Chapter 2

“I dropped it, Mr. Patino. I’m so clumsy. My mom is going to be furious.”

His heart fractured as he took it from her and offered a small smile. “You are notclumsy, Daisy. We all have accidents.”

Her eyes widened. “But there’s a fee if it’s broken.”

Other than the crack, the tablet looked to be in perfect shape. Much better than many others had fared in the hands of students. He’d seen several damaged beyond repair. “Does it still work?”

She nodded, sniffling.

He rose and made his way to his desk, grabbed a couple of tissues, and brought them to her. As she dabbed at her eyes, he made a decision.

“Daisy, I appreciate you bringing this to me. I’m going to take care of it, okay? See me tomorrow morning before classes begin, and hopefully I’ll have a replacement for you.”

“But what about the fee?” She chewed her lip and watched him warily.

“Let me see what I can do, okay? You’ve taken great care of this and the school year is almost over. I can’t imagine they’re going to make a fuss over it.”

She looked surprised, and he smiled when he saw the hope in her eyes. She thanked him as she hurried off.

He hurried to clean up his desk, eager to talk to the principal and find out his options with the tablet. Perhaps he shouldn’t have promised to handle it, but seeing the fear on her face when she mentioned telling her mother had triggered something inside. He understood that fear. Just as he’d grown up poor, he’d also been raised by a mom who instilled fear and guilt in him rather than love and acceptance.

He stepped out of his classroom into the nearly empty hallway, blue metal lockers lining the walls. His footsteps echoed around him and the strange scents of chemicals from the science lab at the end of the corridor lingered in the air.

As he headed toward the stairs, he heard his name, and smiled when he saw Caleb Dodson.

“Hey, why aren’t you already on the field?”

As the assistant baseball coach at Rain Valley High School for the past couple of years, Caleb had whipped the team into shape. Rafael assumed the man would take over next year when the current coach retired, but as far as Rafael knew, nothing had been decided.

Caleb grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m just heading that way. Wanted to know if you heard anything yet.”

Rafael raised an eyebrow as they fell into step together. “About?”

“I thought today was theday for Dustin.”

The words surprised Rafael. “It is. But I didn’t realize he’d told anyone.”

“You think Dustin kept it a secret?” Caleb laughed. “Seriously?”

Rafael smiled at that. “But he’d said something about not wanting to jinx himself when I asked if he’d mentioned it. Must have changed his mind.” Rafael had thought it silly to keep it secret anyway. His best friend, Dustin, had been working on getting his pilot’s license for quite a while, and it was finally time for his solo flight.

“So today, right?” Caleb prodded.

“Yes. Could even be in the air as we speak.” His phone buzzed. He plucked it out of his pocket, grinning as he read the text. “Speak of the devil.”

OMG. Passed!

He tilted the phone so Caleb could read it.

“Awesome!”

Rafael had a thought as they started down the stairs. “How about tomorrow night we have a surprise party for him at Jack’s? I mean, we’re already heading over there, why not just up the celebration?”

“I love it! I’ll double-check with Lucas, but as far as I know, we’re still going.” He shook his head and smiled. “You are the best boyfriend,” he teased.

Rafael’s eyes widened and his heartbeat thumped hard in his chest. “Where did that come from? You know Dustin and I aren’t dating.”

Caleb rolled his eyes and slapped him on the back. “You guys talk—what?—five times a day? You spend nearly every evening together. You two might not realize it, but trust me, everyone else is pretty sure you’re dating.”

Rafael’s heart raced as the implication hit him. He had tried to hide his feelings for so long. “What do you mean ‘everyone’?”

“Me, Lucas, some of the guys. Oh, calm down. I’m just giving you a hard time, Rafael. Sort of. I mean, have you and Dustin even thought about it? Your lives are so…enmeshed.”

Blood rushed from Rafael’s face as he shook his head.

“Shit. Did I get a little too close to home? Do you…I mean, are you in…?” Caleb waved his hand. “Hey, man. I was just talking. It’s none of my business.”

Rafael cleared his throat and pushed away any worry, then returned to the matter at hand. “So, you guys are in for tomorrow night?” His voice came out a little rough.