The Heart of a Hero by Barbara Wallace

way he shook his head, she was ready for another refusal. It surprised her, therefore, when one didn’t come. “One half hour. And then you’ll leave me alone?”
    Zoe smiled, thrilled with her victory. “Scout’s honor.”
     
    What the hell was he doing? First, against all reason, he brought Zoe a cup of coffee. No, he didn’t simply bring her coffee; he sat and listened to her problems. Now here he was beachcombing, for God’s sake. He’d lost his freaking mind.
    Actually, he could explain the coffee. From the moment she moved in, Zoe had this annoying sparkle about her, a kind of energy that made her impossible to ignore. When she saw the flowers, that sparkle dimmed. Her features fell and she lost all expression. It reminded him of the reflection he saw in the mirror every morning. Except, on Zoe, the melancholy and flat, mirthless eyes looked all wrong. So, when she threw away the roses and retreated to the beach, he felt compelled to check on her. To make sure the dimness was only temporary. Naushatucket didn’t need two empty souls.
    All right, maybe he was curious, too. The flower delivery bugged him for some reason. Who the hell sends flowers over on the damn ferry? He knew they were from the ex as soon as she tossed them, and hewanted to know what kind of man could snuff out Zoe’s brightness.
    Come to think of it, that brightness was to blame for this whole beachcombing craziness, too. Her whole damn face lit up finding that starfish; he was afraid to say no and watch it dim again.
    Yeah, he didn’t want to disappoint her. That was the reason he agreed.
    It certainly wasn’t because she looked sexy as hell standing ankle-deep in the tide pool.
    Nor was that the reason he was still accompanying her long after the half-hour mark had passed.
    The tide had come in. Formations that previously rose ten feet out of the water were now half-sub-merged, making exploration difficult, but Zoe didn’t seem to care. She scrambled up and over the rocks, scouring the sand and tide pools. Her most exciting discovery so far was a sea slug—a sighting that had her wrinkling her nose and uttering a high-pitched “Eww!”
    He himself wasn’t doing too much searching. He found watching her way more entertaining. How she caught her lower lip between her teeth while she concentrated and how, when she thought she spied something, she would kneel down and bring her face close to the object she wanted to study. He simply walked along behind her, carrying both their shoes. Been a long time since he’d felt cool moist sand under between his toes.
    “And once again, I’ve cornered the market on skate cases.” Zoe tossed a four-pronged hollow tube at his feet. Jake laughed.
    The sound sent guilt tearing through him. This wasn’t right. Him, relaxing. Laughing. Enjoying himself.
    Why couldn’t he stop?
    Meanwhile, Zoe had scrambled her way to the top of yet another rock formation and now appeared stuck. Jake knew why. The rocks on this section of the beach were particularly mossy, and when covered with water, hard to stand on.
    “Need a hand?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I think I can make it. If I look where I’m going.” Gingerly, she stepped down, her foot finding a moss-covered point.
    Jake saw the impending calamity before it happened. The moss, soaked from waves, had become a blanket of slime that, when it met with Zoe’s wet foot, became even more slippery. She immediately lost her balance and fell. The momentum propelled her forward, and she wound up half falling, half running down the remaining three rocks. Acting on instinct, Jake moved in to catch her, reaching the base in time for Zoe to land full-force onto him. Together they fell backward in a heap, Jake sprawled in the sand, Zoe sprawled across him.
    As soon as they each caught their breath, Zoe said, matter-of-factly, “I slipped.”
    “No kidding,” he replied.
    “Did I hurt you?”
    He shook his head. “My backside caught the brunt of the