Scent Of Roses. Kat Martin

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      “What?”

      “That’s right. It’s mostly supported now by donations, but in the beginning, Zach put up a great deal of his own money.”

      “But I thought Carson—”

      “That’s the way Zach wants it. Carson is a highly respected, very important man in San Pico. With his backing, Teen Vision has grown faster than it ever would have without his help.”

      She looked back at Zach, who had turned and seemed to be staring directly at her. For an instant, her breath caught. She quickly looked away. “How did Zachary Harcourt come up with that kind of money?”

      “Not the way you’re thinking. When Zach was in prison, he began to study law. He’ll be the first to admit he did it in the hope of beating the system. But he discovered it intrigued him and he was good at it and it got him to thinking. By the time he got out of jail, he had made up his mind to change his life. He went to work, got his law degree from Hastings, and passed the bar exam. His father used his influence to help him get his conviction set aside. Zach’s now a partner in Noble, Goldman and Harcourt in Westwood, a very prestigious law firm.”

      Elizabeth mulled over the information, barely able to believe it. She glanced back toward the barn and saw Zach Harcourt walking toward them with those same long-legged strides she had noticed before. His eyes were fixed on her face and she felt that same oddly breathless sensation she had felt before.

      Zach paused in front of them and a slow smile appeared on his lean, dark face. “Ms. Conners. Welcome to Teen Vision.”

      She tried to keep her gaze on his but it drifted down to his sweat-covered chest. A wide thatch of curly dark hair stretched across it, arrowing down into the waistband of his faded jeans. He was powerfully built, lean and hard-muscled. She forced herself to ignore an unwanted tingle of awareness.

      “Sorry,” Zach said, following the line of her gaze. “I didn’t realize we were going to have company. I’ll go get my shirt.”

      Elizabeth fixed her eyes on his face. “Don’t bother on my account. I’ve got to get going shortly. I just came by for a tour and to say hello to Raul.”

      Zach turned and looked out toward the pasture. “I’ll go get him.”

      “I’ll go,” Sam said. “I want to talk to Pete for a minute and the two of them are together.”

      “Pete?” she repeated as Sam walked away.

      “Pedro Ortega. He prefers to be called by his American name. He and Raul have struck up a tentative friendship.”

      “He’s a good boy…Raul, I mean.”

      “Kind of surly. A little bit rough around the edges, but they all are when they first get here.”

      “Raul is different. He’s special.”

      One of his dark eyebrows arched. “If he’s won you over, he must be.”

      “What does that mean?”

      “It means you were always smart and even back in high school you had a way of seeing people for what they really were. I know that from personal experience.”

      She felt the heat creeping into her face. “That was a long time ago.”

      “I owe you an apology for the way I behaved that day at the café. I wasn’t a very nice person back then.”

      “But you are now?”

      He smiled, a flash of white in his handsome face. “I like to think so.”

      “I like what you’re doing for these boys.”

      “I was one of them once.”

      Her gaze lit on the tattoo on his left arm, a coiled snake with the words Born To Be Wild tattooed in red below the image.

      “I thought about having it removed,” he said. “But I left it there to remind myself how different my life might have turned out.”

      Elizabeth eyed him with suspicion. Zach talked a good game, but Carson didn’t seem to trust him and she wasn’t about to leap to conclusions.

      “Here comes Raul,” she said, relieved to see the boy walking toward them, thick-chested and broad-shouldered, as tall as Sam but weighing a good deal more. “It’s been nice talking to you.”

      “I still owe you for that day at the café. Maybe sometime you’ll let me make it up to you.”

      Not likely. “Sorry, I’m afraid my schedule is really full, but thanks for the offer.”

      Zach’s mouth inched up at the corner. “I remember now what it was I liked about you, Elizabeth Conners. You’re not afraid to tell it like it is.”

      Elizabeth made no reply. She’d been cautious in high school. After Brian, she was far more cautious now. Turning to Raul, she led him over to a picnic table in the shade of another tree and they sat down and started talking.

      She was glad to see the boy, glad to hear the enthusiasm that remained in his voice. Only once did her mind stray from the conversation to the dark, mysterious man who had returned to his work on the barn.

      Five

      The results of Maria’s CAT scan came in on Monday. A phone call from Dr. Zumwalt’s office relayed the news that there was no sign of lesions, hemorrhaging, a tumor or any other abnormality. They could do more testing, of course, but the doctor strongly believed the problem was mental, not physical.

      “So you’ll call Mrs. Santiago with the news?” Elizabeth asked the office nurse. A perk of her job as a family counselor was cooperation from the medical community. She had wanted to know if there was a problem so that she could be there with Elizabeth if the results came back positive.

      “I’ll call her right away.” The woman hung up the phone and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling was short-lived. Whatever was wrong with Maria had not gone away. At least it appeared to be psychological, not physical. She hoped Dr. James would be able to help.

      As soon as Michael’s patient left the office, Elizabeth went in to see him. “No brain tumor,” she said simply, having kept the doctor up to date on the Santiago girl’s progress and gaining his agreement to help if necessary.

      “I’ve got a cancellation this afternoon. See if she can come in around three o’clock.”

      “Thanks, Michael.”

      He raked a hand through his sandy hair. “I like the Santiagos. They’re hardworking, really good people. I know it hasn’t been easy for them.”

      Not for Maria, married at fifteen, or Raul, who’d been in and out of trouble for years. “No, it hasn’t. I’ll see if she can come in.”

      Driving her husband’s battered old blue Ford pickup, Maria arrived that afternoon right on time. Elizabeth walked into the reception room to greet her and they sat down on the dark brown leather СКАЧАТЬ