Some Kind of Wonderful (Puffin Island 2)

“I was upset when I said that. It wasn’t true.”

“Aside from the fact you missed out flying, it was true.” He wondered if the conversation was bothering her as much as it bothered him. “Even now when I walk into Harbor Stores, I’m always under observation.”

“That’s because Mel wants to get inside your pants.”

The way she said it made him smile. “We both know how much that would thrill her parents. They don’t want me touching anything that belongs to them.”

“You’re wrong, Zach. Maybe that was how it was when you were younger, but to be fair you were a little scary. You were this brooding, silent, Heathcliff type.”

“Is this conversation going somewhere? I need to finish this. I’m flying a CEO and his family to their lodge in Bar Harbor later this afternoon.”

“You pretend you don’t care about anything, but I know that isn’t true. I know you care.”

“I don’t need anyone’s approval.”

“I know. You’re just a big tough guy who does his own thing.” She gave a crooked smile. “Maybe you could use some of your carpentry skills to remove that big chip on your shoulder. And while you’re at it, chop down some of those barriers you’ve built so that you can get out of your own way.”

He finished with the plank and laid it on the floor with the others. “Are you about done?”

“No. You still haven’t told me what you know about Travis.”

“What makes you think I know anything?”

“Because you always know twice as much about everything as you let on. I want to know what’s going on in the boy’s head. He’s not joining in. I don’t think the other kids are being mean or excluding him.” She bit her lip and frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe he isn’t interested. Maybe archaeology isn’t his idea of fun.”

Zach picked up the last piece of wood. “Or maybe he doesn’t know how to have fun. Maybe his life so far has been all about surviving and making it through the next hour.”

There was consternation in her eyes. “Do you think that’s it?”

He suspected he’d barely scratched the surface. It was times like this when he was reminded of the enormous gulf in their life experience. “It’s a guess.”

“Was that what it was like for you?”

He’d never talked about it. Not even to Philip, although he knew the man probably had a file a mile thick on him in his office. Zach had never seen it and wouldn’t have wanted to.

“We were talking about Travis.”

“I know, but I thought—” she broke off and drew a breath. “I thought maybe this once we could talk about you.”

“Why? So you can understand me?” He sawed through the last plank and added it to the others. “Has it ever occurred to you that I don’t need you to understand me?”

“Has it ever occurred to you that your life might be happier if you stopped pushing people away?”

He stilled. “Is that a general comment or a specific one?”

She pushed her hair away from her face, flustered. “General,” she said quickly. “I wasn’t suggesting—” Her eyes met his and the air temperature rose around them.

“Good,” he said roughly. “Because we agreed we weren’t going there.”

“I know! I don’t want to go there.”

He watched her mouth move, seeing the way she wrapped her lips around the lie and wondered why neither of them was mentioning the obvious.

That they’d already gone there.

It was too late to wish it hadn’t happened, because it had.

His gaze held hers for a long moment and then she dropped the piece of wood she’d been holding in her hands, turned and walked out of the barn.