Free A Son's Vow by Shelley Shepard Gray Page B

business. I came to walk Darla home.”
    His voice was deep and sure. And, like always, laced with that quiet confidence that Darla had always found so appealing.
    There in the privacy of the office, Darla felt a tremor run through her.
    Shoot!
    â€œOh,” Amanda said. “Well, I told her you were waiting on her, but she didn’t say nothing about your walking her home. Do you think she knows?”
    â€œI have a feeling she probably knows by now. Now, don’t you worry about me, Amanda. I’ll just stand here while you do whatever you need to do.” Raising his voice a bit, he said, “I don’t mind waiting here all afternoon for Darla.”
    â€œI think I better go tell Darla that,” Amanda squeaked. “Um, I’ll be right back.”
    Before Amanda could appear again, Darla snapped the drawer shut and picked up her purse. After locking her office door, she joined them at the front. Now Amanda was standing in front of the counter staring at Lukas like he was the most handsome man in Charm, Ohio.
    Which he was.
    Lukas, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall of post office boxes, arms crossed over his chest, looking for all the world like he had every right to loiter in the lobby.
    His chin lifted when she appeared. And then, to her regret, he smiled. “Hi.”
    Aware that Amanda was staring at them, Darla smiled. “Hi. Just a sec, okay?”
    He didn’t reply. Merely smiled.
    Now, why in the world did that make her shiver? She really needed to get a handle on both her reaction to Lukas and all those foolish dreams she used to entertain about him.
    Practically pivoting on her heel, she turned to Amanda. “ Danke for your good work today. I already locked the office door, so the next time you come in we’ll note the time you left. You can leave now.”
    After looking from Lukas to Darla to Lukas again, Amanda went behind the counter and grabbed her canvas tote bag. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
    â€œI’ll be here. See you then.”
    The minute Amanda walked out, Darla locked the door behind her. Then she turned to face Lukas, who was still leaningagainst the wall of post office boxes as if he had nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.
    His presence made the room seem smaller and her mind go blank. “Lukas, I thought we already discussed this. We canna spend time together.”
    â€œI decided I wasn’t really on board with that.”
    â€œWhy? What are you doing here? And why did you tell Amanda that you were walking me home?”
    â€œI think that would be fairly obvious. Don’t you agree?”
    â€œBut we agreed not to be friends.”
    â€œI know, but I changed my mind. Are you ready?”
    â€œNee.” She needed to stand firm. He shouldn’t be so bossy with her. He shouldn’t ignore what she was saying. Just as important, he needed to understand that she simply wasn’t going to drop everything whenever he asked.
    Well, not anymore.
    He looked around then, pointedly, at the purse on her arm. “What else do you still have to do?”
    â€œIt’s not that.” She took a breath and plunged forward. “Lukas, I don’t think we should be seen walking together. People will talk.”
    â€œPeople are already talking.” He stepped forward, getting into her space. “People are talking a lot. Actually, I don’t think they want to stop talking about you and me and the mill and the fire. From what I hear, and I don’t hear much, we seem to be the favorite topic of conversation around most every coffeepot in Charm.”
    â€œSee—”
    â€œIn fact, I think the only people not talking about you and me are you and me. Therefore, it’s time to change things.”
    Part of her agreed with him, but she was learning that what she wanted didn’t always matter. “Lukas, my family won’t be happy.”
    â€œI don’t