CHAPTER NINETEEN
Was there a better way to start a Friday than by getting a ride to work with Lee?
Maybe there was for other people who didn’t feel about Lee the way she did. But for her, Rori couldn’t think of anything better. She only wished it could have lasted longer. At least she’d get to end her workday by getting another ride with Lee back to the garage.
It was a busy day at the clinic, which meant that time passed quickly. Before she knew it, they were climbing into Lee’s car to go get hers.
“Are you coming for pizza?” Lee asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. “We’d love to have you, and since the weather is nice, we’re eating outside again.”
Her first instinct was to demurely decline, but Rori stopped herself.
She had to stop thinking that they were inviting her out of some sense of responsibility or pity. They didn’t have to keep including her, but for some reason, they did.
Lee and his family had offered her so much, and she didn’t want them to tire of her being around. However, that didn’t seem to be happening yet. So maybe she just needed to take their interactions at face value. To accept that if Lee or someone else invited her to something, they actually wanted her to be there.
“Sure. It was fun last time.”
Lee turned to look at her after he came to a stop at a red light. “Wow.”
Rori felt her cheeks heat a little. “What?”
“You accepted right away,” Lee said. “I had thought up a whole bunch of things to say to convince you.”
“Should I retract my acceptance so you can use them?”
“Nope. Definitely not.” Lee turned his attention back to the road as the light turned green. “I’m thrilled that you jumped right in to accept. However, I reserve my right to use my persuasive arguments in the future.”
“You think I won’t keep accepting right away?”
“I would like to say no because that would mean you’re getting more comfortable with us. However, I don’t think you’re one hundred percent there yet.”
“You’re probably right,” Rori admitted. “But I’m trying.”
“And I appreciate that,” Lee said. “Maybe I will share one of the things I’d planned to say.”
“What’s that?” Rori asked with a laugh.
He glanced over at her. “I want you there.”
Butterflies exploded in her stomach, his forthright statement leaving her speechless. He probably didn’t mean it the way she wanted to interpret it. But still, even if his statement came from a place of friendship, it definitely warmed her.
“And just so you know, even though I’ve used that argument now, I will still use it anytime I want to in the future.”
Emotion swelled inside Rori, filling all the empty corners of her heart. This friendship with Lee and the friendships she was building with others were beyond anything she could have imagined. She’d never had like them before.
In high school, she’d been picked on a lot by the other girls. It had been a school filled with upper middle-class kids, so they’d had all the latest clothing styles and the newest phones, and she hadn’t. Apparently, that had been reason enough to tease her mercilessly.
Her life back then had focused on getting the best grades she could and working so she could buy what she needed. Plus, she hadn’t wanted people to know that her family barely tolerated her presence in their lives.
If she’d let anyone close, they would have seen that. But in the end, it hadn’t mattered, because no one had cared enough to search for the truth of her life. And she’d been fine with that.
But now, she was surrounded by people who had a good idea of the state of her relationship with her family, and yet, it didn’t seem to be an issue for them. She’d let hints of how things were with her mom and her siblings, but it hadn’t seemed to matter to them.
“I… I look forward to hearing you say it again,” Rori said, daring to be just the tiniest bit open with Lee about how she felt.
“In that case, prepare yourself to hear it every time.” He pulled his car into the parking lot of the garage where Blake worked. “Because it’s the truth.”
Oh, how she wished that there was more to his words. But she wasn’t going to let all the reasons why that wasn’t possible rob her of the joy she felt in that moment.
She had a car to pick up and a pizza dinner to attend. With Lee.
Lee followed her into the garage office, where they found Blake talking with his boss, Stan. Rori had met him that morning when she’d dropped off her car. He’d been warm and friendly, and right away, she’d trusted him more than the mechanic at other the other garage.
“I hear it’s good news,” Stan said when he spotted her.
Rori nodded. “Blake said that everything looks fine, except that they hadn’t changed the oil like the guy said they had.”
“I took care of that,” Blake said. “So you don’t have to worry.”
“Oh. Wonderful.” Rori pulled her backpack around to unzip it and get her wallet out. “What do I owe you?”
Stan waved off her question. “This first one’s on the house.”
Rori froze and looked up from where she’d been pulling out her bank card. “What?”
“This oil change is on the house,” Stan repeated.
Rori glanced at Blake, then back at Stan. “I didn’t expect Blake to do the work for free.”
“I know,” Stan said, crossing his arms. “But since it’s my business, I can choose not to charge someone if I don’t want to.”
Rori clutched her wallet to her chest, unable to believe he was being so generous. “Thank you. Truly.”
“You’re welcome. And if you ever have concerns about your car, bring it to us. We’ll give you a diagnosis that’s true, and we’ll never overcharge you.”
He really didn’t need to convince her. “I will definitely be coming back here.”
Stan smiled. “I’d say we look forward to it, but I’m not going to wish car problems on you.”
“I really appreciate that,” Rori told him, in all honesty.
“Well, I need to get home to help with the pizza preparations,” Blake said. “Are you coming, Rori?”
She glanced at Lee for a moment, then said, “Yep.”
“Great! The more the merrier.”
After saying goodbye to Stan, the three of them left the garage. Blake went right to his truck, but Lee walked Rori to hers.
“If you ever have car problems, I want you to know that you can call me for help, and I’ll let Blake know.”
Rori smiled up at him, cherishing the feeling that someone was actually there for her in a way she’d never experienced before. “I will definitely do that.”
“Perfect,” Lee responded with a smile of his own.
“I’m going to run home, and then I’ll be over,” Rori said, eager to get her brief stop at the apartment over so she could rejoin Lee.
“Sounds good. See you there,” Lee said.
He stayed beside her car as she slid behind the wheel, then closed her door for her. Taking a couple of backward steps, he gave her a nod, then turned to head for his car.
Rori smiled all the way to her apartment, where she rushed through changing her clothes. She swapped out the clinic T-shirt and jeans she’d worn that day for a pink blouse and a pair of black capris.
It would have been nice to leave her hair down, but when she pulled the scrunchy out to brush it, there was a definite bump. She didn’t want to take the time to straighten it, so she settled for putting it back up into a ponytail. She didn’t have a lot of jewelry, so she just left the dainty hoops and simple silver chain that she’d worn to work on.
After slipping on a pair of sandals, Rori exited the apartment, excited for the evening ahead. For once, she was going with total confidence that her presence was truly desired. Maybe not by everyone, but by the person who meant the most to her in that group. Lee…
Once she arrived at the house, Rori rang the doorbell. She’d barely had a chance to step back before the door swung open to reveal Amelia.
“Hi, Rori! Come in!”
Rori smiled at the young girl. “How are you doing, Amelia?”
“I’m good,” she said as she shut the door behind her. “But Layla got in trouble.”
“Uh-oh. What happened?”
“She was supposed to clean up her side of the room last night, but she didn’t. Now she’s grounded for the weekend.”
Rori had never gotten into trouble as a teen. She feared a far greater punishment than a grounding. Given her situation, she’d been much more worried that she’d lose the roof over her head. So she’d done her best to never give anyone a reason to even consider that.
Just the memory of that time in her life was enough to make her insecurities rise again, bringing with it the intense need to not do anything that might make Lee and his family regret inviting her to join them.
“Hey there, Rori,” Charli said. “Glad you could make it again.”
“Thank you for the invitation.”
“Anytime.” Charli smiled at her, then motioned to the counter in front of her. “Ready to help with toppings?”
“Definitely. Put me to work.”
Lee wasn’t in the kitchen, and as she spread cheese on a pizza crust, Rori kept glancing to the kitchen doorway, hoping to see him.
“Pizza oven is ready to go,” Blake announced as he walked in.
“You can take these two. One is cheese. The other is pepperoni.”
Not long after Blake had left out the back door, it opened and Lee stepped into the kitchen. He smiled as soon as he saw her. Before he could say anything, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” He gave Rori another smile. “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned, Carisa was with him.
She was wearing a T-shirt that had a faded brand name logo on it. Rori doubted it was faded from wear. More likely, it was one of those expensive shirts that were made to look vintage. She’d paired it with denim shorts and sandals. The woman carried off the look with an effortless grace that Rori didn’t think she’d ever achieve.
As Charli welcomed Carisa, Lee came over to where Rori sat. “Put you right to work, huh?”
“Not sure I’d call this work,” she said as she helped Amelia spread cheese on another pizza. “It’s fun.”
Lee leaned a hip against the counter, his attention strictly on her. “So did the car run okay?”
“Yep. Perfect. It’s a relief to have that done.”
“Blake said that for its age and mileage, the car is in great shape.”
Rori smiled. “Since I want it to last, I’ve tried my best to make sure it’s well taken care of.”
“So you don’t ignore the check engine light?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“I used to,” Charli said, joining in the conversation. “Now Blake won’t let me.”
Lee gave a huff of laughter. “Of course he won’t. It wouldn’t look good if the wife of a mechanic had her car break down.”
“I must say, it’s nice to have someone to take care of stuff like that.”
Rori could understand why Charli felt that way. There were plenty of times when she would have loved to share some of the weight of moving through life as an adult. But she hadn’t dwelled on that thought much, choosing instead to just move forward with whatever needed doing.
Because if she didn’t do it, no one else would.
When Gareth and Aria arrived with Timothy a couple of minutes later, Jackson was with them. His eyes widened and a smile spread across his face when he saw Carisa.
“Hey! I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he said as he approached her. “This is great.”
Rori watched the ease with which Jackson and Carisa flirted lightly with each other. How was it that they’d just met, but they were already at this point? Clearly, they both had more practice than she did.
Lee had shifted to watch them. In fact, most of the adults in the room were focused on the couple.
Rori didn’t know much about Jackson, but he was an attractive man and appeared to have an easygoing personality. She wondered why he struggled to find and keep a girlfriend.
Watching Carisa and Jackson together, it was apparent that they shared an affinity for quick smiles and easy laughter. Maybe that was what drew them together and what would give them a chance at a relationship.
“Are these ones ready for other toppings?” Charli asked.
Rori nodded. “Cheese is done.”
Charli removed the ones Rori had done and replaced them with a couple more pizza crusts with sauce already spread on them. Rori focused on them as the hustle and bustle in the kitchen increased with the arrival of more people.
Finally, Charli shooed most everyone out the back door, including Jackson and Carisa. Lee hung back, however, sticking close to Rori.
She glanced at him before focusing back on her job. Rori wished that she could have an easygoing interaction with Lee like Carisa had with Jackson. It had taken her weeks to get to the point of some light teasing. Meanwhile, this was the other couple’s second or third meeting, and they were standing close, smiling and laughing like they’d known each other for years.
Jealousy had sparked in her heart, but Rori tried not to dwell on it. For some reason, seeing Carisa had brought with it the vision of what life might have been like for her, if only she’d been born in a different family.
Thoughts for another time, Rori told herself as she spread the shredded cheese on the pizza crust.
When Layla joined them, Rori could see that she definitely didn’t look happy.
“What’s up, kiddo?” Lee asked as he looped his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m grounded.”
Lee glanced at Charli. “When did this happen?”
“Last night,” Charli said.
“What did you do?”
When Layla didn’t answer, Charli said, “It’s more like what she didn’t do.”
“Didn’t clean my room,” Layla muttered.
“Oh, boy.” Lee bent and kissed the top of his niece’s head. “Do the crime, do the time.”
Layla rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I know.”
The girl didn’t appear too upset about being punished.
“Are you going to listen to your mom about cleaning up next time?” Lee asked.
“I’ll try to.”
Charli gave a huff of laughter. “In other words, she’s not committing to anything.”
“The pizzas are all baked except these last two,” Blake said as he walked into the kitchen. “Is everything else ready to go?”
“Yep.” Charli tipped her head back to accept her husband’s kiss as he walked past her.
Blake picked up the last two pizzas, and the rest of them followed him out the back door, Lee holding the door for Rori as they left the kitchen.
The evening unfolded much like the one had the previous week, with the lively addition of Carisa. Rori didn’t take part in the conversation as much as the other woman did, but Lee’s presence at her side throughout the dinner was comforting.
Just like last time, after they’d finished with the meal, Charli brought out the makings for s’mores along with brownies, cookies, and coffee.
Lee once again made s’mores for both of them, taking great delight in the perfection of the marshmallows he’d toasted.
Rori had no idea why he did things like that for her, but she wasn’t going to question it. She just hoped that he was doing them because he wanted to, and not because he felt like he had to.
“Do you want more?” Lee asked as they finished the ones he’d made them.
“Tempting, but I’m fine,” she said. “Thank you for making me this one.”
Lee smiled. “You’re welcome. I love the challenge of trying to get the perfect marshmallow.”
“Seems like you’ve managed it,” Rori said. “Neither of the ones you’ve made for me have been burnt.”
“Daddy!” Amelia wailed. “It fell!”
Rori looked over to where the little girl was pointing into the flames. Blake immediately went to his daughter, stopping only briefly to pick up another marshmallow. He lowered himself to a knee beside Amelia and put the marshmallow on her stick.
“Try again, Berry.” He helped her position the stick close to, but not directly in, the flickering flames.
Rori leaned close to Lee and said, “Why does he call her Berry?”
Lee glanced at Rori before watching the father and daughter duo once more. “Apparently, she’s a big berry fan. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. She loves them all.”
“That’s cute.”
“Do you have a nickname?”
Rori shrugged. “Not like that. I mean, Rori is shortened from my real name.”
“Which is?”
“Aurora.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
“My grandmother chose it for me.”
“Was she a Disney fan?”
Rori shook her head. “I was named after her mother.”
“That’s nice.”
“What about you?” Rori asked, appreciating the opportunity to exchange a bit of personal information with the man. “Is Lee short for something?”
“Not that I’m aware of. My folks said it was the name I had when they adopted me.”
“Were you a baby when they adopted you?”
Lee shook his head. “I was three.”
“Do you know anything about your birth family?” After she asked it, Rori realized that perhaps that wasn’t an appropriate question to ask someone who had been adopted.
“No. Although I’m endeavoring to remedy that.”
Rori’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Lee glanced around before answering. “I was told by a girlfriend that not knowing about my biological past made me a bad choice for husband and father.”
“What?” Rori wondered if she’d misunderstood. Someone hadn’t wanted to marry him because he didn’t know about his birth family?
“She was concerned that there might be health issues that I didn’t know about that might inadvertently get passed on to our children.”
Rori frowned at that. “I’m sure lots of people don’t know their medical history, including those who are still with their biological family. That seems a poor reason to end a relationship.”
“I agree,” Lee said. “But I’m still going to see if I can find out some information.”
“That must be exciting,” she said. “And maybe a little scary.”
“That’s very true.” He looked away when someone called his name. “What?”
“Gonna play for us to sing tonight?” Gareth asked. “I brought my cajon.”
“Sure. I’ll go grab the guitars.” As he got to his feet, he gave Rori a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched him jog to the back door, then she pulled out her phone. First, she sent a quick text to Essie.
Would it be okay if I came out to see you tomorrow afternoon? If it’s not convenient, that’s fine.
The more time she spent with Lee and his family, the more Rori wanted to understand the faith that made them who they were. And she knew Essie could help her with that.
Essie: That would be fine! Can you come out around 1? We’re leaving at three to go to Coeur d’Alene.
Yep. Though are you sure it’s convenient if you have to leave?
Essie: It’s fine. I’ve already got what I need packed.
Okay. Thank you. I’ll see you then.
After sending a heart emoji, Rori opened up her camera app and switched it to video. Last week, she’d wished that she’d recorded the singing, not just because she had enjoyed it, but because she wanted to learn the songs so she could sing along too.
Plus, she wanted to look up the lyrics of the songs that touched her.
When Lee returned, he headed to where he and Jay had stood last time. He handed one of the guitars to Jay, then strapped on the other one.
Rori lifted her feet, tucking her legs to the side as she leaned back in the Adirondack chair. She lifted her gaze to the sky. The sun had dropped behind the trees, but the cloudless sky still held some light. It was warm, and the scent of fresh cut grass in the air told her that someone had taken advantage of the nice weather to do some yard work.
It was a lovely evening. About to be made lovelier because she got to watch Lee do something he clearly enjoyed.
She smiled as Elsa approached her, going up on her back legs to prop her paws on the arm of Rori’s chair. Rori scratched her ears, then bent over and gently picked her up. Elsa seemed totally on board with that, since she happily settled down in the space by Rori’s hip and rested her head on Rori’s thigh.
Strangely, the little dog’s acceptance of her was almost as important as her owner’s. People said animals and kids were good judges of character, and it seemed that both in this family liked her. Hopefully, that was a point in her favor.
As they sang, Rori noticed right away that Carisa was familiar with the songs. There were a few that had enough repetition that Rori picked up the words and could eventually sing along. She didn’t do more than mouth the words, however, because she didn’t want her phone to record her own voice singing.
They didn’t sing as long as they had the previous week, and soon the fire had died down, and people began to carry things back into the house. Rori helped clean everything up and was preparing to head out when Lee approached her with Elsa on a leash.
“Do you have to leave right away?” he asked.
Not if he didn’t want her to. “Not really. Why?”
“Want to go for a walk with me and Elsa? I usually take her out before bed to tire her out a bit.”
“Sure. I’d like that.”
Rori had no idea why he’d invited her along, but she would never turn down the opportunity to spend time with him.
By the time they stepped out into the night, the streetlights had come on as twilight blanketed the neighborhood.
Lee held Elsa’s leash in his right hand, then offered Rori his arm. She stared at him for a moment before tucking her hand into the crook of his arm.
He acted like it was no big deal, but it was a huge deal to Rori. Walking beside Lee in the warm summer night felt like a dream.
She didn’t know why it was happening, but she was going to enjoy every single minute of it.