“What do you think you’re doing?”
“That’s Jason Steward! He told me to bring you! Isn’t he the coolest?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“Don’t go!” Christopher grabbed her hand again. Dawn pried loose and looked for escape. Boxed in with children all around her, there was no path out of this mob. Christopher joined in the clapping and singing. Dawn locked her attention on the overhead screen and lip-synched the words.
She’d spotted Jason her first day of high school. Who wouldn’t? He was drop-dead gorgeous with black hair, hazel eyes, and olive skin. He looked a mix of Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian. He’d been standing in the corridor of lockers, talking with a couple of guys. He had a contagious laugh. Later, she had seen him sitting at a picnic table under the redwoods, having lunch with a group of kids. She caught a glimpse of him every day on her way to English class. He’d caught her staring at him once and smiled. Mortified, she’d been careful not to stare after that.
Instead, she’d sit where he wouldn’t notice her, watching him toss a football back and forth with the jocks during lunch break. Jason Steward was nice to everyone-geeks; pretty, popular cheerleaders; and even gangster types. She’d see him standing under the redwood trees near the student parking lot, talking with people. She’d seen him alone only a couple of times during the whole year, and she had never had the courage to utter hello.
Was her face still as red as it felt?
After three more songs, Jason handed the microphone over to Pastor Daniel Archer, who prayed, made some announcements, and then dismissed the children by groups.
“I’m going to go help Mom.”
“No, you’re not!” Christopher grabbed her hand again. “You have to come to my class.”
“What am I? your show-and-tell?”
“I told Jason you’d help.”
She let her brother lead her out of the chapel into the blinding morning sunlight and through the gate in the cyclone fence. “Come on!” He pulled her along. Glancing back, he let go, and his face broke into a broad smile. “Hey, Jason!”
Dawn gulped, but didn’t turn around. She prodded Christopher. “You have to get to your class. Where is it?”
“Wait for Jason.”
She wanted to throttle him. “We’ve gotta go.”
Jason caught up with them. “Hi.” He smiled at her, and she felt the heat rising into her cheeks again.
“Hi.” She cast a quick smile in his general direction. “Bye.” She ducked inside the tent after her brother. Heart knocking, she stayed in back as Christopher grabbed a square of carpet and ran forward to sit among a gaggle of other leggy boys and girls his age. His teacher, Mrs. Preston, had a felt board.
Jason came inside the tent and stood beside her. “Christopher said he’d bring his sister today. You go to Healdsburg High, don’t you? I’ve seen you around.”
“Yeah.” Gawking at him, most likely. She glanced up briefly and then fixed her gaze on the back of Christopher’s head.
“Chris didn’t tell me your name.”
“May Flower Dawn Arundel.” Her face went hot again. What possessed her to say her whole name? “People call me Dawn.”
“People call me Jason.” He stepped in front of her and held his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Dawn. Thanks for agreeing to help.” When his fingers closed around her hand, she tingled all over. His expression turned curious. “Arundel? Not Hastings.”
Once he released her hand, she breathed easier. “Christopher is my half brother.”
“He’s a great kid.”
“He has his moments.” She swallowed hard. “Now that I’m here, I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do.”
“Help me set up the art project.” He smiled and gestured toward two long tables covered with butcher paper on the left side of the tent. “They’re making burning bushes today.” While Mrs. Preston gave a dramatic reading of Moses fleeing into the wilderness, Jason laid out the trays of supplies. “They’re going to glue down twigs to make a bush, drop paint, and use a straw to blow it around like flames.”
“Clever.”
His dark eyes shone with amusement. “Yeah, well, tomorrow’s lesson is on the plagues of Egypt. They’re making green paper-plate frogs. You are coming back to help, aren’t you?”
“Let’s see how today goes.” She’d be back. She just didn’t want to sound too eager. She laid a piece of paper and a small pile of twigs by each folding chair.
Jason put out paint, brushes, and straws. “Christopher told me he wants to be in a rock band.”
“Last week, he wanted to be an astronaut; yesterday he wanted to be a dolphin in swim class so he can learn to dive.”
Jason laughed. “Reminds me of myself at his age.” It took them less than five minutes to put everything needed on the table. “Our work’s done for the moment.” He pulled out a folding chair for her, turned another around, and straddled it. Crossing his arms on the back, he looked her straight in the eyes and smiled warmly. “What about you?”
She was close enough to see the flecks of gold in the green, the rim of brown around his pupil. “What about me?”
“Do you know what you want to do with your life?”
“I haven’t got a clue. Have fun, I guess.” Could she have said anything more inane and shallow? “You’ll be a senior, right? You probably have your future all planned out.”
“I have a couple of ideas. My mom would like me to be an engineer. Pastor Daniel thinks I should go into the ministry. Maybe I can figure out a way to do both.”
“How?” They seemed diametrically opposed.
“There’s a lot more to ministry than just working at a church. God needs workers in all kinds of businesses, too. I’ve been asking Him to show me which direction to go, and I know He will.”
She’d never heard anyone talk so naturally about God, though she didn’t see what God would have to do with Jason’s decision. Wasn’t it all about free will? “Why would God care what you do? I mean, doesn’t He want us to decide for ourselves? That’s what I’ve been told. It’s up to us to find out what makes us happy.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Well, yes, God wants us to be happy. But there’s a whole lot more to it than that.”
“Really? What do you mean?” Jason Steward sure wasn’t what she had expected.
“God gave each of us specific talents and abilities. He has plans for us. He has a purpose for your life.”
“My life? I’m not so sure about that.”
“You can be. It starts with being in an intimate relationship with Him. Then, just like any other relationship, it will influence what you want, what you do, what you believe.”
The conversation was starting to make her uncomfortable. “
Jason stood. “Hey, just think about it. If you open the door and let Him in, everything in your life is going to change. I promise.”
Maybe that’s why he’d told Christopher to bring her. To evangelize her. She didn’t care one way or another about God. She just wanted to keep Jason talking. “Is that what happened to you?”
His eyes glowed. “Yeah.” He looked behind her. “Ready or not, here they come.” He swung his chair back into place as Christopher and his friends surrounded the table and found seats. Dawn helped her brother get started on his project, then helped a couple of the other kids. Jason introduced her to Mrs. Preston, who said Christopher was a terrific kid and a pleasure to have in class. As if Dawn hadn’t heard that a thousand times before.
It didn’t take long to finish the burning bushes. Mrs. Preston called the children together and took them outside, where she handed them over to other volunteers who gave them a choice of games to play.
Jason stood beside Dawn. “Do you go to church?”
She said, “Of course,” and told him where. When he asked about their youth group, she shrugged and said with a congregation of less than a hundred and comprised mostly of people older than her stepdad, who was in his
