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doesn’t deserve to be kicked out.”
    “I ain’t kicking her out.”
    “But I can’t stay here if you’re here.”
    He shrugged.
    “Zack, are you willing to take on the job of caring for Rachel? You have to feed her, give her rides, make sure she has decent clothes.”
    He shrugged again. The man had reasonably broad shoulders. Maybe he’d built up the muscles using the shrugs method.
    She walked down the hall after him, ready to argue, when there was a tap at the door.
    She trotted back to the kitchen. She still clutched the dough, and plopped it onto the counter before opening the door.
    Mr. Dunham smiled down at her. Okay! Her animal self perked up as a bolt of interest shot through her. How about this one?
    Her brain sensibly refused to answer.
    He closed the door. “Hope you don’t mind my disturbing you again so soon?”
    He brushed past her. Didn’t men ever ask to be invited in? At least this one smelled good. A good, clean, spicy scent that reminded her of a breeze.
    She half wished she hadn’t changed into jeans and her ratty, pink, long-sleeved tee-shirt.
    He caught sight of the empty beer bottle sitting on the counter, scowled at it for a moment then shifted his gaze to her.
    “Want a cup of coffee, Mr. Dunham?” she blurted.
    Still frowning, he nodded. “Sure. I’ve only had six cups this morning. Call me Toph, Janey, please.”
    Janey grabbed the sack of beans from the freezer and poured some into the grinder. Stay put, Zack , she prayed.
    Zack obviously ignored her prayer. He came wandering out of the bedroom just as Mr. Dunham—no, Toph—pulled out a tall stool to take a seat at the counter that divided the kitchen from the living area.
    The two men eyed each other. If they’d been dogs, there would have been a lot of growling and raised hair and maybe even some lunging. Certainly no friendly butt-sniffing.
    “That your boyfriend?” Zack asked.
    At the same instant, Toph asked. “Is this your roommate?”
    “Mr. Toph Dunham, this is, um, Zack…” What was his last name? She’d tried hard to forget it and apparently succeeded. She hoped it was the same as the landlord. “Blair.”
    They stared at one another for a few tense seconds. And then Zack’s glance dropped. He looked sideways to the door and back up again. He took a step backward and grunted almost apologetically. Zack had crumbled faster than one of Beth’s meringues. Amazing how quickly they settled who was alpha dog.
    Toph tilted his head and his mouth curved into a thin, derisive smile as he continued to study Zack. “Any relation to Rachel?” The slight dimple on Zack’s chin, the almond-shaped eyes, had all been perfectly replicated on Rachel’s sweet face.
    “Zack’s her father,” Janey said, miserable. She clenched her teeth together to keep herself from shouting but I’m not her mother.
    Toph nodded. The smile disappeared as he stood up. It was a tight-lipped Mr. Dunham who checked his watch. “Actually I’m in a hurry, Janey. So maybe I’ll take a rain check on—”
    “Oh no, please, please, Mr. Dunham. Toph. Do stay,” she almost shouted.
    He must have taken pity on her desperate need not to be left with Zack. After a quick examination of her face, he settled back down again. He drummed his fingers on the worn green linoleum counter.
    “Making coffee?” Zack said. “I’ll take some.” He swaggered near Janey in his king-of-the-universe manner. Ah, but for once she didn’t back away nervously. Instead she turned her back on him and shoved down the lid to start the noisy coffee grinder.
    Despite the tension that was so thick it clogged the air and just about made breathing difficult, Janey hummed along with the grinder. She really wanted to do a little happy dance.
    Zack’s power had vanished. Gone, as if someone—Toph, of course—had snapped fingers and broken a spell. Poof. Now Zack was just an unwashed piece of scum, instead of an unwashed magnetic piece of scum. Her least favorite response