paying attention. Still nervous.” Her cheeks colored faintly. Nervous about Mat, or nervous about his smile? Or maybe his touch? She led them to a particular door in the hallway, and he watched her as she peered inside, careful to keep her head out of sight of the occupants. Her mouth curved in pleasure when she must have spotted her brother, and she slid back to take a position by the door.
“He’s still in there?”
“Yes. He was concentrating so hard he didn’t even notice me.”
Ben edged into a position next to her, automatically surveying both ends of the hallway for exits and hiding places. He glanced over at her and noticed she was close to his own height; her shoulder was only a few centimeters lower than his own. She’d always stood so far away. Other than the time she’d been collapsed in his arms, he hadn’t really paid attention to the similarity. He also noticed she still wore the white cap from the kitchen. He tapped her arm and gestured at her head. She rolled her eyes up to look and then quickly reached to unpin it from her hair. After a couple of seconds of struggle, he reached in and tried to help her, their fingertips brushing against each other’s as they pulled pins from her soft hair.
“I guess I put in a lot more pins than I needed. Never wore one of these before,” Cara explained in a whisper. The cap was finally loose, and she whipped it from her head with an impatient movement, shoving the pins inside and folding it into a tube to slide into a pocket on her blouse. Ben tried not to smile when he saw little curls of reddish hair, dislodged by the now-absent pins, curling around her face.
“Your hair, it’s, ah…”
“It’s what? Oh bother .” With an aggrieved moan, she pulled at the tie holding it together on top of her head and it all tumbled free. The clean skin scent of it filled his nostrils, and he instinctively breathed in while repressing a powerful urge to slide his fingers into the gleaming mass and pull her face to his. Clenching his hands into fists, Ben chastised himself. Not appropriate thinking, not at all. Cara saved him from temptation and quickly confined her hair into another topknot with a few twists of her wrists. “Better?”
Ben nodded, unwilling to speak, since he wasn’t sure what he would say. Luckily, a low chime signaling the end of classes echoed in the hallway, and all the classroom doors banged open in concert. Streams of children erupted from the rooms, most looking with great curiosity at his uniformed presence as they passed. He gave a few of the taller ones stern nods and tried to appear non-intimidating with the shorter ones. He doubted he pulled it off; whenever someone commented on his appearance the first words they used were often stoic and tough . Hardly the first impression you wanted to make with a small child. Or a pretty woman.
Mat’s classmates exited in a rush of chatter, and once the last one had gone, Cara entered the room and went straight to her brother. He stood at the teacher’s desk and smiled when he saw her.
“Cara! This was so great. We did all sorts of stuff.” Mat glowed with enthusiasm.
“Today went very well, Citizen Belasco. He’s well placed in the curriculum for his age group. You’ve done a good job with him.” Mat’s instructor rose from her seat and patted Mat’s back.
Ben watched Cara blush as she shook the teacher’s hand. “Thank you for keeping him until I could collect him. We have an appointment, and I didn’t want to hold up the chief.”
Ben knew she obscured the truth. Cara wasn’t comfortable with her brother wandering unattended in the settlement yet. The teacher nodded and glanced his way again, and Ben finally recognized her. Her name was Topi, and if he remembered correctly, one of his staff had tried to encourage him to ask her out a few months ago. He had resisted their well-meaning advice. Hopefully, Topi hadn’t been made aware of their efforts on her behalf.
Cara
“He’s still in there?”
“Yes. He was concentrating so hard he didn’t even notice me.”
Ben edged into a position next to her, automatically surveying both ends of the hallway for exits and hiding places. He glanced over at her and noticed she was close to his own height; her shoulder was only a few centimeters lower than his own. She’d always stood so far away. Other than the time she’d been collapsed in his arms, he hadn’t really paid attention to the similarity. He also noticed she still wore the white cap from the kitchen. He tapped her arm and gestured at her head. She rolled her eyes up to look and then quickly reached to unpin it from her hair. After a couple of seconds of struggle, he reached in and tried to help her, their fingertips brushing against each other’s as they pulled pins from her soft hair.
“I guess I put in a lot more pins than I needed. Never wore one of these before,” Cara explained in a whisper. The cap was finally loose, and she whipped it from her head with an impatient movement, shoving the pins inside and folding it into a tube to slide into a pocket on her blouse. Ben tried not to smile when he saw little curls of reddish hair, dislodged by the now-absent pins, curling around her face.
“Your hair, it’s, ah…”
“It’s what? Oh bother .” With an aggrieved moan, she pulled at the tie holding it together on top of her head and it all tumbled free. The clean skin scent of it filled his nostrils, and he instinctively breathed in while repressing a powerful urge to slide his fingers into the gleaming mass and pull her face to his. Clenching his hands into fists, Ben chastised himself. Not appropriate thinking, not at all. Cara saved him from temptation and quickly confined her hair into another topknot with a few twists of her wrists. “Better?”
Ben nodded, unwilling to speak, since he wasn’t sure what he would say. Luckily, a low chime signaling the end of classes echoed in the hallway, and all the classroom doors banged open in concert. Streams of children erupted from the rooms, most looking with great curiosity at his uniformed presence as they passed. He gave a few of the taller ones stern nods and tried to appear non-intimidating with the shorter ones. He doubted he pulled it off; whenever someone commented on his appearance the first words they used were often stoic and tough . Hardly the first impression you wanted to make with a small child. Or a pretty woman.
Mat’s classmates exited in a rush of chatter, and once the last one had gone, Cara entered the room and went straight to her brother. He stood at the teacher’s desk and smiled when he saw her.
“Cara! This was so great. We did all sorts of stuff.” Mat glowed with enthusiasm.
“Today went very well, Citizen Belasco. He’s well placed in the curriculum for his age group. You’ve done a good job with him.” Mat’s instructor rose from her seat and patted Mat’s back.
Ben watched Cara blush as she shook the teacher’s hand. “Thank you for keeping him until I could collect him. We have an appointment, and I didn’t want to hold up the chief.”
Ben knew she obscured the truth. Cara wasn’t comfortable with her brother wandering unattended in the settlement yet. The teacher nodded and glanced his way again, and Ben finally recognized her. Her name was Topi, and if he remembered correctly, one of his staff had tried to encourage him to ask her out a few months ago. He had resisted their well-meaning advice. Hopefully, Topi hadn’t been made aware of their efforts on her behalf.
Cara
Similar Books
