Free Birthright by Judith Arnold Page A

to do this?”
    “I’m a school counselor,” he reminded her. “Weget paid enough during the school year to cover the summer months. In theory, anyway.”
    Frowning, she resumed her study of the budget plans he’d written up. Lacking anything better to do, he watched her read. It didn’t seem fair that he found her so attractive. Mother Nature should have designed things so that people would be attracted only to people they could conceivably hook up with.
    Yeah, Mother Nature had been slacking off when she’d worked out the chemistry between Aaron and Lily. Seated in the tiny office with her, he felt the same crazy sensations he’d felt the first time he’d glimpsed her—sensations that could drive a screwed-up adolescent not to care if he got detention yet again for staring at her and forgetting the incriminating open doorway.
    For four long years of high school, he’d had a near-fatal infatuation with her. Even after he’d learned she was Dr. Bennett’s daughter, he’d felt the zap of desire whenever he saw her. He’d never had any classes with her, but he would see her—in the hallways, at the assemblies, in the stands during basketball games, in the cafeteria on those rare occasions he ventured into that room to buy a bottle of apple juice.
    He’d avoided the cafeteria most of the time. It was a place for the kids who belonged, not him. Once Coach Drummer had taken him in hand, he’d been allowed to eat lunch in this very office where he and Lily were sitting now. His lunches were invariably leftovers his mother brought home from the café. Coach Drummer must have understood that Aaron would have felt embarrassed if he’d unwrapped alunch consisting of half an omelet, a slab of meat loaf and a pickle spear in front of his classmates.
    But when he did go into the cafeteria to buy a drink, he’d search for Lily. She was always at a table with other pretty girls or with those River Rat kids. They’d all be laughing and sharing confidences, nudging each other or crumpling their napkins into balls and tossing them at each other. Amid the crowd, amid the din, she was like a beacon to Aaron, snagging his attention. He would stand by the beverage machine, turning his quarters over and over in his palm while he stared at her and wished she was his—and hated himself for wishing.
    He didn’t hate himself now. He’d learned over the years that self-hatred wasn’t good for much. Still…life would be a little easier if merely gazing at her as she flipped through the various budgets he’d printed out didn’t make his blood run hotter than normal.
    He drained the bottle of iced tea and swiveled away from her, searching for something to occupy himself while she perused the budgets. Grabbing the clipboard on his desk, he jotted some notes on the different drills and games he might have the kids try tomorrow. He managed to stay reasonably absorbed in that until she cleared her throat.
    He swiveled back to face her. “So you want to add a swimming component to the program?” she asked.
    “It would be great if I could break the day up with a little pool time. It would cool the kids down. The school has the facility, but it’s open only in the evenings, when adults can come in to use it. It seemslike a waste to have it sitting there empty during the day, while I’ve got a bunch of kids who’d really enjoy it.”
    “But you need a certified water-safety instructor for that?”
    “Absolutely.”
    She gestured at the budget file. “You’ve suggested it would cost at least a hundred dollars?”
    “They may be teenagers, but they’re highly trained,” he explained. “It’s not like bringing in some of my team guys and asking them to help me run drills with the kids. Water-safety has a lot more responsibility.”
    “I see.” She skimmed the top sheet of the budget file for a moment longer, then folded it shut. Without meeting Aaron’s gaze, she pulled a checkbook from her purse. “Whom should I make