Chapter 5

Hal drove through the serene neighborhood streets, humming under his breath. His long hands tapped along on the steering wheel, but he seemed fine maintaining the quiet. That is, until they came to a stop at a red light two blocks from the church.

“I was thinking. There isn’t a meeting on Thursday. Maybe you and I could go out and have a relaxing night. Maybe go to the movies or something.”

Mary thought Hal deserved a relaxing night. He deserved more than one. She’d make him stay home, if she could. But Hal was driven by a youthful sort of energy that couldn’t even be contained—not even when he should be taking it easy and giving his crushed throat time to heal.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and the half-hidden eager smile told her what she needed to know about the motivations behind the request.

“I would, but I can’t. I’m going to visit my mom on Thursday. She needs me to run some errands for her.”

“Oh. Okay.”