Kate remembered the passion in his voice when he’d talked about tutoring his little friend. She had a suspicion education was his main interest. The question was, why had he changed majors? What was holding him back?

“When I look into the future,” he said, “I can see myself teaching middle school. Maybe art or computers or even science. But—”

Kate waited for him to finish, although she had to look away; the mental image of the rail breaking loose was too much. She watched her oval thumbnail follow the square edge of the chair’s arm.

“I don’t know. I changed majors for a reason. I keep trying to remember why.”

“You switched to art next, right?”

The wind tousled his hair, and he shook it from his eyes. “Yeah. Dumb move.”

Kate shook her head. “We make decisions for a reason. Sometimes you just have to dig deep to find them.”

She was beginning to think she understood Brody’s reasons.

She leaned back, and her chair, its legs not quite even, rocked an inch. She stiffened, clutching the table’s edge. Her breath caught in her throat, and prickles of adrenaline flared under her skin.

When she looked up, Brody was studying her. “What’s wrong?”

Kate forced her fingers to loosen and crossed her legs. “The chair rocked back and I lost my balance.”

Brody’s head cocked. “You always sit with your back against the wall, and you never walk around up here.” He pointed his finger at her. “You’re afraid of heights, aren’t you?”

Kate gave a wry laugh. “I’m not afraid of heights so much as I’m afraid of falling.”

Brody sat at the table. “You should have said something. We could eat downstairs.”

She shrugged. “I don’t want to break tradition. Besides, I don’t like letting fear rule my life. This little once-a-week trek is my way of telling my fear to take a hike.”

Brody laughed, and as he did, a thought struck Kate. There was nothing like fear to change your course. How many people had she counseled whose fear of intimacy kept them from experiencing the very thing they desired?

“Maybe you’re a little like me.”

“What, me? Afraid of heights? No way. I’ve been parasailing lots of times and even hang gliding a couple times. Don’t tell Mom and Dad. They’d freak.”

Kate shook her head, sure she was on to something. “No. Afraid of falling.” She watched him, waiting for him to connect the dots.

His head tipped back, his eyes narrowing. “You think I’m afraid of failing.”

He was obviously offended, and Kate wondered if she’d overstepped her boundaries. “Only you know the answer to that.” She smiled to soften the words. “I’m just putting it out there.”