Free Bonjour Cherie by Robin Thomas Page B

The same one, or even another one, probably landed in the pot plant here and scrambled off.’
    It all seemed so logical now. I felt embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry for calling you out. I really did think someone had broken in.’
    The older policeman shook his head. ‘As I said, it’s happened before.’
    As they headed off into the house to do a quick search, I looked at Zach, feeling more embarrassed than ever in having panicked and called him. ‘Thanks for coming.’
    His expression was unreadable. ‘Are you okay?’ was all he said.
    â€˜Yeah, I am now. But at the time, I was terrified.’
    â€˜When do your parents get back?’
    â€˜Saturday, and I sure will be glad to see them after this. I don’t usually get nervous on my own, but that glass shattering was what did it.’
    â€˜Understandable. That would spook anybody.’
    I couldn’t get a read on him; he was acting so neutral. Was he annoyed at me calling him or what? ‘Thanks again for coming out, Zach. I really shouldn’t have called you. I’m sorry.’
    â€˜Why did you call me? I mean, wasn’t there anyone else?’ His tone was puzzled rather than annoyed.
    â€˜Um, everyone in my family was out of town and you were the first name that popped into my head.’ How could I tell him that the very thought of him in those terrified moments made me feel safe?
    He looked at me under thick dark lashes, still not giving much away. ‘So, there was no one else, not even André LeBlanc?’
    I probably deserved that but it didn’t make it any less pleasant to hear.
    At that point the police came back from their search of the house. ‘Everything appears to be fine. We’ll be off now.’
    â€˜Thanks, officers,’ I said. They both nodded and headed down the steps to their patrol car.
    I looked back at Zach. ‘Do you want a tea or something hot to drink?’ I asked.
    He shook his head. ‘Will you be all right now?’
    I wanted to say no, please stay with me , but I sensed he wanted to go. ‘Sure,’ I said. Then I said, ‘Zach, I’m really sorry about what happened the other night at your place. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’ve been feeling badly ever since.’
    There was silence for a few moments, and then he said, ‘But you meant what you said, didn’t you? I don’t really fit into your perfect picture of what you want in your life.’ He waited for an answer.
    I opened my mouth to protest and say, give me another chance. But nothing came out. Everyone wanted me to be what I wasn’t, from my parents, to Lauren to Zach.
    He shook his head and gave a sound of exasperation. ‘Don’t bother answering that, Beth. I already know.’ He turned to go. As he went down the steps, he called over his shoulder, ‘If you get in trouble again, find someone else to help you out.’ And then he was into his ute and gone.
    I went back inside, too tired to clean up the mess that the possums had made. I’d do that in the morning. Locking the front door, I went inside and back to bed. As I lay in bed, sleepless and staring at the ceiling fan above, I thought again—my life sucked.

Chapter Nine
    I had the morning off and after I cleaned up the mess the possums had made, I decided to give the house a tidy up in preparation for my parents’ return. It was good to have something active like vacuuming and dusting to do rather than brooding. Usually reluctant to do this sort of thing, I threw myself into a frenzy of cleaning. By noon everything was sparkly and clean enough even for my mother.
    I was now tired and ready to enjoy a coffee and a cream cheese bagel for lunch. I flicked on the midday news, but my thoughts flitted elsewhere and they turned, as they usually did these days, to Zach. I had tried to make peace with him last night, but it just hadn’t worked out. If only we