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He stepped closer, bypassing the safety of the counter. “Why?”
She swallowed, hard. His instincts were to follow the movement with his mouth, taste what he could only see.
Reaching out, he forced her chin up with demanding fingers. “Why?”
“It was just too much for me,” she whispered.
Without thought, he found himself murmuring, “Me, too.”
Startled eyes met his. He could drown in all that fresh green color. Five years ago, her eyes had been just as vibrant. Just as alluring. He’d fallen for her seductive pull and received the rudest awakening in his life for it. But he still couldn’t forget the night spent drowning in her green gaze.
Suddenly Sadie was bumped from behind, breaking the hold she had on Zach. Quickly he shuttered his expression.
He stepped back once, twice, until he found his breathing distance. “Now, what’s with the questions?”
“Why? Do you see me as a threat?”
In more ways than one. But he wasn’t giving her more ammo, so he bit his tongue. “Should I?”
Her gaze dropped at his question, causing his hackles to rise once more. Why was getting any information from her like pulling teeth?
“Just don’t stir up trouble.” He turned away, lifting a tray of dirty glasses off the counter and stepping through the opening behind the bar.
Only then did he hear her say, “And how’s a busy guy like you gonna stop me?”
* * *
“Don’t you know you don’t have to do this anymore?” a male voice from right behind Sadie asked.
Zach turned back toward her, focusing over her shoulder with a grin that she wished was directed at her. But it was better than the glower she’d been sure to receive after her challenge.
“My mama doesn’t care how much money I make,” Zach said. “She simply points at a table and tells me to get busy.”
When Zach came back out from behind the bar she was forced to step to the side, giving her a good look at the newcomer.
Or rather, newcomers. The trio looked like the epitome of wealth...and exhaustion. Zach shook hands with the blond man before turning to do the same with a man whose dark hair had a mind of its own. The woman between them received a light, social hug.
Based on her discussions with people in town, these must be the Blackstones.
If she remembered her gossip correctly, this would be Aiden Blackstone, his wife, Christina, and one of the younger brothers, Jacob. The utter weariness in their expressions spoke to the trials of the last week. Their brother Luke was currently in the hospital after being near the epicenter of the exploding bomb.
Suddenly another woman arrived through the break in the bar counter, pushing Sadie even farther back. The blonde beauty threw her arms around the one Sadie assumed was Jacob, holding nothing back. The surrounding people didn’t seem surprised. The woman pressed light, quick kisses against his lips, then settled at his side. Her touch never wavered and never dropped. If Sadie remembered correctly from local gossip, Zach’s sister, KC, was engaged to Jacob.
Zach studied them a moment, then asked, “How’s Luke doing?”
“Much better,” Jacob said. “They say he can come home tomorrow.”
“No further damage to his legs?” KC asked.
Jacob shook his head. “None.”
“Good,” Zach added. “We don’t need any more damn tragedies around here.”
Everyone murmured their agreement.
“Anyway.” Aiden stepped closer. “My wife is in firm need of sustenance that isn’t hospital food, and I promised her some of your mama’s fried chicken.”
Zach grinned in a way that took Sadie’s breath. “With a baby on the way, that woman should have anything she wants to have. She’s doin’ all the work, after all.”
“Amen,” Christina said, leaving the whole group laughing.
Sadie smiled, even though she knew it was a little sad around the edges. The group reminded her of her family. There were only three of them, but she, her mama and her sister had taken care of each other through a lifetime of heartache. They could often make each other laugh during the hardest times. And they never gave up hope that they would be together.
Zach stepped back to the kitchen to put in the order without so much as looking in her direction, intensifying Sadie’s feeling of solitude in the midst of the crowd. She eyed the distance back to the table she’d come from, but the Blackstones simply took up too much space for her to squeak by without notice.
Then the silence around her registered and she glanced back to realize she’d become the center of attention. Four sets of eyes studied her. Her familiar technique of disappearing into the shadows where she wouldn’t be noticed wasn’t an option here, as she was boxed in by the wall on one side and the bar counter behind her.
Finally the woman she recognized as Zach’s sister stepped closer. “Hi, there. I’m KC, Zach’s sister. And you are?”
Sadie wasn’t used to people offering her their hands, but she shook anyway. “Sadie Adams.”
“Let me guess,” KC said with a slight smile. “You must be Zach’s new nemesis.”
How had she known? “Um...”
“Oh, is this the woman from the mill?” Christina asked, interest lighting her eyes.
Suddenly Sadie felt as though someone had dialed up the spotlight.
“I believe she is,” KC replied.
“How did you know?” Sadie asked.
“Honey, it’s a small town.” KC’s smile was friendly, not condescending as Sadie had expected. “Trust me, everybody knows.”
“I don’t know,” Aiden said with a frown.
Christina patted his chest. “I’ll fill you in later, dear.”
That didn’t stop him from studying Sadie in a way that made her more reluctant than ever to stay. But KC picked up her now watered-down drink from the counter and dumped it before starting a fresh one. “Come on over and tell us about yourself,” she invited.
Sadie hung on to that friendly smile, even though she knew more than anyone how deceiving it might be from a stranger. But she needed these people for her mission, so she forced her feet forward.
“What do you do, Sadie?” Christina asked.
“I’m a photographer.” It wasn’t the entire truth. She did take photographs. She just didn’t do it for a living, as she’d led them all to believe.
“Oh, where’s your camera?”
“Outside.” She’d been afraid Zach would make a scene if she brought it in.
Christina didn’t seem fazed. “Have you had anything published?”
“Yes, actually. A few pieces through Barnhill Press.” The art press wasn’t anything to sneeze at, so at least Sadie didn’t feel like such a fraud.
Until another voice chimed in. “So you no longer describe yourself as domestic help?”
The people around her froze, unsure how to take Zach’s comment. Sadie had no problem with being seen as domestic help. After all, she’d fallen into that category all of her life.
She’d tried to stick as close to the truth as possible. She’d only ever held two things back from Zach the first time around: her employer’s true identity and her sister’s situation.
Sadie raised her chin and spoke confidently. “Actually, my longtime employer recently passed away. I’m taking a bit of a break before looking for a new position.”
“Good luck,” Aiden said.
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath for courage. “I have an idea I think might interest you.”
Suddenly the trio on this side of the bar with her adopted that slightly uncomfortable look that rich people got when they know they were about to be asked for money. She’d seen it often enough back home. But that wasn’t what she wanted...
“I wondered if I could have your permission to shoot a series of photographs about the rebuilding of the mill? I visited the town several years ago and became quite attached to it.” If they only knew... “From what the people here have been telling me about your family and what you are doing to keep the town alive, well, it’s incredible.”
She smiled brightly at Christina, since the woman’s calm features were easier to focus on. “If nothing else, I think it would make a wonderful memento for the people of the town.”
Christina glanced back up at her husband. “Aiden, that sounds wonderful.”
“I could talk to the publisher at Barnhill. I’ve worked with him on several projects...though this would be my first solo proposal,” she added, feeling the need to be honest.
On the other side of the bar, she could feel a sense of frustrated resistance coming from Zach. He stared at her, though she refused to meet his gaze. Luckily, she’d already gotten a positive response or she had a feeling he would have blasted her before his employer, simply to keep her from getting close.
Though he still didn’t know how close she planned to be...
KC must have sensed it, too, because she kept glancing sideways at her brother. But she didn’t speak. Finally Aiden said, “That does sound good. I am a bit worried about safety issues—”
Before he or Zach could go further, she cut him off. “Not a problem. I’ve already seen the destruction at the mill, and I would definitely need someone to steer me in the safest direction. Someone local, with a lot of experience with the area who could introduce me to people who know the history, the ins and outs of the area. The people and places that make Black Hills so special...”
“That’s a great idea,” Christina enthused.
Jake and Aiden were nodding along with her. “Definitely,” Aiden said. “Zach fits both those criteria and as head of security could keep us informed about your project, too. Would that be a problem?”
“Not for me,” she assured him.
Only after speaking did she glance at her former lover, whose hard-won mask barely covered the resentment pushing to get out. Sadie wondered if anyone else could see it. Probably not, because they went on talking as if this were a done deal.
Only Zach kept quiet. Good thing he didn’t know the whole story. Otherwise, she might have to worry about her safety.
But at least he would learn. She would get what she wanted...no matter what.
Four (#ulink_90a8c162-ee49-5e33-b470-4d277f1f4f7a)
“Just what the hell did you think you were doing?”
Sadie quickly suppressed her smile before turning to face Zach’s rage. She and she alone knew the depths of despair she’d experienced since the last time she’d walked away from him. But she couldn’t have realized she’d be thrilled to see him under any circumstances...including when he looked like he would choke her if he could.
“Who, me?”
Her innocent question only served to incense him even more. The show was quite spectacular, in fact. Zach’s skin took on a ruddy color underneath, showcasing the extent of his anger. But a lifetime as help to people who only wanted things to go their way had taught Sadie to take her kicks where she could get them, even if she could only feel her amusement on the inside.
“You knew I didn’t want to spend time with you. So why would you set this whole thing up?” he growled.
Ouch. That hurt, but she had known the way he felt before he even said it. “Look,” she said, not afraid to push back. “You started this with your high and mighty attitude, not me.”
“So this is all a game to you?” He waved a hand at the damaged building behind him. “This is not a game to these people. This place was their life.”
“Yes, and I think it will mean a lot to them to have someone document its resurrection, don’t you?”
She wasn’t wrong in this. Knowing how much people got attached to places—like she had to Sheldon Hall, even though it would never be hers—gave her a glimpse of exactly how these townspeople felt. “Building positive memories will help shore up the community and keep people here. Isn’t that what you want?”
She could see on his face that there wasn’t a right answer. He did want that, but it meant spending time with her. Though the reality made her chest ache, she had a job to do just as much as he did. With just as much at stake.
Through clenched teeth Zach brushed her off. “I don’t have time to mess with you right now. The fire marshal is here. Just go back to the B and B.”
As he stalked across the parking lot, she couldn’t help needling him a little more. “I can get some exteriors, though, right?” she called.
He might as well have flipped her the bird, considering the glare on his face. But he held his temper in a gentlemanly way, at least in the midst of the crowd of people he now walked through.
Sadie chuckled, simply because crying in front of everyone wasn’t an option, either. She’d suspected that coming back here would be tough, but she could never have imagined the roller coaster of dealing with her own emotions while matching wits with Zach.
Ever comforted by her camera, Sadie set off around the perimeter, once more trying to capture the compound from angles that showcased both the tragedy but also the potential for rebuilding, because that was exactly what people needed to see.
Just a few minutes in, a bell sounded. Glancing around, Sadie saw numerous soot-covered men exit the site and make their way across the parking lot to a couple of huge tents that had been erected along the far edge near the fencing. Must be lunchtime.
After taking a few shots of the men, she edged away from the crowd. Her focus here was pictures, not food.
“Hey, there,” a voice said from behind her a few minutes later.
Sadie sighed but finished up her shot before easing her camera down from her face. Had Zach sent another security guard to escort her away today? If so, he was going to have a hell of a fight on his hands.
Turning without any rush, she eyed the man behind her. There was no badge attached to his clothing, and he didn’t look dirty like most of the men here. A buttoned-down shirt and Dockers weren’t really appropriate attire for a disaster site. But at least he looked friendly.
“Hi,” she said, her unease calming down a notch.
“Is that a Canon Mark III body?”
Warmth spread through her. A fellow photographer, maybe? “Yes, with a custom lens. You know it?”
“Ah, I admire from afar and spend my budget on paper and ink instead.” The man grinned, looking young despite his thinning hair, and held out his hand. “I’m Lance Parker, editor of the local paper.”
She met his hand for a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m Sadie.”
