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She serenely sipped coffee. “We’ll beat them.”
“Okay, I’ll revise my status to cautiously optimistic.”
“There you go.” She stroked her pearls. “Thank you again for having these fixed.”
He arched a brow. “How could I not? They hold special memories for me, too.”
When she flushed, he grinned knowingly at her.
Once the police crime scene team had done their thing, Calvin and Farley had helped Zane collect all the pearls they could find scattered on the trail, and Zane took them to a jeweler’s where they’d been expertly restrung. Jillian wore them nearly every day, and every time Zane saw them around her slender neck, gratitude filled him that she hadn’t died that night.
As much as Zane wanted to, he couldn’t ream out Calvin and Farley for ignoring his orders and following him up the path that night to “back him up,” since they’d saved his and Jillian’s lives. Oh yeah, and Brooke’s.
Jillian got up and refilled her coffee cup and topped off Zane’s before returning to her seat. “You’re not the only one with news. Loucinda and Pop called this morning. Tala won a full-ride scholarship to Julliard—thanks to the referral of a talent scout who saw the musical! Calvin accepted an apprenticeship with Pops’ construction business. And,” She bounced in her chair. “Pop and Loucinda have officially announced their engagement! They’re planning a cozy, informal ceremony in mid-October. Hopefully, you’ll get to meet my brothers then.”
“Looking forward to it … and to knowing I’ll be in town and not shipped off somewhere.”
“Zane.” Frowning, she covered his hand where it rested on the table. “Are you sure about your decision to quit the FBI?”
“Two-hundred percent.” Zane was actually excited about joining the local Cape Hope police department, heading up a new juvenile crime task force. “Maybe I can reroute some teens’ lives, like my mentor Officer Manuel did with me.”
In fact, Farley had awkwardly approached Zane with questions about how to get into the police academy. Zane was assisting the teen with the application process, and writing him a personal recommendation. Hell, he might even eventually end up training the young rookie.
“The only war zone I’ll now be entering will be the Hope Center.” After he and Jillian and Casey had completed the mural in Casey’s room, Jillian had, in her mysterious way, managed to get Zane to consent to not only coaching their amateur softball games, but teaching an art program beginning this fall.
Heaven help him.
As Jillian chuckled, Zane recognized his progress in the small clutch of dread in his chest. A month ago, he’d have bolted at the mere thought of being surrounded by ankle-biters. But during the past week he’d gotten a kick out of slipping on the official whistle and oversize white T-shirt with the word COACH emblazoned in red letters to oversee the end-of-season championship tournaments.
Zane and Jillian had also accompanied Casey to a counseling session, where they and the counselor had explained everything that had happened with Lynn on a level Casey could understand, omitting grisly details. With Lynn locked up, the child had relaxed … and was sporting a serious case of hero worship for Zane. Which made Zane uncomfortable in the extreme.
Because the only direction someone on a pedestal could fall was downward.
They hadn’t told Casey about their marriage yet, deciding not to dump everything on the little boy at once, allowing him a gradual adjustment period instead.
Zane’s life couldn’t be better … yet niggling disquiet ate at him. Attempting to be a father sat uneasily on his shoulders. Jillian assured him he had no reason to worry, that it wouldn’t happen overnight and just take it one day at a time.
On his initiative, they’d registered for a series of parenting classes starting next month.
But he couldn’t completely let down his guard. Couldn’t shake a looming sense of foreboding. Couldn’t relinquish the fear he would make a serious mistake and inadvertently damage his son.
He’d considered driving to Portland and seeing the therapist again, but he’d already told Jillian his big bad secret, so what was the point of hashing it over again with a stranger?
Despite Jillian and Casey’s total acceptance of him, and continuing to take determined steps forward, he felt like a fraud.
Still oddly detached, an actor playing a role and unsure of his lines.
Like he didn’t quite belong here.
“Earth to Zane.” Jillian’s voice pulled him from the swamp of doubt.
“Sorry, honey, spacing out. What did you say?”
She glanced at her watch. “We need to pick up Casey and get going. The final championship game starts soon.”
“Right. Ready to rumble.”
Casey’s team had made it to the finals, but so far, Casey had hung back and only played a minor role. Like Zane, he was struggling with latent fears.
