Page 84 of The Last Love Song
“You spoke to my mom?” Heather tipped her head into his shoulder, so grateful to feel the warmth of him close to her.
“I called to see if she knew where you were. She told me Jeremy Covington was drooling on you at Erin’s wedding reception.”
“My mother doesn’t miss much.” Heather remembered all that Diana Finley had observed from her window overlooking the reception.
The police car arrived and the cop turned into the driveway. J.D. and Jeremy were read their rights and put into the squad car. In the meantime, a tow truck arrived—one of the Elliotts’ vehicles, but it wasn’t an Elliott behind the wheel.
Megan seemed to recognize the young man, though, since she threw off the blanket and bounded into his arms. Her father was in the passenger seat, and it took him a bit longer to clamber out of the monstrous truck. By the time he did, Megan broke free from the boy to hug her crying father.
“Dan Bryer sure does love his daughter.” Heather swiped a tear from her eye, thinking she hadn’t gotten enough hugs from her dad, but she had adored him just the same.
“Wade Sanderson seems pretty fond of Megan, too.” Zach laid his cheek on Heather’s head, and she wanted to stay like that forever, his one arm around her waist, the warmth of his shoulder right where she could kiss it.
“I hope he’s a good boy. She needs a good one after J.D.” She lifted her head, her muddled brain clearing a little. “Zach, do you think there’s any chance that Jeremy Covington was the one who attacked Gabriella?”
“If there’s any evidence of it in a computer, I guarantee we’ll find it. And we’ve got a statement on file from Sam—something he logged with his old police chief in San Jose. There’s a dated record of the brawl he got into to save my sister. He made notes about the types of injury he inflicted on the perp. We might be able to use it to check for scars or doctor visits Covington made around the same time. It would be circumstantial, but it would build the case.” His jaw tightened. “My gut says yes, it was him.”
Heather hadn’t fully understood how invested Zach had been in finding his sister’s attacker.
“If he was the one who tried to hurt Gabriella, he’ll be sent away for a long time.” She had faith in Heartache’s sheriff, who seemed to have the crime scene well in hand.
She also had a lot of faith in Mayor Chance. He probably had more training in digital forensics than anyone else in Tennessee. If there was any scrap of digital evidence that Covington had stalked Gabriella online, he’d unearth it.
Zach held out his cell phone. “Do you want to call your mother and tell her you’re okay or would you like me to?”
Just then, one of the sheriff’s deputies interrupted.
“Excuse me, Ms. Finley? Sheriff Reyes asked me to take your statement, if you’re feeling well enough.”
She nodded, reluctant to leave Zach but eager to get this over with so she could be with him. “I am.” She touched his arm, gathering strength from him—this man she loved and could have lost today. “Would you mind calling her while I give a statement so we can finish up faster? I might ask you for a ride home, if it’s not too much trouble. I’m a little too shaky to drive.”
Another clipped nod was her only answer, making her wonder if she was giving him too little, too late. One thing was certain. She wasn’t giving up Zach Chance again without a fight. Even before she’d been attacked, she’d been second-guessing her decision.
And now she knew.
Her dream had shifted. And no dream was good enough that didn’t include Zach.
Zach hit thehorn as he drove past Heather’s mom’s house that night.
Heather arched an eyebrow at him from the passenger seat.
“You and my mom seem to have a friendly accord,” she noted.
The bruise on her forehead had darkened, making him angry to think about how close she’d come to…he didn’t know what. Rape? Worse? Federal investigators were going to take a look at the case since some of the crimes around the quarry had taken place along the interstate. That would speed things along and give them additional support to build the case against the Covingtons. Gabriella, he knew, would finally come forward with her own statement. They’d discussed it the night before.
“Your mother was clearheaded and articulate in a crisis.” Zach pulled into the short driveway in front of Heather’s bungalow and jogged around to her side of the car to help her out. “She played a huge part in helping put me right where I needed to be today. I owe her a debt forever.”
“I’m so grateful. To both of you. And Sam, too.” She pulled her door keys from her bag and passed them to him, their fingers brushing, her eyes holding his.
He liked opening doors for her. Being with her. Calling her mom on the phone. Yeah, he was really far gone on this woman. Sam would mock him for the rest of his life.
But Zach didn’t care. He just wanted to make things right between them.
“Let me get the lights.” He slipped past her to flick the switches so she could see where she was going. Wherever she was, he wanted to be there, too—on so many levels. “I won’t stay if you want to sleep, but it would make me happy as hell to watch over you tonight. I think I might have nightmares unless I spend twenty-four hours straight just staring at you and knowing you’re okay.”
“I want you here.” She dropped her bag onto a table and toed the door shut with one foot. “More than anything.”
She slid her arms around his neck and he told himself to go slow. Talk through every facet of what was happening between them so they understood what they were getting into. And how tomorrow was going to go. This time, there would be no surprises. No backing away from what they’d started.
