Midnight Secrets (17 page)

Taking out the program of that first recital, she opened it to the first page and was surprised to see her grandfather had written a note beside her name. His handwriting was a bit scratchy but it looked something like
You would be so proud of her, son
.

She dropped the program and closed the drawer, vaguely disturbed by the words. They had rarely talked about her father after her parents’ deaths. Any mention of his name usually ended up with her or one of her sisters crying. Her grandfather had respected their wishes and avoided bringing him up. Savannah suddenly felt guilty for that. Even though he had killed their mother and destroyed their happy family, Beckett had still been her grandfather’s only child. How he must have grieved for him.

Unsettled by her thoughts, she turned away. Maybe the closets first. Then later, when she wasn’t feeling so emotionally raw, she’d sort through his dresser and bureau for the more personal things. She crossed the room and opened the large walk-in closet. Suits, sweaters, jackets, shirts, and pants were all neatly hanging. Shoes, all with a military shine, gleamed at her from their shelf. Taking a deep breath, Savannah set to work.

Three hours later, she had reached the back of the closet and was almost at the end of her energy. Thankfully, her grandfather hadn’t been a clotheshorse or a pack rat, but still there’d been more clothes than she had anticipated. Seven boxes were now packed with a nice assortment of clothing that someone, somewhere, would be able to put to good use.

The doorbell had rung three times in as many hours. She was glad she had closed the blinds and not answered. Making social calls and knowing the ins and outs of each other’s lives was part of the culture here. So different from a big city like Nashville, where one could go days or weeks without seeing a neighbor.

Her arms loaded with sweaters, Savannah turned. A tall, mountainous figure stood at the entrance to the closet. She squeaked out a small squeal and dropped the sweaters on her feet.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you. I rang the bell and knocked several times. When no one answered, I got concerned.”

Hands on her hips, Savannah glared at Zach. “I wasn’t answering the door because I have so much to do. And how the hell do you have a key to the house, anyway?”

Broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Your grandfather never changed his spare-key hiding spot. Can’t believe that fake rock in the flower bed is still there.”

She stepped around the pile of sweaters and held out her hand. “I’ll take the key and put it away. I didn’t realize it was still there.”

Instead of handing the key to her, he looked down at the pile of clothes at her feet. “Need some help?”

Stooping down, she grabbed up the load of sweaters and marched toward the door. Zach thankfully backed away, allowing her out of the closet that was becoming more than a little claustrophobic.

She dumped the clothes on the bed and turned to face him. Before she could ask why he was here, he whistled and said, “You’ve gotten a lot done already.”

Her eyes shifted away from him and took in the scene. All of these boxes and only two small moments where she’d broken into tears. One had been caused by the half pack of Juicy Fruit gum she’d found in a jacket—her grandfather had rarely been without gum in his pocket and Juicy Fruit had been his favorite. The other time was when she’d found a cashmere scarf he’d carefully folded and put in a bottom drawer. The scarf had been a gift from her mother, given to him for Christmas … the last Christmas they’d all been together.

As she swallowed around another inconvenient lump, a thought suddenly occurred to her. “There are still lots of nice things here that aren’t too outdated. I know Granddad would have been pleased if you took some of them. He was thinner but you guys were about the same height.”

The instant she said the words, she regretted them. Zach had grown up incredibly poor. She had meant nothing by her offer other than wanting the clothes to go to someone her grandfather had liked. However, offering Zach used clothes was probably not the most diplomatic thing she could have done.

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to see it as an insult. “I appreciate that.” He stepped toward the bed and pulled a navy cable-knit sweater from the pile.

Savannah smiled, not surprised to see him select that particular one. It had been her grandfather’s Saturday morning sweater. In the short time they had dated, Zach had come for breakfast almost every Saturday. Granddad was always wearing that sweater … even during the summer months. Daniel Wilde had been a traditionalist; she had loved his predictability. He had provided the wonderful normalcy and security she and her sisters had so desperately needed.

“His Saturday morning sweater was one of his favorites.”

He shot her a glance. “I’ll wear it Saturday morning in his honor.”

Emotions clutched at her heart. Before she could get all misty-eyed again, she said, “What are you doing here again?”

“I need to talk to you about something.” Before she could ask what, he said, “I brought dinner.”

She swallowed a laugh. He’d probably brought dinner to prevent her heating up more of Aunt Gibby’s casserole. When she didn’t respond immediately, he added, “It’s from Captain Jimmy’s.”

Her heart and stomach leaped in glee. That had been one of their favorite places to eat when they were dating. It’d been cheap and good. “Gumbo and fried catfish?”

A smile she hadn’t seen in ten years flashed over his face. “Hush puppies and slaw, too.”

Savannah headed to the door. “I’ll set the table and pour the tea.”

Zach released a quiet, relieved sigh as he followed Savannah down the stairs. She had every right to demand he leave. Coming in uninvited hadn’t exactly been his brightest idea, but ever since he’d seen the graffiti this morning, her safety had been a concern. The dinner was a cheap bribe. He knew if he could get her to open the door, the food was his magic key inside. He hadn’t anticipated that she wouldn’t answer the door. Alarm had zoomed through him that something had happened. Before he knew it, he was looking for the hidden key. Yesterday, she had told him she had a gun—he was damn lucky she hadn’t shot him.

He had never been one to overreact, but with Savannah he’d often done so and in extreme ways. Zach refused to question why after ten years nothing had changed.

The next hurdle would be getting her on board with his plan. Gibby’s suggestion last night had given him the idea. Would Savannah see through it to his real reason—mainly just to be with her? He mentally shrugged. It was worth a shot.

Grabbing up the box of food he’d placed at the front door after he’d come into the house, he headed to the kitchen. Savannah had already filled their glasses with ice and was now placing plates and silverware on the kitchen table.

“I made fresh tea this morning. That okay with you? Or I have Coke, if you’d rather.”

Shaking his head, he put the box of food on the table and began to unload. “Tea sounds good. It’s been a hot one today.”

She poured tea into the glasses. “I didn’t even see the sun today.”

“I passed by around noon and saw that Carrie and Sylvia were keeping you company.”

“I guess you could call it that.”

“You’re exciting news to Midnight. Not every day a favorite daughter returns.”

Her nose scrunched in a cute grimace. “We both know I was never a favorite of anyone’s. But thanks all the same.”

He disagreed. She’d been a favorite of his from the day he’d met her. But bringing that up would be sure to spoil the easy atmosphere they had going right now.

“I did learn something interesting from Sylvia and Carrie, though.”

He took a bite of a crunchy hush puppy and swallowed. “What’s that?”

“Apparently you’re the number one catch in Midnight.”

It was Zach’s turn to grimace. “That’s because ninety percent of the male population here is either married or over eighty.”

She laughed and popped a piece of catfish into her mouth and then closed her eyes on a groan. “Oh my gosh, I’d forgotten how good this stuff is.”

Mesmerized, Zach couldn’t look away. She was just so damn beautiful and still didn’t seem to be aware of her appeal. That had been one of the first things that had attracted him to her. Savannah had always been self-deprecating about her looks, saying that Samantha and Sabrina were the beautiful ones. And without a doubt her sisters were attractive, but compared to Savannah, they were poor imitations of the real thing.

“I’ve heard more gossip in the last twenty-four hours than I have in twenty years, most of it surrounding you.”

He cleared his throat. “You know a lot of the gossip in this town is fabrication.”

She tilted her head, her brows arching slightly. “So why’d you come back here? Ten years ago, you hated everything about this town and couldn’t wait to leave it behind.”

Zach didn’t bother to tell her that her statement wasn’t quite true. He hadn’t hated everything. He took a long swallow of tea and shrugged. “At first, I had no intention of staying. My plan was to sell my house and go someplace as far from here as possible.”

“What changed your mind?”

Another opportunity to delve into the past, and one he wasn’t prepared to take right now. If they could keep up this easy back-and-forth for a little while longer, then maybe, at some point, he could open up the gnawing dark abyss that contained the truth. For now, he relished being able to speak to her without the open hostility she’d shown before. The less seedy side of why he had decided to make Midnight his home was his safest bet.

The chair creaked beneath him as he leaned back into it and stared over her head, remembering. “The town was the same but oddly different. The house needed a hell of a lot of work before I could even consider selling it. Concentrating on that project, doing business in the town, getting to know the people again as an adult …” He shrugged. “I don’t know … it suddenly began to feel like home. For the most part, with the exception of a few, people treated me as an equal.” He shrugged again. “ Guess I got a different perspective of everything.”

“But why police chief?”

“Chief Mosby’s issues with me go way back. When I came back, it was about the same. Didn’t matter that I was an adult with a fairly impressive military record. Every time there was a crime he couldn’t immediately solve, I was called in as the prime suspect. Pissed me off. When I heard about his retirement, it got me to thinking. The law in this town has been circumspect for years. I knew I could do a damn sight better. I took law enforcement courses in college and thought I might apply to the police academy in one of the larger cities one day. With a little urging from a few friends, I threw my hat into the ring. I think everyone was shocked when I was offered the job.”

Light green eyes twinkled with gentle humor. “I still can’t believe you’re the law around here.”

He grinned. “Just mind your manners and you’ll be fine.” His eyes narrowed. “What about you? I thought your big dream was to be a defense attorney. Why a prosecutor instead?”

“About the time I started law school, I changed my mind.”

“Why’s that?”

“There was a murder-suicide case in Nashville. Only the suicide didn’t happen. The guy lived through his attempt and pled temporary insanity. Got off with a slap on the wrist and some counseling. I followed the case closely and was convinced that he had never intended to die. Temporary insanity had just been his out. Made me rethink what kind of career I wanted.”

Didn’t take a psychiatrist to interpret why she’d changed her mind. Understandably, her parents’ deaths had made a huge impact on her life.

“You like what you do?”

“‘Like,’ might be too strong of a word. When I win a case, I’m relieved, knowing justice has been served. When I lose, it bothers me more than what’s probably healthy. But to know I’m doing some good by getting criminals off the street and bringing justice for the victims … yeah, that satisfies me in a way I didn’t anticipate.”

What would she say if he told her he had come to Nashville to see her? He wouldn’t tell her that … at least not tonight. There would be too many questions. She would want to know everything. Before she left town, he would have no choice. This discussion has been delayed much too long. She hadn’t wanted to listen to his excuses years ago. And even though they weren’t any more substantial now, he needed to clear the air. Telling her wouldn’t erase the pain for either of them, but she needed the truth. Hell, she deserved a whole lot more than that, but the truth was at least a start.

For now, he would just concentrate on rebuilding her trust and then he would see where that led. Getting his hopes up that it would lead to forgiveness was one thing. That it could go farther than that wasn’t something he could even let himself consider. One step at a time was his only recourse. If forgiveness was all that she could give him, it was a hell of a lot more than he deserved.

Chapter

Thirteen

Savannah took one last bite of catfish and then relaxed back into her chair, at peace for the first time today. She told herself it had nothing to do with the handsome man sitting across from her. She was tired and hungry and it had been much too long since she’d eaten the delicious but horrible-for-you food at Captain Jimmy’s Seafood Emporium. Other than Faye’s Diner, Captain Jimmy’s was the oldest restaurant in Midnight. Her grandfather had rarely taken them there, but when she and Zach had been dating, they’d eaten at the restaurant at least once a week.