Free Maybe This Time (The Educators Book 3) by Kathryn Shay Page B

reference is, but I assume you’re referring to Schmooze—hell I still can’t get over that name—and her ilk.”
    “I don’t know if they’re the cause of her behavior, but they might be. They’re dangerous, Gage. I can feel it.”
    “Dangerous, how?”
    “There’s frustration boiling inside of Schmooze. I know from the few encounters I’ve had with her and from what Steph tells me. We’ll have to deal with their friendship when Steph gets back from New York.”
    “All right.” He sipped coffee and they were silent for a while. Delaney realized all this was hard for him to talk about--his divorce and Andrea’s problems. Not knowing what Steph was up to. He’d made himself really vulnerable and a sweep of gratitude went through her.
    Were you ever pregnant…I don’t talk about this. Can we change the subject?
    She glanced at the flowers and took a deep breath. “Speaking of Schmooze’s nickname, I knew somebody named Spike once,” she softly. Her heart started to hurt as soon as she spoke the name.
    “You did?”
    “He was in one of the foster care homes where I stayed.”
    “Hmm.”
    She faced him fully. “He raped me, Gage. It was the most horrendous experience of my life. I went to a clinic and had an abortion. I felt I didn’t have a choice given my age and circumstances.”
    Setting down his mug, he tugged her close. She nestled into his chest, as if she belonged there, nosing into him, inhaling his scent for courage. “I’m so sorry. I understand totally the circumstance.”
    He was the first person to say that to her because she’d never revealed this secret to anyone else. Not even Lisa.
    Gage held her a while before he spoke. “Is it because you had an abortion that you felt you’d never have a child?”
    “Elementary psychology, I know. But yeah, it was.”
    “Well…” he kissed her head “…we’ve proved that wrong.”
    “I hope so.”
    “Nothing’s going to happen to you, honey. I’m going to take care of you.”
    She stiffened.
    “That upsets you?”
    “It terrifies me. I’ve always taken care of myself.”
    “Then, we’ll both take care of you.” He pressed his hand to her belly. “And my little slugger in here.”
    “Or ballerina.”
    “Whatever.”
    Though neither of them knew where their relationship was headed—no promises or plans had been made—Delaney let herself feel safe and secure. If only for a while.
    o0o
    “Hi, guys, this is my friend Gage. “Delaney scanned the familiar faces at the Saturday Soup Kitchen. “He’s here to help out.”
    “Hello, everyone.” Gage gave a cute little wave to the group of about fifty people who served lunch in downtown Rochester every week. People worked at various stations—the stove, the dishwasher, drawing coffee from big urns. Its scent and that of spicy spaghetti sauce made her stomach growl.
    He didn’t even seem out of place here in his jeans and deep green Nautica shirt. He’d brought a bag to stay, and she teased him about being too sure of himself. “Let’s pour milk,” Delaney suggested.
    “Sure.” He grabbed a gallon. “I’m glad I woke up for this. You were ready to sneak out without me.”
    “I couldn’t believe you’d want to do this with me.”
    “I used to…” he stopped.
    “Don’t tell me, in the early days you did volunteer work.”
    He nodded.
    “I started coming here because the kids in the Dynamics of Citizenship classes have to do service projects as a requirement for graduation and they challenged the faculty to get involved. So I went along. I love the work.”
    “Crystal Corners kids come here? Aren’t you afraid they’ll see us?” Given Delaney’s single status and her pregnancy, and Stephanie’s state of mind, they’d agreed to keep their relationship a secret for the time being.
    “No, they volunteer at a soup kitchen in Crystal Corners.”
    “Where is it?”
    “In the basement of Community Christian Church.”
    “I heard that church did a lot of