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of his bids would even be accepted. Money… money… money. It seemed the almighty dollar was constantly on his mind. He needed work, and he needed it bad. If something didn’t open up soon, he may have to sell one of his vehicles.
    “It won’t be the Corvette,” Joel mumbled after he entered his home and headed for the shower. “If I sell anything, it would be my everyday car, but I need it in case my truck gives out.”
    Joel stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He clearly needed a shave, and his eyes were puffy and bloodshot from lack of sleep.
After I get cleaned up maybe I’ll take the Vette out for a spin. That should perk me right up
. Since Kristi had said she’d be working the evening shift and wouldn’t be coming by like she’d been doing since Joel’s accident, he had the perfect opportunity to do whatever he wanted.
    Joel ran his fingers through the back of his hair.
Maybe I’ll call my buddy Tom and see what he’s up to this evening. I’ll bet he’ll jump at the chance to take another ride in my Corvette.

    When Kristi got off work at ten o’clock that evening, she was tempted to drive by Joel’s and check on him. But since today was his first day back on the job, he was probably exhausted and had gone to bed by now. She’d been fixing his supper every night since he got out of the hospital and felt bad she’d been unable to do it for him this evening. Some of the casserole was left over from what she’d fixed him last night. Hopefully Joel had warmed it up for his supper.
    Kristi turned on the radio and tried to relax. It seemed like she was always worried about Joel these days. His haggard appearance told her he wasn’t sleeping well, and his lack of enthusiasm when they talked most likely meant he was depressed. Either that or he’d become bored with her.
    Kristi’s confidence in her relationship with Joel often wavered. Things were different from when they’d first started dating.
    She gripped the steering wheel as another thought popped into her head.
Could Joel be attracted to someone else? Maybe that’s why he isn’t opening up to me.
    She turned the radio up, trying to drown out her thoughts, but it was no use. Her concern for Joel was uppermost in her mind—especially when their favorite song began to play. Last night when she’d made supper for him, he’d been moody and had even snapped at her a couple of times. She had tried to ignore it, realizing he was under a lot of stress and probably still sore from his accident, but his sharp tone hurt nonetheless. Even in her worst mood, Kristi had never talked harshly to Joel.
    “Lord, please help me with this.” She turned off the radio and prayed out loud. “If things are okay between Joel and me, then erase my doubts. If there’s a problem and Joel decides we should break up, please help me accept it as Your will and be able to move on with my life.”
    Tears stung Kristi’s eyes. She’d had other boyfriends, but never loved any of them the way she did Joel. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. But if they did at some point end up going their separate ways, she would have to deal with it, no matter how much it hurt.
    Up ahead, Kristi noticed a nice-looking car parked along the side of the road. When she drew closer, she realized it was Joel and his friend Tom walking from the front of the car as they put the hood back down.
“I wonder what’s going on. Joel should be home in bed. At least I thought he would be.”

    Joel couldn’t believe it when Kristi pulled up alongside of them. He and Tom had been out tooling around for a good many hours until something started sputtering in the engine. They had discovered a disconnected hose and been able to fix it. Fortunately, the engine was running smoothly again.
    Joel jammed his hands into his pockets. “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be in bed by now.”
    “I’m on my way home from work. I worked the evening shift, remember? I thought