Free The Heart of a Hero by Barbara Wallace

annoyed at being left behind, began yelping anddancing circles. Just as he had this morning on the beach, he lavished most of his attention on Jake.
    “Reynaldo, heel!” Like the command would do any good. Tongue out, tail wagging, the little dog was practically doing back flips trying to get Jake to notice him.
    A giggle bubbled up in Zoe’s chest. She didn’t know which was more amusing: Reynaldo’s desperate ploy or the exaggerated scowl on Jake’s face.
    “Looks like someone likes you,” she said.
    “Well, tell him to stop.”
    “Too late, I’m afraid. Once Rey makes up his mind about a person, nothing will shake him. Like a dog with a bone.”
    “Ha, ha.”
    “Seriously. He hated my ex-husband on sight. Used to growl at him. We had to keep him downstairs the nights Paul was home.” You’d think she’d have picked up on the hint.
    “Anyway—” she shook off the thought “—you might as well get used to having Reynaldo as your new best friend.”
    “I don’t want friends, canine or other.”
    With that, Jake moved toward a large leather Barcalounger that used to be her father’s favorite chair, and propped himself on the arm. “I’ll take my sandwich back.”
    Zoe reached into the cooler and handed it to him.“You say you don’t want friends, and yet you saved mine.”
    “Told you, right place, right time, is all.”
    No, he’d told her no one should have to lose a friend. Strange thing to say for a man who didn’t want any himself.
    The blue-shaded room cast a different kind of shadow over his features, turning his face almost as gray as the weather outside. The lines marking his face were especially apparent today. Without meaning to, she let her gaze follow the longest one down his forehead to his brow. As prominent as these marks on his skin were, she had a feeling the scars below the surface were deeper and far more brutal.
    He must have felt her stare because he turned to face her. “What?”
    Aw, hell. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? “Was he a good friend?”
    “Was who?”
    Feigned ignorance wasn’t his strong suit, but Zoe played along. “The friend you lost. On the roof, you said no one should lose a friend. That was obviously from personal experience. Were the two of you close?”
    His expression remained passive. On the surface, it would look like he didn’t react to what she said, but Zoe had been watching. She saw the subtle clench of his jaw as he swallowed his emotions. That said it all.
    “I can only imagine what you must have felt,” she continued.
    Still no reply. He was wrapping himself up the way he’d wrapped the house. “If you ever want to talk…” she began.
    “No.” Finally he spoke. The word burst out of him like a shot, contorting his face with a distress so stark Zoe’s heart hurt.
    Right. That’s why his eyes had darkened and unspoken words hung in the air around him. She crossed the room to sit on the chair next to him. “Look—” her fingers rested on the curve of his wrist “—I’m no therapist, but keeping things inside isn’t healthy for anyone.”
    “Spare me the platitudes—I’m not one of your readers looking for advice.”
    Ouch. “You’re right. You’re not.”
    “And I don’t want your help.”
    “I know that, too.”
    Yet she couldn’t seem to help herself. His torment called out for help. She could hear it. Feel it. Why else would her heart be twisting in her chest?
    “My question is, what do you want?”
    “I—” Their eyes locked and his words faded away. The air, which had already felt thick and portentous, shifted. To Zoe, it felt like the warmth had seeped inside her. A heady, intoxicating feeling, it was the kind that gave birth to dangerous notions. But shecouldn’t pull away. Jake’s eyes held her. And when he dropped his gaze to her mouth…
    Then suddenly, the sensation disappeared, erased by the electronic sounds of jazz. As Jake fished his cell phone from his pocket, Zoe turned away, putting