Rae shrugged. “At what?”
“Helping kids. You ever thought of becoming a school counselor or something? Social worker maybe?”
Ha. Rae tried not to laugh out loud. She could only imagine what Dad would do if she told him she wanted to be a school counselor. They’ll call you “Counselor” in court, he’d probably say.
She shrugged again. “Not really.”
“Well, you should think about it. More importantly, pray about it. There aren’t many people who know how to help hurting kids. It takes a special kind of person.”
The words buzzed in Rae’s ear. Hurting kids. A special kind of person. What would that future be like? Papa Tom’s favorite saying flashed in her mind. “God’s got big plans for you.” What had he meant? What kind of future had he been thinking of? She’d never thought to ask Papa Tom for specifics—definitely never thought to pray about it—but it didn’t matter.
Her future was set.
Mark turned away to talk to some other kids, and Rae walked back to her table for her backpack. Gerrit and Morgan were deep in conversation in the corner as if oblivious to the fact that their time was up. Was Gerrit that special kind of person, too?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw David sending the last of the middle schoolers from his table off with a fist bump and a smile. Her pulse quickened. Oh, that smile. She’d missed having it trained on her. Was this her chance?
Her stomach flip-flopped. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe she should wait until she knew what to say. Maybe . . .
Someone cleared his throat. She turned to see Gerrit watching her, a knowing look on his face. Her ears burned. He nodded in David’s direction. The implication was clear.
And here she had thought she would be the one bugging Gerrit about his relationships.
When she turned back, David was walking out of the room. She hurried into the hall after him. Her mom had gone to Riverton to check on Grandma Kate after receiving a call from a concerned neighbor about Grandma wandering her front yard in her pajamas, so she wouldn’t be here to pick her up until 5:20. That gave Rae ten minutes.
“David, wait.”
He looked over his shoulder in surprise. “Oh. Hey, Rae.”
She caught up. “Can we talk?”
He slowed his pace. “Sure.”
She couldn’t decipher his tone. Couldn’t tell if he wanted to bolt out of the building, spit in her face, or hear her out like the gracious, sweet, and reliable guy he was.
Probably that last one.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry. About last week. You caught me by surprise.”
He held the door open, and she stepped outside, hoping she wasn’t making a big mistake. What had he been talking with Kylee about? What if she was too late? She searched his eyes for a clue as to what he was thinking.
He met her gaze. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t know about your parents’ rule. I just thought . . .”
She waited, breathless. What he thought was suddenly the most important thing in the world.
“I thought we would have fun.” He gave a small smile. “I like hanging out with you.”
She floated on air, joy and relief buoying her above mere earthly concerns. “I like hanging out with you, too.”
His smile wavered. “I thought maybe you liked someone else. I’ve seen you talking with Morgan a lot—”
“We’re just friends. Sort of.”
“But when I asked you out, you seemed terrified.”
Her feet returned to solid ground. Looking at him now, standing this close, it was hard to remember why she’d freaked out. She just hadn’t been prepared.
“I’ve got a lot going on right now.” She thought of her parents. “And this Driver’s Ed. thing has me super stressed out.”
He scrunched up his face. “Isn’t Driver’s Ed. over?”
“It is, but I didn’t exactly pass. I have to retake the final drive tomorrow. I’m really nervous.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “I heard you ran a red light and almost got T-boned. Is that true?”
She groaned. “Yes.”
“I’m a good driver.”
“You don’t have to rub it in.”
He gave her a bashful smile. “I just thought you might want to know, in case we ever did go out. The offer still stands, I mean, if you can get your parents to change their minds.”
Happiness bubbles swam around inside her like a school of minnows. It was all she could do to keep from throwing her arms around David right then and there. But the thought of her dad telling her mom she didn’t take Rae’s future seriously enough held her back. And the sight of a dark blue Ford Explorer stopped her cold.
For a minute there, she’d almost forgotten about The Plan.
“Maybe when school lets out.” Only a few short weeks remained before summer break, but it should be enough time to figure something out. To talk to her parents. “Maybe then . . .”
David grinned. “Okay.”
Mom pulled up in front of them and rolled down the window, looking at David with suspicion. “Hi, guys.”
Rae turned her back to the car so her mom couldn’t see and mouthed the words, “We cool?”
David nodded, eyes sparkling, and waved as she hurried to get in the car before Mom could say anything embarrassing. She waved back.
“I’m sorry I had to be late, sweetie. Did you have a good day?”
Rae struggled to wipe the giddy look off her face. “Yeah. How’s Grandma?”
“I coaxed her into the house with a Hot Pocket, if you can believe it. Was that David Reynolds?”
“Yeah.” She had to play it off. Had to be cool. “He volunteers too. We’re, uh, friends.”
“I see.”
But it was clear she didn’t. Rae’s stomach tightened. What would happen if she revealed her feelings to Mom and Dad? Was David worth listening to her parents argue? Worth the accusations she feared would come? She didn’t know. And she didn’t know how to know.
Kylee had always been the boy-crazy one, not her. And as far as she could tell, The Plan had no room for feelings. It was about the future. About her career,
