“I’ve heard it before.”
“If you don’t do something, nobody else is going to do it for you. Life is what you make it.”
“Easy for a big shot like you to say. Why don’t you stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours? Deal?”
“No, it’s not a deal!”
Damn. Because of Zach, she was losing precious ground with her brother.
Refusing to come in, Tuck dropped her off at Gram’s. As Summer got out of the car, he sped away in an angry whirl of dust and gravel.
Dreading being grilled by Gram, especially after not taking her calls all week, Summer squared her shoulders before marching up to the house.
Summer was barely inside before Gram switched off the television and plopped Silas down on the floor.
“Why didn’t you return any of my phone calls?”
Because I was too ashamed of what I was doing.
“That was…unforgiveable of me,” Summer whispered. “I did listen to every single message though…if that counts.”
“So, when were you going to tell me you’ve started seeing Zach Torr?” Gram asked excitedly.
“It’s not what you think,” Summer hedged, feeling acutely uncomfortable that her grandmother was hoping for a true romance.
“What is it, then?”
“Look, it was a long flight. I’m thirsty. Do you have some tea?”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did I have to hear this from all the gossips?” Gram asked rather gloomily as she and Silas followed Summer into the kitchen.
Summer didn’t say anything as Gram splashed tea from a pitcher in the fridge into a tall glass.
“Well, if you won’t talk, I’ll say my peace. I think it’s great that you’re reconnecting with Zach.”
“We’re not…”
“It’s high time you two sorted out the past.”
“Gram-”
“It will do you both a world of good…to talk it out.”
“There’s nothing to talk out.”
“Oh, no?” After stirring in lemon and mint Gram handed Summer the tall glass of iced tea. “You could talk about New Orleans. And the baby.”
Summer’s chest felt hollow and tight.
“You looked like death when you came home from New Orleans. I used to wonder if you’d ever get over it. Maybe if you told Zach, let him share that grief with you, maybe then both of you could move on. He’s just as stuck in the past as you are.”
Summer shook her head. “That was fifteen years ago. It’s way too late for us.”
Losing his baby after he’d rejected her had hurt so much, Summer had locked her sorrow inside. She’d never wanted to suffer because of it again.
Tears burned behind the back of her eyelids. “I can’t talk about it, not even like this, to you, Gram.”
Gram’s arms slid slowly around her, and Summer, fighting tears, stayed in them for quite a while.
“Spending time with him is the brave thing to do. I think it’s a start in finding yourself. I, for one, am going to pray for a miracle.”
“You do that,” Summer whispered, not wanting to repeat that, for her and Zach, it was hopeless.
“In the meantime, we could play Hearts,” Gram said more cheerfully.
“Gram…I…”
“I just love it when Zach stops by to play Hearts… A man with as much as he has to do taking time for a little old lady… And he’s not even my grandson.”
Zach again…besting her. Was there no competing with him? No escaping him?
Feeling cornered, Summer sat down with Gram to play Hearts.
Except for the lights she’d left on, the Thibodeaux mansion was still dark several hours later when Summer drove up in Gram’s borrowed Ford sedan, after having lost too many games of Hearts. She hadn’t bothered to set the security system, so she simply unlocked the door and let herself in.
Feeling restless because Zach still wasn’t there, she showered and dressed for bed in a thin T-shirt and a pair of comfortable long cotton pants. Intending to mull over her scenes for a little while, she pulled back her covers and slid into bed with her script.
But just reading through the sex scene made her squirm, so when she saw the remote, she flicked on the television, surfing until she found the weather channel.
There was a big storm over east Texas that Zach would have to drive through. Video of downed trees, traffic signs and power lines made her more apprehensive, so she turned the television off.
Was he okay? If he’d been in an accident, would anyone even think to call her?
He’s fine. Just fine. And why should you care if he isn’t?
Even more restless now, she got up and padded into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of sparkling water. She was pacing when her cell phone rang. Hoping it might be Zach, she sprinted back down the hall to answer it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Thurman demanded without bothering to greet her. “How can you move in with that bastard? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
She was ashamed, and furious at Thurman for punching that hot button.
Headlights flashed across the front of the house as her stepfather lambasted her. Stiffening her spine, she stood up straighter. She wasn’t some teenage girl her stepfather could blackmail or control.
“How did you get this number?” Summer said. “I’ve told you never to call me.”
“What are you doing over there? I demand to know.”
“It’s none of your business. And it hasn’t been for a very long time. Mother’s dead. I’m an adult. Goodbye.”
“You’re dragging the family down into the dirt all over again!” He swore viciously.
She turned her phone off just as Zach’s key turned in the lock.
Thinking she should give him a piece of her mind for putting her through all this, she stomped toward the front door. Then he stepped wearily across the threshold. She registered the slump of his broad shoulders, which looked soaked in the gray light.
“Hi,” she said, feeling an unwanted mixture of relief and sympathy for him.
“Sorry.” He seemed as tense and wary as she was. “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”
“You didn’t.” No way would she admit she’d been worrying about him. “Thirsty.” She waved her glass of water. “Thanks for getting all my favorite stuff. For the fridge, I mean.”
“All I did was have Rhonda make a phone call to your grandmother. Rhonda’s my secretary.” When he smiled crookedly, he was incredibly handsome despite the dark circles of fatigue shadowing his eyes.
“Long day?” she whispered, feeling slightly breathless, already having fallen under the spell of his lean, sculpted beauty.
He nodded. “Even before the drive. Long week, too. When it rains…it pours. Literally.”
“Oh, and the storm. Was it bad?”
“It slowed me down.”
From the late hour and his tight features, she was almost sure that was an understatement.
“Do you have any more bags? Could I help you carry something inside?”
“You’re being awfully nice. Too nice,” he accused, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. “Why?”
“Yes-and I don’t know why. I don’t trust myself, either.”
