Chapter Three
"You did what?"
Zack stuck his head in the refrigerator and rummaged for a beer. He knew that tone. His wife didn't use it often, which was why it was so effective.
He took a long time pulling out the beer and made sure his face was relaxed and composed when he looked back at her.
She stood in front of the stove, where something wonderful was cooking. She had a wooden spoon in her fist and her fists on her hips. He thought she looked like an outraged, and very sexy, Betty Crocker. But he figured it wouldn't be healthy to say so just at the moment.
"I invited Sam to dinner. " He smiled when he said it, and twisted the top off the beer. "You know how I like to show off my beautiful wife's incredible cooking. "
When she only slitted her eyes, he took a deep gulp from the bottle. "Problem? You never mind company for dinner. "
"I don't mind company. But I do mind sleazeballs. "
"Nell, Sam might have been a little reckless as a kid, but he was never sleazy. And he's one of my oldest friends. "
"And he broke the heart of one of my friends - and yours. He left her flat and went off toNew York to
do God-knows-what for more than ten years. Then - then," she continued, working up a fine rage, "he slithers back on-island and expects everybody to greet him with open arms. "
She slapped the spoon on the counter. "I for one am not interested in tuning up the brass band for Sam Logan. "
"How about just one trumpet player?"
"You think this is a joke?" She swiveled on her heel and strode to the back door. He managed to get there in time to brace a hand on the door. "No. Sorry. Nell. " He ran his hand over her cap of hair. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened between Sam and Mia. I was sorry then, and I'm sorry now. The fact is, I grew up with Sam, and we were friends. Good friends. "
"Isn't 'were' the operative word?"
"Not for me. " And for Zack it was just that simple. "Mia matters to me, and so does he. I don't want to be put in the position of taking sides, not in my own home. More than that, more than anything, I don't want you and me at odds over it. But I shouldn't have asked him to dinner without talking to you first. I'll go head him off. "
She bit back a sigh, but couldn't quite master the pout. "You're doing that to make me feel small and low. "
He waited a beat. "Did it work?"
"Yes, damn it. " She gave him a little shove. "Get out of my way. If we're having company for dinner, there's no point in burning it. "
But he didn't move aside. Instead he took her hands and squeezed. "Thanks. "
"Don't thank me until I've gotten through the evening without giving him hives or warts. "
"Gotcha. How about I set the table?"
"How about you do?"
"You want candles?"
"Yeah, black ones. " She smirked as she walked over to check her wild rice. "To ward off negative energy. "
Zack heaved out a breath. "Should be some evening. "
Sam brought a good wine and sunny yellow daffodils. But she wasn't mollified. She was polite, brutally so, and served the wine on the comfortable front porch, with canapes that she'd tossed together at the last minute.
Sam wasn't sure if she meant that to be friendly or to illustrate that he would be admitted to her home in stages.
"I hope you didn't go to any trouble," Sam told her. "Nothing more tedious than unexpected guests. "
"No, there isn't, is there?" she replied sweetly. "But then again, I'm sure you're not used to potluck, so we'll all make do. "
She swung back into the house, and Sam hissed out a breath. He was sure now. He was getting in, but in painful stages. "This is going well. "
"Mia means a lot to her. For a lot of reasons. "
Sam merely nodded, wandered to the rail of the front porch. Lucy, Zack's black Lab, rolled over to expose her belly for a rub, batting her tail for a bit of charm. Crouching, Sam obliged her. He knew the reasons for Nell's fierce loyalty to Mia. He'd made it his business to know what happened on the island over the years. He knew Nell had been on the run when she'd arrived on Three Sisters, escaping an abusive husband. She had faked her own death - and he had to admire her guts for it - and had changed her name and her appearance as she zigzagged across the country, picking up jobs waitressing, cooking.
He'd seen the news reports on Evan Remington, who was now serving time in a prison mental facility. And he knew that Mia had given Nell a job running the bookstore cafe, had given her a home. And he suspected, had taught her how to refine the gift.
He'd recognized Nell as one of the three the minute he saw her.
"She's had a rough time, your Nell. "
"Very rough. She risked her life to save her life. When she got here, Mia gave her a chance to dig in, put down roots. I've got to be grateful to Mia for that, too. And more," he added, waiting until Sam turned back. "You've heard about Remington. "
"Hollywoodpower broker, wife beater, psychopath. " He straightened. "And I know he took a slice out of you trying to get to Nell. "
"Yeah. " Absently, Zack rubbed a hand over his shoulder where Remington had stabbed him. "He tracked her here, knocked her around before I got to her, then he took me out. Temporarily. She'd run into the woods, knowing he'd come after her and probably not take the time to finish me off. " His face went grim at the memory. "When I took off after them, Ripley and Mia were here. They knew Nell was in trouble. "
"Yes, Mia would know. "
"The son of a bitch had a knife to her throat. " Even now, the memory had rage swimming into him.
"He'd have killed her. Maybe I could've gotten a shot off, maybe not, but he'd have killed her either way. She's the one who took him out. She gathered what was inside her, what she is, and with Mia and Ripley, turned what he was back on him.
"I watched it happen," Zack murmured. "There in the little wood by the cottage where you're staying
now. A circle of light, out of nowhere. Then Remington was on the ground screaming. "
"She has courage and faith. "
"She does," Zack agreed. "She's everything. "
"You're a lucky man. " Though his own mind took a smart side step at the thought of a woman, any woman, who could be everything to a man. "Her love for you is a tangible thing. Even when she's pissed," Sam said with a weak smile, "the way she's pissed now that you've invited Judas to her table. "
"Why did you do it? Why did you leave?"
Sam shook his head. "A lot of reasons, some I'm still figuring out. When I have them, all of them, I'll tell Mia. "
"You're expecting an awful lot of her. "
Sam studied the wine in his glass. "Maybe I always did. "
Zack worked hard to keep the conversation light and friendly at dinner. By his calculations, he talked more during that hour at the table than he normally did in a week. But every time he sent Nell an imploring look, she ignored it.
"I can see why the cafe's taken a bite out of our lunch trade," Sam said. "You're an artist in the kitchen, Mrs. Todd. My biggest regret is that you didn't walk into the hotel instead of Cafe Book when you came on-island. "
"I went where I was meant to go. "
"Do you believe in that? In destiny?"
"Absolutely. " She got to her feet to clear the table.
"So do I. Absolutely. " He rose as well, picked up his plate. When Nell's back was turned he gave Zack a little head signal.
Make yourself scarce.