and canned soup.
Then he ran out of steam. What kind of food did teenagers eat, anyway? For that matter, what did they do all day? Should he check out the local calendar of events? Find the location of the closest DVD rental place? Line up some activities for her? But what kind? What did she enjoy? He should have paid more attention to her periodic emails.
Overwhelmed, Luke set his spoon down and propped his chin in his palm.
What in the world was he going to do for three long weeks with a seventeen-year-old sister he hardly knew?
File folder in hand, Kelsey paused at the edge of the small copse of trees that separated her property from her neighbor’s and peered at the Lewis house. Though it wasn’t yet dark, a light was on in the kitchen. Meaning Luke was home. And with the sun already dipping low, it was unlikely he’d be heading down to the beach tonight to watch the sunset.
Too bad. She’d been keeping an eye on the steps from her window, hoping he would go down tonight. She’d planned to follow him, finished recommendations in hand, and pass them over down there. Somehow, that felt safer than doing it at the house where he lived. And ate. And slept. A beach seemed less personal. More public.
Safer.
Which was silly. A house was no different than a quiet beach or a screened porch or…a secluded jogging path.
Beads of sweat popped out on her upper lip, and she swiped them away in irritation. She had nothing to fear from Luke. Dorothy liked him. Her pastor spoke well of him. A board of clergymen endorsed him.
She could do this.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched over to his house. Stepped up to the deck and crossed to his door. Wiped her right palm on her jeans. Lifted her hand to knock. Froze.
You are so pathetic, Anderson! Just rap your knuckles on that piece of wood and—
All at once, the door opened abruptly. With a gasp, she stumbled back.
Luke’s hand shot out and gripped her arm. “Watch the steps behind—”
At his touch, she jerked free and scurried back, clutching the folder to her chest.
“Sorry.” He stayed where he was and lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just be careful of the steps on the deck behind you.”
Steps. Deck. Right. She’d come up a couple of them on her way to the door.
Angling toward the lake, she made a pretense of checking them out while she tried to quiet the thumping of her heart. When it refused to cooperate, she was forced to turn back anyway.
“Thanks. I forgot about them. I had this on my mind. My recommendations for your project.” She held up the file, lamenting the tremor in her voice—and in the folder. Her hands were shaking. Warmth surged on her cheeks, and she clutched it with both hands, once more hugging it to her chest.
“I was just going to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs.” He ignored her display of nerves, his tone casual. Calm. Soothing. Like he was talking to a frightened horse. “Would you like to join me and run over everything?”
She cast a wary look at the chairs. “Those seats weren’t designed for mothers-to-be.”
“Good point. Let’s stay here, then.” He gestured to a patio set on the deck. “Or we can use the kitchen table.”
“Here is fine.” No way was she entering the man’s house.
Following her, he pulled out a chair, then took the one beside her as she withdrew a multipage document from the folder and handed it over.
He paged through it. “You’ve done a lot more work since we talked last night.”
“Not really. I just fleshed out the ideas. Let me walk you through it.”
For the next fifteen minutes, as she reviewed the document with him, Luke asked appropriate questions and made a few complimentary remarks. But he seemed distracted. As if he had other, more pressing, matters on his mind.
When she finished, Kelsey slipped the recommendations back into the folder and handed it over. “I’m used to dealing with the media and writing press releases, and I’ll be happy to
Then he ran out of steam. What kind of food did teenagers eat, anyway? For that matter, what did they do all day? Should he check out the local calendar of events? Find the location of the closest DVD rental place? Line up some activities for her? But what kind? What did she enjoy? He should have paid more attention to her periodic emails.
Overwhelmed, Luke set his spoon down and propped his chin in his palm.
What in the world was he going to do for three long weeks with a seventeen-year-old sister he hardly knew?
File folder in hand, Kelsey paused at the edge of the small copse of trees that separated her property from her neighbor’s and peered at the Lewis house. Though it wasn’t yet dark, a light was on in the kitchen. Meaning Luke was home. And with the sun already dipping low, it was unlikely he’d be heading down to the beach tonight to watch the sunset.
Too bad. She’d been keeping an eye on the steps from her window, hoping he would go down tonight. She’d planned to follow him, finished recommendations in hand, and pass them over down there. Somehow, that felt safer than doing it at the house where he lived. And ate. And slept. A beach seemed less personal. More public.
Safer.
Which was silly. A house was no different than a quiet beach or a screened porch or…a secluded jogging path.
Beads of sweat popped out on her upper lip, and she swiped them away in irritation. She had nothing to fear from Luke. Dorothy liked him. Her pastor spoke well of him. A board of clergymen endorsed him.
She could do this.
Squaring her shoulders, she marched over to his house. Stepped up to the deck and crossed to his door. Wiped her right palm on her jeans. Lifted her hand to knock. Froze.
You are so pathetic, Anderson! Just rap your knuckles on that piece of wood and—
All at once, the door opened abruptly. With a gasp, she stumbled back.
Luke’s hand shot out and gripped her arm. “Watch the steps behind—”
At his touch, she jerked free and scurried back, clutching the folder to her chest.
“Sorry.” He stayed where he was and lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Just be careful of the steps on the deck behind you.”
Steps. Deck. Right. She’d come up a couple of them on her way to the door.
Angling toward the lake, she made a pretense of checking them out while she tried to quiet the thumping of her heart. When it refused to cooperate, she was forced to turn back anyway.
“Thanks. I forgot about them. I had this on my mind. My recommendations for your project.” She held up the file, lamenting the tremor in her voice—and in the folder. Her hands were shaking. Warmth surged on her cheeks, and she clutched it with both hands, once more hugging it to her chest.
“I was just going to sit in one of the Adirondack chairs.” He ignored her display of nerves, his tone casual. Calm. Soothing. Like he was talking to a frightened horse. “Would you like to join me and run over everything?”
She cast a wary look at the chairs. “Those seats weren’t designed for mothers-to-be.”
“Good point. Let’s stay here, then.” He gestured to a patio set on the deck. “Or we can use the kitchen table.”
“Here is fine.” No way was she entering the man’s house.
Following her, he pulled out a chair, then took the one beside her as she withdrew a multipage document from the folder and handed it over.
He paged through it. “You’ve done a lot more work since we talked last night.”
“Not really. I just fleshed out the ideas. Let me walk you through it.”
For the next fifteen minutes, as she reviewed the document with him, Luke asked appropriate questions and made a few complimentary remarks. But he seemed distracted. As if he had other, more pressing, matters on his mind.
When she finished, Kelsey slipped the recommendations back into the folder and handed it over. “I’m used to dealing with the media and writing press releases, and I’ll be happy to
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