CHAPTER TEN
“Are you getting back together?” Charli asked as she put a bottle into the diaper bag on the counter.
Lee looked up from where he was preparing his supper. “Getting back together?”
“With Anya.”
“Of course not.”
“You were talking for so long I thought you might be reconnecting.”
Lee returned to spreading butter on the bread for his grilled cheese sandwich. “We were just catching up. It’s been years since we last saw each other.”
He had no idea what was in Anya’s mind, but there were no thoughts in his of getting back together. He’d loved her, once upon a time, but they’d both changed a lot over the years, and he wasn’t looking to rekindle anything with her.
Lee set the sandwiches in the hot pan on the stove. Sunday evenings tended to be a bit more relaxed when it came to meals, especially in summer when the church didn’t have regular evening services.
Charli didn’t make a big meal for everyone. Will and Janessa sometimes ended up at Will’s folks’ place. Other times, they went out on a date.
Charli and Blake often took the kids to Blake’s aunt and uncle’s house for supper after spending the afternoon at the park. Lee knew that Blake considered them parental figures since he didn’t have a great relationship with his own parents.
That meant that Lee was usually on his own with Elsa on Sunday evenings.
“You should’ve just taken her number and called her up,” Charli said, an edge of reproof in her voice. “Instead of abandoning us to stand there talking with her for an hour.”
More like abandoning Rori. “It wasn’t an hour.”
“Rori managed to get a whole bunch of family pictures done in the time you were chatting with your ex.”
Lee did actually feel bad about leaving her to fend for herself with his family. However, he’d known that Charli would take care of her. After all, it had been her idea to invite Rori to the picnic.
“Thank you for making her feel welcome,” Lee said.
“She’s a sweet girl. I’d love to know more about her story, but she didn’t talk much about herself.”
Lee was curious too, he had to admit. “Her mother lives here in Serenity. But from a few things Rori has said, it seems she doesn’t have much to do with her.”
“Very strange.” Charli reached out to take Shiloh from Blake, who had joined them in the kitchen. “It looks like maybe Essie has taken her under her wing.”
“Which is crazy because Rori said Essie works as a housekeeper for the man Rori’s mom married.”
“Oh… that’s a bit weird.”
“Sounds like Rori might have a fractured relationship with her parents, like I have with mine,” Blake said. “Some people just aren’t cut out to be parents.”
“I hope Rori has found people to be her family the way you have,” Charli said, going up on her tiptoes to give Blake a kiss. “Everyone deserves someone in their life who looks out for them.”
Lee felt a tug at his heart to be that for Rori, and he suspected that if he was put into the position to help her out, he would definitely step up.
“Did you know she’s sleeping on an air mattress?” Lee asked as he checked to see if the cheese was melting.
“She told you that?” Charli asked.
“Sort of.” Lee spun the spatula in his hand as he said, “She mentioned that she might want to get a cat but had to wait until she got a real bed since she figured a cat and an air mattress wouldn’t mix.”
“Is there a reason she’s using an air mattress?” Blake asked.
“She said her previous apartment was furnished, so she came here without furniture.”
“I’m sure we could round up some stuff for her,” Charli said.
“If she’ll take it.”
Charli frowned at him. “Do you think she’d refuse?”
Lee shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
Though she sometimes gave off the air of someone who needed help, she’d never asked for any. She came to work each day with a smile. If she was struggling, he couldn’t tell it by her attitude.
“Maybe tomorrow you could ask her if she’d take it if we offered her something.”
Lee flipped the sandwiches over in the pan. “I’ll ask her if I have the opportunity.”
“Make the opportunity,” Charli said. “I don’t like the idea of anyone struggling because they don’t have a way to get furniture for themselves.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Lee replied. “But if she chooses not to reveal what she needs, I can’t force her to tell me.”
“Do you know where she’s living?”
He shook his head. Up until that moment, he’d tried to limit how many personal questions he asked Rori. Apparently, Charli wasn’t going to let that continue.
“You haven’t asked her?”
“We’re co-workers,” Lee reminded her. “I don’t know where Alys lives. I don’t know where Cheryl lives.”
“Maybe you should become her friend.”
He did actually consider them to be friends, but it was very early in their friendship. It didn’t feel like he was in a position yet to push her the way he would a friend he’d known for longer.
“I’m going to be inviting her to more things,” Charli warned him. “So be prepared.”
“I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Good,” Charli declared. “Because I’d do it even if you did.”
Lee gave a huff of laughter. “Of course you would.”
“We’d better get going, babe,” Blake said.
As Lee transferred the sandwiches from the pan to a plate, Charli and Blake left the kitchen. He heard Charli call for Layla and Amelia, and then a couple of minutes later, quiet fell over the house. And with the girls gone, Elsa came searching for him.
He put some food in her dish, then sat down at the table with his grilled cheese. Bowing his head, he gave thanks for the food, and then tacked on a prayer for wisdom on how to approach Rori. He really did want to help her if she needed it, but he wouldn’t force her to accept his aid.
The next day, as he drove down the road to the clinic, Lee spotted a familiar figure walking along the sidewalk. Pulling over, he climbed out and rounded the hood of his car.
“Good morning, Rori,” he said.
She looked up, her eyes widening in surprise. “Hey. Hi.”
“Did something happen to your car?” he asked.
“No. I just prefer to walk when the weather is nice.”
“Well, let me give you a ride the rest of the way.”
She glanced down the street to the clinic. “For half a block?”
“Well, I’d feel really bad getting back into my car and leaving you behind.” He gestured to the car and then did what he’d said he wouldn’t. Try to cajole her into accepting his help. He should probably feel bad about it, but he didn’t. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Lee opened the passenger door and waited as she settled into the seat before closing it again. He wondered if she really did enjoy walking, or if there was another reason she didn’t drive to work.
“I’m sorry if you felt like I abandoned you yesterday.”
“I didn’t feel that way,” she said, and it sounded like she really meant that. “Besides, I was busy taking pictures.”
“So I heard. Did you enjoy that?”
“I did. It was a lot of fun.”
“That’s good.” He drove past the clinic and slowed to turn into the parking lot. “By the way, I was talking to Charli, and she was wondering if you might need furniture. She thinks there’s some extra furniture around that you could have.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Just let her know what you might need, and she’ll check around. Also, there’s a second-hand store in town if you want to check that out. Like I told you, I don’t have a truck, but Blake has one, so we can help you transport whatever you end up with.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
He pulled into a parking spot just as Alys’s car turned into the lot. She grinned at them as she climbed out.
“You two carpooling now?”
“No,” Rori said. “I usually walk, but Lee saw me and generously offered me a ride.”
“Why are you walking?”
“As long as the weather’s nice, there’s no reason not to.”
“How long does it take you?”
“About half an hour. It’s a nice walk.”
The three of them headed for the back door. Lee reached it first and unlocked, then opened it for the women. Once inside, the ladies headed straight for the staff room, and Lee followed them.
Alys set about preparing the coffee machine, but it would take a few minutes for it to finish. As they waited, Alys chatted about her weekend and everything she’d done.
Lee noticed that Rori wasn’t volunteering what had kept her busy over the weekend, beyond saying she’d done some cooking for the week and other household chores.
“I also went on a date,” Alys announced.
“Did it go well?” Rori asked.
“Pretty good. It was a blind date. He’s a friend of a friend.”
“So you didn’t know him ahead of time?”
“Nope.”
“Isn’t that awkward?”
Alys shrugged. “It can be. In this case, it ended up being fine. We both love animals, so we had plenty of things to talk about.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
“I think so. He did ask me if I had a friend, since he had a buddy he wanted to set up. Want to go on a double date with me?”
“Me?” Rori asked, her brows climbing high on her forehead.
“Well, I’m not talking to Lee.”
Lifting her hands as if to ward off the suggestion, Rori took a step back. “Nope. No blind dates for me.”
“Do you date at all?”
“Sure. But never a blind date. I prefer to know a guy a little before going out with him.”
“I get that. But sometimes, you have to change directions if that’s not working. This is just another way to give me a shot at meeting the guy God has for me.”
“Well, I hope that you find him without having to date too many guys.”
“Gotta kiss a few frogs to find my prince.”
“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like much fun,” Rori said.
On that, he and Rori could definitely agree.
Lee had gone on a couple of blind dates, back when he’d first started dating in college, and he’d even tried the dating apps as they gained popularity. However, he could never relax enough to get to know someone when it felt like there was already the pressure of it being a date.
He preferred getting to know someone at least a little before asking them out on a date. His last girlfriend had been someone he’d met when her friend had started to hang out with his friend group and brought her along. They’d known each other for a few months before going out on their first date.
“I like getting to know guys,” Alys said. “So even if we don’t continue to date, we could end up as friends.”
Rori didn’t appear to be convinced, and apparently she was done with the dating conversation as she excused herself to go to the reception desk.
“If she wants to date someone she already knows, maybe she should date you.”
Alys’s comment didn’t surprise Lee. But rather than respond, he just narrowed his eyes at her, then turned to fill his mug from the coffee carafe.
“Don’t bug her about that,” Lee cautioned. “The last thing we want is for her to be uncomfortable here.”
“I’ve matched friends who’ve gone on to get married. I’m good at seeing the potential in people.”
“Maybe you should be working at Matchmakers ‘r’ Us.”
“Maybe. But I might need to buff up my resume before applying.”
“Not by using me.” Lee gave her a mock salute before leaving the room.
He hadn’t had this many matchmaking attempts when he’d been living in Chicago. It did seem that the people in his life in Serenity were more focused on being in relationships, and therefore wanted him in once as well.
In Chicago, there had been people he knew who had been in relationships, but there were just as many who hadn’t been. There hadn’t seemed to be the push for everyone to be in a relationship, mainly because a lot of them had been super focused on establishing their careers.
Here, though, it was like it was a personal affront if someone didn’t want to be in a relationship. Which was kind of ironic when it came from Charli, who had resisted relationships for most of her adult life.
Since returning to Serenity, he had also resisted the idea of being in another relationship. He still thought he needed to wait until he got the information on his past
However, the more time he spent around Rori… the less reluctant he became.
Later that afternoon, Lee had just stepped out of the exam room where he’d done a follow-up appointment with a dog who’d had surgery the previous week, when he heard Rori call his name.
Turning, he gave her a smile as he waited for her to join him. “What’s up?”
Her brow furrowed as she crossed her arms. “I had a strange phone call, and I’m not sure what to do about it.”
“Did you ask Cheryl?”
“No. She has a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”
“Okay. So what was the call about?”
“Someone wanted a vet to be on call for when their dog went into labor,” she said. “They want you to come out to their house to deliver the puppies.”
“Ah. Could be some rich person who doesn’t want to have to keep an eye on their dog when she’s in labor. Also, they’ve probably paid a fortune for a pedigreed dog and don’t want anything to happen to their investment.”
“So what should I do?”
“Let me talk to Dr. Carl and see what they usually do in these situations. I’m sure this isn’t the first time the clinic has gotten this request, since we have lots of wealthy people in the area.”
“So I’ll just wait until after you talk to him to call them back?”
“Yes. It could be that he’ll call them himself. He might tell them we’ll come out if certain circumstances occur. Or maybe he’ll happily take their money, and I’ll get to go see some puppies arrive in the world.”
“I imagine you’ve seen that plenty in the past.”
“I think I was around ten the first time I witnessed a puppy birth. It was amazing, and I’m pretty sure that was the moment when I knew that I really wanted to be a vet. Or a doggy doctor, as I called it back then.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Rori said.
“Well, depending how this works out, I could take you with me.”
Rori’s face lit up at that suggestion, and Lee decided that when he spoke to Carl, he’d ask if that would be possible. He didn’t think Carl would have a problem with it, especially if it happened after hours.
“I think I’d like to go along if I’m allowed. If I’m going to work at an animal clinic, I should probably know about things like this.”
“Obviously it’s not a requirement to know this stuff to work the front desk, but such knowledge can help you relate to our clientele.”
Seeing the excitement on Rori’s face, Lee hoped that it worked out for her to join him. It wasn’t likely to be a difficult birth, but he wouldn’t know that for certain until labor was underway.
He didn’t think it was an existing client who was calling to ask for this. His best guess was that someone had recently arrived at their vacation home in the area with an already pregnant dog.
“Are you squeamish at all?” Lee asked.
Rori wrinkled her nose as she tilted her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, I haven’t really been in situations where there is a lot of blood.”
“Well, if you come with me, I guess we’ll find out when the dog goes into labor.”
“I hope I don’t embarrass myself by fainting.”
Lee chuckled. “You wouldn’t be the first person who fainted in that type of situation, so don’t worry about it.”
“You won’t fire me if I faint?”
The sparkle in her eyes let him know that she wasn’t serious with her question, and he appreciated the little flash of humor. “I don’t know… It might be strike one.”
“Should I bring smelling salts so you can revive me?”
“If you can figure out where to buy them, sure.”
“Amazon has everything, doesn’t it?”
“If you actually show up with smelling salts, I’ll bring you a brownie.”
Rori appeared to consider his offer, then said, “Just one?”
“How many would you like?”
“Three.”
“Can’t blame you for that. The brownies that Misha’s mom makes are amazing. Did you try them yesterday?”
“No. I was pretty full from the meal, so I didn’t grab dessert.”
“You definitely missed out, so I look forward to remedying that.” Now that he knew she liked brownies, he’d be bringing her some, regardless of whether she got smelling salts or not.
The chiming of the entrance bell had Rori glancing toward the front. Turning back to him, she smiled and said, “Guess I’d better get back to work. Talk to you later.”
As Lee watched her walk away, he pondered whether he could let go of his need to know about his past. It would be easier to do that if he knew it didn’t matter to her. But the only way to find that out would be to ask her, and he didn’t feel they were quite at that point in their friendship yet. And maybe they never would be.
He wasn’t sure if she was interested in him or not, but his own attraction to her was growing with each interaction. He’d be at a crossroads soon, where he’d have to decide whether he wanted to put distance between them or take a cautious step toward finding out if there was a mutual attraction.