A Father For Zach Read Online Free PDF

off the pans.”
    Kate rolled her eyes. “Why do I think they’re going to pick at their dinner tonight?”
    “I told them to eat only two each.”
    “And you’ve been out here how long?”
    “Five minutes.”
    “I rest my case. See you later, Nathan.”
    With a wave, she jogged toward Edith’s back door.
    “I better go in and referee.” Edith set the milk and a plate of cookies on the table beside Nathan. “These are for you.”
    Ever since he’d arrived, his Lighthouse Lane landlady had been dropping treats off at the cottage his siblings hadrented for him in the corner of her yard, starting with the pumpkin bread that had been waiting for him when he’d arrived. He was beginning to feel guilty.
    “I appreciate the cookies, but you don’t have to keep feeding me, you know.”
    She waved his comment aside. “Someone needs to. You could stand to put on a few pounds. Get Heather to give you some of her scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves. That’ll do the trick. And I have the hips to prove it.” She patted the ample anatomy in question and chuckled. “But they’re worth every pound. See you later, young man.”
    With a flutter of fingers, she retreated to her house.
    As silence descended in the quiet, private yard shielded from the world by a tall privet hedge, Nathan picked up a warm-from-the-oven cookie and took a bite. Nirvana, he thought, savoring the burst of flavor from the gooey chocolate. It was funny how simple treats—or acts of kindness, like the painting supplies from his siblings that he’d found waiting for him in the cottage when he’d arrived—could bring a sudden lump to his throat. As could the heady scent of freedom, the trill of a bird and an endless expanse of sea or sky.
    In hindsight, he wondered how he’d survived all those years of confinement—and the demeaning, soul-shattering experience of being treated like an object rather than a person.
    Yet the latter hadn’t been confined to his decade behind bars, he acknowledged as the cookie caught in his throat. That legacy went back far longer.
    Taking a swig of milk to dislodge the lump of dough stuck in his windpipe, he forced his thoughts in more pleasant directions.
    Unbidden, an image of Catherine Walker and her son flashed through his mind. He still couldn’t get over the fact that their paths had crossed again. And based on her expression when she’d opened her door yesterday, she’d felt the same way. Except she hadn’t seemed especially pleased about the odd twist of fate.
    Yet she’d offered him the job.
    Meaning he could look forward to a lot more interaction with the wary violinist and her charming son. And if he was very lucky, maybe one day down the road her wariness would subside and he’d find the answers to some of his questions about the intriguing—and appealing—duo.
     
    “Zach! It’s lunchtime!”
    As she called her son, Catherine carefully lifted her injured foot off the wicker ottoman in the breezeway, where she’d had it propped all morning. She hadn’t planned to hover over Nathan during his first morning on the job, but Zach had balked at her plan to keep him inside for a few days while she observed the newcomer from a distance. In the end she’d capitulated, setting herself up in the breezeway with a stack of decorating books and a pad of paper so she could play with layouts for the two B and B rooms—and keep an eye on her new carpenter.
    She’d soon realized, however, that her concern had been unnecessary. If anything, Zach had disrupted Nathan’s life rather than vice versa. Not that you’d know it by watching the man, though. He had the patience of Job. And he was good with kids.
    Rising from the lounge chair, Catherine took a moment to steady herself before trekking to the kitchen to fix lunch. The two male voices continued to converse in the psychedelic room, one calm and mellow, the other high-pitched and animated. The exchange had been going almost non-stop all