across her face and how the wind tousled her hair. Such beauty, and he had her all to himself for the weekend. An entire weekend to convince her she could have her fantasy. With him.
An emotion he’d fought to contain surfaced and for a second he allowed it to bloom in his heart. For a long time he’d thought of her as his, even before she was divorced. Now that she was single, he was definitely going to make the most of their time together.
He stepped forward just as a man towered over Trish. Zach held his breath as she lifted her head and offered a quizzical smile. He shifted his focus to the man. He seemed harmless enough, but there was something in his posture, in the rigid set of his jaw. Was this the man who’d been threatening him and now Trish?
Zach swung his gaze back to Trisha. Her back was straight, shoulders high and tight. Every few moments she’d shift away from the man leaning over her, and each time the man followed her movements, pressing closer. At this rate Trisha was going to run out of table before the guy decided to leave her alone.
This had to stop. Zach threaded his way through the tables, angling so he’d come up behind and just to the right of the man. He was in arm’s reach when the man lunged and seized Trisha by her arm and jerked her to her feet. Several onlookers gasped, but did not intervene.
“Let go!” She tugged away, hitting her attacker with her fist.
Zach clamped a hard hand around the offending wrist, viciously jabbing at a couple of pressure points. The man howled and released Trisha. She stumbled back against the table. Retaining his hold, Zach jerked the man’s arm behind his back and shoved him face down on the wooden picnic table. Satisfaction rolled through his gut at the thwack and accompanying whoosh of breath. No one put his hands on Trisha.
Gasping pants came from below. The man struggled a moment, but a quick jerk on the offender’s arm stilled any further efforts.
“I-I’m sorry,” the man squeaked out.
“You should be,” Zach said with a growl. “You don’t ever put your hands on her again.” He glanced over his shoulder to see Trisha rubbing her arm. He could just make out the faint bruise marring the skin on her upper arm. Anger surged anew. Not a good start to their weekend. “Are you okay, beautiful?”
She nodded.
He returned his attention to the man on the table. “I think you owe the lady an apology.”
“I just wanted to talk to her.”
Zach shifted and stepped away. “Really? It didn’t seem like she enjoyed your conversation,” he replied with controlled menace.
The man slowly pushed away from the table and stood, dusting off his clothes with badly shaking hands. He didn’t try to meet Zach’s steely gaze.
Zach looked the man up and down. He was a few inches taller than Zach’s 6’1’, but Zach had more muscle mass. He maneuvered until Trisha was beside and slightly behind him. The warmth of her hand pressed to his back stilled some of the anger roiling around in his gut.
“Is there a problem here?” a stern voice asked behind Zach.
The other man flinched and finally met Zach’s heavy stare.
“Maybe you should be a little more careful about the women you speak to who tell you to go away. If you ever see my lovely lady again, don’t even think about going in the same direction. Understand?”
Tension stretched taut. A nervous cough whispered beneath the pavilion, while faint laughter and muffled cannon fire contrasted with the serious situation. When Zach stepped forward, only the soft hand on his bicep registered.
He covered her hand with his and moved closer to Trish. “Understand?” he repeated.
“Yeah.”
“No, no problem, officer,” Zach said. He placed a hand at the small of Trisha’s back and propelled her away from the gathering crowd. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. A train whistle preceded the railroad crossing warning bells. Long wooden arms descended, barring the way across the