Third: Chapter 8
Story Summary
Written: February - May 2011
Status: Finished
Starring: Zac
Number of Chapters: 10 + Prologue and Epilogue
For: The Spark Inside: Spring 2011
Following his wife's shocking death and the exposure of her dirty little secrets, Zac leaves Tulsa and heads to the Oregon coast for a few weeks to escape his overbearing family. His goal is to be alone, with only the company of his bull dogs Butch and Cassidy, but then he meets Harlow Lowry, a woman who is unlike anyone he has ever met. Will the walls that Zac has built around his heart stay strong or will Harlow find her way in?
Masterpost
Chapter 8
With only two weeks of his trip left, Zac was feeling better than he had in months and he gave Harlow credit for that. She was always coming up with an adventure for them to take part in. He knew that when it came time for him to go home, he’d miss her, but he refused to dwell on that.
After spending the morning shopping for supplies, they had returned to Neskowin and found a silver car parked in front of his place.
“Were you expecting someone?” He asked her as he parked his SUV across the street.
“No, but there is someone in your yard,” Harlow said.
Leaning over, Zac saw a man squatted down and playing with Cassidy and Butch. He recognized the slicked back hair and the designer threads immediately. He didn’t bother taking the keys out of the ignition before he jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards the man, getting madder and madder with every step he took.
“What the hell are you doing here, Grant?” He demanded, yanking his former best friend up by the collar of his jacket.
“To say thanks for telling my wife about my affair with your wife,” Grant retorted. He swung at Zac, who managed to duck just in time.
“I didn’t tell her anything,” Zac replied as he ducked out of Grant’s swing again. “If she wasn’t pregnant, I would have.” Seeing his opening, he took a shot at Grant’s face and connected.
“ZAC!” Harlow exclaimed as she rushed towards Grant.
“No, Harlow,” Zac ordered. “Go home. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Zac, don’t -” she started.
“SHUT UP AND GO HOME!” Zac yelled at her, not taking his eyes off Grant, who chose to lunge at him at that second, knocking them both to the ground.
Zac didn’t hear Harlow leave as he and Grant wrestled on the ground, throwing random punches in whenever they got the chance. He managed to get Grant on his back and was getting ready to give his face another punch, when the dogs started to bark and he knew that Harlow was back.
“I have a gun and I am not afraid to use it,” Harlow’s voice said clearly.
Zac paused with his fist in the air and turned to look at her. Sure enough she had a shotgun in her hands, her finger on the trigger. With Zac distracted, Grant used the opportunity to punch Zac in the stomach, but his face soon went white when Harlow pointed the gun at him.
“Touch him again and I will shoot,” she threatened.
Laying on his side, Zac heard Grant back away from him.
“Get out of here,” she ordered Grant. “I haven’t called the police yet, but I will if you don’t get out now. You are trespassing on private property.”
“Psycho bitch,” Grant stated as he got to his feet. “This ain’t over, Hanson. If I find out you or someone in your family told my wife, I’ll make you regret it.”
“You have until the count of three to be in your car and gone or I’ll shoot,” Harlow cut him off. “One.”
Grant flipped Zac off and headed to the gate.
“Two.”
He threw it open and made his way to the car. He got inside and started it up just as Harlow was positioning the gun.
Still laying on the wet ground, Zac watched Grant speed off as Harlow said, “Three.”
“Oh my god,” Harlow breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Grant was out of sight. “I was afraid he wasn’t going to leave and then find out that this gun can’t shoot.”
“You’re crazy,” Zac shook his head, regretting it instantly. His head hurt hardcore.
“Maybe,” she smiled. “But I saved your ass and you know it.” She walked over to him and held out a hand to help him up.
“I was holding my own,” he said then winced when she touched his swollen cheek. “Ok, maybe I was in over my head.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” she suggested. She helped him up the steps then unlocked the door and led him inside. She sat him down at the table then went to the bathroom to get his first aid kit.
“How do you think his wife found out?” Harlow asked from the bathroom.
“Probably had him followed or put two and two together after the accident,” Zac shrugged. “I don’t really care at this point. I just hope her father finds out so Grant will have his sorry ass fired and everyone in Tulsa will know what a slime ball he is.”
“Don’t say that,” Harlow scolded, returning to his side. “I know what it’s like to want to get revenge, Zac, but it doesn’t make anything better.”
”I don’t know about that. Clocking him made me feel a lot better.”
“After my ex left me for a chance at playing professional baseball,” Harlow said. “I was pissed and my friend suggested we visit someone her aunt knew who practiced voodoo, I agreed. We went to her shop in Seattle and I forked over a hundred dollars for this decrepit looking woman to stick needles into a doll that had my ex’s name on it.”
“Did it work?”
“Too well,” Harlow sighed. “He blew out his knee on a freak base running accident. It ended his career and sent him spiraling. Last I heard, he was in and out of rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.” She dabbed a wet wash cloth on Zac’s bloody lip. “I was just messing around, I didn’t know it would actually work. At first when he got hurt, I was like ‘ha serves him right’ but then the news came out about how serious it was and I felt really guilty. Revenge isn’t sweet, Zac, it’s horrible.”
Zac didn’t reply. He knew she was right, but he wanted to get back at Grant. Grant had been his best friend since middle school, but ever since the car accident, Zac had been wondering how long Grant had been screwing him over. Grant had been the one who introduced Zac to his second wife. She had been working as a paralegal at the law firm owned by Grant’s father-in-law, the firm that Grant had hoped to one day take over. He vaguely remembered rumors about Grant’s infidelity, but they all seemed to stop about the time Zac and his wife had married. Was it possible that he had been a pawn in his best friend’s plot to have his cake and eat it too?
“Zac?” Harlow’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He refocused his eyes and looked at her.
“They used me,” he said, numbly. “Both of them. Just so they could fucking stay together and keep their fucking jobs.”
“Well fuck them,” Harlow stated before placing a bag of ice on his swollen cheek. “You are a great man and friend. Even when you look terrible.”
“You should see the other guy,” Zac said, wincing in pain when he tried to smile.
Harlow shook her head as she went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water so he could take pain medicine.
“Why don’t you go lay down?” She suggested. “I need to put the gun away before Papa wakes up from his nap and sees it’s missing from above the fireplace and then I have to start dinner, but I’ll come back and check on you.”
In no mood to argue with any of what she said, Zac went into his room. He didn’t feel like laying down, but did so anyway. He laid in his bed thinking he’d never fall asleep, but woke up hours later to the smell of chili in the air. His sore body protested as he got out of bed and left the room.
He found Harlow sitting in the living room watching a movie with the dogs curled up on either side of her. The sight brought a slight smile to his face and then a sliver of panic into his head. They were all getting too attached and if he had learned one thing today, it was not to get on Harlow’s bad side.
Written: February - May 2011
Status: Finished
Starring: Zac
Number of Chapters: 10 + Prologue and Epilogue
For: The Spark Inside: Spring 2011
Following his wife's shocking death and the exposure of her dirty little secrets, Zac leaves Tulsa and heads to the Oregon coast for a few weeks to escape his overbearing family. His goal is to be alone, with only the company of his bull dogs Butch and Cassidy, but then he meets Harlow Lowry, a woman who is unlike anyone he has ever met. Will the walls that Zac has built around his heart stay strong or will Harlow find her way in?
Masterpost
Chapter 8
With only two weeks of his trip left, Zac was feeling better than he had in months and he gave Harlow credit for that. She was always coming up with an adventure for them to take part in. He knew that when it came time for him to go home, he’d miss her, but he refused to dwell on that.
After spending the morning shopping for supplies, they had returned to Neskowin and found a silver car parked in front of his place.
“Were you expecting someone?” He asked her as he parked his SUV across the street.
“No, but there is someone in your yard,” Harlow said.
Leaning over, Zac saw a man squatted down and playing with Cassidy and Butch. He recognized the slicked back hair and the designer threads immediately. He didn’t bother taking the keys out of the ignition before he jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards the man, getting madder and madder with every step he took.
“What the hell are you doing here, Grant?” He demanded, yanking his former best friend up by the collar of his jacket.
“To say thanks for telling my wife about my affair with your wife,” Grant retorted. He swung at Zac, who managed to duck just in time.
“I didn’t tell her anything,” Zac replied as he ducked out of Grant’s swing again. “If she wasn’t pregnant, I would have.” Seeing his opening, he took a shot at Grant’s face and connected.
“ZAC!” Harlow exclaimed as she rushed towards Grant.
“No, Harlow,” Zac ordered. “Go home. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Zac, don’t -” she started.
“SHUT UP AND GO HOME!” Zac yelled at her, not taking his eyes off Grant, who chose to lunge at him at that second, knocking them both to the ground.
Zac didn’t hear Harlow leave as he and Grant wrestled on the ground, throwing random punches in whenever they got the chance. He managed to get Grant on his back and was getting ready to give his face another punch, when the dogs started to bark and he knew that Harlow was back.
“I have a gun and I am not afraid to use it,” Harlow’s voice said clearly.
Zac paused with his fist in the air and turned to look at her. Sure enough she had a shotgun in her hands, her finger on the trigger. With Zac distracted, Grant used the opportunity to punch Zac in the stomach, but his face soon went white when Harlow pointed the gun at him.
“Touch him again and I will shoot,” she threatened.
Laying on his side, Zac heard Grant back away from him.
“Get out of here,” she ordered Grant. “I haven’t called the police yet, but I will if you don’t get out now. You are trespassing on private property.”
“Psycho bitch,” Grant stated as he got to his feet. “This ain’t over, Hanson. If I find out you or someone in your family told my wife, I’ll make you regret it.”
“You have until the count of three to be in your car and gone or I’ll shoot,” Harlow cut him off. “One.”
Grant flipped Zac off and headed to the gate.
“Two.”
He threw it open and made his way to the car. He got inside and started it up just as Harlow was positioning the gun.
Still laying on the wet ground, Zac watched Grant speed off as Harlow said, “Three.”
“Oh my god,” Harlow breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Grant was out of sight. “I was afraid he wasn’t going to leave and then find out that this gun can’t shoot.”
“You’re crazy,” Zac shook his head, regretting it instantly. His head hurt hardcore.
“Maybe,” she smiled. “But I saved your ass and you know it.” She walked over to him and held out a hand to help him up.
“I was holding my own,” he said then winced when she touched his swollen cheek. “Ok, maybe I was in over my head.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” she suggested. She helped him up the steps then unlocked the door and led him inside. She sat him down at the table then went to the bathroom to get his first aid kit.
“How do you think his wife found out?” Harlow asked from the bathroom.
“Probably had him followed or put two and two together after the accident,” Zac shrugged. “I don’t really care at this point. I just hope her father finds out so Grant will have his sorry ass fired and everyone in Tulsa will know what a slime ball he is.”
“Don’t say that,” Harlow scolded, returning to his side. “I know what it’s like to want to get revenge, Zac, but it doesn’t make anything better.”
”I don’t know about that. Clocking him made me feel a lot better.”
“After my ex left me for a chance at playing professional baseball,” Harlow said. “I was pissed and my friend suggested we visit someone her aunt knew who practiced voodoo, I agreed. We went to her shop in Seattle and I forked over a hundred dollars for this decrepit looking woman to stick needles into a doll that had my ex’s name on it.”
“Did it work?”
“Too well,” Harlow sighed. “He blew out his knee on a freak base running accident. It ended his career and sent him spiraling. Last I heard, he was in and out of rehab for drug and alcohol abuse.” She dabbed a wet wash cloth on Zac’s bloody lip. “I was just messing around, I didn’t know it would actually work. At first when he got hurt, I was like ‘ha serves him right’ but then the news came out about how serious it was and I felt really guilty. Revenge isn’t sweet, Zac, it’s horrible.”
Zac didn’t reply. He knew she was right, but he wanted to get back at Grant. Grant had been his best friend since middle school, but ever since the car accident, Zac had been wondering how long Grant had been screwing him over. Grant had been the one who introduced Zac to his second wife. She had been working as a paralegal at the law firm owned by Grant’s father-in-law, the firm that Grant had hoped to one day take over. He vaguely remembered rumors about Grant’s infidelity, but they all seemed to stop about the time Zac and his wife had married. Was it possible that he had been a pawn in his best friend’s plot to have his cake and eat it too?
“Zac?” Harlow’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He refocused his eyes and looked at her.
“They used me,” he said, numbly. “Both of them. Just so they could fucking stay together and keep their fucking jobs.”
“Well fuck them,” Harlow stated before placing a bag of ice on his swollen cheek. “You are a great man and friend. Even when you look terrible.”
“You should see the other guy,” Zac said, wincing in pain when he tried to smile.
Harlow shook her head as she went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water so he could take pain medicine.
“Why don’t you go lay down?” She suggested. “I need to put the gun away before Papa wakes up from his nap and sees it’s missing from above the fireplace and then I have to start dinner, but I’ll come back and check on you.”
In no mood to argue with any of what she said, Zac went into his room. He didn’t feel like laying down, but did so anyway. He laid in his bed thinking he’d never fall asleep, but woke up hours later to the smell of chili in the air. His sore body protested as he got out of bed and left the room.
He found Harlow sitting in the living room watching a movie with the dogs curled up on either side of her. The sight brought a slight smile to his face and then a sliver of panic into his head. They were all getting too attached and if he had learned one thing today, it was not to get on Harlow’s bad side.