Page 73 of Savage Secrets

“Would you like some cocoa?” she asked him at the very same time.

Their gazes locked and held.

She blinked, but it didn’t erase the pain in her eyes.

“Fuck, Opal. I can’t do this. I can’t—”

A knock at the door cut him off. He whipped toward it, reaching for the handle and balling his other fist, prepared to cause harm. Then he realized an attacker wouldn’t knock on the door and forcibly loosened his hand.

He opened the door, shocked to find Sean Gracey standing there.

“Mr. Gracey.”

“Webb. Can we can talk?”

As his boss, he almost never asked what Webb wanted. He gave orders, as was fitting between a boss and his employee.

Shooting a glance at Opal, Zach saw her twist back to the pot on the stove. She used a wooden spoon to stir the cocoa, and she gave all her attention to the task.

“Go on,” she said quietly to him.

He watched her for a beat longer before stepping outside with Mr. Gracey. He closed the door and dragged a deep breath of cool air into his lungs.

They walked into the yard to talk. Zach eyed him. “You heard?”

He nodded. “Colton filled me in on the phone.”

“That’s good. I’m sure you’re relieved that your family is safe again.”

He bobbed his head. “More than you know.” He cocked a brow. “Ordoyou know?”

He couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat. Ignoring the question, he asked one of his own.

“The land. The WEST team found out a trust was created and the land transferred to it.”

Gracey sighed. The temps had dropped just enough to create a plume from his hot breath. “You think badly of me.”

That wasn’t exactly true. He was hurt about not being given a chance to own the land—but he would always hold a certain amount of respect for Mr. Gracey.

“I did it for you, Zach.”

His head snapped up, meeting his old boss’s eyes. “What do you mean, for me?” It wasn’t lost on him that the man hadn’t called him by his last name—Webb.

“After our talk, I called the lawyer and got the ball rolling. I created the trust and transferred the land so I can give it to you.”

He stared at him for a long heartbeat, trying to make sense of those words. “What? Why?”

“Because you were always a part of my family, even if you’re not blood.”

Raising his hand, he brushed his knuckle under his nose, battling emotions he didn’t know how to process.

But he did know. He’d done it with Opal. Before Gracey interrupted with his knock, he had been ready to tell her that he couldn’t live without her, that he wanted her and Rainie with him for the rest of his days.

He stuck out his hand. Gracey looked down at it as ifhedidn’t know what to do. Then he clasped it hard. Zach’s chest welled. When the man yanked him in for a hug and pounded him on the back, his eyes stung.

“Thank you, sir.”

“I think it’s about time you call me Sean. Don’t you think?”

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