LITMIR.BIZ

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nodded. He had asked. It was up to her. His gaze was drawn again to his son. The wonder was hard to accept. When Danny’s laughter rang out, Zack wanted to scoop him up and hug him. He could watch this child for hours, fascinated to know he and Alesia had produced such a darling boy.

      Anger simmered at his former lover for keeping this miracle from him. He would have dropped everything to return to the States if she’d only told him. Now he’d missed the opportunity to be a part of his life.

      When Danny got in line for the large, curved slide, he was hidden from view for a few moments. Zack glanced back to Susan. She was not what he expected. Instead of being a nebulous figure, she was a pretty woman with soft looking honey-gold hair and grave gray eyes. She wasn’t tall, reaching only to his shoulder. She kept her eyes on Danny, watching out for him, ready to spring to the rescue if needed.

      She obviously loved him. That was one lucky little boy. Zack wondered how his own life might have been different if his parents had lived. If they had expressed the love he could see shining so clearly in Susan’s expression.

      Looking back at the little boy, Zack watched every move, every expression that crossed his son’s face. Soon Zack would be healed and returning to the Middle East—or another project in a foreign land. For a few weeks he might get the chance to know Danny. He wished for him a better childhood than he had experienced.

      “How long is your leave?” Susan asked.

      “I have at least two more months.” Two months to regain his strength and range of motion in his shoulder. He would do all the exercises the PT insisted upon. And walk the entire island of Manhattan every day if it meant full recovery. He didn’t know what he’d do if he couldn’t pass the company physical. Look for a new kind of work, he supposed.

      “Wow, I love it when I get two weeks off in a row,” Susan said.

      “Yeah, vacation is far different from medical leave. When I had time off before, I’d visit different European countries.”

      “We’ll be lucky to get to Europe once before Danny leaves home,” she said wistfully.

      “Who watches Danny when you’re at work?” he asked. “I assume you work normal business hours.” Careful, he warned himself. You shouldn’t know anything about her. She needs to tell you herself or you’ll give away the fact a detective investigated her.

      “It’s nine-to-five most of the time. Sometimes if something big is going on, I’ll be on call for weekends or late night sessions. I do get three weeks vacation, but depending on what’s going on in the world, I might not get it all at once,” Susan said.

      “Does Danny go to a child care center?” Zack racked his brain for what limited knowledge he had about children. Some of the men who rotated into the field for the chance to make extra money had families. He’d listened to their tales of woe regarding children and child care while their wives worked. Most of the time he’d wandered away, seeking time alone. He hadn’t related before.

      “There is a lovely retired schoolteacher who lives in our building and watches him for me. It works out perfectly. She needs a bit of extra money to supplement her retirement pay. Danny gets to stay in our apartment with his own toys and books. She takes him for walks here in nice weather. I was so lucky to connect with her.”

      “Is it hard to get good child care?” Zack asked. There was so much he didn’t know about this family. His foster mothers had all stayed at home to be there for the children. How did a single working parent manage?

      “The hard part is leaving him for so many hours. I wish I could work nights and be home with him during the day. He’s growing so fast. Edith gives me a report each day—how he liked preschool, when he napped, what he had for lunch, if any little friends from the neighborhood came to play. Things like that. It makes me feel more a part of his daily activities. But I miss the actual being there.”

      Zack nodded. He hadn’t planned to get involved with Danny and his adoptive mother. But now that the opening had been made, Zack was intrigued with the mother of his child. He liked being with her. Would she consider expanding her circle of friends to let him in? He’d made the first step by inviting them to the zoo. He hoped Susan would accept. If not, he’d take one day at a time. He’d already attained more than he ever expected regarding his son.

      Susan softly closed the door to Danny’s room. He was already asleep. Amazing how he could go from full speed to instant sleep. She felt tired enough to fall in bed herself, but still had some cleaning to do and another load of laundry. She’d dust and vacuum the living room to give Danny a chance to wake up if he were going to. Then she’d quickly run the last basket of clothes to the laundry area. Danny would stay asleep all night and she’d only be gone a few moments. She normally took him with her, but this weekend would prove to be different. If she were going to spend the day at the zoo tomorrow, she needed to get a load done tonight. When he’d been younger, she had never left Danny alone, even to dash down to the laundry room. Now she felt better about leaving him for a few minutes. She carried a baby monitor that would alert her if he awoke before she returned. It wasn’t ideal, but working single parents made do.

      As she tidied the living room, she thought about Zack Morgan. How involved did she want to get with the man? He was only in New York to recover from injuries. Once he was fit again, he’d return to the Middle East and she’d likely never see him again.

      It wasn’t as if she were planning a long-term friendship. But he was at loose ends and she had not been so intrigued with a man since her husband. What harm could it do to go to the zoo? Danny would love it.

      And she’d love to spend the day with Zack.

      Guess that meant she’d decided to accept the invitation to the zoo. Danny would be thrilled when she told him. And it would be more fun for her to see it with another adult. Not that she didn’t delight in her child. But sometimes she just wanted adult conversation.

      When she returned from the laundry room, she’d call Zack and let him know they’d be happy to join him. Glancing at Tom’s picture, she almost apologized. “It’s not a date,” she explained. “Just an outing with Danny. He seems nice.” She wasn’t telling her husband how she’d felt a surprising attraction to Zack. She wasn’t interested in remarrying. How could she when Tom had been the love of her life? They had made such grand plans—all dust now that he was gone. She couldn’t risk that kind of heartache again. Love made a person hostage to all the bad things that could happen.

      “He’s just a new acquaintance.” Was she trying to convince herself or Tom?

      “Maybe he’ll become a friend. But he’s only here for a short time. Once his convalescence is up, he’ll move on and I’ll probably never see him again.” The thought disappointed her.

      As Susan was inserting her key into the lock upon her return from the laundry room, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed to answer it hoping it hadn’t wakened Danny.

      “Susan? This is Zack.”

      “Hi.” She suddenly felt as shy as a schoolgirl when a boy called. “I was going to call you later.” She took a breath. “Danny and I would love to go to the zoo with you. We can be ready before nine if you want to get an early start.”

      “Sounds good. I’ll swing by your apartment about eight-thirty if that suits. Thought we’d take a cab rather than the subway. I could have rented a car for my stay, but the traffic is too much to deal with. And I’m not sure I could find parking anywhere.”

      She laughed. “That’s one of the reasons I don’t have one.” Susan felt oddly nervous about the outing. It wasn’t a date. She was merely going to the zoo with a new friend. And Danny would love it.

      “Is Danny asleep?” Zack asked.

      “Yes. We have a schedule. He does better with set times for things. So we’re up every morning before seven. He eats lunch at noon and we usually eat dinner at the same time every evening. Then it’s bath and bed by eight. Kids like routine.”

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