Page 14 of Savage Secrets

The sounds of the house made her sleepy, and she drew the blanket over her shoulders. Next thing she knew, the scent of fresh coffee flooded the air.

She jolted upright, staring wide-eyed into space.

It wasn’t dark and it wasn’t light either. Somewhere in between.

The blanket fell off her body onto the floor, and she realized that she had fallen asleep on the couch.

She hadnotprogrammed the coffeemaker to start.

Feeling a little shaky, she went to investigate. As soon as she peeked around the doorway into the kitchen, she saw Zach, his back to her as he fiddled with the coffee.

Relief swept through her. She entered the kitchen, and he turned at the sound of her step.

He gave her a once-over, making her aware that her clothes were rumpled.

“I fell asleep on the couch. The smell of coffee woke me.”

“Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“How did you get in?”

“You left the door unlocked, Opal.” His tone sounded tense. “I should have checked the doors and windows last night, but I thought—”

“No. That’s on me. I shouldn’t be leaving doors unlocked, especially after…what happened.” Her voice lowered. “I didn’t think about locking up. We never locked doors here on the ranch.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll give you a key to the house so you can make coffee whenever you want.” She swiped a hand over her face, aware that she must look awful. Then she spotted the travel mug in his hand—and another mug next to the coffeemaker.

“Is that for me?”

He’d made her coffee. Nobody ever did that for her, least of all Rainie’s father.

He followed her line of sight and nodded. Just then, the teapot let out a shrill whistle. He surged forward to cut off the noise.

“Are you making tea?”

He twisted from the range to look at her. “No. I made hot cocoa for Rainie. I hear her coming now.”

* * * * *

Zach slipped his hand into his jeans pocket, fingertips skimming the warm metal of the house key that Opal handed him.

Her only copy.

It was a silly thing, really. A chunk of metal wasn’t so important…but it was a sign of trust, one that brought a tightness to his chest.

Sean Gracey had easily handed over an entire ring packed with keys to vehicles, outbuildings and gate padlocks. Up until afew months ago when Colton took control of the operations on the Gracey, Zach had been in possession of those keys.

He touched the key again. He should put it on a keychain, so he didn’t lose it.

He would go into town and get a copy made so he and Opal each had one.

Going into town came with a mixed bag of feelings. Everyone knew him there, from the guys at the feed and seed store to the diner with the best burger around.

His therapist was also a frequent stop on his rounds. Once a week, in fact, as ordered by the judge for mandatory anger management.

The short drive there didn’t give him nearly enough time to steel himself for talk therapy. Most guys didn’t express their feelings with words, but when he used his fists things went bad, which was how he ended up in this situation.

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