Tempered (A Daughters of the People Novel) (Daughters of the People Series) by Lucy Varna Page B

would not study your work when we became involved?”
    “Ah, I…” He
crossed his arms over his chest. “Not really.”
    “I was aware of
it before, of course.” Lali did a series of somersaults across the grass,
racing through them with two of her friends. Hawthorne watched them flip, their
little bodies lithe as they tucked and rolled. “Why would you wish to work with
me after our last parting? You made your contempt of my personage rather
clear.”
    “Look, about
that.” He rubbed his nape, cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry. I swear, I
didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”
    “Then you should
have given me the chance to prove my words to you, Aaron Kesselman.” Hawthorne
stood, suddenly restless. “That does not explain why you are here today.”
    He stood slowly,
his long body ranging out to its full height next to her. “I wanted to
apologize, see if we couldn’t work things out. I guess you’re seeing somebody
else now, huh?”
    She eyed him
curiously. “I am?”
    “Don’t pretend you
didn’t just kiss another man.”
    His apparent
jealousy amused her, though she was careful to mask it. “Young Upton was being
mischievous, nothing more.”
    “That didn’t
look like mischief to me.”
    “I assure you,
it was. In any case, it is of no consequence. Bobby’s heart lies elsewhere.”
    Aaron’s
expression turned skeptical. He turned his gaze upon Lali as she took a turn at
the seesaw. “Yeah, right.”
    “You should not
concern yourself with my affairs,” Hawthorne chided. “It was your choice to
quit our relationship.”
    “You told me you
were Boudica’s daughter. What else was I supposed to do?”
    “Believe me,”
she said flatly.
    Lali came
running toward them, her face wreathed in grins, and held her hands up. “Did
you see me, Airn, huh? Did you see me? I did four somersaults in a row.”
    Aaron hefted
Lali up and settled her on his waist. “I saw, kiddo. You’ve got some talent
there.”
    “One day, I’m
gonna be a great warrior, just like Nana. You’ll see.” Lali rested her head on
Aaron’s chest and closed her eyes on a sleepy yawn. “You’re gonna be there when
I do, right, Airn?”
    Aaron’s gaze met
Hawthorne’s over Lali’s head. “I don’t know, Nana. Will I?”
    Hawthorne shut
her heart off from the child’s plea, and from Aaron’s. He had already abused
her heart enough for one lifetime. She could not imagine allowing him close
enough to have another chance, not for something as simple as collaborating on
a book, not even for Lali, who had never known her father and longed fiercely
for one.
    They walked from
the park to Hawthorne’s house with Lali between them, each holding one of her
hands. Occasionally, Lali lifted her feet and they swung her out and back by
her hands as her laughter rang out. Aaron’s laughter mingled with hers, a deep
harmony to the girl’s high-pitched giggles.
    Hawthorne kept
her own counsel. While he did not appear to be the kind of man who would use a
young girl’s feelings to his own ends, it would be wise to nip Lali’s affection
in the bud before it had a chance to grow into attachment.
    Hawthorne knew
only too well how harsh Aaron could be with a woman’s heart.
    Lali dropped
their hands and raced ahead of them, her earlier fatigue forgotten.
    “Wow,” Aaron
said. “She’s a bundle of energy.”
    “As children of
that age should be.”
    “Yeah? Hunh.” He
kicked a piece of gravel off the sidewalk into the gutter. “Look, I know me
showing up out of the blue is awkward.”
    “You never said
why you have.” She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and peered up at him.
“Why would you wish to work with me?”
    “It seems like
an interesting project.” He fixed his eyes on Lali and shrugged. “Plus, I hated
the way we left things. I’d kinda hoped we could at least be friends.”
    “I would rather not.”
She ignored his wince. His regret would not soften her resolve. “You may
apologize, if you feel