She Never Knew by CJ Simpson

Pastor Cullen, welcoming her to bible school. He wrote that one of
her helpers came down with food poisoning the night before and would not be
coming in that week.
      Poor Elsie ,
Kat empathized. I hope she feels better soon. As she began taking crafts out of
a box she’d brought a few days ago, she wondered how she would compensate for
the shortage of helpers. She needed all the help she could get, especially when
the little ones came to her class. Many of them did not have the dexterity
required to make crafts and required one-on-one help. As she pondered this, she
heard a knock on the door.
    She looked up to
see the man she crashed into earlier standing in the doorway. He was tall,
handsome, and had on the same uniform she did. He wore a nervous smile on his
face. “I just wanted to apologize for acting like such a dork back there.” He
motioned toward the hallway and hung his head. “Are you Kat?” he asked.
    “Yes, I am.” She
gave him a wan smile.
    “Daniel
Stevens.” The man strode up to her and stuck his arm out. “I really am sorry.”
His eyes showed sincere regret and Kat immediately felt at ease.
    Shaking his
hand, Kat responded, “I am too. I didn’t mean to act like such a dork, either.”
They both stared at each other for a moment, then broke into laughter.
    “Does this mean
we’re on speaking terms now?” he quipped.
    Kat grinned.
“Yes, we are.” She began sorting her crafts in preparation for her first class,
which was due to begin in one hour. “So, you’re a volunteer here?” she prodded.
    Daniel
explained, “Yes. Uh, from what I understand, one of your helpers fell ill at
the last minute. Pastor Cullen called me and asked if I would be willing to
come in and help.” He added quickly, “If that’s all right with you, of course.”
    Kat could see
Daniel was a little worried, so she forced herself to sound enthusiastic. “Absolutely,
it is!”
    “Whew.” He
pretended to wipe his forehead. Both of them laughed.
    “I don’t think
I’ve ever seen you around before.” Kat said.
    “I’m pretty new
to the area, actually.” Daniel explained. “Moved here about six months ago.”
    “Oh, yeah? Where
from?” she inquired.
    “Charltonville.”
    “Really? Me
too!” Kat exclaimed. “But I’ve been living here in Lakesboro for the last six
years.” The expression on her face darkened.
    “You must really
like it here.” Daniel said, noting the frown on Kat’s face. “It’s a beautiful
area.”
    “Yes, it is. I
enjoy the small-town atmosphere. It’s a great place to raise kids and everybody
pretty much knows everybody around here.”
    “Is that a good
thing?” he hesitated.
    Kat laughed. “I
think it is. Although, sometimes I have to watch what I say in front of
people.”
    “And watch where
you’re going.” Daniel teased.
    “Hey!”
    Daniel smiled at
her and looked around the room. There were three long tables arranged in a
horseshoe fashion. The walls had been decorated with photographs of various
points of interest in New York City. “Okay. So, now that you’ve agreed to let
me help you, put me to work. He rubbed his hands together. “What can I do?”
    Although the
pastor had already explained the basics of vacation bible school to Daniel, she
briefly highlighted its importance, that it was a form of religious education,
an extension of Sunday school. The program was designed specifically for
children to connect spiritually to God so that they may share God’s love with
others. She told him that their church holds the week-long evening program
during the middle of June as statistics showed that turnout was much higher at
that time.
    Kat quickly
showed Daniel the crafts they would be helping the kids make that week. She
held up the models she and Rhonda had made so Daniel could see what the crafts
looked like in completed form. She explained that for the various grade levels,
classes are kept to twenty minutes. They would be working nonstop until break
time an