Chapter Seven
On afterthought, Maegan decided she should have told her parents in advance that she’d have a friend with her at church. At twenty-nine years old, she didn’t think she had to tell them about every aspect of her life. They attended the same church, they were going to see anyway.
Giving them a heads-up, however, would have avoided that awkward invitation for Judah to join the family for lunch. She could have told her mother they were only friends- or very newly in a relationship and didn’t want to do the “meet the parents” thing yet.
Instead, she’d taken the coward’s way out, and currently stood outside Dogwood Creek Community Church with the breeze blowing through her olive knit cardigan, frozen in place as she tried to quickly think of a way to get Judah off the hook.
“I’d love to join you for lunch,” she heard him answer, with full confidence in his tone.
She jerked her gaze to see him smiling, appearing pleased to score the invite.
All right then. She’d mentally overreacted for nothing.
Not exactly. They still had the entire afternoon ahead of them with no idea what her parents had in store.
The first time she’d brought Jess home to meet them had been different.
Jess had grown up in Dogwood Creek, and they knew him peripherally.
They’d never met Judah and knew nothing about him.
For goodness’ sake, she hardly knew him.
She paused on that thought. True, they’d only met three days ago, but they’d connected on a deep level, sharing conversations she hadn’t had with lifelong friends.
She felt safe calling him a friend, despite their short acquaintance.
“Perfect.” Maegan’s mother, Suzanne, turned to address her. “I have to run by the nursing home and drop off those new pajamas to Aunt Linda. Can you be at the house around one o’clock?”
Maegan looked at Judah, who nodded his approval, before answering, “We’ll be there.”
“If we aren’t back, let yourself in.” Suzanne turned to her husband, Noel. “Did you give the kids a new set of keys when you changed the locks last month?”
“Yes. Do you have yours with you, sweetheart?” Noel asked.
“I put them on my keyring.” Maegan jingled them for emphasis.
“Perfect.” Her mom kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you shortly.”
Her parents left, and Judah burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“The look of horror on your face when your mom extended the invitation.”
“That obvious, huh? You didn’t have to accept.”
He frowned and creases formed on his forehead. “If you don’t want me to go, I can go home. I thought you were only embarrassed for being put on the spot.”
His crestfallen expression made her sad. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated, and yes, I was embarrassed at their over-enthusiasm. They are fantastic parents and I love them dearly, but subtlety is not one of their strengths. At least not mom’s.”
“I can see that, but they’re cute. They seem to really love each other. How many years have they been married?”
“They celebrated thirty-eight years in November.”
“Quite the achievement. I’m in awe of couples that make it that long.” A shadow passed over him. “My parents celebrated their thirty-fifth anniversary the year mom passed, but I know they would have hit more milestones if she hadn’t gotten sick.”
“You miss her a lot.” She made it a statement, not a question.
“I do. She had this perfume she wore for years. Every Christmas Dad would get her a new bottle for us to give her, but she always acted surprised.” He stared out in the distance, mentally in another time.
“It smelled like jasmine and lilies with a hint of sandalwood. Someone in church today had on a perfume that smelled identical. When I got that first whiff, it nearly knocked the air out of me. Grief is weird like that.”
“My grandmother’s favorite hymn was In the Garden. To this day, I tear up when I hear the words or music,” she confessed.
“Our senses are intrinsically tied to our memories. When I was eight, my dad ordered an entire pallet of candy for his officers to hand out in the community for Easter. There was a mix-up and the candy got delivered to our house instead of the station.” His chuckle lifted the mood.
“There were boxes upon boxes of gummy bunnies, my favorite candy at the time. Temptation got the better of me, and I snuck in the garage that night and ate until I was sick. Literally. My parents found me on the sofa the next morning, curled in the fetal position. To this day, I can’t eat gummy candies. ”
“How much did you eat?”
His nose wrinkled. “Dad said he found twenty-five empty wrappers.”
Her jaw dropped. “No wonder you were sick.”
“In my defense, I was eight.”
“What did you parents say?”
“They took mercy on me and said the upset stomach was punishment enough. However, as a joke they filled my basket that year with those gummies.”
A fit of laughter overcame her. “That’s hilarious.”
“Fortunately, my sisters loved the gummy bunnies as well, and I was able to make several fortuitous trades to get other candies.”
“So, you were a mischievous and industrious child.” She smiled, thinking of him as a precocious young boy.
“I plead the fifth,” he answered and winked.
She returned his wink with a smirk. “That’s tells me all I need to know.”
“I’m sure you were a perfect angel.”
“Of course. I even have the halo to prove it.”
He arched a brow.
“For real,” she insisted. “I was an angel ten years running in the Christmas pageant. Mom probably still has the halo in the attic somewhere.”
“Ah, the beloved Christmas pageant. My sisters were angels also. I was a shepherd except for my senior year when I landed the role of Joseph. I quickly realized being a shepherd was more fun.”
“Why is that?”
“Our church had the outdoor pageant. As a shepherd I could hang in the field and talk with my buddies until our time came. I couldn’t do that as Joseph, plus my Mary didn’t like me which created tension.”
Her turn came to raise a brow. “I can’t imagine anyone not liking you.”
His lips twisted into a quasi-chagrined grin. “Did I mention we were lab partners in tenth grade biology, and I may not have matured yet, the only explanation I have for purposefully knocking over the rat we were dissecting so it fell on her foot?”
She looked at him ruefully. “You didn’t.”
He nodded slowly. “Unfortunately, so.”
“No wonder she didn’t like you.”
“Does it help that we ended up attending the same college, and I did apologize to her, albeit several years late.”
“That does help.” She shuddered, thinking of the rat. “But doesn’t erase the act.”
“I know.
A glance around the parking lot showed only the pastor’s car and one other vehicle left other than Judah’s.
“We should go. If you’re positive you don’t mind coming to my parents’ house, it’s fine by me.
I’m sorry if my initial reaction made it seem otherwise.
I truly only had your feelings in mind.”
“I appreciate that and accompanying you would be my honor.” He leaned in. “Plus, anytime I can get a homecooked meal is a plus in my mind.”
She harrumphed. “I see how it is.”
“Can you blame a man?” He took a step, initiating their walk to his truck.
“Now’s probably a good time to tell you my freezer is full of meals Mom cooked and sent home with me. I can cook, but it doesn’t always feel worth it for myself, so most nights I order from the diner or heat up one of mom’s.”
“Becka would do that for me and Dad. Still does for Dad. Candace doesn’t cook, but she’d have meals delivered, especially for our dad. They also take turns cleaning his house, for which I’m grateful. Dad is many things, but a housekeeper isn’t one of them.”
“I know you said Candace has her struggles, but she and Becka sound like wonderful human beings and daughters.”
“They really are. Other than her exceptionally poor taste in men, Candace is fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister.
We would pick on each other, but I can’t remember any full-fledged arguments or fights outside of when we’ve addressed concerns over her choice in connections.
” They arrived at his truck, and he opened the passenger door for her.
Once Judah circled the truck and sat behind the driver’s seat, Maegan replied.
“Drake and I had six years between us, and I wonder if that’s why we rarely fought when we were younger.
I do remember I could be a brat about tv.
Being the youngest, especially after Mom and Dad thought they couldn’t have more children, had its advantages, and I would typically get what I wanted, even at Drake’s expense.
Judah cringed. “That brings back memories of my sisters insisting on watching that show with the blue dog. They would have watched it for hours if mom allowed them.”
She knew exactly which show he meant, and she launched into a rendition of the theme song.
He started the truck and cranked up the radio, shooting her a daring grin to keep going.
Playing along, she sang louder, raising the decibels each time he increased the radio’s volume, until they both broke into full guffaws.
After turning the radio down to a normal level, Judah rubbed his ears. “I’m getting too old for music that loud.”
“Even as a kid and teen, I never care for deafeningly loud music. My friends would go to concerts and I rarely joined them. I’ve always been more content in quiet settings.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I enjoy an occasional concert, but I can be just as content listening to live music in a smaller, intimate setting, or even streaming my favorites at home.”
“Do you like jazz? There’s a great venue about thirty minutes away that hosts jazz club nights several times a month. They make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the forties.”
“Sounds like a fun time. I’d love to try it out.” He drove through the parking lot and stopped at the exit. “Which way to your parents?”
“Take a right and keep going until you come to the third stop sign, then make a left. They’ll be the fourth house on the left.”
She leaned her head against the headrest, watching Judah from the corner of her eye.
He drove with one hand effortlessly controlling the steering wheel and the other on the door’s armrest. His eyes focused on the road ahead but would dart from rearview to side mirror.
A peaceful expression covered his face, topped off with a subtle smile.
The whole effect, combined with his personality made him immensely attractive.
If she wasn’t careful, she could easily fall for him, and that wasn’t a part of the plan.