Page 44 of Safe With You

Ethan sighed as they pulled away, wishing Katie would have stayed. But, of course, she’d want to spend every spare minute with her boyfriend.

Mom and Dad turned back to the house, and it took a moment for Ethan to realize Becca lingered behind.

She peered at him, her inquiring eyes lit by the porch lights. “So?”

“So what?”

She gave him a look she’d inherited from Mom. “So, what do you think about Drew? I know you must have an opinion.”

Ethan mulled that over. If he was honest with himself, nothing tonight justified all his ill feelings before meeting Drew. He’d been looking for red flags but hadn’t found any—at least none too egregious. Avoiding Rosie all evening really couldn’t be held against him, and he was ashamed to find a stirring of disappointment at that.

“He seems nice.”

Becca rolled her eyes.

“What? He’s successful, responsible, seems attentive…” He shook his head. “What do you want me to say? I’m the last person who should give my opinion about him.”

She sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry Joel and I ganged up on you last weekend. I’m sure it made today hard.”

He glanced down the empty driveway. “It did, but it is what it is. It shouldn’t have been hard, and I know I have to get to a place where it isn’t.” He focused on her again. “So, what didyouthink of him?”

“Like you said, he seemed nice.” And yet, he detected abutin her tone. “I don’t want to say he’s not her type because I have no idea what her type is, but I didn’t feel like they complement each other. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know.”

She’d voiced Ethan’s impression perfectly. However, there was nothing he could do about it. “Well, whether they complement each other or not, he’s the one she’s in a relationship with. My over-analyzing it won’t do either of us any good. I know he wouldn’t want me sticking my nose in their business, and Katie probably wouldn’t appreciate it either.”

Well-intentioned or not, anything he said or did that might drive a wedge between Katie and Drew would look self-serving. He wouldn’t do that. It would be best for both of them if he steered well clear of anything that involved her relationship.

Becca nodded slowly, her tone quiet. “You’re probably right.”

She turned and walked up to the house. Ethan followed but took a detour that led him back to the fire. Sinking into one of the now-vacant camp chairs, he poked at the glowing embers and laid another piece of wood on them. As flames licked at it, he slumped back in the chair with another sigh. Exhaustion weighed on him. In one way, today had gone better than he’d expected. Drew had interacted well with the family, but the constant battle with his rebellious emotions had worn Ethan out.

For several minutes, he lost himself in thought as he stared at the fire until he heard the porch door slap shut. He looked up, expecting Becca to join him, but found Dad instead. Ethan would have thought him to have gone to bed by now. He sank into the chair beside Ethan. Neither of them spoke at first as Dad took a turn poking at the fire. Once he was satisfied and had settled, he looked over at Ethan.

“Rough day?”

Had Mom mentioned Ethan’s dilemma, or was Dad fully aware of the situation, just like everyone else? “Kind of.”

Dad contemplated this for a long moment. “When I first met your mom, she was already in a serious relationship.”

Ethan was pretty sure he’d heard that before but didn’t remember the details. “Yeah?”

Dad nodded. “Greg Redmond.”

Ethan scrunched his brows together. “Wait, Greg from the boat shop?”

Dad gave an exaggerated nod, and Ethan looked at him in disbelief. Greg did not seem like Mom’s type at all. Not only that, but he was currently going through his second divorce after cheating with a much younger woman. A man like that would have ruined Mom’s life.

“So, what did you do?”

“I prayed about it, and I let it go. At least as much as I could. Not that she wasn’t on my mind all the time.” He gave Ethan a knowing look, a corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “But I knew the only thing I could do was trust God to work it out if that was His plan. Then, a couple of months later, Greg showed his true colors, and your mom dumped him. We started dating three weeks later.”

Could Ethan ever hope for such an outcome? Of course, that still left the fact that Katie was his best friend. Even if Drew was out of the picture, could he jeopardize that?

Dad leaned toward the fire, resting his arms on his knees. “I know it’s hard to let things play out, especially if we’ve already had a specific future imagined. But sometimes—many times—the future we imagine isn’t the one God has planned, and we must accept that because it’s always better in the end.”

For the first time all day, a sense of peace settled the turmoil Ethan had been wrestling with. “Thanks, Dad.”

Chapter Nineteen

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