A Family to Call Her Own. Irene Hannon

trying to still the erratic beating of her heart. Now she was doubly sorry she hadn’t taken the time to check the names on the reservation list. It would have been nice to have some warning of Zach’s presence. She knew he’d come in for lunch several times since arriving a week ago, but she’d gone out of her way to avoid him, much to the dismay of Rose and Frances. The simple fact was he made her nervous.

      Rebecca knew, instinctively, that Zach was way out of her league in the arena of man/woman relationships. Smooth, fast, a man of strong passions—those were the words that came to mind when she thought of him. And she simply wasn’t equipped to deal with someone like that. Especially not now, when her emotions were so near the surface. She’d just have to find an excuse of some sort to decline his offer.

      “Thank you,” she said, her voice sounding shaky even to her ears. “But there’s so much to do in the kitchen that—”

      “Nonsense, my dear,” Rose declared briskly, pausing to refill Zach’s coffee cup as she bustled by. “Everything is under control. You sit down and have some coffee with this nice young man. You’ve been on your feet all day.”

      Rebecca looked at Rose in dismay, then turned to find Zach watching her expectantly.

      “I won’t take up much of your time,” he promised with an engaging smile.

      Rebecca sighed. She might as well give in. Rose had invalidated her best excuse to decline his invitation, and nothing else came to mind. “All right. For a few minutes.”

      Rose waved to Frances, who hurried over to place a cup of coffee in front of Rebecca. “Now isn’t this cozy?” she asked with a satisfied smile.

      Rebecca gave the hovering sisters a withering look, but they seemed oblivious.

      “If you need anything else, you just let us know,” Rose told Zach.

      Zach watched them depart, then turned to Rebecca. “They seem very nice,” he remarked, his eyes glinting with amusement.

      “Oh, they are. Just a little too motherly at times,” Rebecca replied wryly. “For two women who have been single all their life, they take an inordinate interest in my—” She started to say “love life,” but caught herself, a flush creeping across her cheeks as she gazed at Zach. She had the uncomfortable feeling that he knew exactly what she was going to say, but at least he didn’t pursue it.

      “Well, I like them,” he declared. “But I do feel a little guilty. I didn’t mean to railroad you into having coffee with me. I hoped you might want to, but I have a feeling I may have caught you at a bad time.” He paused and stirred his coffee, frowning slightly. “I hope you won’t think I’m being too personal, but you seemed…upset…when I stopped you. I thought maybe you had some bad news from that couple over there.” He nodded toward Nick and Laura.

      “Oh, no, not at all,” Rebecca assured him. “Just the opposite, in fact.” She gazed back at her friends, who seemed oblivious to their surroundings as they sat close together, talking and laughing softly. “I just found out they’re expecting their first child, and I’m very happy for them.”

      “I see.” Zach thought there was more to it than that, but he wasn’t going to push. Rebecca struck him as a very private person who might easily back off if she felt he was encroaching on her turf.

      When her gaze returned to his she found him studying her speculatively, and she dropped her eyes self-consciously, tracing the rim of her coffee cup with one finger. “I’d like to thank you for the flowers,” she said softly. “They were beautiful. But it wasn’t necessary.”

      “I wanted to do it. You took a risk, stopping to help a stranger, and I appreciate that. Besides, I still feel badly about the bruised jaw. Sending flowers was the least I could do.”

      Frances was walking by at just that moment, and she stopped in her tracks. “So those beautiful roses were from you!” she exclaimed. “Rebecca just loved them! She even kept one to dry.”

      “Frances!” Rebecca rebuked the older woman, blushing furiously.

      “Oh, my, I guess I shouldn’t have said anything, should I?” Frances murmured contritely. “You’re always supposed to keep the gentleman guessing, aren’t you? Well, I’ll just leave before I put my foot in my mouth again.”

      Zach chuckled as he watched her hurry off. “I see what you mean about the sisters,” he acknowledged.

      “Listen, I’m really sorry about that,” Rebecca apologized, her face flaming. “Just because a man sends me flowers and then asks me to have coffee, they’re jumping to all sorts of conclusions. Most of which are wrong.”

      Zach took a sip of his coffee, carefully set the cup down and leveled a direct look at her. “Are they?”

      Rebecca stared at him. “What…what do you mean?” she asked, her voice quavering.

      Before she could anticipate his intent he leaned forward and laid his hand over hers. “Exactly what you think I mean,” he said evenly.

      Rebecca swallowed with difficulty. She’d never met a man quite this…frank…about his interest. It was just as she suspected. He was fast moving…and smooth. “Look, Zach, I…I don’t date, if that’s what you’re after.”

      “That’s exactly what I’m after,” he confirmed. “Why don’t you date?”

      For a lot of reasons, she thought silently. None of which she wanted to go into, especially with a man she hardly knew. “I just don’t.”

      “Well, I’m not the kind of guy who gives up easily. Do you mind if I keep trying to convince you to make an exception in my case?”

      Rebecca glanced down at the strong, tanned hand, flecked with dark brown hair, that covered hers. She’d like to get to know him better, actually. There was something about him that she found appealing. But despite the promise she’d made to herself on Valentine’s Day—to allow the possibility of romance into her life—she wasn’t yet ready to deal with someone of Zach’s determination and almost tangible virility. It frightened her. Besides, getting involved with a man who was just passing through wasn’t at all wise. She could be too easily hurt.

      “You’ll be wasting your time,” she told him with a soft sigh, keeping her eyes downcast.

      Zach squeezed her hand, then leaned back and picked up his cup. “Well, I must admit that this isn’t exactly great for my ego. You avoid me whenever I come in for lunch, and you won’t go out with me. Don’t you like me, Rebecca?”

      “You seem nice,” she hedged.

      “‘Seem.’ An interesting choice of words,” he mused. “Do I detect a note of caution in that comment?”

      She shrugged. “You know what they say. A woman can’t be too careful these days.”

      “Unfortunately, that’s true.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee. He sensed there was more behind Rebecca’s wariness than mere caution, and he was determined to get the whole story before he gave up on her. “Well, we could bring along a chaperone. How about Rose or Frances?”

      Rebecca smiled despite herself. “Now that would be something, wouldn’t it?”

      “Hey, if it makes you more comfortable, I’m game.”

      For a minute she was actually tempted. But the fact remained that soon he would be returning to his life in St. Louis, and while St. Genevieve wasn’t that far away in distance, she suspected that once enmeshed in his life in the city, it would seem like another planet to Zach. He would forget the small town—and the woman named Rebecca who had simply provided a pleasant diversion while he was stuck there.

      Regretfully she shook her head. “I don’t think so, Zach.”

      He looked at her, letting a few moments of silence pass before he spoke. “I’d still like to keep trying.”

      “Why?”