Page 3 of Savage Secrets

Opal was on her feet, arms crossed protectively over her chest. At his sudden entrance, relief washed over her strained features.

He walked right up to Feldman. “Time for you to go.”

The man didn’t immediately stand. The cocky way he relaxed in the leather armchair made Zach curl his fingers. The urge to grab Feldman by the throat and bodily lift him out of the chair blazed through him.

Those anger management classes—and all the years of therapy—fled in a red haze of fury.

Looming over the guy, he used his size and presence to intimidate. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

Feldman remained seated for five full heartbeats before he finally stood. His face turned a burnished red color. “I know all about you. You’re the ex-con.”

Zach didn’t outwardly respond to the taunt. He’d heard it a hundred times. It still affected him, but he wasn’t about to take the bait.

He leveled Feldman in his glare. “Get. Out.”

Feldman steeled his jaw. “I’ll be in touch, Opal.”

“Miss Vale to you,” Zach bit off.

Opal’s eyes widened until a small ring of white appeared around each dark brown iris.

Feldman gave her a nod and another oily smile. “This won’t be the last you hear from me.”

Zach took a menacing step toward him. Feldman ignored his silent threat and sauntered at his own pace to the front door. Zach followed him and then locked it behind him.

When he turned to Opal, her face was pink with some strong emotion.

As pink as the face of the princess Rainie had colored.

“Mr. Zach! Come back and drink your tea!”

He met Opal’s gaze. She stood frozen for a heartbeat before she moved to the kitchen.

When they entered, Rainie looked up with a big smile. “Momma, we’re coloring!”

“I see, sweetie.” Opal sat at the table beside her daughter, looking as if all the worries of the day fell on her shoulders all at once. She was a strong woman, Zach knew firsthand. A forest ranger and the daughter of a rancher. A single mother. But she seemed bowed under the weight of everything.

“Let’s have some more of this tea.” He picked up the pink plastic cup that was brimming with liquid.

Opal swept a look over the table. “Wait. Rainie, where did you get that tea?”

“I’ll go get you some too, Momma!” She grabbed an empty cup, jumped off the chair and took off.

A moment later, Opal’s eyes flew wide in alarm. “Zach, did you drink any of that?”

He stared at her. “Two cups. Why?”

“Oh god.” She plastered her hand over her face. “The toilet, Zach. The only thing Rainie can reach here is the toilet.”

With extreme slowness, he lowered the cup to the table. When he rushed to the sink to rinse out his mouth, the soft snort of amusement from Opal washed through his senses.

Even if he had drunk two plastic cups full of toilet water, at least he’d given her a much-needed break from the hardships of her day.

Chapter Two

Opal opened the kitchen cupboard door and eyed the dishes there. The simple design was part of the charm of the hand-thrown pottery set. As a single mother without a lot of extra money to spare on luxury items, she had an attachment to the dishes.

So silly. They were just things to eat food from. But while packing up her home, every single item she owned was gaining a second glance. She was moving to Springvale. And those cupboards were already stuffed with household items. An emotional attachment to her father kept her from just tossing everything and filling the space with her own belongings.

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