Touch the Stars Read Free

benches where retired people who lived nearby liked to sit in the sun and watch the children. When she realized that Stephen had more than enough stamina to run as long as she did, Julie stopped and sank onto one of the benches under a streetlight. The swings cast eerie shadows on the fence that separated the park from the houses next to it.
    She was trembling, and she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a sudden chill. How could she have thought she could outrun either Stephen or his ideas? Stephen was in even better shape than she was, and he had made it clear that her opposition wasn't enough to make him give up his hopes that the Andrassys would once again walk the wire together.
    Stephen sat down beside her. "Juliana, I am sorry if I made you think of something unpleasant. I don't wish to make you unhappy. I only ask you to accept what I want to do. And to listen to Nonna. She wants the Andrassys back on the high wire."
    "I won't have you upsetting my grandmother," she said coldly. "She isn't in the best of health. She's already had one heart attack."
    "I would never hurt Nonna in any way. But I want her to have what she has always wanted and what I want too—the Amazing Andrassys, together again!"
    "The other Andrassys are unavailable. I told you that."
    "I have not talked with them. I don't know how they feel." There was a stubborn glint to his eyes. She stared at him, wondering at this man. He barely knew any of them. What made him think he could change anyone's mind?
    "Stephen," she began, groping for words. What more could she say? Hadn't she made her stand perfectly clear?
    He was so close that she could hardly breathe. He was so close that she smelled the clean, fragrant scent of him, a scent unlike that of any cologne-sprayed American man she knew. Stephen smelled like something fresh and green, like—yes, that was it—like new-mown hay she had seen from a car window on a trip across Kansas when she was a little girl and they traveled by car to all the major cities in the Midwest, following the circus with which they'd been performing. She had rolled down the window and let the hay scent blow into her hair, into her mouth.
    And he was not of her blood, not of Andrassy blood. Her heart speeded up with the realization that she found him attractive in a way that was not familial at all.
    He touched a strand of her fine dark hair and lifted his other hand to press against her cheek. Her whole body leaned toward him, and she couldn't look away.
    His voice was gentle, and he didn't smile. "I think we should go back to Nonna," he said. "I don't like leaving her all alone."
    He stood; she stood. He waited for her to lead the way out of the park on the narrow path, past the swaying swings, past the children's slide. He didn't touch her again, and they walked in silence, each absorbed in private thoughts, all the way back to Nonna's.

Chapter 2

    "Now here is a new phone number I haven't tried yet," Nonna said with satisfaction. She read from an ad in a magazine, peering down at it through her bifocals. '"New campground franchise. Telephone the campgrounds for reservations.'" The glint in her eye was more than satisfaction. It was something approaching excitement.
    Julie walked in from work at that moment, carrying a full bag of groceries. She suppressed a groan of impatience. A few months ago, she'd bought Nonna a cell phone with big numbers and unlimited minutes so that she could keep in touch with far-flung family members. She'd lived to regret that decision.
    "Am I missing something?" Stephen asked the air. He was standing in Julie's path, a perplexed expression on his face.
    "Umm, not for long," Julie said under her breath. She brushed past him into the kitchen, where she set about noisily opening and closing cupboard doors.
    "Do you know what happened today, Julie?" Nonna called, striving to be heard over the clatter.
    "Probably not," Julie retorted. She peeked around the kitchen door with a grin. No one