27

Two weeks at home felt like a year. Christopher had a packed social calendar, Mom as chauffeur, while Dawn got to hang around the house, do laundry, plan and fix meals. At least she had company today. Christopher had a rare day at home, and Mom trusted her enough to act as lifeguard while he swam in the backyard pool.

Dawn rubbed sunscreen on her legs while keeping an eye on her little brother. Christopher stopped and sputtered, wiping hair back from his face and treading water in the deep end. Tossing the tube of Coppertone aside, she stood. “Need me to fish you out?”

“No!” He set off again.

Dawn walked to the end of the pool and waited for him. When he grabbed hold of the edge, she tapped him on the head. “Enough already, Chris.” He cleared his eyes and looked at her. She held his wrist. “You’re doing great. Just take a rest, would you please? You’ve done four laps. If you do another, I’m going to have to drag you out and give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

“Gross!” He let her haul him out of the water. Christopher’s wet feet slapped along the smooth concrete. He threw his towel around his shoulders, but still looked like a half-drowned mouse.

She grabbed her towel off the chaise longue and rubbed his hair dry. “I couldn’t even do one lap when I was six.”

“If I can do six laps without stopping, I can be a dolphin. And then I can learn to dive.” Her little brother flipped out his towel and sprawled on his stomach. “Dawn, will you go to VBS with me tomorrow?”

“I’m too old for VBS, buddy.”

“You could be a helper.”

“Doing what? Handing out graham crackers and apple juice? Taking kids to the potty?”

“Come on. Please.” He put his hands together and gave her his practiced puppy-dog look. “Pretty please. I’m supposed to invite someone.”

“Someone from kindergarten to fifth grade, Chris. I’m telling you they don’t sign up sophomores for VBS.”

“High school kids come. They have a band! They help in the classes; they play outdoor games with us.”

“Sounds like VBS has more than enough help already.”

“I told the band kids I have a sister. I said you were pretty.”

“Thanks.”

“I said I’d bring you tomorrow.”

When she glared at him, he stuck out his lip. He could be cute. “Do you get extra points or something?”

“No. But if you go to VBS, you can’t do the wash and Daddy won’t have to wear pink T-shirts.” He grinned broadly.

“Okay. That’s it!” Dawn jumped up, grabbed him by an arm and a leg, and headed for the edge of the pool. “Time for a few more laps!” He squealed with laughter as she swung him back and forth and launched him into the deep end of the pool. He popped up quickly, grinning from ear to ear and hollering for her to do it again.

Cornerstone Covenant Church turned out to be a large warehouse with metal roll-up doors in the Windsor Industrial Park. Volunteers had pitched two huge tents in the empty back lot. It looked more like a circus than a church.

Christopher grabbed Dawn’s hand. “We have to go to chapel first!” He hauled her into a huge concrete-floored room with basketball hoops on either end. No pews, just folding chairs. Bright colored banners hung on the walls. Faith. Hope. Joy. Love One Another. The largest was purple with gold names appliquéd: Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Jesus, King of Kings.

Mom laughed. “It’s not exactly what I expected either.” She carried a tray of iced cupcakes and nodded toward a door. “The kitchen is that way.”

“No, Mom. Dawn has to come with me.” Christopher pulled her into the throng of kids. “Come on! They’re going to start in a minute. My class is down front.”

Her heart jumped when she spotted Jason Steward, one of the best-looking guys at school, on the raised platform with four other teens. They wore black Levis and canary yellow T-shirts with Christ is Lord emblazoned in red letters. Kim Archer, a pretty brunette who was a cheerleader at Healdsburg High, and another girl, Sharon something-or-other, had been in Dawn’s PE class. Both had seemed nice. One of the guys plugged a guitar into an amplifier while the other did a drumroll and hit the cymbals. Jason caught a hand microphone tossed by a man near the stage. Raising one hand, he held the mike to his mouth. “Good morning, everybody!”

The children shouted back. “Good morning!”

He laughed. “Is that the best you can do?” He put his hand to his ear. “I can barely hear you!” The guitar player made a loud, warbling chord that had everyone shouting good morning again. Jason called out, “This is the day the Lord has made!” Another loud chord, more cheering. “Let’s rejoice and be glad in it! Let’s hear you! Good morning!”

Dawn wanted to cover her ears.

“That’s better! Come on, everybody! Let’s worship the Lord!”

The drummer went wild, his head bobbing up and down, while Jason and Sharon sang and Kim played keyboard. It seemed more like a rock concert than vacation Bible school.

A hundred children, plus teachers and volunteers, clapped their hands and sang the words projected on an overhead screen. Christopher kept pulling her forward, waving wildly. “Hey, Jason! I brought my big sister!”

Dawn wanted to duck down among the throng and hide. She pulled Christopher’s arm down. Too late. Jason Steward looked straight at her and smiled broadly as he sang.

“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. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

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. “Intimate isn’t exactly a word I’d use about God.”

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 forties, there weren’t enough teenagers to have one.

“Come to ours then. We meet here tonight at seven thirty. We hang out, play basketball, eat junk food, and have a Bible study. Give it a try. See what you think.”

“I’d have to ask my mother.” Mom might disapprove, but she wouldn’t have grounds for argument. She was bringing Christopher to VBS here, after all.

“Do you need a ride?”

Her heart fluttered. Would he offer to pick her up if she said yes? “We live in Alexander Valley.”

“I can introduce you to someone who lives up that way.”

“Never mind.”

A piercing whistle came from the parking lot. Jason gave a wave. “I have to get back to the sanctuary and set up for the closing. Thanks for helping today, Dawn. Hope I see you tonight . . . and tomorrow.”

She looked for Jason when she accompanied Christopher’s class back into the warehouse. He stood on the platform, talking and laughing with the two girls who had been onstage with him while the classes settled into their designated seats. Pastor Daniel had the microphone again and encouraged everyone to get settled quickly. He explained how the children’s offerings would buy books for an orphanage in Mexico. He asked if anyone had a guest. Dawn held Christopher’s hand down. Pastor Daniel went on. “Keep giving out those invitations! We have plenty of room for more.”

He tossed the microphone to Jason, who had everyone up and singing again. After several songs, Jason gave a short closing prayer and called out, “See you all tomorrow!”

Dawn grabbed Christopher’s hand and headed for Mom standing against the wall with several other women. She came toward them and smiled at Dawn. “I see you survived.”

“It was okay, I guess.” She didn’t want to sound overly enthusiastic and have Mom wonder why. “I said I’d help again tomorrow. One of the guys invited me to youth group tonight.”

“Invited?” Her mother gave her a quick glance. “As in asking you for a date?”

“No. He just said to come. He thought I might enjoy it.”

“I’d rather you didn’t go.”

Dawn bristled. “Why not?” Christopher could do anything he wanted, but she asked for something and the answer was no?

“You have a church.”

“So does Christopher, but that didn’t stop you from signing him up for VBS at Cornerstone.”

“Because Mitch’s church doesn’t have one.”

“It doesn’t have a youth group either.”

“VBS only lasts three more days, Dawn.”

“I’m not asking if I can join the church, Mom. I just want to see what youth group is like. I’d like to hang out with kids my own age, Christian kids.”

“Let me think about it.”