Page 27 of Savage Secrets

He didn’t confirm the accusation in a straightforward manner. “It’s just a matter of time. Also unlike you…” He glanced down at Zach’s fists curled at his sides. “I’m a patient man.”

Rage had him shaking. His anger was getting the best of him. Growing up, he saw his father and all his uncles use their fists to resolve conflicts.

It got Zach tossed in prison, but right this second, he had a clear vision of getting Feldman off this property once and for all.

He couldn’t make those moves.

Instead of breaking the investor’s nose, he used his size to intimidate by taking another step closer, invading Feldman’s space. “Get. Off. This. Land.”

A long second passed before the man moved. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry—you won’t be the junkyard dog guarding this piece of land for much longer, Webb.”

He swore he heard a gasp come from Opal, but he didn’t dare turn. If he saw disdain for being called the junkyard dog on her pretty face, he couldn’t live with it.

Feldman got back in his vehicle and drove off. A bellow of fury boiled in Zach’s chest as he watched him go.

The son of a bitch was going to pay. He was going to see to it.

No—his hands were tied. He practically felt the cold metal of the handcuffs around his wrists now.

He grabbed the closest object—the rake he’d left leaning against the corner of the garage. He whipped it over his head, prepared to hurl it as far and as hard as he could to release some of the anger pounding through his veins.

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Opal, standing on the porch, arms wrapped around herself in a protective shield.

Breathing hard, he dropped the rake and forced his fingers to release his grip on the handle.

He strode into the barn and leaped up to grab onto the rafter. He started doing pullups. Five. Ten. Fifteen.

He needed to master his anger.

If not for himself…then for Opal and her daughter. If he was going to spend time around them, he had to do better. Be better. Be someone worth their time.

Chapter Eight

Opal huddled into her oversized flannel jacket and waved at the car containing Rainie, Kirsten and Paige until they were out of sight.

She let out a small sigh. She was alone for the evening. Rainie was so excited to have a sleepover that she raced to get her PJs and her backpack. Opal was happy to see a big smile on her child’s face. Though the death of her grandfather hadn’t affected her the way it would an older child, Rainie had faced a lot of recent changes in her life.

Getting back to the old neighborhood and spending the night with her friend, doing little girl things and sharing little girl jokes, was just what she needed.

Opal thought it was what she needed too—a moment to catch her breath after all that happened. Now that she was alone, she hardly knew what to do with herself.

For the moment, she stood there drinking in her surroundings. The ranch where she’d grown up always brought mixed feelings. She had the best daddy in the world growing up. As she got older, he became more forceful about his wishes for her to leave the ranch life.

She barely remembered her mom, who passed away when Opal was Rainie’s age. Right now, it would be nice to talk to a person who cared about her and could tell her if she was making the right decisions.

Over the barn, the last rays of the sun sparked outward, tinging the sky with pink and orange. The crickets stoppedchirping since it got colder, but the whisper of the wind was a welcome companion.

She closed her eyes, wrapped in her dad’s old jacket, and listened to the world around her.

After several moments, she opened her eyes to see the colors of the sky had deepened. She turned and walked up the porch steps and went inside.

In the house, she hung the coat on the back of a kitchen chair and filled the coffeepot with water to prepare for Zach joining her.

Her stomach both warmed and twisted at the thought of the man. When the investor showed up here, Zach returned from his trip to town, stepping in to protect her from the man.

But the anger he barely kept checked frightened her a little. His tight fists balled at his sides reminded her that he had used them before, and paid the price. As he snatched up that rake to hurl it in a fit of fury, she had been torn between going to him to offer comfort and running back in the house.

In that moment, she saw Zach as a man on fire. A fire hot enough to burn down the forest—maybe even melt the granite of the mountains—blazed within him.

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