Still, she’d be willing to bet he was the same old Zac underneath the fancy new suit, a man of swift action and few words.
“How’s the new mother?” he asked, and to her relief, his voice sounded the way it always had. Maybe they could put the past behind them and be friends again.
“The truth? I’m going a little stir-crazy.”
He produced a quartet of pink roses from behind his back and handed them to her.
The simple message of the flowers touched her more than the huge bouquets that lined the shelf, sent by everyone she knew and some people she didn’t. “One for each baby,” she said softly, fingering the blushed petals. Meeting his gaze again, she said, “Thank you, Zac.”
He nodded.
“Have you seen them?”
“Briefly. I had to wave a badge to get into the place. Security is tight. They’re cute but kind of tiny, aren’t they?”
“They’ll grow,” Faith said.
Zac nodded. No one spoke for several seconds. In the past, the three of them had talked over the top of each other half the time. To fill the void, Olivia said, “How do you like your new job?”
“It keeps me busy,” he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, jingling keys or loose change.
“How about living in Seattle?”
He shrugged. “It has its moments.”
Faith said, “My brother, the big talker.”
“Well I think it must be very exciting,” Olivia said. “Lots more happening here than in Westerly. Are you on a big case?”
“Actually, things are in flux.”
“What does that mean?” Faith asked.
“It means things are in flux.”
“Zac!”
A fond smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he stared at Faith. “You haven’t changed a bit since you were ten years old.” With a shift of gaze to Olivia, he added, “Neither have you. You’ve both always been too nosey for your own good.”
“You’re one to talk,” Olivia said softly, but he apparently heard her and again their eyes met.
“Touché,” he said. “Okay, you guys win. I’ll talk on the condition that what I say stays in this room for now.”
Zac groaned as Faith mimed zipping her lips. He stared them each in the eye and said, “Sheriff Knotts got caught stealing marijuana from the evidence room.”
Both women blinked before Olivia said, “Our Sheriff Knotts? Bobby Knotts of Westerly?”
“The very one.”
“How does a crooked sheriff in Westerly tie in to your job in Seattle?” Faith demanded.
“Knotts has been asked to resign immediately pending criminal investigation. Half the sheriff’s department is implicated. Since I left some time ago, it’s been decided I’m the one guy who knows the ropes and isn’t tainted by Knotts.”
“Dad is going to be dancing in the streets,” Faith said. “You’re moving back to Westerly!”
Zac nodded.
“That’s great,” Faith gushed.
He held up one hand. “I haven’t accepted yet. I don’t know if I want to be interim sheriff. I’m not sure I want to move back to Westerly.” He glanced at the flowers in Olivia’s hands and turned to his sister. “Would you mind finding a vase for the flowers?”
“You’re getting rid of me. No, I don’t mind. Back in a moment.”
“Don’t forget to steal a wheelchair,” Olivia called after her.
Faith nodded, then cast her brother a quick look. “I need to talk to you before you leave.”
Olivia looked Zac over as he stared after his sister. At thirty-five, he appeared to be in his prime, the boyish mannerisms gone, replaced with easy sophistication. However, under that big-city gray suit she knew beat the heart of a small-town lawman, a man who knew his place in the scheme of the universe. Not for the first time, she wondered what had driven him to leave Westerly.
It couldn’t have been their fight. Something like that wasn’t important enough to drive a man away from his family and friends and his career.
As if attuned to the direction of her thoughts, he looked down at his feet, then into her eyes. “I wanted a minute alone to apologize to you, Olivia.”
No need to ask for what.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you like I did. I had no right.”
“No, you didn’t,” she said. “And on my wedding day, too, Zac. That was just plain mean.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I’ve always thought of you as a little sister, like Faith, but you aren’t.”
“No, I’m not. You telling me I absolutely could not marry Anthony Capri was totally out of place. Frankly, even if you’d been my brother it would have been going too far.”
“I know that now.”
“You really upset me.”
“I’m sorry. Am I forgiven?”
She stared at him a second, then smiled. “Of course you’re forgiven.” She’d missed him. She was ready to let that unfortunate day go. Like Faith, Zac was as good as family, and family had to forgive and forget, otherwise there’d be no one to spend holidays with. “Are you really thinking about taking the sheriff’s job and coming back to Westerly?”
“That depends on you,” he said.
She furrowed her brow. “Me?”
“And Anthony. I wouldn’t want to make either of you uncomfortable.”
She said, “I’ve never told Anthony what you said about him that day, Zac. What would that have accomplished? You take the job if you want, too. I think Westerly is big enough for all three of us.”
He nodded once. “Fair enough. So, do you know what Faith wants to talk to me about?” He glanced around the room before adding, “Where is Anthony, anyway?”
“That’s what she wants to talk to you about,” Olivia said, leaning forward to reach the water glass. She’d pushed the tray too far away, however.
Apparently taking pity on her feeble attempts, Zac handed it over with questions burning in his eyes. She gave him the flowers and he set them on the tray. “Did he leave already?”
She wanted to say, Yes, he left a few minutes ago. He’s the most devoted husband on the planet. You were totally wrong about him.
“He
