Bachelor in Blue Jeans

by Lauren Nichols

  The last sound she heard before her world went black was his cry of rage as he rammed his fist into the side of her head.

  Chapter 16

  Z ach swerved into the lot in a spray of gravel and skidded to stop near Chad’s Blazer. He rushed from the truck and into the lighted bay.

  His heart stopped when he saw everything tossed around helter-skelter. Something was wrong. She wouldn’t have left it like this. Then he saw the photographs on the floor, recognized Chad, and swearing, bolted for the parking lot again.

  He looked right and left, his senses sharpened to needle points as he listened for a sound—any sound that would give him direction. They couldn’t have gone far. Chad’s car was still here. Then he heard something in the night’s stillness. The splash of oars.

  Zach ran for the water like a man possessed—hit a muddy spot and skidded down the slight hill. He regained his balance and kept running. Moonlight on the lake was dim, but light poles glowed some distance away, closer to the marina. As he reached the long, clattering metal dock at a flat-out run, he spotted a lone rower fifty or sixty yards out and his heart pounded fiercely. He didn’t need intuition to know the man was Chad, and that Kristin was in the boat. He made a split-second decision.

  Praying she was all right, calling on every ounce of strength, Zach sped to the end of the dock and dove into the cold, spring-fed water. He came up stroking and thanking God he was a strong swimmer—thanking God the length of the dock cut the distance between him and Hollister in half.

  The water pulled at his clothes, and he kept swimming, knowing he was vulnerable, but knowing that Chad would be no match for him if he could get him in the water. Hollister was cursing now, shouting something Zach couldn’t make out. He was only a few yards from the boat when Chad scrambled to his feet and raised an oar.

  “You just can’t keep your nose out of my business, can you?” he screamed.

  “Damn you, if you’ve hurt her—” Zach yelled hoarsely.

  The oar came at him—chopped the water mere inches from his head. He dove under the boat, swam to the front and surfaced to fill his lungs, then dipped beneath the water again. Adrenaline screamed through his bloodstream. He felt the boat’s underside, gauged Chad’s rapid movements as Hollister moved about searching for him. When Chad moved, Zach moved, dipping beneath the water, then surfacing again in another spot.

  Then Hollister’s weight shifted to the port side.

  Zach exploded to the surface and grabbed the side of the boat—rocked it hard—and Hollister fell, shrieking, into the water.

  But he recovered quickly and went for Zach’s throat. Zach kicked him away, then dove and came up behind him, catching him in a vice grip around the neck.

  Powerless, Chad clawed at Zach’s hair and eyes, and Zach tightened his hold. But struggling as they were, it was impossible to stay afloat. Chad pulled them down into the blackness.

  A new terror gripped Zach as Chad continued to flail and kick at him, keeping him from resurfacing. Hollister wasn’t giving up. In that moment, Zach knew he’d drown them both before he let himself be taken.

  Zach’s feet hit the bottom. It was only eight or nine feet deep! Chad dug his fingers between his neck and Zach’s arm, trying to break his hold, grunting his rage as air bubbles gurgled to the top.

  Then, without warning, he went limp.

  Grabbing the front of Chad’s shirt, Zach pushed hard off the bottom and propelled them both to the surface, gulping in lifesaving air. Chad coughed and spit, only half-conscious.

  Dragging him along, Zach side-stroked for the boat, then heaved himself up to see over the side.

  She lay in the bottom, silent and still.

  Tears stung his eyes and his heart crumbled. Heaven help him, he couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not.

  Choked by fear, he bobbed with Chad to the front of the boat and grabbed the towline, then with an arm under Chad’s chin, kicked hard for the shallows.

  Minutes later, gasping, he dragged Chad, then the boat, onto the bank and staggered back to check on Kristin. He was nearly overcome by emotion when he realized she was still alive, then heartsick again when he couldn’t rouse her.

  Digging his pocket knife from his wet jeans, he cut the tow line and quickly tied Chad’s hands and ankles together, then scrambled up the hill to his truck. It killed him to leave her, but he couldn’t take a chance on moving her. He didn’t know what her injuries were.

  Only now beginning to shake, Zach snatched his cell phone from the seat to call an ambulance and the state police. Then he raced back to Kristin’s side and prayed for all he was worth.

  Paramedics were just pushing her gurney into the hospital’s emergency room when Kristin’s lashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. Zach’s irritation with the medics who hadn’t let him ride with her vanished.

  “Hi,” he said, relief flooding through him. “How do you feel?”

  She tried to talk, then moistened her lips and tried again. “My head hurts. What…what am I doing here? Is this…a hospital?”

  “All things in good time,” Zach murmured. “We’ll talk after the doctor checks you out.” He bent to kiss her softly. “I’ll be in the waiting room. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  The ambulance driver motioned to Zach’s shirt and jeans. “You’ll have time to change to dry clothes if you want. They’ll probably order X-rays, and the cops are on their way to take her statement.”

  Zach shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Forty minutes later, he dragged a chair close to her bed in a curtained-off cubicle in the emergency room. She had a concussion and was still dealing with a headache, but the CAT scan showed no bleeding or fractures, and she remembered everything that had happened.

  “They’re keeping me overnight for observation,” she said after she’d repeated the story she’d told the state police. “My doctor’s an alarmist.”

  “I’m glad,” Zach replied and squeezed her hand. “You were unconscious for a long time.”

  Remembered fear flickered through her eyes. “He would’ve killed me,” she said quietly. “You saved my life.”

  Zach smiled and kissed her hand. “I had to. I love you.”

  The grave look she sent him before she turned away said she didn’t believe it.

  “Don’t do that,” he said gently, turning her face back to him. “I do love you. I always have. Kris, I want you to be my wife.”

  “What happened to your plans to own the world?”

  “If you marry me, I’ll have it.”

  Tears welled in her eyes, and she shook her head.

  “Why? Is it still about Gretchen?”

  “No. I’ve put that behind me. We were young…and you might have been right about my finding excuses not to marry you. I just don’t know for sure.”

  “Then why?”

  “Zach, you’re not ready for a station wagon and a white picket fence. You’ve told me that a dozen times in a dozen different ways. Even your old girlfriends know that.”

  “What old girlfriends?” he asked, then with a trace of impatience, said, “What did Stephanie tell you?”

  “Nothing that I didn’t already know. You’re a workaholic. You’re driven. I saw the change that came over you when I was at your beach house. I can’t compete with that. More to the point, I don’t want to.”

  “Kris—”

  “I want a man who’s content to put in a normal day’s work and spend the rest of his time with his family. You work from dusk till dark. I want children, and kids need a father who’s willing to give them time when they’re young—not hand them a brimming bank account and a thriving business after they’ve missed trips to ball games and picnics on Sunday afternoons.”

  “I can change,” he said, working to keep the desperation out of his voice. “I never had a reason to come home before.”

  But one look at her told him she didn’t believe that, either. “Do you love me?”

  “Yes. Even when
it hurt to think of you, I loved you. I just don’t—”

  She stopped, but Zach knew how to finish the sentence. “You just don’t trust me. Not to keep my word, and not to change my priorities.”

  “You are what you are. I know how badly you need to prove to yourself that you’re nothing like your father. If working yourself sick is the only way you can do it…I think you’ll do it.”

  He couldn’t reply for a long time. The lump in his throat wouldn’t let him. How ironic that he’d finally realized what he wanted, what he needed, and she wasn’t having any part of it.

  Standing, he squeezed her hand again, then backed away. “Get some rest,” he said softly. “I’ll come by in the morning to take you home.”

  But she was shaking her head again. “Thank you, but I think it would be better if I made my own arrangements.”

  “That’s it, then?” he asked, unwilling to believe it. “We’re over?”

  When she didn’t answer after several moments, Zach nodded grimly and took a few more backward steps. Then there was nothing to do but leave.

  The days ahead were crushing. Finding the energy to go through the motions of living was a major accomplishment. But the insurance check came, and Kristin forced herself to plan her future. She arranged to have the lot cleared, poured over catalogs and ads in search of new pieces, and phoned Jeremy Sherwood to accept the first floor plan he’d shown her. She did everything she could to put Zach out of her mind. Still, he was there in her dreams—smiling and holding her and kissing her as though he had a right to.

  A full week later, her phone rang as she was carrying her cereal bowl to the sink. When Etta Gardner asked how she was, Kristin had to lie. “I’m fine, Mrs. Gardner. You?”

  “Well, actually, I’m more than a little concerned,” Etta said in a troubled voice.

  Kristin’s first thought was that Zach had been hurt. Her heart fell to the floor. “Why? Has something happened?”

  “Not exactly. But Zachary just called to tell me he’d left a very expensive surprise at the farmhouse, and I can’t pick it up because my car’s in the shop. I wouldn’t ask you, but Bertie doesn’t drive, and Annabelle just lost her license.” Etta hesitated, then continued in a downcast voice, “But if you have other things to do right now and can’t spare the time, I’ll understand.”

  Kristin stifled a sigh. She couldn’t lie to her. “No, I’m not busy right now. I’d be glad to get it for you. How will I know what it is?”

  “Well, he said it’s gift-wrapped and sitting on the kitchen counter. The house is locked, but there’s a key taped behind the light on the back porch.”

  “Zach’s gone?” Kristin asked tentatively.

  “He finished with the house three days ago,” Etta said kindly. “Was there something you wanted to say to him?”

  There were a thousand things she’d wanted to say to him, but none of them made any sense. She’d made the best decision she could, for both of them. “No. No, nothing,” she replied, swallowing. “I’ll see you in a half hour or so.”

  She knew it would be difficult, going to the farmhouse, but she had no idea just how difficult. Memories rushed at her from every corner as Kristin parked her van in the empty driveway and walked around back to the porch. The smell of cut lumber, the freshly painted railings and posts—even the patches of sawdust in the grass were all reminders that she didn’t need. The old memories were just as disturbing, and pretty promises whispered to her from the trees near the pond, from the loft in the big barn. You’re every dream I’ve ever had, Kris. Every wish I’ve ever made.

  Silencing them with a shake of her head, she climbed the steps. The key was taped to the outside light as Etta had promised. Kristin removed it, inserted it into the lock, then bracing herself, opened the door. She’d be okay. She just had to get this over with and go back home.

  Tears sprang to her eyes the instant she saw the ribbon draped package sitting on the countertop. All six-feet-two-inches of him.

  She walked right back out.

  Zach came after her, turning her around before she could leave the porch, and meeting her eyes with equal parts candor and sincerity. “I’m selling my business to Dan, and moving back here to start a new one. I love you and I want to marry you.”

  Kristin shook her head. “Zach—”

  “Hear me out before you start spouting excuses why it won’t work. Please?”

  He was so passionate, she had to give him that courtesy.

  Soberly, he handed her a package she hadn’t realized he was holding. It was one that she’d gift-wrapped herself, except the paper had been loosened and retaped. “It’s the music box,” she said.

  “Open it.”

  Wary, Kristin met his gaze, then glanced down to remove the paper and hold the pretty filigreed box in her hands. The feelings that moved through her were bittersweet. Untouched by the fire, it shone silver and perfect in the morning light. Like her, it had only survived because Zach had kept it safe.

  The tinkling melody began to play as he lifted the lid and withdrew a thin coil of nylon rope from inside the box, then gave it to her. Kristin looked at it, not quite understanding, then met his eyes again.

  “If you’ll marry me,” he said quietly, “I swear that you and our kids will always be my first priority. Every day, in every way. But if I ever forget that—and I know I won’t—you can use this to roust me from any meeting or construction site, any time of the day or night, and lead me back where I belong. With you.”

  Tears slid over her cheeks as Kristin studied the resolve and conviction in his eyes. Could he give it all up? His home, the company he’d built, his friends? Her heart took a hopeful little skip. “Zach, you have to be sure. I couldn’t handle it if you did another about-face.”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything. I need you and I want you, and we’ve wasted so much time—”

  Kristin hurled herself into his waiting arms, an overwhelming joy filling her. “Yes! Oh, yes, I’ll marry you. And you don’t have to sell your business. I can live anywhere as long as I’m with you.”

  “No, you love it here,” he murmured, rocking her close. “And Etta’s waited a long time for this. She’d string me up if we had kids and she couldn’t see them when she wanted to.”

  “But you said Nags Head was home.”

  Zach eased her away and cupped her face in his hands, smiling as he smoothed her tears away. “Nags Head is where I live,” he said tenderly. “Home is where you are.”

  Kristin’s tears began to roll again, and Zach smiled. Then he kissed her deeply, and it was a kiss filled with promise and a heartfelt pledge for their future. But more than that, Kristin thought as she melted in his arms, the kiss was every dream she’d ever had. Every wish she’d ever made.

  Epilogue

  A warm ocean breeze blew through the bedroom’s screened patio door as Kristin and Zach lay spooned together in the rumpled sheets. Their left hands were linked, and matching gold wedding bands caught the first early rays of Carolina sunlight. Outside, only the crash of frothy breakers interrupted the morning silence.

  Eyes closed, Kristin smiled as Zach’s voice rustled, thick with sleep, beside her ear. “Have I told you that I love you yet this morning?”

  “I think you said something like that around 4:00 a.m.,” she replied groggily, snuggling his arms more tightly around her. “But I was busy and I’m not sure I heard right. Maybe you should tell me again.”

  “Nah, I don’t want to spoil you. First thing you know, you’ll expect me to say it every day for the next hundred years.”

  Laughing, she flounced around and shoved him onto his back. “Say it, or you’re not leaving this bed today.”

  “That’s some threat,” he returned, chuckling. Then he gathered her close and kissed her forehead. “I love you from the tips of your hair to the bottoms of your feet. And I will tell you that every day for the next hundred years.” He stroked her arm, then craned his neck to kiss her lightly on the lips. �
��Know what feels good?”

  Laughing, Kristin said, “Yes.”

  He laughed, too. “Well, it does, but I was thinking what a relief it is that all the turmoil and craziness is behind us. It feels so good to lie here and know that the peace I’m feeling isn’t going to end in ten minutes, and we’ll have to try again to find our way back to each other.”

  “You bet,” she agreed through a sigh.

  Everything had been resolved in some way. Chad was in jail and awaiting trial…Etta had been utterly delighted to give Zach away at their wedding last week…and Rachel had taken one look at Kristin’s beaming face, cast aside her doubts and welcomed Zach into their tiny family. When she and Dan Perkins stood for them as maid of honor and best man, Rachel was one hundred percent behind the marriage.

  “Ready to go back home tomorrow?” Kristin asked, a little sad that their time here was over. Although, Zach’s lease was only up in January, so they could certainly come back a few times before then.

  “Yes and no. I like this honeymoon stuff, but we need to get a crew together and start your shop if you want to be open by Thanksgiving. That only gives us four months.”

  He’d said we, she thought, smiling. We need to get a crew together. “Our first collaboration.”

  Chuckling again, Zach brought his hand down to span her flat stomach. “Don’t you mean, second?”

  She nodded, then turned to meet his eyes, so grateful for everything they’d been through because all the hard times had made each new happiness even sweeter. While no one was paying attention, a new little life had begun. A new little life who would have both a doting mommy and a hands-on daddy.

  “Did I ever tell you about the daydream I had about you and a little girl running along the beach?” he asked.

  “No, but it sounds nice.” Everything except the word ‘beach’ because it dampened her joy a bit. “Zach, are you sure about this move? I keep thinking about the beautiful home you planned to build here.”