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behind him. Tim looked up.
    “Well, if it isn’t the NASCAR janitor himself,” Jeff said.

Chapter 8
Two Hearts
    JAMIE’S MOM WAS HELPING Kellen fill out paperwork for an end-of-the-year field trip for his fifth grade class. Some Civil War battlefield or plantation or something. They had to complete everything early in order to go. Next fall he’d be in middle school, and Jamie thought her mom might be upset about all the changes the family was going through. If her mom would just hear her out, everything would be fine.
    Her mom looked up, then studied the form closely. When she was done, she put it in Kellen’s backpack, along with a check for the cost of the trip, and told him to brush his teeth and crawl into bed.
    Jamie hovered around the door, not saying anything, believing her mom knew she wanted to talk. She followed her mom downstairs to the kitchen andwatched her open a container of low-fat yogurt. She sat at the table, running a spoon around the top, stirring and staring.
    “You always told us not to play with our food,” Jamie said.
    Her mom stifled a smile. “I remember when you were little. All I could get you to eat was cottage cheese and applesauce.”
    “I don’t remember that.”
    “You were about two. I’d sit you in your booster seat at the table, and you wouldn’t touch anything I put in front of you. And the applesauce always had to have cinnamon in it. You said you wanted some ‘cimanon.’ It was the cutest thing.”
    “Mom, about the driving school . . .”
    Her mom stuck her spoon in the yogurt and left it there. “I’ve tried to let go of you a little at a time. Over the years I’ve allowed you to make decisions on your own. Letting you start racing was hard, even in the go-kart stage, because I knew you’d probably like it. But I gave in on that.” She looked up. “But on this, Jamie, I’ve got to tell you that I have a bad feeling.”
    “Mom, you don’t have to worry. I’ll probably be the worst in the whole class.”
    “No,” her mom said. “I know you’ll do well. You have what it takes to do anything you set your mind to . . . except one thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    Her mom teared up and ran the spoon around the yogurt again. “A mother who has enough faith to give you to God and let him take over.”
    “Oh, Mom,” Jamie said, and she could feel the emotion welling.
    “It’s true,” her mother said. “I’ve prayed for you every day of your life and even before we knew we were going to have you. I prayed that God would protect you and give you a heart for him.”
    “You’re probably disappointed.”
    “No. I know he’s still working on you just like he is on me. And I’ve prayed about the man you’re going to marry, and—”
    “I hope you’ve prayed that he’s cute.”
    They both laughed. Then her mother stood and embraced Jamie. “Life gives us a lot of twists and turns. Your father and I have had a number of those through the years. I want to protect you from making mistakes and getting hurt, but I know that’s not going to be my job much longer. I’m having a hard time with this.”
    “Is it the schoolwork you’re worried about? Because I can talk with my teachers, and I can do the rest of the semester on my own. Is that part of the problem?”
    Her mom shook her head.
    “Then if it’s the money, I had a guy call tonight about my car. Selling that will give me enough for the room and board.”
    “Jamie, I don’t expect you to understand this. . . .”
    “You always say that right before you say something that’s not fair.”
    “What do you want me to do? Just say you can go and not care?”
    “I want you to say you believe in me and really mean it!” Jamie said. “To follow it with action. You’ve told me all my life to follow my dreams and dream big. I’m doing that, Mom, but now you’re the one standing in my way. I thought it would be Dad, but it’s you. What’s up with that?”
    Her mom stared at the spoon.