Married in Seattle Read Free Page A

afternoon, Janine had prepared herself for his question. Several complicated answers had presented themselves, clever replies that would sidestep her true feelings, but she used none of them now. Her grandfather expected the truth, and it was her duty to give it to him.
    “I’m not sure. He’s a very…reserved man, isn’t he?”
    Anton chuckled. “Yes, he is, but I’ve never known you to walk away from a challenge. The boy’s a little rough around the edges, but on the inside, he’s pure gold.”
    Janine hadn’t thought of Zach in those terms—a challenge. Frankly, she doubted there’d be much reason for her to have any future contact with him. Gramps and Zach would be working closely together, but she had almost nothing to do with the business.
    “I’ve earned his trust, but it took time,” Gramps was saying now.
    “I’m glad you’ve decided to retire,” she said absently, half listening to the weather report.
    “Zachary will change,” her grandfather added.
    He had her full attention now. “Gramps,” she said patiently, holding in a laugh. “Why should he? He’s achieved considerable financial success. Everything’s looking good for him. What possible reason could there be for him to change?”
    Anton stood and poured himself a liberal dose of brandy, swirling it slowly in the bottom of the snifter. “You’re going to change him,” he said after a thoughtful moment.
    “Me?” Janine laughed outright. “ I’m going to change Zachary Thomas?” she repeated in wide-eyed disbelief. That would be the day!
    “Before you argue with me, and I can see that’s what you’re dying to do, I have a story I want to tell you. A rather sad one as it happens.”
    Janine picked up the remote control and snapped off the television. She’d often listened to her grandfather’s parables. “So tell me.”
    “It’s about a boy, born on the wrong side of the tracks to an alcoholic father and a weak mother. He never had much of a chance in life. His father was abusive enough for the state to remove the lad and his younger sister. He was barely eight and subjected to a long series of foster homes, but he refused to be separated from his sister. He’d promised her he’d always take care of her.
    “Once, there wasn’t any alternative and the two were sent to separate homes. Beside himself with worry for his sister, the young boy ran away. The authorities were in a panic, but three days later, he turned up two hundred miles away at the home where they’d placed Beth Ann.”
    “He probably felt responsible for her.”
    “Yes. Which made matters much worse when she drowned in a swimming accident. He was twelve at the time.”
    “Oh, no.” A pain squeezed Janine’s heart at the agony the boy had suffered.
    “He blamed himself, of course,” Anton said softly.
    “The poor kid.”
    “This lad never seemed to belong to anyone after that,” Gramps said, staring into his brandy. “He never quite fit in, but that wasn’t entirely his fault.” He paused to take another puff of his cigar. “His mother died a month after his sister. They were the only ones who’d ever truly loved him. He lost contact with his father, which was probably for the best. So his family was gone and no one seemed to want this troubled, hurting boy.”
    “Did he turn into a juvenile delinquent?” It made sense to Janine that he would; she’d dealt with a number of troubled teenagers through her volunteer work and was familiar with the tragic patterns that so often evolved in cases like this.
    “No, I can’t say he did.” Gramps dismissed her question with a shake of his head, more interested in continuing his tale than getting sidetracked by her questions. “He drifted through adolescence without an anchor and without ever being allowed to enjoy those formative years.”
    “Gramps—”
    He raised his hand to stop her. “When he was eighteen, he joined the military. He did well, which isn’t surprising, considering his