Chapter 5
As Zach was starting to pull ingredients out of the cupboard, something occurred to him. He walked out into the passageway. "Kendall, have you started making the beds yet?" Her head popped out over the upstairs railing. "Quite the taskmaster, aren't you? I'm still looking for the linens." Zach drummed his fingers on the wall. "Come down here first, we need to talk about the sleeping arrangements." She narrowed her eyes and trotted down the stairs. "Let me guess, you want the bigger room with the view?" He gathered his thoughts, knowing he was in for a fight. "I don't think we should sleep in the upstairs bedrooms. We don't know how long we will be here, and we need to conserve firewood by only lighting a fire in one location – the den." She folded her arms. "Doesn't heat rise?" He shook his head. "Some, but not enough." He cleared his throat. "The couch has a pull-out bed. I think we should sleep on that. Together." She gazed at him through half-closed eyelids.
"Okay. I'll go find the linens and get out only one set." She half turned to go. Zach was dumbfounded. "Umm…er…you're okay with this?" She put her hands on her hips. "Come on Zach, do I look like one of those shrinking violets who swoon at the mere thought of a man sharing my bed? Your argument about conserving firewood was logical, and I know you aren't out to seduce me." She threw her head back and laughed, obviously amused at such a ridiculous idea. Zach attempted to laugh, but choked. He cleared his throat. "I know you don't have delicate sensibilities, but considering who my brother was, I thought maybe you would have reservations." She stopped laughing and cocked her head to one side. "You really think that? Zach, maybe you need a history lesson. My father was a rapist, but my brother and I aren't exactly predators." Zach frowned. "You have a brother?" Kendall put up a hand. "Don't interrupt. Did you know that Ryan has a brother that committed rape? Rape, and the kind of evil that produces it, is not hereditary. It took me years to realize that. You may be a jerk, but you are not like your brother."
Zach spoke quietly, "How do you know for sure?" Kendall rolled her eyes. "Well for one thing, when I first met Michael, he literally charmed the pants off me. When I first met you, I mistrusted you on sight. The only time I ever liked you was when I thought you could help me get revenge on Ryan. I got over it. Michael was a sociopath. He used charm to get what he wanted, until it was no longer effective, and then he just took. You wouldn't know charm if it slithered up and bit you. Kind of like me in that regard." Zach raised his eyebrows. "I would agree that charm is not a trait you inherited from your mother." Kendall shrugged. "Bianca got that gene. Anyway, my point is that I don't trust you, and you may still be lethal to the people I love, but I feel pretty confident that if and when you wield your…uh…power, it won't be like Michael."
Zach ran his hand up and down his stubbly cheek. "I feel pretty confident that you can be incredibly naïve sometimes." Kendall laughed. "And I'm sure you plan to use that to your advantage." She sauntered back up the stairs, and Zach quickly looked away from her swaying hips. He set about making dinner. Kendall's jokes about him seducing her made him wince. He was trying to do that, though not sexually. Did that caveat really make a difference? He may not be planning to overpower her physically, but he was trying to attach her to him emotionally. He was screwing around with her heart. Zach slammed a pot onto the stove, telling himself to snap out of it. According to the intelligence he'd gathered, Kendall had taken advantage of other people for her own gain on many occasions. If she was hurt by his plan, then she was getting what was owed her. Karma certainly had no problem biting his own ass. There would be no happy ending for him when his son left town hating his guts. Maria would not come to him again. He had seen it in her eyes the last time he spoke to her. Her love for Edmund was so deep that she was willing to put up with whatever that bitter shell of a man dished out.
Zach emptied a can into the pot and turned on the burner. If he did manage to succeed in getting Kendall to fall in love with him, he would keep the pretense up long enough for Ethan to get the message and leave for good. Then when Zach dumped her, she would get over it and move on with her life. She may not have inherited Erica's charm, but he was sure that she must have inherited her ability to go through men like tissue. As Zach stirred the pot, he wondered what he should do now. His little demon seemed to have such a knack for getting him to each new step, he wondered whether he should even bother planning and just see what happens next. At that moment he heard Kendall's frantic voice from upstairs. "Oh my God! Zach? Zach!"