Free Impossible Dreams by Patricia Rice

her extremely
nervous, perhaps because she so desperately craved what he had to offer.
    Damn, the shock must be wearing off and her brain must be
bubbling with panic if she thought Axell Holm was what she needed.
    She couldn’t keep on like this. She’d been
homeless before, but this time she had a baby on the way and Matty to worry
about. How would she keep Matty? As soon as the social worker discovered their
plight, she’d shove him into a foster home. Maya shivered as the fear
rose in her, fanned by the winds of memory. She had to leave Wadeville, go back
to California where she had friends...
    How the devil would she get back to California? She’d
sold everything she owned, including her car, so she could afford the
outrageous cost of a last minute, one-way, cross-country plane ticket to rescue
Matty from foster care. The few dollars she’d possessed over and above
the fare had gone to restoring Cleo’s utilities, buying groceries, and
dressing Matty in something besides rags. She’d never earned enough in
her few years as a teacher to build a cushion of savings.
    Tears filled her eyes, and she hastily wiped them away as
Axell opened the passenger door and held out his hand to her. Matty and
Constance were already scurrying out of the back seat.
    She curled her fingers into her palms and stalled with the
practice of a lifetime of rebelling against hand-outs. “I’ll wait
here while you take Constance in.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve got room, and
you’re exhausted. You can have a room near Constance. In the morning,
things will look better.”
    “I’ve had a lot of experience with mornings.
Generally, they only look worse.” She refused his hand. She’d spent
most of her life trying to fit into other people’s lives. She’d
earned her degree so she would never have to take charity or depend on anyone
else again.
    He withdrew his hand impatiently. “Look, you can sleep
in the car if you like. I’ve got to get back to the restaurant after I
see Constance settled, but I can take the Rover.”
    The “Rover” looked to be a looming utility
vehicle of horrendous size on the far side of the garage. Two vehicles and one
driver. Conspicuous consumption. She didn’t have the energy to sniff her
disapproval. Terror had replaced her brain.
    As Axell turned away, Maya halted him. “What good is
it showing Matty what he cannot have?” she demanded. “It would be
much kinder if you’d take us to the school.”
    He didn’t turn as he contemplated her words, leaving
Maya a view of his wide shoulders. He’d removed his suit jacket and
rolled up his shirt sleeves, but the carelessness didn’t conceal that he
was accustomed to dealing from a position of strength: physical and emotional
as well as financial. He had absolutely no concept of what it was like to worry
that the roof over his head and the food in his mouth could be stripped away if
he said the wrong thing, opened the wrong door, wore the wrong clothes.
    The automatic garage lights blinked out and Axell hit the
switch restoring them. The action apparently bolstered his decision. He turned
and faced her with no expression.
    “Children adapt,” he snapped.
“You’re the one with the problem. If you want that school of yours
to survive, you’d better learn to start working with others.”
    This time, he didn’t offer a helping hand. He strode
into the house, leaving her sitting in the enormously expensive car, staring at
a wall of gleaming, unused garden tools. He didn’t even tend his own
yard.
    Well, he’d given her a choice, of sorts. She could sit
there until he got tired of looking at her and took her back to the school. She
could borrow the money from Selene and go back to California with Matty. It
would mean living off friends until the baby was born since she’d never
find a job in this condition.
    Or she could get up and follow Axell Holm into the world of
the wealthy, a world she’d never known, frequently despised, often
envied,