“I’ll start in the bathroom,” he said before disappearing down the hallway. Next, he covered theoutdoor pipes, returning to the kitchen with a red nose and cheeks.
She’d made some progress on the bags, but there were still a dozen or more to pack.
Zach picked up an empty bag and gestured to the food spread out on every surface. “What do I do?”
Lauren looked around, then turned her attention to him. His sweatshirt was flecked with orange foam, and there was a chunk of it smeared on his cheek. Should she tell him? “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be finished soon.”
“Angel, tell me what to do,” he repeated in a tone that didn’t leave room for arguing.
“Wash your hands.” She picked up an empty grocery bag and pointed around the room. “Each bag gets three breakfast items, five lunch and dinner items, five snacks, and five drinks. Mix them up as much as you can, but make sure to give plenty.”
He moved to the counter where instant oatmeal packets and pop tarts were stacked and grabbed a handful. “So, you send food home with kids on the weekends?”
“The churches in the area do it, but everyone had other commitments this week. I volunteered to pack them and get them to the school.”
“You really are trying to save the world,” Zach said.
“Not the world. I’m just doing what I wished someone had done for me when I was a kid.”
Zach scoffed. “You’re not the only one, angel. I bethalf the kids don’t have anything to eat when they get home. I know I didn’t.”
Lauren tied another bag and moved to grab a new one. “You never talk about your family.”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“What about your brother?” she asked.
“Which one? Rome is dead, and that’s a good thing. Bobby is in prison, and he won’t ever see the light of day again. He never knew when to quit.”
Lauren’s hand tightened on the bag at the mention of Bobby. What she remembered about the night Bobby and Zach had abducted her was awful. Zach’s brother had no remorse and would have killed her without a second thought. During the trial, he’d stared at her with cold, emotionless eyes. She’d caught herself freezing in public when she thought she saw him in a store.
“What about your mom and dad?”
“They’re both dead. Overdosed within a year of each other. Dad was evil, but Mom was worse.”
“How?”
Zach lowered the half-filled bag he held and turned to Lauren. “She left me to die. We didn’t have much of a chance with our dad as a single guardian. The only thing we were good for was sneaking around for him. He’d send us to do the worst jobs—the ones that would get him a prison sentence or kill him. We were disposable.”
Lauren held onto the bag until her fingernails pressed into her palm. “That’s notright, Zach.”
“I spent most of my childhood trying to figure out how to kill a grown man. She left all of us with him, and I can’t forgive either of them.”
Lauren’s chest heaved. Zach always looked so unshakable. Unbreakable. But inside he was fragile. Inside, there were parts of him that hadn’t been allowed to grow and develop the way they should have.
He didn’t know how to love. He knew how to leave before he got left, and that was the worst life skill to have. It made sure he would never see a happily ever after. What would it take for him to claw himself out of survival mode so he could get a taste of the joy waiting for him?
She had to change the subject before the tears came for her. Picking up a can of chicken noodle soup, she shoved it into a bag. “Have you ever been married? Had a girlfriend?”
Zach looked over his shoulder at her with a grin. “I don’t talk about my extracurricular activities, angel.” He resumed packing his bag, then paused. “Wait. Are you dating anyone?”
Oh, boy. Here was her moment. She’d accepted an invitation to dinner from a single dad she’d met at the library a few days ago, and she’d stupidly hoped he wouldn’t call. To her surprise, he’d texted earlier to confirm dinner reservations for tomorrow at Marshall’s Steakhouse.
“Well, no one specific. I do have a date tomorrow night. I should be back by nine, but you should takethe night off. There’s not much left to do around here.”
Zach was quiet for a minute, but he continued working his way around the kitchen. “Just leave me something to do. I’ll come by after work.”
“So, you’re not going to cause a scene like last time?” she asked.
