Free Where Dreams Begin by Phoebe Conn Page B

Polly went back inside the hall to continue sorting the books, while Catherine waited for Luke by the door. As he approached, she could see his left eye had already begun to swell.
    “We ought to put some ice on your eye,” she offered.
    Luke paused on the step below hers and their eyes were level. “Now you’re an expert at first aid? I swear our application isn’t long enough to list all your skills. I doubt it will help much, but let’s go on into the kitchen.”
    Catherine followed him to the freezer’s double doors, then had to wait while he unlocked one. “I hadn’t thought about working in the kitchen when you brought us here on the tour, but it was fun.”
    She turned away to get a bowl from under the counter to hold the ice and then grabbed a clean dish towel from off the stack by the sink. “Mabel has everything so beautifully organized that anyone can walk in and go right to work.”
    “I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever left with time on my hands,” Luke replied, his tone teasing.
    She waved Luke toward a tall stool next to the kitchen’s long preparation island and filled the small aluminum bowl with ice. She wrapped the towel around several cubes, stepped close and leaned her hip against the island as she held it to his eye.
    “You just rest a minute,” she urged. “I feel shaky, and no one was throwing punches at me.”
    “I’m not shaken, just disgusted. Did you ever get into a fight over a boy when you were in high school?” he asked.
    She adjusted the makeshift ice pack and, thinking it a wonderful excuse to touch him, she smoothed his silvery hair off his forehead. Thick and soft, it slid through her fingers like silk. He didn’t seem to notice, but she was embarrassed to be fondling him and quickly dropped her free hand.
    “I beg your pardon?” she asked absently. She could hear the water running in the shower in the restroom located behind the kitchen, but Mabel and the kitchen volunteers had left for the day, and they were quite alone.
    “Never mind. It always amazes me when girls fight over some guy who’s not worth a lengthy argument, let alone a fistfight.”
    “I imagine when you can carry all you own in a backpack, even a worthless boyfriend takes on immense value. Will you really ban them permanently if they start another fight?”
    “We have to have rules here, Catherine, or we’d have chaos. Too many of these kids reject any type of authority, but if they’re ever to fit in anywhere, they have to learn to abide by the rules. Even the fast-food places insist upon shoes and shirts.”
    She added another cube to the ice pack, but he was still going to have a colorful black eye. He had very nice eyes with long lashes any woman would envy. That he was so attractive had always been an unwanted distraction, however, and she focused on making her point.
    “I understand that, but these are kids who’ve run away, or been thrown away, and it seems cruel to ban them from one of the few places they’re welcome. Besides, it will be impossible for you to teach them any valuable lessons about getting along in the world if they aren’t allowed in the door.”
    Luke raised his hand to cover hers. “Look, I’m trying to keep these kids safe and well while they gain their independence, and then we build from there. I have to earn their trust, and being consistent is the only way to do it.”
    His hand provided a welcome heat against the icepack’s chill, but she was uncertain whether he was merely attempting to convince her he was right or to thoroughly distract her. She liked the touch of his hand against hers, but in this setting, it was completely inappropriate. Still she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.
    Then she made the mistake of meeting his gaze, and what she saw was the clear reflection of the desire that deepened his voice whenever he spoke her name. He was no more able to concentrate on their current argument than she, and all she wanted to do was lean in