Fast Track by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page A

been allowed to speak, the funeral would have lasted hours, so it was decided that three of her father’s closest friends would talk. Their speeches were short—no more than a few minutes each—and focused on what a kind and loyal friend Andrew Kane had been. As the last man was finishing his remarks, Cordie heard a rustling behind her. At first she thought the students were just getting restless, but then she noticed several of them nudging one of the boys and urging him to stand up. He was a sophomore and a transfer from Truman High School. She hadn’t had him in class, but based on the number of times he’d served detention, she knew he was one of those kids who liked to skate on the edge.
    The boy finally gave in to the prodding and, rising out of his seat, headed toward the pulpit. Uh-oh, Cordie thought, this was not planned. She suddenly felt uneasy. There was no telling what he had in mind. As he stepped up to face the congregation, his hands firmly planted in his pockets, he looked at his feet and shuffled back and forth as though he was searching for something to say, and then he began.
    “My name is Jayden Martin, and I’ve been at St. Matthew’s High School since last November when I was . . . you know . . . asked to leave my old school because of a misunderstanding. My favorite class is auto shop, and my favorite teacher is Mr. Kane. I mean he was my favorite teacher until . . . you know . . . he died.”
    Several students nodded, and Cordie had to force herself not to smile.
    Jayden paused for several seconds, and she thought he was finished, but he continued to stand there looking unsure of himself. He suddenly straightened as though he’d just made a very important decision and said, “Mr. Kane told me a story about this kid who wanted a car . . . you know . . . for transportation. He was sixteen, and he had a driver’s license, but he didn’t have any money to buy a car, so he did something really stupid and stole one.” He paused to look around the church to gauge his audience’s reaction, and seeing that everyone was intently listening, he continued. “It was a sweet ride, a five-year-old Camry in mint condition, like it just came off the showroom floor. Anyway, this kid took the car from the front of this old guy’s house—he had to be almost as old as Mr. Kane—and he drove it around for a couple of miles, but then something happened . . . I don’t know . . . maybe his conscience kicked in, and he realized he shouldn’t have taken it. I mean, I . . . he could go to prison for stealing a car, right?” Several students nodded in agreement. Because his classmates were hanging on his every word, Jayden relaxed. Draping one arm over the pulpit, he leaned forward as he continued. “So what he did was drive the car over to Mr. Kane’s house, and he told him what he had done. Mr. Kane was real angry, and he yelled at the kid for doing something so stupid, but once he calmed down he said he’d help fix it. He had him wipe his fingerprints off the car handle and everywhere else he touched, and he followed him back to the old guy’s house.” Jayden couldn’t keep from grinning a little. “The funny thing was, another car had parked in front of the house, so Mr. Kane had the kid park the Camry across the street. If he hadn’t been so scared, he might have waited until the old guy came out to get in his car just to see the look on his face. Would the guy think he had parked it across the street and just forgot? Mr. Kane said he would probably just scratch his head and go on about his business, and I guess he was right because there wasn’t anything in the local news. Mr. Kane saved that kid from going to prison. At least, that’s what I think.” He stopped and looked down at his feet again. When he finally could speak, his voice cracked. “Mr. Kane was okay.” With his hands back in his pockets and his head down, he hurried back to the pew.
    The church was