Pulling out one of the dainty chairs, Luke held it while Kelsey sat. Then he took the one on the opposite side of the table. The furniture seemed undersized to his large frame, and Kelsey felt foolish for insisting they move their discussion to this side of the shop.
Best to dive in so he could be on his way as quickly as possible.
“Reverend Howard was very enthusiastic about your project when he called.” She tried for a conversational tone, but her voice came out sounding stiff.
Luke regarded her across the snowy expanse of linen, the expression in his dark brown eyes unreadable. “Before we get to that, may I ask you a question?”
A caution bell rang in her mind. “About what?”
“About why I make you nervous.”
She swallowed. “You don’t make me nervous.”
Arching his eyebrows, he inspected the plate in front of her.
She looked down. A pile of crumbs was all that was left of the scone she’d pulverized.
Warmth rose to her cheeks, and she clasped her hands in her lap. It was silly to deny the obvious. But neither was she about to explain her reaction to this stranger.
When the silence between them lengthened, Luke rested his elbows on the table, steepled his fingers and frowned. “Have we ever met before that day on the beach, Ms. Anderson?”
“No.”
“Then I must have done something to offend—or alarm—you during our short acquaintance.”
“No. You haven’t.” She took a deep breath. “This isn’t a personal issue, Captain—Doctor—which do you prefer?”
“I prefer Luke.” He pinned her with an intent gaze and let a few beats of silence tick by. “Let me be honest. This youth center is too important to fall victim to a personality…quirk—for want of a better term. We need someone with your skills to help us build public awareness, but if you don’t think we can work together, tell me now and I’ll ask the board to suggest someone else.”
Taken aback by his candor, Kelsey lifted her cup with shaky fingers and took a sip of tea. “You don’t mince words, do you?”
“There’s no time for indecision on the battlefield, Ms. Anderson. Nor do I have time to waste during my stay here. There’s a lot to be done in six weeks.”
Kelsey heard the foundation of steel under what sounded like a very faint Southern drawl. Luke Turner, it seemed, was a cut-to-the-chase kind of man, with little patience for indecisiveness.
“It must be nice to always be so certain about decisions.”
She hadn’t meant to speak that thought. Especially in a tone that was both wistful and reproachful. And the man across from her seemed as surprised by it as she was.
“I’m not certain how to interpret that.” A defensive note crept into his voice.
“Here you go. A nice pot of tea and some more scones.” Dorothy pushed through the door from the kitchen and hurried over with a laden tray. Luke rose and took it from her while she transferred the items to the table. “Thank you, young man. Such nice manners. A true Southern gentleman. That is a Southern accent I detect, isn’t it?”
He smiled at her. “You have a good ear. I’ve been gone a long time, but I was born and raised in Atlanta.”
“A fine city. Well, you two go right ahead with your chat. I’ll be busy in the kitchen until my guests start arriving at eleven, but you just call out if you need anything and I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
The latter remark was directed to Kelsey, and she sent the older woman a quick smile of thanks.
When the door swung shut behind Dorothy, Kelsey turned her attention to the army doctor. Picking up the teapot, she filled his cup. “For the record, I never let personal feelings get in the way of a job. Now, in the interest of not wasting your time, why don’t you tell me a little about the project so I can see if it’s a good fit with my skills? Reverend Howard didn’t give me many details. All he said was that you became friends with a medical corpsman from this area, and after he was killed you decided to spearhead an effort to build a youth center here in his honor, as part of the Interdenominational Youth Fellowship program.”
“That about sums it up.”
Kelsey set the teapot back on the table. Her pastor had also told her Luke Turner was passionate about the project. But she was picking up more caution than passion.
Her fault, no doubt. She’d treated him with nothing but suspicion and animosity in their few encounters. Yet from everything she’d heard and seen, he appeared to be a principled, compassionate…safe man. What could she have to fear from a former army doctor who was backed by a board of clergymen?
She forced herself to meet his eyes. “Captain Turner, I—”
“Luke.”
“Luke.” She moistened her lips. “The truth is, I’m a bit battle-scarred myself. And overly wary. I apologize if I’ve offended you. Maybe we should start over.”
He gave a slow nod and lifted his cup. “I’ll drink to that.”
Following his lead, she picked up her cup, clinked it with his and took a sip. He did, too—then grimaced.
A smile tugged at her lips. “Not a tea drinker?”
One side of his mouth hitched up and he checked over his shoulder. “I don’t want to offend Ms. Martin, but no. I like coffee. Strong and black. Just like Carlos did.” His lips flattened.
“Would you mind telling me a little about him?”
At her quiet request, Luke stared into his tea. “We worked together for six months during my last deployment. I dealt with a lot of medics through the years, but Carlos was special. He was only twenty-two, but he had an amazing bedside manner. With just a look or a touch, he could instill trust and calm even in the most restless patient. After he got out, he wanted to be a paramedic. He would have been a good one.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he took another sip of the tea he didn’t want.
“Carlos grew up in Saugatuck. His mother was unmarried, and she went to her grave without revealing the name of his father. Carlos was only five when she died, and his grandmother took him in. They were poor, and he resented that—among other things. He got in with the wrong crowd in his freshman year of high school, and according to him, he gave his grandmother a lot of grief.
“But she was determined to straighten him out. So, after he was picked up on a minor shoplifting charge, she got together with the police chief and the shop owner, who were personal friends, and they worked out a deal. If he assisted Father Joe with the Interdenominational Youth Fellowship program for six months, the charges would be dropped.”
“How did that go over with him?” Kelsey took a bite of her still-intact scone.
Luke’s lips twitched. “Not well, according to Carlos. He agreed, but only under duress. However, much to his surprise, he liked the group—and the new pastor at his church. Father Joe became the father figure he never had. According to Carlos, Father Joe and the youth program turned his life around. Once he got out of the army and established his career, he wanted to start a fundraising drive to build a youth center for the program. A permanent place, where young people could gather instead of having to move from church hall to church hall.”
“And when he died, you took that project on.”
“Yes.”
She studied him. “That’s quite a commitment.”
Luke dismissed her comment