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.“Oh, God,” she whispered.“Being here brings it back as if it all happened only yesterday.”“It didn’t, though.It happened a long time ago, and your father will never harm anyone again.”At the certainty in his voice, Mandy turned to look at him.“If he gets out of prison, he will.I don’t think he’s capable of restraining himself.”“He won’t get out of prison,” Zach replied.“If we find what I think we will under that cement slab, he’ll be locked up until his dying day, or he’ll have an up-close-and-personal experience with a lethal-injection needle.”Mandy was starting to feel better.Less shaken, stronger.It was as if Zach radiated some kind of energy that soothed all her raw nerve endings.“A lethal injection would be too easy.I’d rather see him stay in prison.Let him think about it for the rest of his life.”Zach grinned, but the gesture didn’t warm his eyes.“There you go.I don’t believe in capital punishment, but for him, I could make an exception.Either way, he’ll pay.”Mandy was ready to go outside.Back downstairs, she paused by the kitchen range, remembering that afternoon when the jar exploded.Thanks to Zach, Luke had absolved her, and because he had, she’d finally been able to forgive herself.Once out in the backyard, Mandy went to stand at the edge of the patio.She couldn’t bring herself to walk on its surface.At the moment, she couldn’t remember why it was supposedly a bad thing to step on someone’s grave.She knew only that she didn’t want to commit the offense.Zach left to go get the cooler out of the car.He’d brought bagels, cream cheese, and orange juice for breakfast; sandwiches, chips, and soft drinks for lunch.While he was gone, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind, trying to sense her mother’s presence.Nothing.Surely she would feel something.Turning, she wandered around the yard and came upon the garden area, which had been turned into lawn.Even so, this section of the yard calmed her.As hard as she’d worked there every year, tending the plants, she’d found a measure of peace as well.Zach returned, plopped the cooler on the overgrown grass, and grabbed a pick from the wheelbarrow.“May as well get started.” He doffed his hat and arched a brow at her.“You want to take the first swing?”Mandy did and reached for the pick handle.He held up a finger to forestall her and tugged a pair of gloves from where they’d been tucked over his belt.“Sam’s.I figured you might want to help.The leather will protect your hands.”Mandy slipped them on.They fit her perfectly.“Thanks, Zach.I do want to help.” She took the pick and forced herself to step onto the concrete slab.“Where do I start?”“Wherever the hell you want.”Mandy had always detested that damned barbecue.Stepping over to the massive structure, she turned sideways to the pit, braced her feet wide apart, and swung with all her strength.The pick bounced back and almost nailed her on the head.“Whoa!” Zach wrested the tool from her hands.“Let me get it started for you.” When he swung, the pick wedged deep into the mortar, and the top brick broke loose.Smiling grimly, he returned the tool to her.“There.Now you can finish it off.”Mandy did so, and the release of anger that had festered for so long within her felt magnificent.The brick fell to the cement at her feet.She bent to pick it up.“Thank you,” she said.“I don’t have the strength to knock all of them loose, but it was important to me to take out the first one.”Zach nodded and accepted the pick.“If you really want to help, you can put the bricks in the wheelbarrow.We’ll start a pile somewhere away from the demolition area.”Mandy set herself to that task while he concentrated on breaking the bricks apart.Maybe she needed a distraction, but she found herself watching the play of muscle under his shirt and jeans as he worked.He moved with precise, masculine power that was oddly graceful, making the job look easy.She’d felt the jolt upon impact clear up her arms, so she knew better.He was hitting that structure with incredible force
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