CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After he’d finished eating, Lee set his plate on the grass next to the blanket, then leaned back on his hands. He watched Rori chat with Janessa, trying to figure out what to make of the woman.
The comment she’d made about not getting close to people had really hit him hard. She seemed to have such a tender heart that he couldn’t understand why she didn’t have a ton of friends.
But perhaps she’d learned early in her life that she needed to protect herself. So by the time she was an adult, she’d figured out that while she could be nice to people, she still had to keep her distance from them.
Lee really wanted to prove to her that she didn’t need to do that with them. With him. If she’d let them, they’d be there to help and support her in any way she needed.
So far, she’d showed an initial reluctance to accept help from him, or even to spend time with them. Though they’d been able to convince her to join them and take the help they offered, he hoped that soon she’d understand they really wanted her around. They really wanted to help her.
More than anything, Lee wanted to see her gain confidence in herself and the fact that she was enough. She didn’t have to be anyone but who she was, and they wanted to spend time with that person.
When his text alert pinged, Lee straightened and fished his phone from the pocket of his cargo shorts.
Carisa: Just sitting at the light to turn into the park.
Lee sent a thumbs up to her, then got to his feet. He slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Rori, do you want to come with me to the road?”
She peered up at him. “The road?”
“Yep. I told Carisa to text when she got to the entrance of the park so I could stand along the road and wait for her.”
“Oh.” Her gaze dropped for a moment, then she looked up at him again. “Sure. Okay.”
Lee held his hand out, and after a brief hesitation, Rori gave him hers and allowed him to help her to her feet. As soon as she was steady, he reluctantly let her soft fingers slip from his.
“Let’s go see if we can find an empty spot for Carisa to park,” Lee said with a smile.
It had dawned on him, as they were talking when he’d first found her earlier, that maybe seeing him with Carisa at church had made her feel like she’d been replaced in their group.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
If he had to choose between Carisa and Rori, it would be Rori every time. Though he’d initially tried to resist it, he’d been drawn to her from almost the first time they’d met. Plus, his feelings were deep enough already that there wasn’t anything Carisa could offer him that he would want over Rori.
Lee knew that even if Rori told him she wasn’t interested in him, he still wouldn’t immediately feel attracted to Carisa.
Maybe it was time to have a conversation with Rori.
Or maybe he had to have a frank conversation with himself.
His last breakup had been because his girlfriend decided she didn’t like that Lee’s past was unknown. Initially, after they’d gone their separate ways, he hadn’t thought he needed the information right away. Even so, he’d gone to his parents to ask them about his biological family.
But when they hadn’t known anything, Lee had backed off, worried he might upset them. And since he hadn’t had any interest in dating right then, his need for the information hadn’t been pressing.
However, as time passed, he’d realized he couldn’t put off getting that information if he wanted to start dating again. After having another chat with his parents about it, Lee had been left feeling that they weren’t being completely forthcoming with him. So a couple of months earlier, he’d contacted a private detective to help him out, then he’d taken the DNA test.
He’d been determined to have a full understanding of his biological roots before he started dating because he hadn’t wanted to risk heartache once again if his next girlfriend felt the same as his ex had.
Then Rori had come to work at the clinic, and here he was a few weeks later, falling in love with her.
How long was he supposed to wait for answers?
The more time he spent with Rori, the more he thought maybe he’d waited long enough. Frankly, it felt too long already. There was no way it wouldn’t hurt if Rori rejected him, even now.
They didn’t have time for a conversation right then, but maybe he’d test the waters a bit that week—be a bit more obvious about his interest in her—to see how she responded before asking her out.
“Are you glad you joined us?” he asked as they walked along the road, looking for an empty parking spot.
“I am.” She gave him a smile. “You knew I would be.”
“My family is pretty awesome,” he said with a shrug.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “They are. It definitely explains why you are the way you are.”
He gently bumped his elbow against her arm. “Is that your way of saying that I’m awesome, too?”
Even though she kept her face in profile, Lee could see the smile tugging at her lips. He didn’t even bother to hide his grin in response to that.
“There’s a spot right there,” Rori said, pointing up ahead of them.
When they reached it, Lee stepped into the spot and faced the oncoming traffic.
“Do you know what she’s driving?”
“No, so hopefully she’ll see me.”
Thankfully, the traffic moved slow enough that he could see each driver’s face.
“There she is,” he said when he spotted someone madly waving inside the front windshield of their car.
He stepped over to where Rori waited on the grass curb. Together, they watched Carisa pull into the spot.
When she got out of the car, she gave another wave as she approached them.
“Hey, Rori!” Carisa said with a huge smile. “Lee was hoping you’d come.”
“It’s good to see you again,” Rori replied.
“Let’s join the others,” Lee said after greeting Carisa.
As they approached the group, Lee caught Jackson eyeing Carisa and shook his head. That man…
“Do you want to play volleyball, Carisa?” Jackson asked as the guys prepared to head to the net for a game.
She gave him a smile. “Maybe not this first game. Do you usually play more than one?”
“Yeah. We play at least two, sometimes three or four.”
“Maybe the next one, then.”
Jackson looked disappointed, but quickly said, “You can cheer us on.”
“Sure. I’ll join the cheerleaders.”
Lee glanced over at Rori and found her watching the pair with lifted brows. Hopefully, she wasn’t disappointed that Jackson had moved on so quickly from his interest in her.
As Jackson focused on Carisa, Rori looked over at Lee. She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with warmth.
“Gonna cheer loud for us?” he asked, then winked. “For me?”
Rori’s cheeks pinked as her smile turned demure. “Of course.”
That made Lee chuckle. She said it like she was one for loud cheering. But what did he know? Maybe now that she was getting to know them better, she would cheer loudly.
As he jogged across the short distance to where the guys were dividing into teams, Lee tried to ignore the part of him that wanted to show off for Rori. Somehow, he doubted she’d be overly impressed by his ability to serve a ball over a net.
In the short time he’d known her, he’d sensed that she had a depth that he hadn’t yet been able to plumb. She seemed to protect much about herself, but he could only hope that her earlier revelation wasn’t the last of what she’d share with him.
However, Lee sensed that she would only share further parts of herself if she felt safe. So he would do his best to provide that place of safety for her.
“Let’s do this,” Jay called from the other side of the net.
Soon, the first serve sent the ball sailing over the net. Some called out to claim the ball while others—Jackson!—just dove for it, apparently hoping for the best.
The guy had a habit of going for balls that were clearly headed out of bounds, but he usually got a touch on them, with meant the call would be against his team. Still, Lee couldn’t help but appreciate the guy’s enthusiastic approach to life. He went after things with great gusto and didn’t let failure keep him from trying again.
The first game was actually fairly close, which meant it took longer than usual to play. The older kids had jumped around on the sidelines cheering for them, while the women had stayed on the blanket.
“Who all is joining us for the next game?” Jay asked when they rejoined the ladies.
“Can I play, Dad?” Peyton asked. “I’ve been practicing with you.”
“Sure thing, buddy,” Jay said with a smile, holding his hand up for his son to smack.
Peyton turned to Layla and Amelia. “Do you guys want to play, too?”
Layla shook her head, and after a glance at her older sister, Amelia shook her head too.
“Carisa, you up for a game?” Jackson asked.
“I don’t know. Am I going to be the only girl playing?”
When Jackson looked over at the others, Misha stuck her hand in the air. “I’ll play.”
“Me, too,” Janessa added.
“Not me,” Charli said.
“Nor I.”
Charli and Kayleigh’s responses weren’t a surprise. Neither of them were much into sports as adults. Janessa wasn’t really either, but she seemed to enjoy creating some chaos for whichever team she joined.
“How about you, Rori?” Jackson asked.
Rori’s smile was tentative as she glanced first at Carisa, then at Lee. “Not me either. I’ve never been very good at the game.”
“She’s going to keep us company,” Kayleigh said with a wink at Rori. “And help with the babies.”
They divided into teams, then headed back to the court to play another game.
Will was the first to serve on their team, then it was the other team’s turn. Carisa took the ball back to the line to serve.
The moment she spun the ball in her hands, eyeing her opponents through the net, Lee knew they were in for a world of hurt. Something told him that she’d played more than a game or two in her life. Carisa might have Jackson on her team, but she also had Jay. The two of them were going to wipe the court with them, he was almost positive.
Lee stepped across the back line and kept on the balls of his feet so he could move as soon as he saw where her serve was headed. Hudson looked over his shoulder at him, clearly having spotted what Lee had. He moved back into the middle of their half of the court.
When Carisa’s serve came hard and fast, Lee managed to reach the ball and bump it up. Will set it, and Hudson spiked the ball over the net. The problem was, Jay was right there and with his arms stretched up, he was able to block the spike.
There was a mad scramble on their side to get to the ball before it hit the ground. Will got it, but unfortunately, it flew in the opposite direction of where he bumped it, and no one was fast enough to get it before it hit the ground.
“Hey, you!” Janessa marched up to the net and pointed a finger at Carisa. “You didn’t tell us that you could play.”
Laughing, Carisa shrugged. “No one asked. Jackson just asked if I wanted to play. And I do.”
“What’s your playing experience?” Jay asked.
“I was on teams throughout high school and college. Volleyball was my sport.”
“Mine was basketball, but I played plenty of volleyball too,” Jay said.
“Well, whenever Carisa is here, we’ll have to put her on Jackson’s team to compensate for him,” Janessa said.
“I’m on board with that,” Jackson called out.
Lee was sure that would be no hardship for Jackson. It couldn’t have worked out better for the guy. He had no idea how long Carisa was going to be in the area, so he hoped that if she was only there for a short time, Jackson didn’t get his heart broken again.
“Let’s get on with losing this game,” Janessa groused. “And next time, Carisa and Jay aren’t going to be on the same team.”
Janessa ended up being correct about the outcome of the game. It moved much more quickly than the first game, and when it was over, Lee was happy to return to where the ladies were.
He dropped down on the blanket beside Rori. “I think I’m done with volleyball for today.”
“Carisa is really good.”
“We all have strengths, and clearly volleyball is hers like it’s Jay’s. The rest of us are just trying to get a hand on the ball.”
“I don’t think I have a strength like that.”
“Sure you do,” Lee said. “I’ve seen the pictures you take. They’re beautiful.”
“They are,” Charli agreed. “It took me forever to decide on the best of the ones you took of us because they were all great. Don’t think you have no strength or talent.”
“I’ve only ever just done the photography for myself,” she said. “Though I have sold some online.”
“You have?” Lee asked, happy that she was sharing more about herself.
Rori nodded. “I’ve put some up on a stock photo site.”
“Your Instagram is wonderful,” Janessa said. “You have talent, for sure.”
“It’s just something I like doing. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it.”
“Do you take portraits?” Carisa asked from where she sat in one of the chairs.
“I’ve focused mainly on nature,” Rori said. “I’ve also taken some pictures of the animals at the shelter recently. They want to post them online to hopefully find someone to adopt them.”
Carisa’s smile grew. “Maybe I should have you take pictures of Penny and her puppies.”
“The pictures she’s taken for the shelter are so good, I almost wanted to adopt another animal myself,” Lee said.
“Have you found yourself an apartment?” Charli asked. “Because no more pets are allowed in the house.”
“But you love Elsa, Mom,” Layla said.
The dog perked up at the sound of her name and looked around, clearly trying to figure out if there was a treat to be had somewhere.
“She’s a beautiful dog.” Carisa held out her hand toward Elsa.
Without hesitation, Elsa got up and approached her. No surprise, the dog accepted pets and scratches from Carisa. But then she headed over to Lee, pausing on the way to let Rori pet her.
When Elsa finally got to Lee, he picked her up and put her on his lap. She stretched up to lick his chin.
“How’re you doing, girly?” He scratched all her favorite spots, then he set her on the blanket between him and Rori.
Immediately, Elsa turned to Rori for more attention. She crawled into her lap, finding a spot on Rori’s crisscrossed legs that pleased her. Elsa settled down, content to bask in the slow strokes of Rori’s hand down her back. The rhythmic motion soon lulled the dog to sleep.
“She likes you,” Lee said.
“Like pet, like owner, huh?” Charli commented.
Lee didn’t bother to deny it. He just looked over at Rori and smiled.
Her gaze dropped to Elsa, but he could see a shy smile playing on her face. Her responses that day gave Lee hope that maybe she had some interest in him, like he had in her.
She didn’t seem as comfortable outright flirting with him, though, which was fine as far as Lee was concerned. He would just try to give her more opportunities to get to know him and become more comfortable with him.
Lee stretched his legs out as he leaned back on his hands. He tilted his head to stare up at the sky that he could see through the branches of the trees above him. The slower life he hadn’t been sure he wanted when he returned from Chicago was growing on him.
Family. Friends. A church he was familiar with. A job he enjoyed that didn’t make him feel like he had to rush through patients.
Had he needed to come home to find this peace and love again?
“Since Rori has your baby, you can hold mine,” Charli said as she came to where Lee sat.
More than happy to hold his niece, Lee took Shiloh from Charli and got her settled on his shoulder. “Is she ready for a nap?”
“Yeah. Maybe you can get her to sleep.”
Lee slowly rubbed her back as he swayed back and forth. Though he hadn’t had a lot of contact with babies while in Chicago, he’d had plenty of experience as he was growing up.
Though he’d been almost eight when Cole was born, he had clearer memories of helping his mom with Skylar when she’d been born a couple of years later. He remembered holding her so his mom could do other things.
He hadn’t been the only one holding her, of course. Since there were so many kids, including several that were older than him, they had all helped out.
Glancing over at Rori, he saw that she was still petting Elsa. She was also watching him with Shiloh. He wondered if she’d thought about having a family herself.
In his mind, he’d always assumed he’d have children one day. His ex had told him she didn’t want to have children without knowing what they might end up carrying in their genetic makeup.
Maybe she had a point.
But he assumed there were adoptive parents who didn’t know everything about their children. They just took them in and loved them.
That’s what Charli and Blake were doing with Shiloh.
“Would you like to hold her?”
Rori’s gaze slid to Shiloh for a moment, then she said, “She looks happy with you.”
It was true. She’d settled, her small body going lax against his chest as soon as he’d begun to rock her.
“Who’s up for another game?” Jay asked.
Carisa jumped up, but Misha stayed seated.
“I’m sitting this one out,” Misha said.
“Me too,” Lee said. “I’m on baby duty.”
“I can take her back if you want,” Charli offered.
“Nope. I’m good.” Lee was actually glad for a valid reason to stay on the blanket with Rori.
He felt a bit like Rori was a magnet and he was a piece of metal, helpless to resist her draw. It was stronger than anything he’d experienced before, and he wasn’t exactly sure why.
He prayed that it was because this was a good thing, a God thing, and not simply a yearning of his flesh.