A Father For Zach by Irene Hannon

Author:Irene Hannon
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

She’d forgotten it was Father’s Day.

No surprise there, given all the excitement in her life of late. But her memory lapse was a major misstep. Catherine knew it as soon as the minister launched into his sermon.

Most clerics talked about fathers on this day. They drew parallels between the Heavenly Father and worldly fathers. Hammered home the attributes of a good father. Encouraged fathers to take a more active role in their children’s lives.

This man—Reverend Kaiser, according to the bulletin she’d picked up last week—followed that pattern. He had a slightly different take on the subject, focusing more on family life than fatherhood, but there were plenty of references to moms and dads and kids.

Fortunately, Zach was busy paging through the colorful child’s Bible she always brought for him on Sunday. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the words being spoken from the pulpit.

Good. He didn’t need to be reminded of the loss of his father. Not after the traumatic incident ten days ago. At least things were improving, now that Nathan was back. Zach’s nightmares had begun to recede and his clinginess was dissipating.

She glanced toward the man who’d managed to create a niche for himself in their lives. He was seated a few rows ahead on the other side, wearing a navy-blue jacket over an open-necked white shirt with blue pinstripes. In the weeks he’d been on the island, he’d filled out a little, his physique going from gaunt to trim and toned. He looked really good.

A bevy of butterflies took flight in her stomach, and she yanked her gaze away.

Get a grip, Catherine! The man is your employee. Nothing more. You don’t want him to be any more.

Her mind processed the message. Accepted it.

But her heart balked, thanks to that simple, impersonal touch on Friday that had kept her awake for much of the past two nights.

It was ridiculous.

She couldn’t have feelings for Nathan. He was an ex-con. A man who’d engaged in street fights—with knives. And he had the scars to prove it. He’d wielded a gun in a robbery. Aimed it at innocent people. Might have pulled the trigger.

But he also treated her son with kindness—and infinite patience. He didn’t hold grudges when people made mistakes—like firing him. He was a reliable, conscientious employee. He painted pictures of little boys with blond hair.

How did one reconcile such disparate pieces of the same person? It didn’t seem possible for the angry youth Nathan had described to her to turn into a caring, principled man with a steady, strong faith.

Yet the proof of that transformation was sitting a few pews away.

Could Dale Nelson have undergone a similar metamorphosis?

As the name of her husband’s killer echoed in her mind, the glimmer of a headache began to pulse in her temple, and she reached up to massage it.

That was not the kind of question she wanted to contemplate on Father’s Day.

But there it was. And she had a sinking feeling it wasn’t going to go away.

The

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