Free Lost & Found Love by Laura Browning Page A

capturing. “I glanced out the window and saw him talking to you.”
    Joe, who had stretched out beside her, took her hand. Instantly, warmth flooded through her, and she closed her eyes briefly in surprised enjoyment. His thumb rubbed along the back. “He told me if I cared about you, I should take you out publicly and not worry about what anyone might say.”
    She stiffened slightly. “Is that what this is all about?” she asked without looking at him. Joe released her hand to touch her hair and her cheek.
    “Partly. Tabby, I have to be honest with you. I would have gotten around to this anyway. Jake’s visit just spurred me to act more quickly than I might have.”
    “And the fact that I told you right up front that I don’t date ministers makes no difference?” Tabby wasn’t sure whether she was angry or scared by his persistence. Having always kept her distance from men, she wasn’t sure what to do with one who was ignoring the keep off signals.
    His fingers cupped her chin. “I can’t help what I feel, Tabby. If I were a lawyer, a doctor, or a musician would you even worry about going out with me?”
    Sadness tightened her chest. He was so beautiful, and when he touched her, it felt right. It felt good. She wanted to touch him back. Instead she looked down, breaking eye contact. “But you’re not any of those things, Joseph. You are a minister.”
    “Why does it make such a difference?” he demanded. “Yes, I am a minister. It’s what I do , but can’t you look beyond that to who I am ? Beneath it, I’m still a man.”
    He bent his head then and kissed her. Although she sensed his frustration, his kiss was pure gentleness, asking not taking. Tabby’s hand rested against his shoulder. Waves of heat and desire coursed through her. She wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone. Yes, he was a minister, so what would happen when he got a good look at her standard paintings? Sure, he’d seen one, but he didn’t realize that was the norm for her. His portrait was the departure, not the scene he’d compared to Dante’s Inferno .
    Her mind raced ahead to a future where she was mindlessly painting flower arrangements or seascapes complete with lighthouses and seagulls, just to make sure she didn’t upset anyone. Panic followed quickly. She couldn’t breathe. She felt as stymied and hemmed in as she had around Tommy and his ultra-conservative view of religion.
    She couldn’t do this. They couldn’t do this.
    She pushed him away. “Stop, Joseph.”
    He vaulted to his feet and stepped away from her as he raked his hands through his hair. “Sorry.”
    “Don’t apologize. It’s not you. It’s not anything you’ve done. It’s me.”
    He laughed, but with no real amusement. “I have to tell you, that sounds way too close to a classic dump the loser line.”
    “Except I’m about to give you some truths I don’t often share.” Tabby sucked in a shaky breath. “Please, sit down. I need you to understand, so maybe we can find some way through this.”
    Joe came back and dropped down at her side. Wrists balanced loosely on his knees and hands hanging, he tilted his head to look at her. “Okay. I’m listening.”
    Tabby drew her knees up and rested her chin on them. After taking another deep breath to calm herself, she began. “My…father…was a rigid, religious man. I grew up in a small church that believed in a very literal interpretation of the Bible. The man was the head of the household in all things. Spare the rod, spoil the child, and all of that. Ever since I can remember, we were in church on Wednesday evening and, it seemed to me, all day on Sunday between morning services, Sunday school, and the evening preaching. Women and girls wore dresses. We were not to cut our hair. If that were all there was to it, Joseph, I could’ve dealt with it and moved on with life.”
    She touched his cheek and saw such tenderness in his expression that it made her ache. “Do you like what you’ve