WHEN ZACH LOOKED back on his life, a life littered with examples of things he shouldn’t have done, a fair proportion of his regrets involved Brittany.

He shouldn’t have had sex with her when she was eighteen and too naive to know he was trouble. He shouldn’t have married her and he shouldn’t have left her ten days later.

When she’d returned to the island, he should have kept his distance. He shouldn’t have had sex with her that night in her cottage and he definitely shouldn’t have followed her to the pond the night before and kissed her.

That kiss had destroyed all hope of sleep and he’d lain awake listening to the ghostly sounds of the loons on the far side of the pond, trying with no success to will his body into slumber. He’d contemplated a cold swim in the water, but decided in the end that there was no point. There was only one activity that was going to relieve his current frustration and that was strictly off-limits.

All he had to offer a woman was a satisfying sex life and a whole lot of emotional frustration and misery, and he wasn’t prepared to serve that up to Brittany a second time.

He rose early, packed up his things and kept his distance as the other counselors gathered the group together for breakfast around the fire. Breakfast was followed by a morning swimming and canoeing in the pond.

Brittany was directing activities from the bank, wearing her favorite cargoes with a long-sleeve cotton shirt. Underneath the smile, her eyes looked tired and Zach could see she hadn’t slept any better than he had.

He wished he could leave behind the conversation of the night before, but it clung to him like a burr clings to a sweater.

Have you wondered what would have happened if we’d met for the first time now?

He didn’t need to wonder. He knew.

He would have stripped off those cargoes and kept her in bed until neither of them had the energy to crawl to the door. He would have explored every part of her firm, athletic body and then done it again and again. It didn’t help that he knew how physical she was. Her sexual appetites matched his, and knowing that did nothing for his internal cooling system.

Hot and frustrated, he turned away and focused on something else. Usually the forest was his favorite place, but now he was looking forward to getting back to his cabin, away from Brittany’s swinging braid and infectious energy.

Because walking behind her would have meant trying not to stare at the swing of her hips, he chose to walk in front and led the way as they hiked back down the forest trail towards Camp Puffin.

Pushing the pace, he arrived back at camp a few minutes ahead of the others and immediately sensed a problem.

The area that was normally thronging with activity was eerily quiet and he glanced towards the catering barn and saw Callie, one of the counselors, guarding the door.

White-faced with anxiety, she waved at him frantically and he walked across to her.

“Problem?”

She cast a nervous look over his shoulder. “There’s a dog prowling around the camp. Looks like someone dumped him in the forest and he broke loose. There’s wire still attached to his neck. No one knows who owns him, but the chief of police is on his way. In the meantime Philip told all the kids to stay in the barn. You should bring your group here, too.” As she finished speaking Zach saw the dog, a muscular bulldog breed, emerge from the trees, snarling and shaking his head as he tried to free himself from the wire. It didn’t take an expert to know the animal was crazed with pain and fear.

Zach was about to radio Rachel and the rest of the group to warn them to stay back until the situation was handled when he saw a flash of red at the edge of the forest, and there was Grace, slightly ahead of the group because she’d been trying to catch up with him, her ribbons unraveling in her blond hair.

She saw him a split second before she saw the dog.

And froze. She opened her mouth to scream, but fortunately her lungs wouldn’t work.

The dog saw her, lowered its head and started to growl, a deep-throated, menacing sound that would have sent chills down the spine of the most confident child.

And Grace Green certainly wasn’t that.

Zach knew fear when he saw it. He’d seen the same look in his eyes every time he’d looked in the mirror during the first eight years of his life.

Ignoring the frantic warnings of the counselor next to him, Zach strode across the clearing towards Grace.

“Stand still, Grace.” He pitched his tone to a level he hoped would reassure her and not unsettle the dog. “Don’t move. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s got a wire round his neck that’s making him angry. It’s not about you. He doesn’t want to hurt you. He’s just telling you he’s in pain. And we’re going to fix that. Stand still. That’s it. Good girl. I’ve got this.”

As he drew closer Zach could see dried blood matting the dog’s fur and felt a rush of anger.

The dog snarled a warning. Zach chose to ignore it.

There had been moments in his past when he probably would have made the same sound himself.

“You’re mad and you don’t trust me. I know, and I don’t blame you. Who did this to you?” He kept his tone low and measured and his movements smooth and unhurried as he put himself between the dog and the child. “We need to get that wire off your neck because it’s digging in and making you sore. And you need to stop growling at Grace because you’re scaring her. And we both know you don’t want to scare her. You don’t want to hurt anyone, except maybe the person who did this to you. And I wouldn’t mind going a few rounds with them myself.”

He kept talking, taking it as a positive sign that the dog didn’t attack. Instead the animal backed up a few steps, growling deep in his throat. Then he shook his head angrily, sending blood and saliva flying through the air.

Zach kept talking. “You’re probably wondering if I’m another bully like the one who dumped you in the forest, but I’m telling you I’m not. I know that thing must hurt like a b—” At the last minute he remembered Grace. “A lot. It must hurt a lot. But I’m going to take it off and make you more comfortable. And you’re going to let me do that.”

He saw Travis reach Grace. Saw the boy clock the situation in an instant.

“Stay right there, Travis.” He kept his voice at the same easy pitch. “Stay near Grace for me. She’s uneasy around the dog. Grace, you stay with Travis. He’s going to take care of you. Whatever you do, don’t run.”

He saw Grace step closer to Travis and slide her hand into his. He saw Travis hesitate, shock and uncertainty on his face, more freaked out by the little girl holding his hand and trusting him than he was by the angry dog.

Anger was familiar.

Trust wasn’t.

Zach was willing to bet no one had trusted him with anything before.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Caleb Cook, the island’s police chief, arrive and park his cruiser a safe distance from the barn.

The dog’s growling intensified and Zach lifted his hand as a signal to Caleb to keep back.

Dimly aware that Brittany was approaching down the trail, he dropped to his haunches in front of the dog. “It’s turning into a circus around here. You don’t want to hurt anyone, do you? You just need someone to take this thing off.”

The dog snarled, clearly ready to argue with that analysis of the situation.

“Who put it there? Who did that to you?” Zach slowly reached out a hand to the dog. The animal bared its teeth but didn’t bite as Zach tried to gently maneuver his fingers under the wire. It proved impossible. Whoever had put it there hadn’t intended it to be taken off. They’d intended the animal to die in the forest, helpless and alone.

Anger ripped through him and the dog must have sensed the shift in his emotions because he snarled and turned his head. For a moment it looked as if he was about to bury his teeth into Zach’s arm. He snapped wildly and Caleb took a step towards them, but Zach sent him a look warning him to stay back.

“You’ve been pulling at it. That’s why it’s got so tight.” He stroked the dog’s head, gently soothing him. Then he slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pair of cutters he kept with him whenever he went into the forest. “Hold still. If you move I’ll either lose a finger or cut your throat and we don’t want either of those things to happen.”

Zach knew he only had one shot at it and he didn’t hesitate. He slid the clippers under the wire and cut before the dog had a chance to protest at this apparent assault. The wire dropped to the floor and the dog yelped and shook himself, as if checking he really was free.

“It’s gone.” Zach kept talking to the dog in the same even tone, kept stroking him gently as he rose slowly to his feet. “I don’t like the look of that wound so I’m going to put you in my car and take you to the vet.”

The dog gave a whimper and sniffed his hand but he didn’t run off.

“Yeah, that’s right. Friend, not foe. I bet you haven’t had many friends in your life, have you?”

He knew how that felt, too.

Knew how it felt to be so scared you didn’t know who the hell you could trust.

Caleb moved closer. “If you pick him up, chances are he’ll bite you.”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll take my chances. He only snapped at me because I hurt him trying to get the wire off. He was trying to protect himself.” Zach pushed the cutters back in his pocket, his fingers slippery with the dog’s blood. “You’re not going to punish him for acting in self-defense, are you, Officer?”

Caleb gave a faint smile. “It’s your flesh. I got a call saying the dog was dangerous. If he’s a stray, we can’t leave him here. We need to trace the owner.”

“That’s your job. Trace the owner, and when you find him I hope you’ll press charges. The dog would have starved if he hadn’t broken free.” Banking down the anger, Zach stroked the dog gently. “I’m going to take him over to the animal center and get that wound checked out.”

“And then what?” Caleb frowned as his radio crackled.

“I don’t know, but I’ll work something out. You go and deal with whatever crisis is going on. I’ve got this.” Zach carried the dog to his car, put him in the backseat and closed the door firmly. The truth was he had no clue what he was going to do with the dog, but it couldn’t be left injured and angry in a camp full of children and the alternative wasn’t an option.

Why the hell should a perfectly healthy dog be destroyed just because some idiot didn’t see a place for him?

As someone who had always known that if he’d been a kitten he would have been drowned in the river at birth, destroying a living thing for the convenience of others didn’t sit well with Zach.

He wiped his hands on an old rag he kept in the car, closed the door on the dog and walked back to where Grace was standing. Obeying his orders to the letter, she hadn’t moved a muscle and was still clutching Travis’s hand.

“He t-tried to bite you.”

“Because I hurt him taking the wire off. I don’t blame him for that, do you?” Zach hunkered down in front of her. “Are you okay, Grace?”

She gave a tiny nod. “I was scared.”

“You were great.” He spoke firmly and saw the beginnings of a smile. “You stood still. It was the right thing to do.”

“I’ve never met an angry dog before and that dog was very angry.”

A little crowd had gathered around but Zach ignored them and focused on Grace. He took it as a good sign that Travis was still letting her grip his hand. “That would have been my first thought, too, but I’ve learned over the years that the emotion you see on the outside isn’t always the same as the one on the inside.”

Grace looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Zach picked his words carefully. He considered this a more important lesson than anything she’d learned out in the forest. “On the outside that dog was angry, but on the inside he was scared. A thousand times more scared than you. He was hurting and all alone. Someone left him there to die by himself in a horrible way and he was trying to stay alive. To survive. That’s a natural instinct. I’m not going to blame him for that, are you?” He glanced briefly at Travis and saw he was still, his face the color of bone. Zach knew that look. He wondered what the boy had been forced to do to protect himself.

“Someone wanted him to die?” Grace’s eyes filled. “Is that going to happen?”

“No, it’s not. Not now.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m going to see to it that it doesn’t.”

“What will happen to him? Will they punish him for nearly biting you? Will he be all right?” Anxiety flowed along with the questions.

“He’s going to be fine, and no,” Zach rose to his feet. “No one is going to punish him. It might take a while, but we’re going to teach him that some people can be trusted. That not everyone is like the person who did this to him.”

“He won’t have to go back there?” Travis’s question was so quiet it was barely audible. “You’re not going to send him back?”

“No. I wouldn’t send him back somewhere he’s abused.”

Travis licked his lips. “Not even if it’s his home?”

Zach wished they weren’t surrounded by people.

This was the conversation he knew Philip had been hoping Travis might have for weeks and this was neither the time nor the place.

“Home should be a place where he feels safe.” He held Travis’s gaze. “No one should feel threatened, or scared, in their own home.”

“But what will happen to him? Where will he go?” Travis was holding Grace’s hand as tightly as she was holding his. “I mean it’s not like he’s a baby or cute or anything. Who would want him?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy and Zach felt as if someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart.

“Plenty of folks would want him. Good folks, although it might take him a while to understand that they’re good. Travis, why don’t you take Grace to Philip. He’ll want to know she’s all right. Go and talk to Philip. Tell him the whole story.” He spoke firmly and saw the boy nod slowly.

“Okay. I guess I’ll do that. If you think it’s the right thing.”

A glimmer of trust right there in those words.

“I know it’s the right thing.”

Just a step, but hopefully enough of a step to begin the journey out of the hell Travis was living in.

“I’m going to say goodbye now because I’m taking the dog to the vet. You take care of yourself, Grace. I know you live on the island, so I expect I’ll see you around.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. “I’m coming back to camp next year. Will you be here?”

Unlike Brittany he’d never planned his life further than the next few days. “Maybe.”

“I hope you are.” She hesitated and then let go of Travis’s hand, stepped forward and hugged Zach, her skinny arms squeezing tightly. “You’re the best.”

Zach froze. He could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he’d been hugged in his life. He stood for a moment, his hand hovering in the air, and then lowered it to her skinny shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Grace released him, muttered more jumbled thanks and then ran off to join the rest of the group who were gathering near the barn.

Travis followed more slowly and Zach pulled out his phone and sent Philip a quick text.

Then he felt someone touch his arm and turned to find Brittany standing next to him.

“Well, another heroic rescue on Puffin Island. You’re making a habit of it and Grace’s dad is one of the town’s selectmen so I’m guessing you might even find yourself on the agenda of the next town meeting. Who knows, you might even reach hero status.”

Feeling as uncomfortable as if he’d just fallen in a thorn bush, Zach slid the phone back into his pocket. “For taking a wire off a dog? I happened to get to him first, that’s all.”

“And we’re all relieved about that.” Her mouth tilted into a smile of self-mockery. “That animal was crazy with pain and he had all my sympathy, but I wouldn’t have risked giving him my fingers as well. You are now officially known as the dog whisperer.” She glanced towards Zach’s car. “We need to get him to the vet. I can’t drive, so you’ll have to do that part and I’ll sit with Jaws.”

Zach raised an eyebrow. “Jaws?”

“I call it the way I see it. And from what I’ve seen so far, it’s a reasonable name. Those teeth were horribly close to sinking into your arm, Flynn.”

“Knowing that, you’re still happy to sit with him?”

“Yes, but don’t ever rescue a tarantula because I’m not sitting next to one of those, even for you.” She stepped away to tell Rachel her plans and then walked towards his car.

Zach stared after her, his feelings mixed up.

He’d been doing everything he could to put distance between them, trying to protect her from himself.

Thanks to the dog, that plan had gone out the window.

THE DOG LAY with his head on his paws, watching her warily.

“I only have one good hand,” Brittany told him, “so if you bite that, I’m in trouble and frankly so are you. And if you bite the other one you’ll break your teeth on the cast. I’ve never seen you before. Do you recognize him, Zach?”

“No.” Zach turned the car and drove away from the camp. A steady line of cars was building in the opposite direction as parents arrived to pick up their children. “Someone probably brought him over on the ferry and abandoned him.”

And the story could have had an ugly ending had Zach not intervened.

She knew it would take her a while to forget the sight of him putting himself between the little girl and the dog.

There was a smudge of dirt on his cheek and his hands were dusty.

She thought of those hands, sure and gentle as he’d handled the dog. “I don’t know why anyone would abandon him. He’s pretty cute.”

Zach caught her eye in the mirror. “We both know this dog is as ugly as sin. He has nine chins.”

“Maybe, but he’s still cute. And I don’t notice his chins because I’m looking at his eyes. He has nice eyes.”

“You have a thing for damaged creatures.”

“This from a man who almost got himself bitten taking the wire off the dog’s neck.” And he hadn’t hesitated. He’d put the dog’s comfort in front of his own safety. “And everything you said to Travis—that was nice work.”

“We were talking about the dog.”

“We both know neither of you were talking about the dog. I hope he opens up to Philip. You texted him?”

“Yes. The boy showed up at his office.”

It didn’t surprise her that he said no more than that.

Zach didn’t gossip. He didn’t chat. He respected Travis’s right to keep whatever secrets he wanted to keep, while nudging open a door so that he could reveal them if he wanted to.

What secrets was Zach keeping?

Thinking about that, she slid out of the car and reached for the dog, but Zach was there before her.

“He’s heavy, and you already have one damaged wrist.” He lifted the dog carefully and Brittany saw the dog give his hand a swift lick.

Her heart kicked against her chest.

“Can you believe that? He’s already in love with you. Are you sure it’s a he and not a she?” She was rewarded with one of those lightning-quick smiles that made her feel as if she’d touched a live wire.

It had always been the same between them and ten years had done nothing to dilute the strength of the attraction. She didn’t need to wonder if he felt it, too, because she knew he did.

She wondered if he was the reason she’d never become deeply involved with a man. She’d had relationships, satisfying relationships, but she’d never replicated the crazy chemistry she had with him.

It wasn’t youth or inexperience that had been responsible for those feelings that had swept her away in her teens.

It was Zach himself.

Her head spinning as if she’d just stepped off a merry-go-round, she followed him into the clinic where they were met by Sara, the vet nurse, who also ran the small animal sanctuary on the island.

“Zach!” It was obvious from the pink that gathered in her cheeks that she was a Zachary Flynn supporter. “Chief Cook called, so we knew to expect you. Go right on in. Dr. Brent is waiting for you. Hi, Brittany. Good to see you.”

“Hi, Sara.” They’d been at school together, a couple of years apart. Brittany remembered Sara as a gentle girl who had excelled at biology and taken the class fish home every summer. “How long have you been working here?”

“Since the start of the summer. Dr. Brent gave me the job. It’s great to be back on the island.” She stroked her hand over the dog’s head and said, “Oh, aren’t you adorable. What happened to you?” Jaws grunted gratefully at the contact and slobbered on her hand.

“Did you say Dr. Brent?” Zach shifted the wriggling dog. “What happened to Dr. Tanner?”

“Got a job over in Portland. Small animal practice. Dr. Brent is very good.” Her mouth tightened when she saw the wound on the dog’s neck. “Wire? If I found the person who did that I’d inject him with something that would keep him down for a week. Does he have a home?”

“None that he’s going back to.” Zach’s mouth was grim and Sara nodded in agreement.

“You can’t take him while you’re flying all over the place and he shouldn’t be near children until we know more about his temperament, so do you want him to stay in the shelter until we can find someone to adopt him?”

Brittany looked at the ugly, slobbering dog and felt a pang. Even she had to admit that his appeal wasn’t immediately obvious. He was the sort of dog most people would walk past on their way to a cute spaniel or a sturdy Lab. “You think someone will take him?”

“Why not? There’s someone for everyone, right? At least that’s what Gran tells me when I moan about still being single.” Ignoring the slobber and the risk to her life, Sara took Jaws from Zach and gave a tut of disapproval. “You’ve no flesh on your bones. We’re going to have to do something about that. You’re going to be eating gourmet food as soon as Dr. Brent has taken a look at you.”

Zach and Brittany followed Sara through to the surgery where the island vet, Gabe Brent, treated the wound and gave Jaws a thorough going-over. When they walked out an hour later, a bandaged and drugged-up Jaws had taken up temporary residence with Sara, and Zach was considerably poorer.

Reeling from the cost, Brittany pulled open the car door. “Holy crap, I paid less than that for my rent in Greece. Why didn’t I train as a vet? Do you want me to pay half or are you going to sell one wing of the Cessna?”

“I’ll manage. Are you going back to camp or do you want a ride home?”

“Home, but you don’t need to drive me. If you could just drop me on the corner of Main and South, I’ll walk from there.” She slid into the passenger seat. She still hadn’t touched on their conversation of the night before even though she wanted to. She wanted to know more. She wanted to ask him what he’d meant when he’d said that sometimes not trusting kept you safe. But she knew that Main Street in the middle of the day wasn’t the time to broach a subject Zach rarely touched. “You’re not going to offer to adopt Jaws?”

“No. That dog needs love and attention to feel secure. He deserves a stable home. I can’t give him that.”

“Why?”

“You know why. Love, stability and security aren’t words that appear in my vocabulary. If they were, we’d still be married.” He pulled into the flow of traffic and she felt her heart bump.

Was that true? Would they still be married?

“Jaws will be gutted,” she said casually. “It was love at first sight.”

“It was gratitude. If you’d cut that wire off his neck, he would have bonded with you.”

“If I’d cut that wire off his neck, I’d have two damaged wrists by now. You showed some serious animal magic there, Flynn.”

“Being kind to animals isn’t magic.”

“It is when you do it. You have this quiet way about you—” She frowned as she tried to put her observations into words. “It’s as if animals know that they’re safe with you.”

“They are safe with me.”

She saw the Warrens’ barn out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at him. “You were supposed to be dropping me back there.”

“I’ll drop you at your door.”

“I was planning on walking. Do you ever listen to anyone?”

“Depends on whether they’re saying something I want to hear. Do you ever stop arguing?”

“Depends. I enjoy a good argument. It wakes my brain up.” Smiling, she sat back and let herself enjoy the view, trying not to think about the powerful length of his thigh only inches from hers or the conversation they weren’t having. “It’s hot today. That last half hour through the forest was sweaty. It’s at times like this I hate having this cast on my arm. Actually that’s not true. I hate having it on my arm the whole time.”

“When does it come off?”

“With luck at the next appointment.”

“I’ll fly you there.”

Last time she’d argued. This time she didn’t want to. She told herself it was because it made sense to accept his offer, but knew it was really because she enjoyed spending time with him. “Thank you. I appreciate that. And when I get home, the first thing I’m going to do is swim in the sea.”

She hoped the freezing waters of the bay would cool her down because nothing else was working.

A WEEK LATER Zach delivered a group of bankers on a corporate team-building exercise to their exclusive lodge on the banks of the Kennebec River and then flew back to the island.

He’d taken on more flying jobs than usual recently. He figured that the less time he spent on Puffin Island, the less likely he was to bump into Brittany.

She was still spending most of her time up at the camp, despite the fact that the last of the children had now left.

Encouraged by Philip, she was pulling together plans for the following year and liaising with the university. Sometimes, when he was passing, he heard her laugh coming from Philip’s office, that rich, infectious giggle that always made him want to smile, too.

That was just one of the many reasons he’d decided to spend more time in the air.

It was his bad luck that a storm had been forecast, the result of which would mean spending more time at the camp.

To delay his arrival, he stopped at the vet’s practice to check on Jaws.

“He’s doing so well!” A delighted Sara led him through to the kennels at the back of the practice that led onto open fields and farmland so the dogs had room to run around.

Zach watched as Jaws pounced on a squeaky toy. “You bought him that?”

“No, Brittany brought it a few days ago. He loves it.”

“She’s been visiting?”

“She’s been coming by every day. She didn’t mention it?” Sara looked surprised. “I guess she forgot or something. She spends at least an hour with him and yesterday when we were crazy busy, she took him for a walk, although I think she ended up carrying him most of the way. Can’t have been easy with one arm in a cast.”

Zach absorbed the news that Brittany had been visiting the dog. “How’s he healing?”

“It’s all looking good. Gabe is pleased with him. I had a couple of people in here wanting to adopt a dog, but so far no one that’s right for Jaws. One couple seemed interested, but I said no.”

Zach wondered what sort of couple would be interested in an ugly dog with an uncertain history. In his experience that wasn’t a résumé that was likely to get you snapped up into a loving home. “I’m guessing you’re not going to get that many offers. Would have been less work for you if you’d said yes to them.”

“Not really, because if it doesn’t work out, the dog is back here again in a few weeks and each time that happens his trust takes a bit more of a knocking until finally you’ve got a dog that won’t trust anyone. That’s not going to happen on my watch. When I meet someone I think is right, I’ll go through the checking procedure and if they pass, I’ll let them take him. Until then, he stays here with me.”

Zach found her dedication touching. “Sounds like you should run a dating agency.”

She shook her head and gave him a quick smile. “I’m no good with humans. I don’t understand them. Just animals.”

He looked at her for a moment, this slender girl with a bright smile and dark hollows under her eyes. Everyone had a story, he thought. Everyone.

“It must be pretty quiet round here. Do you miss the city?”

“Never.” The way she kept her eyes down made him think she’d had very specific reasons for leaving.

He frowned. “Sara—”

“Oh, look at that! He’s seen you. He knows you’re the one who saved him.”

It was true that right at that moment Jaws spotted Zach and decided to declare his undying love by hurling himself across the pen.

Zach winced and crouched down. “Easy now. Don’t do yourself more damage.”

Jaws howled and looked at him adoringly.

“He loves you,” Sara said delightedly. “He thinks you’re the one. Just so we’re clear, I’d let you adopt him if you wanted to.”

Zach felt a flicker of alarm. “Then maybe you’re not such a great judge of character after all. I’d be the wrong home for him. He’s already had one bad owner. He doesn’t need another.”

“What makes you think you’d be a bad owner? I think you’d be the perfect owner.” Sara studied him for a moment and then smiled. “But you can’t adopt a pet unless you really want to, and you don’t want to, so that’s fine. If you change your mind, let me know. I’d approve you in a heartbeat. In the meantime if you want to come and walk him with Brittany, she usually comes around seven in the morning on her way to camp.”

Zach wondered why she was telling him that. “If she’s already walking him, then I don’t need to.”

“I thought you might enjoy doing it together, seeing as you both brought him in and you used to— I mean you seemed to be— But what do I know? Forget I said anything. I match animals with humans, not humans with humans. I don’t know anything about relationships.” Blushing, Sara blew a kiss to Jaws and walked back towards the clinic leaving Zach to wonder how many of the islanders were speculating about his relationship with Brittany.

Before going back to his cabin, he stopped at Harbor Stores to pick up some milk. As an afterthought he scooped up some beer.

Dawn Parker was manning the checkout and she assessed his purchases with tight-lipped disapproval. “Guess you’re lining your stomach with one before drinking the other.”

Zach could have told her that the milk was for his coffee and he kept the beer in case Philip stopped by, but he figured that what he did with his purchases after he bought them was his business so he handed over the money and kept silent.

“You should know that my Mel is seeing that nice Carter Ashford, so if you’ve got any ideas in that direction, you can forget them. He’s got a college degree and he’s sensible.”

It crossed Zach’s mind that if Carter Ashford was dating Mel he couldn’t be that sensible, but he filed that thought along with all the others he had no intention of expressing.

He was about to bag up the milk and attempt to navigate his way through the fog of disapproval when he heard someone calling his name. He turned, and saw little Grace Green running towards him across the store, followed by a powerfully built man who was obviously her father.

“That’s him, Daddy. That’s him.”

Anticipating trouble, Dawn Parker stiffened. “If you have a problem you should take it outside. I don’t want any—oh—” She blinked as Grace threw her arms around Zach and squeezed tightly.

“Zach—I mean, Mr. Flynn—this is my dad. I’ve been telling him all about you. How you saved me and how you told that poor dog he wasn’t to bite me.”

Dawn, who had clearly been on the verge of dialing the emergency services, watched with her eyes popping out of her head. “Well, I don’t—”

Ignoring her, Zach hunkered down in front of the child. “That dog? Sara is caring for him in the Animal Rescue Center. I saw him just now. His favorite toy is a squeaky bone. Once we cut that nasty wire off his neck and gave him some attention, he was just fine.” It was important to him that she knew the dog wasn’t vicious. That his behavior had been the result of fear. “You should drop in and see him, Grace. He’d be pleased to see you.” He gave her a smile, then rose to his feet and found his hand grasped tightly by Grace’s father.

“I’m Michael Green. Gracie told me what happened. Can’t thank you enough for looking out for her.”

Zach discovered that attention of any sort, even positive, made him uncomfortable. “She wasn’t in any risk.”

“That’s not what Caleb told me. He said you put yourself right between my girl and that dog and that you almost lost your hand doing it.”

“The dog had been badly treated. He was scared, not vicious. And Grace was brave and stood her ground.”

Grace’s shoulders straightened. “I stood right where you told me to stand and didn’t move a muscle.”

“That’s right, you did.” Zach gathered up his purchases. “It’s good to see you, Grace. Sir.” He nodded to Grace’s father and made for the door, wondering what Dawn Parker would make of that exchange.

She was the type who put people into compartments, as if she were stocking the shelves of her store. He could imagine her roaming the aisles, searching for a suitable place to shelve him. No doubt her preference until now would have been to tuck him in a dark corner along with gasoline or fireworks, probably under a big label saying “handle with care.”

Now she was confused.

He smiled. No doubt she’d still find a reason to shelve him along with the dangerous goods.

Noticing the blackening sky, Zach drove back to camp and went in search of Philip.

He was in his office, but so was Brittany, seated on his desk among the half-empty mugs and the untidy piles of paper.

She was wearing a simple T-shirt and a pair of denim cutoffs that showed off her athletic shape.

Drowning in desire, Zach found it impossible not to look at her.

All he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder, take her deep into the forest and have sex with her until she could no longer walk straight, but that wasn’t what worried him most. What almost had him running for the door was the realization that she was virtually the only person whose company he preferred to his own.

She threw him one of her blinding smiles. Philip said something by way of a greeting, but Zach couldn’t hear through the roaring in his ears.

He thought his reaction should have been obvious but apparently it wasn’t because they carried on their conversation, which left him with nothing to do but simmer in the heat he’d created himself.

Restless, frustrated, he strolled to the window of Philip’s office and tried distracting himself with the view, but it was impossible to concentrate on anything when Brittany was in the room so he gave up and let himself look.

She was one of those people who wore every emotion on her face. When she was angry or frustrated, her eyes flashed. When she was amused she laughed, and it was such an infectious laugh that it usually had everyone around her laughing, too. Today, she seemed irritated as she sat on the edge of his desk, her legs swinging. “I spoke to three different people in the department and so far I can’t find anyone interested in running an archaeological activity.”

Philip pushed his glasses up his nose. “I’m grateful to you for trying.”

“I’m going to keep trying. It’s a great idea. It was fun and the children loved it. I can’t imagine why the department wouldn’t want to take that on. They could get some of the undergraduates involved.”

She never gave up, Zach thought. Whatever she did, she attacked it with the full force of her personality.

He was acknowledging just how much trouble he was in, when she glanced towards him. “Am I in your way? Did you want something?”

Yes, he wanted her. He wanted her so badly it was driving him crazy and he knew he had to get out of there before he did something that couldn’t be undone.

“It can wait.” Sexual frustration made his tone harder than he’d intended and he saw her eyebrows lift.

“Hey, if there’s a problem, Flynn, just say so. Don’t give me passive-aggressive.”

Passive? There was nothing passive about his feelings.

He strolled towards the door, his fingers digging into his palms. She had no idea, no idea, what it was costing him to keep his distance. “I said it can wait.”

“By the way, Zach—” Philip’s voice cut through the swirling clouds of lust in his brain “—I forwarded you an email from Todd earlier. Take a look. You’ll be pleased.”

“Good to know.” He couldn’t think about anything while Brittany was in the room.

“Zach!” Her voice rang with frustration. “Why are you leaving? There’s no need—”

He met her gaze, and saw her puzzled look melt under the fiery heat of sexual chemistry. The brief exchange was so intimate, so deeply personal, he was surprised Philip didn’t cover his eyes.

Her eyes widened as she registered the reason for his tension.

In under a second she went from confident to deliciously confused.

“Right.” Her voice was a raw croak. “Well, okay. If you’re sure. Although I was pretty much done here anyway. Philip and I were just thinking through some options, that’s all.”

He was thinking through options, too.

Option one, tell Philip he was needed in the camp, lock the door and take Brittany right here on the desk without bothering to strip off her clothes.

Option two, take Brittany back to his cabin, strip her naked and have sex in every position known to man and a few known only to him.

Option three—

“Zach?”

Disturbed from a vision that was close to pornographic, he stirred. “What?”

Her cheeks were a hot pink. “What did you want?”

“Nothing.” Everything.

But one thing held him back.

He was the kind of trouble no woman needed in her life a second time, especially Brittany.