Page 25 of North

When the waitress walked away, he glanced at Amy with her bear and smiled, as if the sight warmed his heart.

Was he married? Didn’t seem like it. Maybe divorced. But he liked kids, it seemed.

It all suddenly felt weirdly normal. A family eating breakfast, at least to the outside world.

“Chocolate chip pancakes?” Amy’s eyes went wide at the menu picture.

Selah glanced at the prices.

“My treat,” James said, reading her hesitation. “Order whatever you like.”

Tommy got eggs and bacon, carefully cutting everything one-handed. Amy arranged her pancakes to make a face, giggling when Brenda brought extra whipped cream for the hair.

“So,” James said, sipping his coffee. “Tell me about this camp job you’re on your way to.”

The question jarred her. “Oh. Um. Yeah. That seems about a thousand years away.”

“Before the fire and smoke and screaming?” Dark hair fell over the scar on his forehead and he smiled, a warmth in his eyes.

Maybe in a different time, a different place, a world where North didn’t take up all the room in her heart—despite their disastrous end—she could find a place for this man. Not that he’d indicated anything, but…

Aw. She was just tired and sore and wounded and…

And she really missed North.

“Miss Selah?” Tommy’s voice pulled her back. “Your eggs are getting cold.”

“Sorry.” Selah forced a smile, pushed the scrambled eggs around her plate.

“The camp job,” James prompted. He’d already finished his Denver omelet, was working on his third cup of coffee. “You never answered.”

“It’s nothing special. Just helping with their summer program.” She helped Amy wipe syrup from her chin. The girl’s teddy bear had a spot of whipped cream on its plush fur. Already breaking the fluffy in. “Something a little calmer than…well, than the past few months.”

“But you’re really a humanitarian aid worker, yes? I’ve known a few. They all have that same look.”

“What look?”

“Like they’ve seen too much but haven’t lost hope.” He smiled, and again, something in it made her want to trust him. “Like they still believe they can change the world.”

Heat crept into her cheeks. “I just want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

Something flickered in his eyes. “Noble goal.”

“Miss Selah?” Amy tugged her sleeve. “Can I get more hot chocolate?”

“I think we should get moving.”

“First, we need to get you a phone.” James signaled Brenda for the check. “I’m sure your family is anxious to connect with you.”

The electronics store occupied a strip mall on the edge of town, sandwiched between a dollar store and a consignment shop. She should pick up more clothes, maybe.

Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, and the teenager behind the counter looked bored until James started asking about phones.

“Tommy, Amy—stay where I can see you.” Selah watched them drift toward a display of tablets. Tommy’s cast bumped the edge of a shelf, and he winced.

“Time for more medicine?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head, trying to be brave. So much like North that way, pushing through pain because others needed him.