Page 84 of Rescued Duty

Apparently, he couldn’t hide his thoughts, either. “I was the goofy kid that my grandma always had to wrangle in.”

“That you were.”

He’d always found a way to make the other kids at school laugh. Coping mechanism? Sure. It had done his heart good during those years. But how did it serve him now? It was silly to think he could keep conversations surface level and still have quality friendships. It was past time to be real. Honest. “Naturally, I had to devise a plan that would become a tale that lived on. It quickly turned into a quest, and I got the help of two of the other boys from church.”

“You came up with a plan instead of just searching for it next time we were at youth group?”

Now she was catching on.

Zack nodded. “After service the following Sunday, I decided to sneak up to the classroom and look for the bracelet.”

The other two boys who’d been part of the plan had been meant to distract his grandma. Just long enough to give Zack time to find the missing bracelet. “I found it tucked in the corner by the snack counter. I had just picked it up when the lights went out.”

“No one saw you still in there?”

“They must have had all the lights on a timer to shut off after the service. When it suddenly went dark, I panicked. I stood up and slid my hand along the wall to find a light switch.” There’d been no windows in the room, which had made visibility harder because no natural light had peeked through. “I ended up tripping over a trash can, and I grabbed onto something on the wall. Suddenly a siren pierced the air, and a single flashing bulb lit up the space.”

“The fire alarm.” Naya’s eyes widened.

“I’d pulled the fire alarm.” And secured his reputation as the goof, the troublemaker. “The sprinkler system was activated, and I was drenched, along with everything else in the room.”

“Why don’t I remember any of this?” Her foster parents always chatted with people after church, which gave her time to hang out with the other kids.

Zack grimaced. “You stayed home with your foster mom that day with the stomach bug.”

“Ohhh.” Naya’s features softened. “That was a horrible few days.”

“I raced out of that room real fast. At that point, the rest of the plan slipped out of my mind, and I forgot to exit out the side door.” Zack rubbed his jaw. “I barreled out the front door and ran straight into my grandma. She tumbled backward and fell and broke her hip.”

He could still picture her frail arms shaking, trying to sit up. The wrinkles on her face deepening from the pain.

Naya sucked in a breath.

“They called an ambulance for my grandma and after her surgery, she went to a nursing home. CPS took over and with no other next of kin, I was put in a new foster home.” Zack sighed. “I was the goofball who caused too much trouble. And my grandma paid the price.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Naya’s voice rose a notch.

Zack’s gaze locked with hers, but his expression told her he took full responsibility for the situation.

“That’s why no one came home and your grandma’s house went up for sale. My foster parents tried to contact her, but they weren’t successful.”

“My grandma only had a landline.” Zack let out a humorless laugh. “And I found myself clear across town in a completely different school district, with a family I barely knew. It felt isolating.”

Naya’s chin quivered. “I was wrong about the whole situation.” She averted her gaze to her lap.

He took his thumb and ran it along her cheek, then lifted her chin. “I never intended to leave you. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you or cause confusion.”

“I understand that now.”

The unspoken words still remained. It didn’t change all the years of wondering. The questions whose answers appeared evasive. The times of bitterness.

Silence lengthened. Zack had shared the truth. Now it was up to Naya to decide how to respond. His muscles were stiff, but there was nowhere to stretch his legs in the car. They were trapped in here together, but only they had the key to the chance of freedom that lay on the other side.

He wanted there to be restoration. But he couldn’t control Naya’s heart. She had to decide for herself what she wanted.

Zack took off the bracelet and unwound the two pieces of red cord. “I’ve kept your half all these years.” He held out his hand.

“Why?” Naya blinked.

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