"Because G.o.d wanted you to be a cheerleader, and I knew it."

Teri, dazed and overjoyed at the same time, gave Christy a big hug. Then she ran-leaped-onto the stage as the other girls whispered among themselves and clapped for her. She gave a mighty jump and eagerly received the astonished congratulations from the other girls. Then, facing the audience, Teri turned on her electric smile, shooting a current of absolute joy right at Christy.

Christy kept applauding until her hands hurt, ignoring Katie's nonstop questions.

Todd leaned over. "You did that, didn't you? You gave up the spot you earned so she could be on the squad?"

Christy nodded and blinked back the tears of happiness.

Rick's voice boomed over the microphone as he said, "I'd like to say something here. Please sit back down. I think it's important to say that some people give to our school in ways that no one else sees. Those people, and they know who they are..." Rick paused and looked directly at Christy. "Those people rarely get the thanks they deserve."

The auditorium had begun to quiet down.

"For those people who never quit giving of themselves, this is what I think of you." Rick crumpled the list and stuffed it into his pocket. Before a hushed audience, he slowly, dramatically, with deliberate strokes, stepped back and pounded the palms of his hands together in applause, his gaze glued on Christy.

Katie sprang to her feet and, facing Christy, joined in the applause. In a breath, the whole student body stood, clapping and cheering. Christy instinctively stood too, surprised that the applause was for her.

Todd put his arm around her and spoke so she could hear above the roar, "They're clapping for you, Chris. They know a real G.o.d-lover when they see one." He leaned closer and added, "Or should I say, they know real love when they see it."

Christy felt the warmth of Todd's breath on her neck. She looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Todd laughed and held her tightly. "Am I sure? Just look up on the stage."

Christy saw the cheerleaders all lined up, smiling their approval at her and clapping. Even Renee, with a soft expression on her face, stood there clapping-clapping for Christy. Rick also stood there applauding and looking like a guy who indeed was willing to wait.

And then Christy looked at Teri and knew for certain she'd made the right decision. Tears danced down Teri's cheeks as her dazzling smile filled the auditorium. Teri glowed-absolutely glowed. Just like an angel in the great forever.

Book Five - Island Dreamer.

To my kindred spirit, Donna Hendrix, whose rich, fragrant friendship over the years has opened up to me the mystery of "G.o.d-things."

Acknowledgments.

I affectionately appreciate the contributions of Juliette Montague Cooke, who sailed from New England in the 1840s to be a missionary to the Hawaiians on the island of Oahu. Her diary, which I read while writing this book, changed my heart and how I told this story. I can't wait to meet her in heaven.

Mahalo to Mark, Claire, Joe, Maureen, Bud, Lola, Mark, Nancy, and all our brothers and sisters at k.u.mulani Chapel, Lahaina, Maui, for your aloha and kokua at a time we needed it most.

"I'm really going to miss you, Todd. I hope you have a good time." Christy Miller flipped her nutmeg-brown hair behind her ear and pressed the phone closer with her shoulder, waiting for his reply.

Todd laughed. "Hey, we're both going to have a good time."

Christy switched the phone to her other ear and crossed her long legs. "Yeah, I guess I'll have a good time with Paula when she gets here. But I wish I was going to Maui with you and Uncle Bob. How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Two or three weeks," Todd answered in his easygoing manner. "Depends on how long it takes us to paint and do all the repairs on Bob's two condos. So, when does your friend get here?"

"She's coming tomorrow. If you stay in Maui longer than two weeks, you won't even get to meet her." Christy released a heavy sigh. "I guess I thought all along that you'd be here when she came, and we could go places together. Only now, you're going to Maui, and Paula and I will be stuck here in Escondido!"

Todd chuckled. "Like I said, we'll all have a good summer. You'll see."

He paused, and Christy wished just this once he would say something tender and meaningful like "I'll miss you" or "I wish you were coming." She fingered the gold ID bracelet he had given her and waited.

"Hey, I have to get my stuff together. Your uncle's going to be here in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, well, I know you'll have a great time." Christy switched from her moping tone to a teasing voice. "And I know better than to ask you to write me. But maybe you could send me one little postcard of a waterfall or something tropical to help me feel even more depressed that I'm not there with you."

He laughed again. For such a wonderful guy, Todd could also be a brat. What did he think was so funny?

"I'll see you, Chris. Aloha!" Click.

That's how abruptly he often ended his phone conversations. As usual, Christy kept holding the phone to her ear, hearing the dial tone and dreaming about what it would be like if Todd ever talked to her on the phone the way Rick did.

She considered Rick only a friend, yet when he called a few weeks ago to tell her about his upcoming trip to Europe, he had said things like, "When I look into the blue Danube, I'll be remembering your blue-green killer eyes."

At the time all Christy could think was, Oh brother! Yet if Todd ever said something like that, she'd absolutely melt.

Placing the receiver back in its cradle, Christy hopped down from her perch on the kitchen counter and tugged open the refrigerator door in search of breakfast.

Mom walked through the kitchen, lugging a laundry basket bulging with dirty clothes. "Christy! I didn't realize you were up already."

"We're out of milk," Christy mumbled. "Mom, how come Dad works for a dairy, yet we're always running out of milk?"

"We had half a gallon in there last night. Your brother must have used it up this morning. There are banana m.u.f.fins in the basket on the counter and orange juice in the freezer."

Mom paused and rested the basket on the counter. "Oh, did you call Todd yet? He and Bob are leaving for Maui this morning, you know."

Christy peered over the top of the open refrigerator door at her round-faced mother, standing a few feet away. Christy heard suppressed laughter in Mom's voice, and one look at her big grin proved it. Her own mother thought there was something funny about Todd going away for several weeks.

It wasn't funny! Christy was going to miss him terribly, even though they lived too far away to see each other more than once a week during the summer.

"Yes, I called him." Her words came out chopped, and her actions were swift as she closed the refrigerator door.

"I just wondered," Mom said in a motherly way before stepping down into the garage to start the laundry.

"Oh, you're up." Christy's dad, a large man with reddish hair and strong hands, entered the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Why don't you get dressed, and I'll take you driving?"

"Driving?"

"Yeah, driving."

"Today?" Christy felt like someone had just put ice cubes down her back.

"We don't have to go." Dad opened the refrigerator and looked around, shuffling jars on the top shelf. "Where's the milk?"

"It's all gone," Christy answered, her thoughts still processing the paralyzing idea of driving today.

"We're out of milk?"

"I guess so. That's what Mom said."

Dad made a pinched face as he sipped his coffee black. "Come on, let's go driving. We can pick up some milk on the way back."

"Okay." She did an exceptional job of sounding like she really wanted to go.

"Can you be ready in ten minutes?"

"Sure. I'll go get dressed."

"Margaret?" Dad called to Mom in the garage. "Why is it I work for a dairy, but we're always running out of milk?"

Why is it I really want my driver's license, but I'm always running out of courage to practice driving? Christy asked her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Why do I freak out like this? I'm going to be sixteen in only... She quickly counted ... in five days. Five days! I've got to get over this fear, or I'll never get my license!

Soaking a washcloth, she held it on her face and then bit into the wet terry cloth, chomping down hard. This is ridiculous! Everyone I know has a license. They all did it. What am I so afraid of?

Twenty minutes later, sitting in the church parking lot in the driver's seat of their parked car with Dad next to her, Christy knew exactly what she was afraid of. She was afraid of the car.

That was it. The power a car put at her command was scary. The possibility of misusing that power and getting hurt, or worse, hurting someone else-that's what she was afraid of.

"Dad..." Christy began but then didn't know what to say.

"Ready?" Dad cinched his seat belt and checked to make sure it was secure.

"Do you ever think about how fast, I mean, how a car could..."

Dad looked intently at her, his eyebrows pushed together, waiting for her to finish her thought.

"Never mind. I just feel a little nervous."

"Don't. If you let yourself get nervous, you'll be a nervous driver." Dad squared his shoulders and looked straight ahead. "Start the car, Christy."

She responded right away, swallowing her anxious thoughts and taking a quick peek at Dad out of the corner of her eye. How was she supposed to relax when her dad had braced his arm against the door and planted his feet on the floorboard, looking as is he were about ready to take off in a rocket for Mars?

"Ten and two," Dad said.

"Ten and two?"

"Hands on the steering wheel at the ten- and two o'clock positions. Release the parking brake."

Christy followed his orders and tried to calm her heart, which had begun marching much faster than her brain.

"Okay. Put 'er in drive."

As she slipped the gearshift to D, Christy slowly pressed on the gas pedal. The car inched across the vacant parking lot like a reluctant caterpillar. She made it to the other side of the lot without going more than seven miles per hour and promptly pushed on the brake. The car faced the back fence at a complete stop, and Christy glanced at her dad, awaiting his approval and further instructions.

He sat there with his chin tucked down to his chest and looked at her without turning his head. "That was very nice-if you only plan to drive through car washes the rest of your life."

Christy let out a loud bubble of laughter. Dad was right! It did feel like they'd just driven through a car wash. As she laughed, she felt more relaxed.

Dad relaxed too and looked behind them. "Put 'er in reverse, and let's see you drive as you would on a city street."

Still smiling, Christy popped the gear to "R" and looked back over her right shoulder. She pushed the gas pedal, but nothing happened.

"Give 'er some gas," Dad said, still looking straight ahead.

So she did. She put her right foot down hard, and the car lurched backward at a startling speed. Her hands jerked the wheel first to the right, then to the left.

Dad hollered, "Hit the brakes!"

So she did.

Bam! The b.u.mper hit the cement base of a parking lot light pole, jerking their heads back then forward.

"Put it in park. Turn off the engine," Dad barked and reached to turn off the ignition himself before ejecting from the pa.s.senger seat and running to the back of the car.

Christy sat completely still. Her lower lip began to tremble, and she felt the hot tears rushing to her eyes. She didn't dare turn around. She couldn't move.

"Come here, Christy."

She blinked and forced her frozen arm to open the door and her wobbly legs to carry her to the back of the car. Dad pointed to the b.u.mper.

"Could've been worse. I can pound it out. Best thing for you is to get right back in the saddle."

She couldn't believe Dad was acting so calmly! She had been sure the impact had crushed the entire back end of the car. How could such a sickeningly huge thud cause so little damage?

Her face must have mirrored all her terrified feelings, because Dad slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it."

A few tears tumbled down her face. She pressed against Dad's chest and in a small, shaky voice said, "I'm really sorry. I just didn't... I mean, I was... I, I don't know."

From where her ear was pressed against Dad's chest, Christy heard a rumbling sound. She looked up at him, and he let out a roar of laughter. He kept laughing, and she smiled frantically, trying to figure out what was so funny.

"Look around," he invited.

She looked and saw nothing. No cars in the parking lot. No people. Only several parking lot lights planted strategically across the large lot. "I don't see anything."

"Exactly," Dad said, smiling broadly. "What are the chances, in such a huge s.p.a.ce, that you'd find something to run into?" He chuckled again.

For the third time that day, Christy felt a squeeze in her stomach, knowing that she was the only one who didn't see what was so funny.

"I didn't mean to do it," she said defensively. "You said to give it gas."