Free A Father For Zach by Irene Hannon Page B

unfolding on the screen.
    “’Bye, champ.”
    Her son flashed Nathan a grin. “’Bye, Nathan. I’ll help you paint next week, okay?”
    “Whatever your mom says.” When he looked at her, Catherine tried not to let the hurt in his deep-brown eyes touch her soul. He was practically a stranger, after all. It was crazy to feel such angst over a man she hadn’t even known two weeks ago.
    “You’ll be in touch?”
    At his quiet question, she nodded. “Yes. By tomorrow.”
    “Okay.” He opened the door and turned. “Goodbye, Catherine.”
    He said it like he didn’t think he’d be coming back.
    Pulling the door shut behind him, he secured it with a soft click.
    For a full minute, Catherine stood unmoving in the hall, struggling with the irony of it all. Yesterday, she’d been afraid he might ditch the job for one with a boss who had fewer issues.
    Now he seemed to be thinking she’d ditch him.
    And maybe she would.
    Because his presence day after day could play havoc with her once-a-bad-apple, always-a-bad-apple view of the man who’d killed her husband. A view that gave her an excuse to hold on to hate, discount the notion of forgiveness—and keep grief at arm’s length. A view that allowed her to survive.
    Catherine saw no reason to disrupt her world again. She was doing okay the way she was. Getting through the days. Holding on. Not gracefully, perhaps, but at least she hadn’t plummeted into the black pit she’d been dangling over for the past two years.
    If her grip slipped, though…if she started to fall…she was doomed. There was no one to catch her. To save her from the dark abyss.
    And she didn’t think she could take that risk.

Chapter Six
    C hecking the address on the slip of paper in his hand, Nathan turned onto India Street.
    Home of the Blue Water Gallery.
    As he juggled the two canvases in his arms, a barrage of serious second thoughts overwhelmed him, and his step faltered. This was crazy. He had no more business showing his work to a high-end gallery owner than he had hoping people could overlook his seedy past.
    Tightening his jaw, he fought back a wave of despair. Okay, so things with Catherine hadn’t gone as he’d hoped this morning. But he still had a job. She hadn’t told him to get lost, had she?
    Only because she was blindsided. She didn’t have time to think through everything you said . Once she does, you’re out of there .
    He tried to ignore the pessimistic voice in his head, but he had a feeling it spoke the truth. That before the weekend was over, she’d let him go.
    With that disheartening probability weighing on hismind, he’d decided to follow up on Kate MacDonald’s suggestion to visit the gallery owner who’d handled her husband’s work. Maybe the woman would offer him some encouragement that would brighten his dismal mood.
    In truth, though, he doubted his odds on that score were any better than they were with Catherine.
    As he approached the gallery, Nathan surveyed the clapboard structure. Painted Federal blue, with white trim around the windows, it looked as if it had once been a house. A discreet sign identifying it as the Blue Water Gallery hung from an iron rod on one side of the door.
    For two full minutes, Nathan stood in front, trying to gather up his courage. But after a passing group of noisy tourists jostled him on the uneven brick sidewalk and he almost lost his grip on the paintings, he opened the door and crossed the threshold.
    And felt as if he’d stepped into another world.
    Here, quiet reigned. There were no crowds, no clutter. Just open space. The hardwood floor had been buffed to a satin finish, and the soft white walls offered a perfect backdrop for the artwork that had been framed and lit to display it to its best advantage.
    Two rooms opened off the foyer, and the center of each held three-dimensional art—a bronze sculpture in one, a display of glass bowls in the other.
    The place reeked of class. And talent. And money.
    In other