From her seat, Rae nodded her approval. Bernard was the perfect name for such a regal creature as the one she’d seen pictured in the ad. The cardboard box shook and an unholy cacophony came from inside, like the woman had trapped an evil spirit in it that would burst forth if you said the magic words. But of course the bird would be making a fuss after being trapped in a box. He would probably calm down once they let him out.
Poor Bernard.
Gerrit clung to the box, struggling to keep hold, and looked at it like it might detonate. “Uh, thanks.”
The woman shooed him away with a gloved hand. “Hope you have lots of space.” She turned to go back to her business, calling over her shoulder, “Never approach him with bare hands. I learned that the hard way.”
Gerrit’s jaw clenched. The box screamed, and Rae shrunk back. Gerrit stood at the open door of his pickup truck, glancing back and forth between the bed of the truck and the cab.
“You can’t put him in the back,” she said. “What if he escapes while we’re driving?”
He gave her a hard look. “And what if he’s in here with us and escapes while we’re driving?”
She scrunched her lips to one side. Good point. The transportation of an ornery rooster was not something she’d ever had to worry about before. She’d feel a lot better if the woman had taped the box shut. Instead, she’d only crisscrossed the box’s flaps over each other.
Gerrit nodded as if he’d made a decision, then set the box down in the truck bed. “I don’t want any distractions up there. Especially since you’re driving home.”
She stared. “Uh . . .”
“Slide on over.” He gestured with his hands. “You need more practice.”
He walked around the front of the truck to the passenger side and opened the door. She had not moved.
He motioned with his chin. “Scoot.”
“Have you forgotten what happened last time?” She couldn’t look him in the eye.
“Like I said, you need practice.”
“I ran something over.”
“I went back and checked. It was only a raccoon.” He shrugged. “I hate raccoons.”
Her voice rose. “It could’ve been a child.”
He stood motionless with one hand on top of the cab until she looked up. “It wasn’t.” He jerked his chin again. “Now scoot.”
Rae slowly slid across the bench to the driver’s seat. This was not how she’d imagined the end. Careering to her death next to a man who was little more than a stranger. Taking the innocent Mr. Whiskers down with her. Not to mention Bernard. That was not how it happened in her recurring nightmare.
If only she’d gone to see what was happening in Room F instead of letting Kylee drive her home and then trying to visit the barn. Though Mark had said he didn’t need volunteers on Fridays, she had considered dropping by the church to say hi to the students. To check in on Taylor. Now she would never have the chance. Who would tutor Taylor once she was gone?
She sat there for a long moment, unmoving, her hands gripping the wheel.
“You might want to take him out of there.” Gerrit indicated her sweatshirt. “You don’t want anything disrupting your focus while you’re driving.”
Another good point. She unzipped the hoodie and pulled Mr. Whiskers out. He blinked in the sudden light. She held him out to Gerrit. “Will you hold him?”
His eyes flashed, reminding her again of Morgan. “No.”
She frowned. “Please, Gerrit?” It felt weird calling him that.
He curled his lip. “Fine, Rae.” He grabbed the cat. “But this will be the only time this happens.”
As if there were going to be other times they would be riding around in the truck together with a cat. She chuckled to herself. Well, who knew? Maybe there would.
She buckled up and turned the key in the ignition, her life flashing before her eyes. How was she supposed to back out of this driveway?
“There’s no one around.” Gerrit was matter-of-fact, his hands resting on Mr. Whiskers’s back. “You know what to do.”
It should be easy. Press down on the brake pedal, shift the truck into reverse, and back out onto the road. But her arms and legs were paralyzed.
“What are you waiting for?” Gerrit asked. “You want me to promise you ice cream or something?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a little kid.”
He didn’t answer. She looked in the rearview mirror, thankful to see no other vehicles on the road.
“So . . .” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and was pretty sure he was rubbing Mr. Whiskers’s ears. “Do you have ice cream or . . . ?”
“Just drive.” He scowled at her, but there was laughter in his eyes.
“Fine, but only on one condition.” An idea began to take shape in her mind. “I want to stop somewhere on the way back.”
“Oh, for crying out loud, I was joking about the ice cream.” He huffed. He sure did that a lot.
“No, not that.” She put the truck in reverse and took a deep breath. This was either a terrible idea or a genius one. “There’s someone I think you should meet.”
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Gerrit grabbed at the door handle for security as Rae took the turn too tight, ran over the curb, and drove the truck into an almost-empty parking lot. In his anxiety, it took him a second to recognize their destination as a church. It sure didn’t look like one. But the name Greenville Community Church was unmistakable, right there on the white sign.
“What are we doing here?”
It had been a bumpy ride from Cole’s Corner, but overall, Rae’s driving had been passable until turning in here. Not great, but they hadn’t crashed.
She inched into a wide open parking space with three empty spaces on each side. “I told you. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
He hadn’t gone to church since Luke’s funeral. He didn’t plan to start now. “I’ll wait out here.”
She
