“Mom,” Becky said, tugging at the sleeve of Diana’s blouse, “shouldn’t we invite Zack for dinner, too?”
“That’s not necessary,” he said, as though sensing Diana’s surprise at her daughter’s invitation. “I’ll get something on my way to the auto parts store.”
She ought to let it go, maybe even ask him to dinner tomorrow night instead. But it had been nice of him to look at her car. God knew she couldn’t afford a mechanic for another couple of weeks. She was still paying off Becky’s dental work.
“We’re not having anything special,” she told him with a smile. “But I’d be happy if you’d share dinner with us.”
He seemed to ponder the offer. Or maybe he was just trying to come up with a way to bow out gracefully. Then he gave her a slow, boyish shrug. “If you’re sure it’s no problem.”
“Not at all,” she said, although her heart was thumping to a primitive jungle beat. And that sounded a little problematic to her. “It’ll take me a few minutes, though. Do you mind waiting?”
“Nope. I’ll just drive down to the auto parts store and see if they’ve got a new battery.”
She froze in her tracks. If her math was correct, her check register boasted all of forty-seven dollars and thirteen cents to last her until next payday. “What will a new battery cost?”
“No more than fifty bucks, I’d say. But I’m going to put it on my credit card. I won’t need payment for another three weeks or so.”
She whispered a quick prayer, thanking God for looking out for her, even though she’d done her share of grumbling and complaining on the walk to the bus stop this morning. “Do you mind taking a postdated check?”
“Nope. Not at all.” He dropped the hood of the car, then swiped his hands together twice. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
As he strode down the street, she called out, “Wait a minute. Where’s your car? You’re not on foot, too, are you?”
He slid her a heart-strumming grin. “Nope. My car is parked on the job site.”
Then he continued on his way.
She didn’t know how long she had before he returned, hungry and ready to eat. But she decided a quick jump in the shower would make standing over a hot stove so much more bearable.
The thought that she might want to freshen up for more reasons than the heat and humidity crossed her mind, but she quickly brushed it aside. She wouldn’t put her heart on the line again.
The girls had hinted that they’d all be much happier when Diana found another husband. But Diana knew better than that.
Sometimes men placed demands and stress upon a woman in ways the outside world could never imagine.
Zack didn’t have a credit card, but he wasn’t about to tell Diana that. He would loan her the money for as long as she needed. In fact, if he could figure out a graceful way of making a gift out of it, he would.
So he purchased a heavy-duty battery and took it back to her house, where he put it in the car. He also replaced her spark plugs and put in a new fuel filter. All in all, it cost him more than a hundred dollars, but what the hell.
It made him feel good to help out the little family.
And he’d be getting a home-cooked dinner out of the deal, too. A guy couldn’t complain about that.
When he’d made sure the engine was running, he shut off the ignition, closed the car door and lowered the hood. Then he washed up at the faucet in front of the house. Maybe he should have asked for a rain check for a night when he could shower at home and come dressed appropriately.
But then again, he wouldn’t be surprised if Diana reneged on tonight’s dinner offer. Until very recently, his life had been one big disappointment after another.
That is, until two of the greatest guys he’d ever met had stepped up to the plate.
Bob Adams, his boss, for one. When Zack was a teen, the guy had taken an interest in him when no one else had, letting him borrow tools and work on an old pickup that most people thought would never run again. A beat-up, twenty-two-year-old truck he’d traded in on a ’67 Camaro when he’d gotten out of prison.
And when it seemed that no one in Bayside believed his story about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Bob had believed him. He’d even come out to visit Zack at the Riverview Correctional Facility when no one else had.
The other man was Harry Logan, a detective who’d tried to help a miserable, hard-ass teenager who’d had more than his share of trouble with the law. Some of the things Harry had told Zack had finally taken root, but Harry hadn’t known that. Not when Zack had headed out to meet the cop one evening and ended up behind bars and on the six o’clock news.
When Zack was paroled, Harry had reached out again, welcoming Zack into a brotherhood of men known as Logan’s Heroes, a group of misfit delinquents who’d turned their sorry lives around because of Harry’s guidance and influence.
With guys like Bob and Harry on his side, Zack’s future was looking up.
The present, however, was another story.
As Zack stood before Diana’s door, he took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. For some reason, a swarm of butterflies had swooped through his gut, and he wasn’t sure why. It’s not like this was a date or anything. He pulled open the screen, then knocked lightly.
Jessie and Becky struggled to be the first to let him inside a small but homey living room with mismatched furniture, where framed photographs lined the mantel over the fireplace.
“I’ll go tell my mom you’re here,” the older girl said, before dashing off.
All of a sudden, in spite of a whiff of something that smelled tasty and tempted a grumble from his belly, Zack had second thoughts about accepting this dinner invitation. He’d eaten with the Logans a few times and with Brett and Caitlin Tanner once or twice, but he still felt kind of weird in those sit-down-at-the-table situations.
When the pretty brunette entered the living room, wearing a pair of white shorts, a red sleeveless blouse and a heart-spinning smile, he couldn’t have conjured a reason to leave, even if he’d tried.
There was an old adage that said beauty was only skin deep. But Zack had a feeling Diana’s went clear to the bone.
“Hi,” she said.
Rather than slip into chitchat, which would make him uneasy, he grappled to find a safe conversation, something that promoted his self-confidence. “The car is running again. I’m not sure how long it will last before you’ll need to buy something newer, but it ought to get you to work and back for the time being.”
“Thank you.” She placed her hands on her hips, drawing his attention to her gentle curves and making him feel as though he’d crossed some divine line between right and wrong, Heaven and hell.
He tried to shrug off his inappropriate interest. “I like tinkering with engines and have a knack for mechanics. Always have. In fact, I bought an old, beat-up Camaro and have been fixing it up. I rebuilt the engine, and now it runs like a charm. It doesn’t look too pretty on the outside, but it will—someday.”
Crap. He hadn’t meant to spout off like that. He hoped she didn’t think he was boasting. But it wasn’t easy talking to a lady like her.
Hell, he’d never been tongue-tied around women before. Of course, his dates had always been a bit rough and ragged around the edges and not at all like Diana. And even if he was getting his life on track, getting his focus out of the gutter and on the kind of future that would make his daughter proud of him someday, he couldn’t see chasing after a woman like her.
“I don’t know how to thank