Several students nodded.

“The discussion questions were good,” another girl said. “But you know that means teachers are going to use them to make us write an essay or something.”

Del held up both hands. “I can’t be responsible for that.”

“The questions were good,” someone else said. “They’re things for us to think about. We’re lucky here, in Fool’s Gold. We need to know this stuff.”

Maya could see the value of that and made a note to talk to Del about some kind of study guide or teacher’s guide. Suggested test questions or maybe even some book recommendations for further study. That might be helpful. Or could they come up with a companion book? One with facts and still pictures. Maybe transcripts of interviews. Because they would have way more film than they could ever use. The longer conversations could be summarized. Something to think about.

“What about the voice-over?” Del asked.

One of the girls wrinkled her nose. “You’re really good on camera, Del, but it’s better when Maya does the voice-over. I don’t know why. You both sound okay.”

“She’s got the Mom voice,” the guy next to her blurted. “But sexy.” He flushed and squirmed in his seat.

Maya blinked in surprise. She had a sexy voice?

Del nodded. “My man, you have that exactly right. Maya’s voice is appealing. How many think she did the better voice-over?”

Nearly everyone raised their hand.

The teacher stepped forward. “I agree, Del. Maya, you have a natural ability. There’s a warmth in your tone. Maybe it’s that teachers have been traditionally female so we respond to a woman’s voice. I’m not sure. Also, getting back to the questions and discussion points, I would very much like a companion book. A series like this could send us in many directions. We can talk politics, history, world studies, even economics. Well done.”

Maya recognized the wrap-up and glanced at the clock. She was shocked to see that nearly two hours had passed. The students would have to head to their next class. She scrambled to her feet.

Del thanked the students and they applauded. They were excused from class. When they were gone, Maya and Del spent a couple of minutes getting more feedback from the instructor, then collected their equipment and headed to the parking lot.

“That was so great,” Del said when they walked outside. “The kids enjoyed the videos.”

“I know. The questions they asked were so smart. I can’t wait to go through their comments. We’re going to get a ton of feedback.”

They walked to his truck. He put the box with all the questionnaires behind his seat, then reached for her computer bag.

“I hadn’t thought about high schools as a place for the videos,” he admitted. “I wonder if we could take the same material and change the accompanying lesson plan to match the grades. So simpler questions for younger kids and so on.”

“That would be easy. Also, depending on how much raw footage we had at any given point, we could edit the videos differently. Show a grittier version to older kids. We’ll have to figure that out, but it’s doable.” She paused, nearly overwhelmed by possibilities.

“This is going to take some funding,” she went on. “I know a couple of people who’ve been able to get grants. I want to get in touch with them to find out what’s involved. You have to do this, Del. It’s a wonderful project.”

He hugged her. “You’re a big part of it,” he told her.

She wanted to be, she realized. His idea had become important to her. For so long she’d held back, sticking to what was safe. Going after the familiar, like the network job. What had been up with that? She didn’t belong on-screen, and she didn’t need to be loved by a faceless audience to feel special. She wasn’t that scared little girl anymore. There was no worry about being rescued or even having to rescue herself. She was a successful, competent adult. She could take care of herself.

Coming back to Fool’s Gold had allowed her to figure out what she really wanted. She wanted to be a part of Del’s video project. She wanted to travel with him and love him and be loved by him.

He was the one. Maybe he always had been, maybe they’d had bad timing before. Whatever it was, she knew that it was time for her to tell him how she felt. But before she could do that, she had to come clean about a secret she’d been keeping. And that meant talking to Elaine first.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“YOU’VE GOT A few crumbs right there,” Maya said, pointing. Not that it made any difference. Sophie didn’t much care about the telltale evidence of her recent foraging in the kitchen. She was more interested in stretching out in the sun and getting a nice tummy rub.

“It’s a good thing your mom loves you so much,” Maya continued, stroking the beagle. “Because you’re kind of a scamp.”

“She is,” Elaine said fondly as she handed Maya a glass of lemonade.

Maya took it and studied her friend. Elaine still looked tired. There was a dullness to her skin and the darkness under her eyes had deepened.

“Only a couple more days of radiation, right?” she asked.

Elaine sat on the sofa and sighed. “Yes. I’ve been warned that it will take a while for the fatigue to go away. It didn’t come on immediately, so I guess that’s to be expected. Still, I’m looking forward to being my old self again.”

Maya shifted so she was facing Elaine. “I need you to tell them.”