42

The next morning, Kathryn awoke to find a text from Adam.

Mom’s doing OK, but will need lots of therapy. Hope you slept well, beautiful.

She hugged the phone to her chest and couldn’t help smiling. She sent off a quick reply.

Glad she’s OK. Wish me luck, I’m heading over to the college.

She set her phone down to pray. God, I’m trusting You are guiding me on this journey I am taking, but I have to admit, I’m scared. I know You gave me this job, and I do believe turning myself in was the right thing to do, but I’m afraid it will cost me the job. Give me strength.

With renewed courage, she made the short drive over to the community college. Students with back packs flung over their shoulders wandered across the footpaths between the red brick buildings. She found a parking spot and made her way over to the chemistry building.

She found Dr. Clark sitting behind his desk, but he rose to greet her as soon as she entered. “Welcome, Kathryn. Good to see you. Glad you could make it back in so soon.” Her hand disappeared in his enormous one. He shook it enthusiastically and offered her a seat.

Kathryn was struck again at the contrast between this man and the handful of others she’d worked with in Boston. “It’s good to see you again as well.”

“I have some papers for you to sign.” Dr. Clark shuffled them on his desk.

“Dr. Clark, before I sign the papers, there’s something you should know.” Kathryn waved a hand to stop him handing over the documents.

He looked at her over the piles of paper on his desk. “Is something wrong? Have you changed your mind?”

“No, no, of course not. I would love to work here. I want to make sure you won’t change your mind.”

“Now why would I do that?” he asked.

Kathryn rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants and quickly launched into the story of her trials in California. Dr. Clark’s eyebrows knit together as she described the events of her past. When she reached the part of the charges being dismissed, he visibly relaxed. Kathryn was encouraged but puzzled by his reaction. She twisted her palms in her lap as she waited for him to speak.

After a moment’s pause that felt as if it stretched to an hour, he looked straight into her eyes and declared his verdict. “Kathryn, if I weren’t sure you were the woman for the job before, I am now.”

Kathryn blinked, confused. “Sir? I don’t understand.”

“What you did showed extraordinary courage and honesty. You didn’t need to turn yourself in, and you didn’t have to tell me. When you filled out your employment paperwork, you answered honestly. You didn’t have any convictions at the time you filled in the forms. A later background check might have uncovered this information, and I’ll be honest with you. If I found out about this any other way, you would’ve been fired. But the fact you had the courage to do what was right and turn yourself in shows me you’re a woman I will be proud to have on my faculty.”

Kathryn let out her breath. “Thank you, sir. You won’t regret it, I promise.” Relieved beyond words, she filled out the paperwork and accepted her first teaching position.

Driving away from the college, another burden lifted. Following God’s leading and Adam’s advice gave her freedom she’d never thought possible. Now here she was with a new life ahead of her. She no longer needed to worry about the consequences of her past. She had planned to spend the afternoon at the Kids of Hope club, but Adam wouldn’t be there. Still, even without Adam, this was something she needed to do. The DA was right. There were a lot better ways she could serve God than by sitting in jail. She could serve God by serving those kids. She pulled out onto the highway and drove into the city.

The building in front of her appeared friendly, inviting. In the midst of the neglected neighborhood, the Kids of Hope Club stood out like a beacon, welcoming all would seek refuge inside the doors. The hope surrounded Kathryn as she walked into the building.

In the office, the mood was stressful as the two administrative assistants ran around, concern etched in their faces. The younger of the two stopped at the sight of Kathryn. “Can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Kathryn Baker. I was in the other day with Adam Harrison. I’m here to volunteer.”

The woman gave her a weak smile. “Hi Kathryn. I’m Juanita. I wish Adam were here. Sorry, but things are hectic right now. We’re having a few issues we need him to resolve.” The woman’s stress was palpable.

“I’m sure if you called him, he’d be happy to help out,” Kathryn said.

“The problem is he left his laptop behind, and he needs the case files to work out the issues. He offered to drive back and get it, but I told him we’d manage.” Juanita was flustered.

“He needs to be with his family right now.” Kathryn said. “He feels awful about leaving, He’d be terribly upset if he knew there were problems here.”

“That’s why we told him it was not a big deal. We’ll be past the grant deadline if we don’t get this taken care of in the next day or two. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to burden you with this. You’re just a volunteer. Come on, I’ll take you back to the training room.”

As Kathryn followed Juanita along the hallway, her heart went out to Adam. She wished there was something she could do to help him. He’d done so much for her. Then it hit her. “Juanita?”

Juanita turned.

“Could I take Adam’s laptop to him? Would that help?”

Juanita smiled. “Honey, he’s in Buffalo. That’s sweet of you, but we’ll figure something out.”

“I know he’s in Buffalo. It’s only what, six or seven hours? I don’t mind. I’ve done my share of driving lately. If it will help you, and will help Adam, I’m happy to do it.” It would also give her an excuse to see him.

Juanita put her hands on her hips and gave Kathryn a good once-over. “You’re sweet on him, aren’t you? I can’t say I blame you. He’s a fine-looking man. Not that he has anything on my Ricardo, but still.” She paused, chewing on her lip. “You know what? I will let you take the laptop to him. Let me give him a call and let him know.”

“Can we make it a surprise?” Kathryn asked. “I’d love to be able to surprise him. The only thing is, I don’t know where he’s staying. He’s at his parents’ house, but there’s got to be more than one Harrison family in the area.”

Juanita chuckled. “Girl, you’ve got it bad. Sure. You can surprise your man. But maybe you shouldn’t surprise his mama. Come on back to the office. I’ll get you his parents’ number. It’s in his personnel file.

After retrieving Adam’s laptop and having a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with his father, Kathryn threw together a bag, and tried to get Bandit in his crate. He was having none of it. “Come on, buddy. We’re not going back to Boston. We’re going to see Adam.”

At the mention of Adam, Bandit’s tail took off wagging.

Kathryn threw a couple of treats in the crate, and Bandit happily went in.