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at the shop, though.” No matter what was at the shop, it wasn’t going to bring him into close contact with Elaine. Buses for the festival would bring him right into her orbit.
    “Hey, I might have somebody who can help you out with the buses too.”
    From the passenger seat, Johnny could hear a girlish squeal of “I love you!”
    George turned a sudden and brilliant red that made Johnny worry about his heart. “It’s nothing, Lily. I’m glad to help. I’ll talk to you when I find out about that steam table.” He snapped the phone closed and dropped it into the cup holder.
    “Why don’t you just ask her out?”
    “How do you know I haven’t?”
    Johnny arched an eyebrow at George. “Do I have to repeat my question?”
    “She’d just say no and then it would be weird. We have to work together.”
    “So what? It’s better to sit back and let her get away because you’re nervous?”
    “She isn’t going to go out with a guy like me.” George started the car. “She’s got a college degree and she teaches English at the high school. I’m the janitor. She’s out of my league.”
    “So you would rather sit back and watch her get away?”
    George shrugged. “Let’s get back to town so I can get on that steam table for her. Unless you want to stop and see your dad on the way.”
    “Me showing up at the hospital would probably give him another heart attack. I’d better see what the lay of the land is from Sue first.”
    * * * *
    Johnny paced his room. It was only two and a half steps from one side to the other. Nowhere near enough space. He needed to run the track around the football field or something.
    The anxiety crashed down right about the time he walked through the kitchen door. With school out and warmer weather, meeting with Elaine was much easier. Much easier and much more dangerous. All winter long, not getting too hot and heavy had been easy because they’d been working around parkas. With summer came t-shirts and tank tops. Shorts, summer dresses. Tonight they had gone too far. He still smelled her on his body. If anyone found out, she’d be ruined and he’d go to jail. Jail he could take, but she’d never be able to show her face in town again. Everybody would be speculating. The way things were going, by the end of summer, they would be right.
    But he couldn’t keep away from her. Every time he tried to break it off, she begged him to stay and he didn’t have the willpower to resist. When she came over for dinner, he could barely eat and spent the whole meal aching to touch her. If he tried to stand her up, he found himself running through the woods to meet her, apologizing for being late. Every day he daydreamed about seeing her again. The friends he still spoke to were annoyed because he didn’t hang out with them, but he never told them what he was doing. When they volunteered to help with the Packard, he turned them down. He and Elaine had restored the whole thing together.
    The house was quiet. His mom and dad had been watching TV when he came in, but they had gone to bed. Sue should be in her room. The door had been shut when he came upstairs. She might have climbed out the window, but that wasn’t her style. He needed to get out of here before he did more damage.
    Stuffing some clothes into a duffel bag, he slipped out of the house. He tossed the bag into the Packard. Elaine couldn’t go with him, but he could take the car. Every time he slid into the driver’s seat he thought of her. The sound of the engine was thunderous, but no lights came on in the house. He drove without thinking until he got to the interstate. Just before the on ramp, he pulled into a parking lot and shut off the engine.
    Elaine would be destroyed when she found out he’d gone. His gut knotted at the thought of seeing her now, but he’d never be able to live with himself if he just disappeared on her. She’d walk into the barn and see the car gone and her beautiful heart would shatter.
    He parked the