quiet. How did you hear me?”
“Too many nights on patrol in the Middle East. Would you like some cocoa? The warm milk will help you sleep.”
He didn’t wait for her to answer, simply standing and pouring a mug of the lukewarm concoction. The microwave would have it steaming hot in no time.
“I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep,” she explained, sliding into the chair opposite him. “What’s your story?”
Chuckling, he handed Leann her cocoa and sat down again. “I’ve never been a good sleeper. As a kid I always had one ear cocked for trouble and I guess it’s a habit now.”
Her expression sobered and he wished he hadn’t mentioned his childhood again. She was a soft touch, clearly. “That must have been so hard on you…to be the man of the house at such a young age.”
Smiling, he shook his head. “I don’t feel sorry for myself, Leann. My upbringing kind of sucked but it made me who I am today. That and a decade with Uncle Sam. It’s all good, I promise. I don’t think of myself as a victim of society or anything like that. There are lots of people in this world that have it much worse than I did. I had my sisters and that made all the difference.”
Tucking her feet under her, she sipped at the hot liquid. “You’re very well adjusted. People could take a lesson from you.”
“Perspective is a gift and combat is happy to give it to you,” he chuckled, remembering his years in the military. “Bad things happen to everyone. It’s how you deal with them that makes the difference.”
Leann gazed down at her mug as if it held the secrets to the universe. “Is that what this is? My turn to have something bad happen?”
“The cynical in me might say yes, but my gut tells me that what’s happening here as very little to do with you and everything to do with the killer. These are his issues, not karma pulling up in front of your house.” But that brought up another question. “Are you saying that nothing bad has ever happened to you?”
Pursing her lips, she considered his question. “Nothing too terrible or out of the ordinary. I lost my grandparents and that was sad. I’ve buried a few family pets and I still get teary-eyed about them. I had a friend who was sleeping with my college boyfriend behind my back. Does that count?”
“Yes, it does and by the way, she obviously wasn’t a friend if she did that. Are you worried that because you haven’t had life smack you between the eyes that something really bad is going to happen? Like there’s a rotten luck quota and you haven’t been dealt your cards yet?”
The sheepish look she gave him answered his query. “I feel like I’m sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like perhaps my life has simply been too happy and the shit is about to hit the fan.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a happy life, Leann.”
Propping her chin on her hands, she frowned at his statement. “But you said that what you went through built character. What if I lack character?”
She was truly worried about this but she didn’t need to be. But it said a great deal about her that she was. Most people wouldn’t give it a second thought.
“I said it made me who I am. I’d like to think that I already had some character to begin with. Adversity simply taught me perseverance, not integrity. You have character.”
“I know I’ve been lucky,” she finally said, the words simple but almost apologetic. She didn’t need to be sorry about that.
“I’m glad that you have. I don’t go around wishing that people had lousy childhoods. That would denote a serious lack of character, don’t you think?”
He’d finally managed to get a smile from her. “I guess you’re right. You could have been a psychologist.”
“It’s fascinates me but I don’t have the patience to listen to people tell me their troubles day in and day out. I’ll leave that to you. You’re the shrink.”
“I couldn’t do what you do either. Being in charge of someone’s security is a big deal.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the horror in her expression. “It’s all about protocols and following them. Which reminds me, I have to go to the office in the morning so Jason is going to send out one of the other guys to hang out with you until I’m back.”
“Do they know the protocols?” she teased, her hands wrapped around the mug. “Can’t I just go with you?”
Good question. Why not? The safest place for her would be at the office.
“If you like, but I can guarantee you it will be boring as hell. I have to do a little bit of paperwork. It won’t take long, though. We can go out to lunch or something if you like. Then maybe a self-defense lesson.”
She nodded and then pointed to his laptop. “So what did I interrupt?”
“I was just looking over some information about the two victims. Their friends, family, careers, finances. Anything and everything that might give us a clue as to why they were targeted.”
“Any luck?”
“Not yet, but I still have quite a bit to go through.”
She peered around to see the screen of the computer. “I could help. I doubt I’m going back to sleep any time soon.”
Zach could use the help…
“Are you sure? It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“You tell me what to look for and I’ll do it.”
That was the thing; he didn’t always know. “Anything that doesn’t look normal. Debt. Arrests. Family or marital issues. It could be anything.”
“How would you know they were having marital issues?”
He turned his laptop so she could see the document he had pulled up. “For example, they might have credit card charges to a doctor or therapist. Or maybe the husband spent a lot of money on hotels, jewelry, and lingerie. Maybe the wife recently bought a gun or talked to an attorney. Perhaps the husband made regular cash withdrawals but the amount is too large to be pocket money. Small actions can have big consequences.”
Leann’s eyes had lit up and she looked eager to help. “I can do that. It sounds fascinating.”
“Tell me that when you’re almost cross-eyed in a few hours. Just let me dig out my tablet and you can work on that, then I’ll make us some more hot chocolate. Should I get the cookie jar too?”
Zach could get used to this. Having someone to share a long, dark night with. Someone who was interested in his work. He chuckled inwardly that she found it fascinating. It wasn’t but it was sweet that she was all gung-ho about it.
But before he settled in he gave himself another stern reminder. Leann was off limits. Way out of bounds. And even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be here in Tremont for long.