Free A Father For Zach by Irene Hannon Page A

years in prison. I was released less than a month ago—a few days before Marci’s wedding.”
    Silence fell in the room as Catherine tried to process all Nathan had told her.
    He’d robbed a store with a gun. Aimed it at innocent bystanders like David. Might have pulled the trigger if he’d been provoked.
    Meaning he could have committed murder.
    A shudder ran through her, and she closed her eyes as the full impact of Nathan’s story registered.
    A convicted felon—a man just like the criminal who’d killed her husband—was sitting in her kitchen.
    Except…somehow she couldn’t reconcile the Nathan Clay at her table with the angry, hostile punk he’d described.
    It didn’t compute.
    Opening her eyes, she stared at the man across from her. He hadn’t moved a muscle. His hands were still folded in front of him. But the creases at the corners of his eyes seemed deeper. And grooves had appeared beside his mouth.
    She tried to find her voice. When she did, her words came out faint and scratchy. “That’s quite a story.”
    He leaned forward. “There’s more. The best part. Two years ago, thanks to J.C.’s and Marci’s love and the grace of God, I turned a corner. I asked for forgiveness, and I started over. I finished high school. I developed a relationship with my family and with the Lord. I resolved that I wasn’t going to let my dark past keep me from having a bright future. I’m not the same man I was ten years ago, Catherine. People can change. If they want to.”
    Not hardened criminals.
    The automatic denial echoed in Catherine’s mind. As it had been doing for the past two years.
    Yet…Nathan claimed to have changed dramatically. Had changed dramatically, if his description of his younger days was accurate.
    Didn’t that mean, though, that the man who’d killed David could change, too?
    That maybe he already had?
    Catherine thought about the letter that had arrived from him, via his attorney, a few months ago. The cover note had simply said his client had asked him to pass it on.
    She hadn’t even unfolded the single sheet of paper. Instead, she’d torn it into tiny pieces and thrown it in the fireplace, watching the flames destroy it as his crime had destroyed her world.
    It didn’t matter what he had to say, she’d told herself as she’d watched the fire consume the fragments. No apology, no remorse, would bring David back or restore the life they’d shared. Her husband’s killer didn’t deserve her compassion—or her forgiveness. Because criminals didn’t change.
    Now, for the first time, a flicker of doubt seeped into her mind.
    “Catherine?”
    At Nathan’s quiet prod, she looked at him.
    “All I’m asking for is a chance.”
    To do what? Shake her resolve? Undermine her convictions? Take away the consuming hate and bitterness that had allowed her to keep other debilitating emotions—like grief—at bay?
    She couldn’t let that happen. She’d fall apart.
    Rising abruptly, she put as much distance as possible between them, wedging herself into the far corner of the kitchen next to the counter.
    “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” The words came out cold. Accusatory.
    “I haven’t shared my past with anyone here. I didn’t want to be judged based on who I was, but on who I am. Maybe that was too much to hope for.” His tone was quiet. Resigned. He rose and faced her. “Do I still have a job here?”
    His rigid posture suggested he had braced himself for her answer. Only she didn’t have one. “I don’t know. I…I need to think about it.”
    There was a hint of defeat in his eyes as he gave a stiff nod. “Is it okay if I say goodbye to Zach?”
    “Yes.”
    He moved back into the hall and headed toward the living room. She trailed behind, maintaining a safe distance.
    Safe from what, she wasn’t certain.
    He paused on the threshold of the living room, which was still cluttered with boxes. Zach, wedged into an empty corner of the sofa, was absorbed in the drama