The Lost Saint(39)

Talbot patted the passenger seat. “So you getting in, or what?”

I hesitated again and looked back at the rec center. No sign of Principal Conway or Chris anywhere nearby.

“I don’t bite, I swear.” Talbot grinned, and his dimples appeared in his tan cheeks. “Like I said, we gotta hit the road now if we want to make it back in time for the bus.”

I couldn’t help but stare at Talbot’s friendly smile as he spoke. That wave of warm familiarity rolled through me. What was it with him? I mean, he was barely a step up from a stranger, yet something about him made me feel like we were old friends. You can trust him, a quiet voice whispered inside my head.

“Yeah. Okay.” I climbed into the van and sat in the passenger seat. I glanced back at the rec center entrance one last time and figured Principal Conway would know that I’d left with the last van when he came back and I was gone.

“Where’s your partner?” Talbot asked.

“He took off. Went to an arcade down the street.”

“Good,” Talbot said. He gripped the steering wheel with his large, tanned hands and drove the van away from the curb and through the parking lot. “I hate it when I get assigned kids who don’t want to do the work.” His green-eyed gaze flicked in my direction. “You’re up for this, right?”

“Of course.” I fastened my seat belt as we pulled from the parking lot onto the street. “Um … you’re not following me around, right?”

“Self-absorbed much?” Talbot chuckled.

The sound of his laugh again triggered those warm waves through my body. It made me shiver.

“I’m the one who should be asking you that, don’t you think?” Talbot asked. “You going to show up at my dorm room next?”

I blushed. “No, um, it’s just weird to see you again.”

Talbot stopped at a red light. “Weird creepy, or weird pleasant?”

He smiled at me again, making his dimples super-pronounced. Why did he make me feel like I was curled up in a warm blanket on a cold winter afternoon? And how could the feeling be comforting, yet disturbing at the same time? I looked away so he wouldn’t notice the flush of heat in my face.

“Weird pleasant, I guess.”

Talbot flipped the blinker on and pulled the van onto the highway. We headed in the direction of the city. I felt a little thrill of anticipation that I might get another chance to look for Jude.

“You saved me some trouble anyway,” Talbot said.

“How’s that?”

“Now I don’t have to try to track down your number. Although I doubt there are many Divines out there.”

Crap, I blushed even more now. What was wrong with me? “You were going to look up my number?”

“Your friend dropped her bracelet at the club. I figured she’d want it back, but she didn’t tell me her last name. But yours was hard to forget. I’ve got the bracelet in my bag in the back. Remind me to give it to you before you leave.”

“Oh, okay.” A little rush of relief calmed the burning in my cheeks. Of course he hadn’t wanted to call me just for the sake of calling me. “So where are we headed anyway?”

“I’ve got about twenty boxes of donated books in the back of the van. We’re taking them to the library on Tidwell Street. Most of their books started falling apart about a decade ago.”

“That’s it?”

“What, not exciting enough for you?”

“I don’t know, I guess I expected something a little more hands-on. I don’t really get the point of me being here just to help deliver some books.”

“You’re here because I’m supposed to teach you the finer points of helping your fellow man. Charity work isn’t always glamorous. Yeah, some weeks we get assigned to feed the needy or help build a house in a weekend, but half of what I do is just deliveries.” He adjusted his hat. “But don’t worry, we’ll get pretty hands-on eventually.”

I shot a surprised look at him even though my face blazed more than before.

“What?” He smirked. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to get your hands dirty? Because if you’re one of those kids who gets freaked out by homeless people or is too worried about breaking a nail to swing a hammer, I should just turn this van around right now and ask for a new partner.…”

“What? No. First of all, I’m not a kid. I’ll be eighteen in three months. And I am most definitely not afraid to get my hands dirty.” I didn’t know why, but I felt the urge to justify myself to Talbot—prove myself or something. Maybe it was because Gabriel had made so many assumptions about me after our first meeting, and I didn’t want Talbot to do the same. “Charity work isn’t exactly new to me. My dad’s a pastor. We used to do stuff like this all the time. You know how many hours I used to spend helping out with food drives and volunteering at the shelter?”

“Used to? Why do you say used to?”

I stared out the window, watching the pedestrians on the street. We were in the city now, so I wanted to keep my eye out for anyone who might look like Jude. “Things have been complicated lately. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to make a difference to anybody.”

“Well, now’s your chance.” Talbot pulled into a deliveries-only parking place outside the library. We each got out, and I met him at the back of the van.