Peter knew Mr. Potter was just being supportive, but he felt a swell of pride,

anyway. The teacher gave him a wink and moved down the aisle.

He felt a sharp poke in his ribs. “Hey, Peter,” a light voice said directly behind his ear.

He twisted in surprise, catching his hip on the edge of the table. A spare pipe

from his project rolled off the edge of the table and clanged onto the gym floor.

Everyone in the vicinity jumped, especially Katie, who moved between him and

her sculpture.

“Geez, Penny, watch it,” he said.

It was Penny Fitch, his new neighbor who'd moved in over the summer.

Although Peter liked her—she always had a smile, and she liked science—she could get a little annoying at times. A lot of the guys were after her he knew.

Petite with long black hair and blue eyes, a nice combination. Then he wrinkled

his nose. She always wore so much perfume she smelled like the candle section

down at Bailey's Variety. As pretty as she might be, she wasn't really his type.

He stole a glance at Katie, who was looking the other way.

“Sorry,” Penny said. Smiling, she flicked back her hair and angled her head,

like she was a model about to be photographed. Why did some girls do that?

“So, Petey, what's this thing do? Looks impressive.” She touched the plastic tube

that led to the large, silver, metal casing that was the main propellant tank.

Peter touched her hand to stop her. “Hey, careful. You'll set it off.”

She took her hand back. “Oops. Sorry again.”

He shrugged. “It's okay.” He glanced to the right. “They're going to judge in

a few minutes. After that, you can touch it all you want.”

Penny gave him a quizzical look. He felt his face flushing beet red. He tried

to think of something, anything to say to get rid of her, but his brain had vapor

locked. Idiot.

“Okay,” she said after what seemed like an hour. She jerked her head in the

direction of the next table. “You think she has a chance?”

Peter welcomed the changed topic. “Katie? Sure, she does. She's got as

much chance as anybody else here. More, probably.”

“If she does, she should thank you for all your help.”

“Oh, I hardly did anything. She did all the real work.”

Penny nodded, unconvinced. “Well, I hope you win.”

“Oh. Thanks. You too.”

“I'll come check you out later,” she said, then turned with another hair flip and began to walk away. “Good luck,” she called back with another smile at him

before she narrowed her eyes at Katie's sculpture.

“Thanks,” he managed to say. He suddenly wished he hadn't told Penny about Katie asking for his help. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything about her

on those runs. He knew the rule about outside help, but that meant parents or an

expert, right? Another student was probably okay, as long as they didn't contribute too much.

He stole a glance to the right. Katie was staring at him, lips pressed together

in a hard line. Her eyes looked like they could cut through steel, and they were

directed squarely at his forehead.

She quickly turned away, straightening something on her table.

Was she mad at him?

He didn't have time to find out. The judges were at her table.

The next twenty minutes were a blur of joy and crashing pain.

Chapter Three

Present Day

The yellow VW Bug crunched to a stop on the gravel beside the sign perched at

the entrance to the town. Kate shut the engine shut off.

A quaint wood and brick sign proclaimed “Welcome to Golden Grove,