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Not a mistake.
A miracle.
Zane stood immobile, stunned by awe.
“We gotta go now, Jen. Bye.” Casey let go of Zane’s hand and clambered into the backseat.
The little girl frowned in disappointment and trudged off.
Zane silently buckled Casey in, shut the door and rested his forehead on the cool ragtop. Shaken to his soul, he fought for composure.
Jillian hurried to his side. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” he managed to choke out.
She patted his arm. “Casey didn’t think anything of it. No harm done.”
This time.
On wobbly legs, Zane stumbled around the car and slid inside. Casey hadn’t made the connection, hadn’t realized the truth. He hadn’t been hurt.
Zane sat clutching the wheel, burning with the newfound knowledge of how far he’d go to prevent that from happening.
And exactly how much he would have to give up to protect his son.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Zane awoke early to Aragorn’s hostile green stare drilling into him from the footboard. “How did you get here? Don’t tell me you can materialize at will.”
The cat rumbled out a menacing feline growl.
“Growling at me, your majesty?” Zane flung back the covers and climbed out of bed. “I knew you were demon spawn.Normalanimals like me. FYI, Mrs. Minsky who lived next door when I was growing up had a cat named Tootles who idolized the ground I walked on.”
Aragorn’s lips curled and sharp white teeth bared in a venomous hiss.
“Thank you so much, and back atcha.”
Zane edged along the wall and found the bedroom door partway open. Though it was barely past the crack of dawn, Dean obviously had already returned the cat. Not that Zane blamed him. He flung the door wide. “Go find a defenseless mouse to torment.”
The monster smirked at him before haughtily slinking out, plumed tail swishing.
A huge yawn stretched Zane’s jaw as he shut the door. Disturbing emotions had churned too close to the surface all night, and he’d slept in fitful snatches.
He walked into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Hell, his pain didn’t matter. Pain was no stranger, he’d lived with it his entire life. As much as selfish reasons might tempt him otherwise, he was honor bound do what was best for his son.
He showered, shaved, and dressed in a dark blue T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. He’d trashed his suit in Lake Tahoe, and since he’d ended up staying in Cape Hope far longer than expected he’d have to hit a department store for more clothes eventually. He efficiently made the bed, then loped downstairs to the kitchen, where Casey sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal.
Jillian turned from the sink and flashed Zane a smile. “Good morning. Coffee?” Though perfectly respectable, her short pink and turquoise floral print skirt and pink tank top seemed to reveal miles of creamy skin. She’d left her shiny blonde locks loose and tucked a pink rosebud from her garden behind one ear.
Desire punched into him, stole his breath.
“Yoo-hoo.” She fluttered her fingers at him. “Caffeine deprived?”
He shook the buzzing from his head and scrambled for an even tone. “Yeah, I can get it, though, thanks.” Resisting the temptation to tumble her into bed grew harder every second he spent in her company. With a wry twist of his lips, he squelched his libido and poured a mug of steaming coffee. “Have you heard how Loucinda’s doing? Usually day two after an injury hurts worse. I hope she’s not in too much pain.”
“I talked to her on the phone this morning and from the sounds of her, she’s got some good happy pills. Her sister is flying in from Texas today to take care of her, and I have a suspicion Pop will be in pretty much constant attendance during her recovery.”
“All’s well that ends well, then.”
