Zach winced at the pain Isabelle must have felt. Still felt. Sophie, too. Guilt punched him, reminding him that he’d left his own family, that he’d not been able to stand their pity and had arranged admission into a rehab facility. He’d had to escape the suffocation he felt within his parents’ home, but he’d left a note. They’d known where he’d gone. Brett had even visited during a business trip to DC, mostly to chew him out, but his brother had come to the facility. Once, Zach had seen him. The second time, he’d sent him away unseen.
“Dad’s why she’s never let herself get close to anyone,” Sophie continued, pulling Zach back to their conversation. “Not until you.”
The irony of the closeness being because of her father wasn’t lost on Zach. Him being the one who searched for a runaway family member was ironic, as well.
“Meeting you has been so good for Izzy. She likes you.”
“Don’t be fooled. It’s just the aftereffects of Rosie’s cinnamon bread. Eventually, its romance magic powers are going to wear off.” More guilt hit.
Guilt that Isabelle did like him, despite her protests otherwise. Guilt that he was deceiving Sophie. Guilt that he hadn’t found her father yet. A few of his leads were promising, but he couldn’t be sure until he got there in person. Not going in person would risk Cliff taking off if he got wind someone was looking for him. Zach wouldn’t risk that. Guilt that his own family wouldn’t be unjustified to feel as abandoned as Cliff Davis’s did.
“Ha. That’s funny and maybe, but cinnamon bread or no bread, I know my sister. She likes you. A lot. She doesn’t necessarily want to like you, though,” Sophie added. “That’s probably why you think she’s just tolerating you. Just be patient. She’s worth it.”
“She is.” The response slipped out of his mouth unbidden, stunning him and making Sophie’s whole face light up with her smile.
“I knew it. I’m so glad you’re here!” With that, she wrapped him in a hug, squishing the quilt between them and blasting Zach with guilt that what she thought she knew wasn’t the truth.
But it wasn’t just guilt engulfing him. Sophie’s hug was so tight, so real, that it covered him in comfort as surely as if she’d wrapped one of her quilts around him. Not that he needed comforting, but her hug was humbling.
*
“Who’s thehunkGrammy and Maybelle say you’re in love with?”
Isabelle gawked at her cousin. She’d already been filled in on Isabelle’s supposed love life? The Butterflies had wasted no time.
“I’m not in love with Zach.” Face heating enough she could cut off the tent’s heater, Isabelle straightened the baked goods with her gloved fingers.
Her mother had been there earlier, but had needed a bathroom break, and Morgan had volunteered to cover in the busy booth, with this being their first lull.
“Zach, yes, that’s the name they said.” Morgan emptied the last of the no-bake cookies onto the table. “So, you’re not in love with him, but he is a hunk?”
“Zach is a great guy.” As she said it, she admitted that he really was.
He’d been great at the kids’ Christmas activities earlier, great at the shop, great at her Aunt Claudia’s Thanksgiving, great at his sewing lessons, great… when was he not great? If she were looking for a relationship, if he weren’t ex-military, maybe, just maybe, she’d give in to the allure of that lopsided grin of his. Doing so would be a mistake in the long run. “But it’s not what you think.”
Sliding the empty box beneath the table, Morgan shrugged. “I just got back in town. I don’t think anything. I know all too well how the Butterflies can be. They are very excited for you, especially Grammy.”
“Their excitement is premature. My relationship with Zach is complicated.”
“Because of his military background?”
Isabelle nodded. “That and more. Zach’s only here for a few weeks.”
Her cousin regarded her, then smiled. “A lot can happen in a few weeks.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Not you, too.”
“Loving and being loved is a wonderful feeling. When Trey died, I locked myself away because I was scared to feel again.”
Morgan’s first husband had been killed in a mountain-climbing accident. When budget cuts ended her nursing job in Georgia, she’d temporarily moved in with Aunt Claudia and gone to work at Pine Hill Assisted Living.
“Thank goodness Andrew freed my heart. Taking a chance on our love is the best decision I ever made.”
That didn’t mean it would be a good decision for Isabelle. Not that she loved Zach. But something about him sure got under her skin. “Things are going well with married life, then?” she asked.
“It is. Andrew is a wonderful husband and father. Greyson adores him and still wants to grow up to be just like him. I miss him when he’s called out and can’t help but worry night after night that he’s gone. How could I not when I know how dangerous his smokejumper job is? But he’s happy, which makes me happy, and I’m getting better at focusing on the good instead of worrying about what-ifs.” Morgan’s happiness radiated from her smiling face, then her eyes widened. “Rosie wasn’t kidding when she said he was tall, dark, and handsome.”
Isabelle had to forcibly suck air in to fight off the anticipatory jitters taking over. “Zach’s on his way over here, isn’t he?”
