her out, asking all the right questions, until finally she paused to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked with a smile, his fingers idly playing with the stem of his wineglass as he gazed at her quizzically.
She shook her head and grinned ruefully. “I have a feeling you’re very good at your job.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve managed to find out an awful lot about me in a very short time. That skill must come in handy in your work.”
He grinned. “I suppose so. But tonight my questions are motivated purely by personal interest,” he replied candidly. What he didn’t tell her was that he hadn’t found out the one thing he was most interested in—why she rarely dated. He’d tried a couple of subtle probes, but she’d adeptly sidestepped them. And he didn’t think pressing the issue was a good idea.
“So tell me about you, Zach,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
He shrugged. “Not much to tell, really. I grew up in Kansas City, and my mom still lives there. So does my older brother and his family. I went to Mizzou, became a journalist and voilà! Here I am.”
“Talk about a condensed version of a life story!” she protested. “I guess I’ll just have to ask a few questions of my own. What brought you to St. Genevieve? I don’t know much about the newspaper business, but a flood doesn’t seem like the usual sort of thing an investigative reporter would cover.”
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I’ve been working on a series on corruption in city government, and a couple of the people implicated got wind of it. They claimed I was using falsified documents as a basis for my coverage and threatened to sue the paper if the series ran. So the publisher put a hold on the story while they look into the charges, and sent me off to St. Genevieve for the duration. Mostly to keep me out of the way, I assume.”
Rebecca frowned. “No wonder you sounded so burned out about reporting when we talked the other night.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t just that. There have been lots of instances through the years when a piece has blown up in my face, or people have found a way to work around the system and get away with murder. Sometimes literally. I think this was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. To be honest, my editor actually realized before I did that a break from investigative work would be good for me,” he admitted.
“How do you know?” Rebecca asked curiously.
“At our last meeting he said I needed some time to decompress and regain my perspective. I didn’t buy it then. But now that I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, I have to admit that he’s right. In fact, since I talked to that class at the high school on Friday, I’d go even further. I don’t just need time away from investigative work. I need time away, period.”
“It sounds like a good idea,” Rebecca agreed. “Can you manage it?”
He nodded. “I have quite a bit of vacation accumulated. It shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, when Ted—my managing editor—called yesterday, I told him that I’m thinking about taking some time off when this assignment is over. Being in the classroom with those kids was a catalyst, in a sense. It reminded me why I was attracted to teaching in the first place—and also that there’s a whole world out there apart from journalism and a lot of ways to make a difference in the human condition. I’m going to think about it for a couple more days, but I’ve pretty much decided that a long vacation would be a good idea.”
“It does seem to make sense,” Rebecca concurred. Then she propped her chin in her hand and tilted her head as she studied him. “You know, I imagine you’d probably be a really good teacher.”
He smiled. “Why do you say that?”
She considered the question seriously, frowning slightly. “Well, you’ve been out in the real world. You talk from experience. Kids respect that. And you have an intensity…a commitment,
“What’s so funny?” he asked with a smile, his fingers idly playing with the stem of his wineglass as he gazed at her quizzically.
She shook her head and grinned ruefully. “I have a feeling you’re very good at your job.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve managed to find out an awful lot about me in a very short time. That skill must come in handy in your work.”
He grinned. “I suppose so. But tonight my questions are motivated purely by personal interest,” he replied candidly. What he didn’t tell her was that he hadn’t found out the one thing he was most interested in—why she rarely dated. He’d tried a couple of subtle probes, but she’d adeptly sidestepped them. And he didn’t think pressing the issue was a good idea.
“So tell me about you, Zach,” she said, interrupting his thoughts.
He shrugged. “Not much to tell, really. I grew up in Kansas City, and my mom still lives there. So does my older brother and his family. I went to Mizzou, became a journalist and voilà! Here I am.”
“Talk about a condensed version of a life story!” she protested. “I guess I’ll just have to ask a few questions of my own. What brought you to St. Genevieve? I don’t know much about the newspaper business, but a flood doesn’t seem like the usual sort of thing an investigative reporter would cover.”
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “I’ve been working on a series on corruption in city government, and a couple of the people implicated got wind of it. They claimed I was using falsified documents as a basis for my coverage and threatened to sue the paper if the series ran. So the publisher put a hold on the story while they look into the charges, and sent me off to St. Genevieve for the duration. Mostly to keep me out of the way, I assume.”
Rebecca frowned. “No wonder you sounded so burned out about reporting when we talked the other night.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t just that. There have been lots of instances through the years when a piece has blown up in my face, or people have found a way to work around the system and get away with murder. Sometimes literally. I think this was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. To be honest, my editor actually realized before I did that a break from investigative work would be good for me,” he admitted.
“How do you know?” Rebecca asked curiously.
“At our last meeting he said I needed some time to decompress and regain my perspective. I didn’t buy it then. But now that I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, I have to admit that he’s right. In fact, since I talked to that class at the high school on Friday, I’d go even further. I don’t just need time away from investigative work. I need time away, period.”
“It sounds like a good idea,” Rebecca agreed. “Can you manage it?”
He nodded. “I have quite a bit of vacation accumulated. It shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, when Ted—my managing editor—called yesterday, I told him that I’m thinking about taking some time off when this assignment is over. Being in the classroom with those kids was a catalyst, in a sense. It reminded me why I was attracted to teaching in the first place—and also that there’s a whole world out there apart from journalism and a lot of ways to make a difference in the human condition. I’m going to think about it for a couple more days, but I’ve pretty much decided that a long vacation would be a good idea.”
“It does seem to make sense,” Rebecca concurred. Then she propped her chin in her hand and tilted her head as she studied him. “You know, I imagine you’d probably be a really good teacher.”
He smiled. “Why do you say that?”
She considered the question seriously, frowning slightly. “Well, you’ve been out in the real world. You talk from experience. Kids respect that. And you have an intensity…a commitment,
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