I laughed. “You know, just because a guy looks nice and seems nice … doesn’t mean he is.” I’d learned that all too well with Pete Bradshaw last year.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” April shouted so loud I slammed on the breaks, thinking we were about to hit a dog or something. But April bounced in her seat with the craziest smile on her face, like she’d just thought of the best idea since nail polish. “Okay, sorry to segue away from the hotness that is Talbot, but I have to ask: if you’re gonna be a superhero, can I be your sidekick?”
“What?” I gaped at April, hoping she was kidding—but of course, she wasn’t.
“Dynamic Duo,” she crooned, waving her finger between me and her.
“Um, I’m pretty sure sidekicks have to have superpowers, too,” I said gently, sorry to break the news to her.
April’s crazy smile faded. “Oh, yeah.” But then she popped up in her seat again. “Okay, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be your Alfred.”
“My Alfred?”
“You know, I can, like, help you design gadgets and stuff. Oh!” Her eyes went wide. “I can design you outfits for crime fighting!”
“I’m just in training, April. I don’t think I need—”
“Oh, come on, Grace. It would be perfect for my Trenton portfolio. I want to get into their fashion design program, and Katie already has more experience than I do. Please?” April made puppy-dog eyes at me and clasped her hands together.
I couldn’t help laughing. “Okay. Sure. But no spandex.”
April yelped with joy and threw her arms around my shoulders as I drove. I really had no need for superhero costumes or gadgets of any kind, but I guessed this meant we really were best friends again. “At least something good came out of tonight,” I said out loud.
April let go of me and sat back down in her seat. We were just pulling into her neighborhood. “So are you going to tell Daniel about what happened tonight?”
“Good question.” Except I wished she hadn’t brought it up. Any joy I’d felt in the last few minutes faded away as I thought about having to tell Daniel that I’d broken my word to him and gone looking for Jude on my own. And even if I hadn’t technically been alone … I wasn’t sure I was up for the reaction I’d get when I told him I’d almost gotten maimed in the process. Not to mention that because April and I had caused such a scene at the club, we’d probably ruined any minute chance of finding Jude through that lead.
And I didn’t know why, but for some reason I felt uncomfortable telling Daniel about Talbot’s coming to my rescue. Like maybe he’d worry there was something between this new guy and me when there totally wasn’t.
“I will,” I said to April before she got out of the car. “Eventually.”
CHAPTER TEN
Barriers
SUNDAY MORNING
Church was cancelled for the second week in a row because Dad was still gone. He’d been gone for two and a half weeks straight now—his longest trip yet.
When Mom first started sending him out to look for Jude, he’d always made it a point to be back for Sunday services. I mean, it was bad enough when he missed teaching his Wednesday Bible study class. This was our livelihood, after all.
However, lately, his trips had gotten longer and longer, and today made the fifth Sunday he’d missed in the last twelve weeks, and the third time he’d forgotten—or hadn’t bothered—to make arrangements for someone else to cover for him and give the sermon.
Mom woke up in one of her overbearing manic states, and she made Charity and me call every single one of the parishioners to tell them church was cancelled, and to apologize on my dad’s behalf—even though she was the reason he’d left in the first place. But the thing was, the list of families to call kept getting shorter each time Dad missed a Sunday.