Family Man

around to face her. “My relationship with Katy is personal and private, and it stays that way.”
    Justine's hand clenched on the arm of the chair. “Damn you, Luke, I will not have that young woman hurt.”
    Luke smiled faintly as he started toward the door. “What about me, Justine? Or don't you care if I get hurt?”
    “ Luke .”
    Luke did not stop. He kept going, past a triumphantly scowling Mrs. Igorson and out into the main hall. There he stood alone for a couple of minutes.
    The cold feeling inside him was starting to twist and curl into something that bore an unpleasant resemblance to fear. Once again he summoned up his anger to repress the other emotion.
    When he was ready he went back upstairs and halted in the doorway of Katy's office. Katy was leaning over Liz's desk. The two women were poring over a map that showed the area north of Seattle all the way to Edmonds.
    “We're going to concentrate on the least expensive locations first,” Katy said. She circled a spot on the map with a yellow marker. “The agent is going to show me some space that will be available in a couple of new, small outdoor malls.”
    Luke walked forward to stand in front of the desk. “I'll come with you this afternoon.”
    Katy looked up, surprised. “There's no need for that. I'm sure you have tons of things to do.”
    “So do you,” he reminded her.
    “I've arranged to take this afternoon off. Everything's under control here.”
    “The last time you arranged to take a day off we discovered all kinds of computer problems in Payroll and Accounting, if you will recall.”
    Katy turned red. “That was a different matter entirely.”
    “Is that right?” Luke glanced down at the map. “Look at it this way. I'm doing you a favor by coming with you and the real estate agent this afternoon.”
    “How do you figure that?” Katy grumbled.
    Luke smiled his most saintly smile. “Selecting successful restaurant locations is one of my areas of expertise, Katy. No one's better at it than I am. You need me, and you're getting a terrific bargain. Normally I charge an astronomical fee for this kind of advice.”
    “Why do I get the feeling I'll wind up paying dearly for any free advice I get from you?”
    “Katy, for a guardian angel you have a very suspicious mind.”
    Katy smiled grimly. “It comes from hanging around Gilchrists all these years.”

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN
    K aty had suspected from the start that it was going to be a mistake to take Luke along on the tour of potential restaurant locations. Her suspicions were well founded.
    The entire afternoon was a disaster.
    At six o'clock that evening she stormed through the front door of the cottage, Luke at her heels. Matt was sprawled in front of the television watching MTV. Zeke was stretched out beside him, his nose inches from his dish.
    The dog got to his feet to greet Luke.
    “I was wondering when you guys were going to get home,” Matt said. He used the remote to switch off the music video he had been watching. “How did the tour go?”
    “It was a complete fiasco.” Katy dropped her briefcase onto a chair and cast a fulminating look at Luke. “A total waste of time. Furthermore, I have never been so embarrassed in my entire life.”
    “Take it easy.” Luke rubbed Zeke's ears. “It wasn't that bad. I gave you my honest opinions of the locations the agent showed you, that's all.”
    “Some opinions,” she fumed. “You didn't like any of them.”
    “They were all bad. What did you want me to do? Lie?”
    “They were not all bad, and you know it. You were in a terrible mood. You made rude comments about every single location.”
    “I was not rude. All my comments were of a professional nature.”
    “You were rude,” she snapped. “Rude and obnoxious.”
    Luke shrugged. “I'm sorry you didn't like what I had to say, but I was giving good advice.”
    “Is that so? What about that new mall location? What was wrong with that?”
    “I told you what was wrong with it. It's the wrong neighborhood for the kind of take-out place you're planning to open. That neighborhood can sustain pizza and burger joints, but a trendy operation like Pesto Presto will wither and die there.”
    “The agent said it was a neighborhood in transition. She said it was starting to attract upwardly mobile young couples.”
    “She's guessing,” Luke said. “And even if she's right, it could take years before it's changed enough to support a place like Pesto Presto.”
    “All