Page 54 of Learning at 40

“Quincy,” Zack mutters, returning the trail of his finger up my chest and over to my shoulder.

“Yes. Quincy was . . . the man I inherited the house from.”

“Your husband.”

I should really tell him the truth, but does it even matter? He’ll be leaving in a few days, and I don’t see us going anywhere other than where we are right now sitting in this lounger under a star-filled sky on a summer night.

When I don’t answer, Zack shifts gears. “My brother called me.”

“Noah?” I clarify.

“Yes. He says he might move here.”

“Where does he live again?”

“He’s in Chicago. He managed an upscale hotel there after working for years all over the world for the Magellan Hospitality Group.”

“Will he stay with Anna?”

“I doubt it. Besides, the apartment over the garage where Mason has been staying technically belongs to Archer, Anna’s older brother.” I’d only heard Archer mentioned in bits and pieces but nothing concrete. He sounded like a mystery even to his family.

“Is he returning?”

Zack shrugs as his finger coasts from one shoulder to the other, along the line of my collarbone. “Don’t know. Autumn has an email address for him, and she passed on Ben’s message, but I don’t actually know if he got it or if he’s coming here.”

“Message?” I question.

“Ben left us . . . Logan, Mason, and Archer . . . a cryptic message for the anniversary of his death.”

Oh. Oh.

“We have a year to complete the mission.” His voice drops, and he sounds a bit like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.

“And what is your mission?” My own voice rises, a bit excited by the possibility.

Zack slowly smiles without looking up at me. “It’s a secret.”

“Is it like a treasure map?” I continue, intrigued by the mystery and not able to let the secrecy part go just yet.

“Something like that.” His smile grows larger, and he’s just dazzling to behold.

We remain silent another second before Zack leans forward and scrapes his teeth over my bare shoulder. “Spend the day with us again.”

Tomorrow is my next day off. I should be encouraging him to spend time with Anna and her children. His friend needs him, but selfishly, I don’t want to miss any days, and my next shift will be two nights on, cutting back my time with the boys.

“Okay,” I whisper, and Zack looks up at me with those silvery eyes. My heart flutters, and my belly flips.

“As it’s already tomorrow then,” he moans, pressing up to his hand and climbing over my body to straddle my lap. “Let’s spend some quality time together now.”

With that, we head into round two for the night.

21

[Zack]

We decide to spend River’s day off away from Lakeside Cottage, allowing Anna to mend fences with her son and give all of them space. Mason doesn’t want to join my adventure with River and the boys although I’d invited him. After he disappeared last night, I didn’t want him to be alone.

“I met someone last night. I think I’ll give her a call.” It wasn’t like Mason to be so passive about a conquest, nor was it like him to suggest a phone call in less than twelve hours, but I didn’t argue with him.