Page 43 of Safe With You

As if on cue, Dad opened the porch door to announce the burgers were ready. Mom led the way out to the picnic table she had prepared earlier. Ethan let everyone go ahead of him, bringing up the rear. Joel dropped back to join him, and Ethan lowered his voice. “So, was it your curiosity or Naomi’s that sent you here?”

Joel smirked. “Both.”

Being the last to the table, Ethan had little choice but to take the seat directly across from Drew. Not sitting next to Katie threw him off since he realized that’s what he always did whenever she joined them for meals. He busied himself with fixing his cheeseburger and spooning a generous helping of potato salad onto his plate when the bowl came around to him. The conversation flowed as Drew talked with Dad and Joel about the family business. Ethan focused on his food and didn’t even realize when Drew’s attention had shifted to him.

“Katie says you have a woodworking business.”

Ethan swallowed a bite of potato salad and nodded. “I do. I just started it last year.”

“What do you make?”

“I work on a variety of things. Currently, I’m working on a bench swing. When I can, I like taking old materials and turning them into something new. Kind of like Katie does with her clothing, I guess.”

He glanced at her, and she responded with a happy smile. Did that smile have as profound an effect on Drew as it did on him? For Katie’s sake, he hoped so.

“So more of the rustic sort of stuff?”

Ethan snapped his attention back to Drew, nodding again as he fought to wipe that smile from his mind so he could think coherently. “That’s what people like around here.”

Drew asked him a few more questions, seeming genuinely interested in the business before the topic changed again.

Becca joined in to ask Katie, “What are your plans tomorrow?”

“I thought we could take the canoe out in the morning and then hang out in town for a while before we go to the Lodge for supper.”

“That sounds fun.”

Katie had asked yesterday if she could borrow the canoe. Of course, they would all give her anything she asked for.

“I can get up and bring the canoe over for you early tomorrow,” Ethan offered. “I’ll leave it by your dock and make sure the life jackets are in it.”

“You don’t have to go to the trouble if you don’t mind us coming over to get it.”

He shrugged even though the last thing he wanted to think about was Katie out on the lake with Drew. “I’m always up early. I don’t mind.”

“Thanks.”

Once they had eaten their fill, Mom, Becca, and Katie got up to clear the table, and Ethan somehow found himself alone with Drew when Dad and Joel headed off to the wood pile. A moment of awkward silence hung between them. Prompted by the good manners Mom taught him, Ethan struck up a conversation.

“So, did Katie say where she wanted to take you tomorrow?”

“She said something about an ice cream shop.”

“The Ice Shack. It’s a family favorite. We were there all the time as kids.” His mind chose that moment to think about the photo in his Bible. The Ice Shack was a special place, and he chided himself for not wanting to share it. He was about as bad as his nieces and nephews and silently asked forgiveness.

Drew studied the house for a moment. “Sounds like Katie practically lived with you guys.”

“Pretty much. We all loved having her around. She quickly became family. She still is.”

Drew turned, studying Ethan now. “Thanks for helping her with what needed to be done at the cottage.”

“I’m always happy to help.”

Drew’s chin dipped in something of a nod, but Ethan detected tension there. Despite the thanks, he got the impression Drew thought he was being a bit too helpful. He bristled. Regardless of his feelings, Katie was his friend. He’d always be there for her and help her if that’s what she wanted.

Dad and Joel returned with arms full of wood, breaking the tension. Ethan stepped aside to give them room to start a fire in the pit. The women joined them a couple of minutes later, and they found their seats. Mom let Katie and Drew share the couple’s camp chair she and Dad usually used. Ethan really wished she hadn’t done that, but all he could do was smile and bear it as he sat across from them.

The next couple of hours passed pleasantly enough, though Ethan and Drew had little more to say to each other. Joel left before it got too late, and shortly after that, Drew decided he should go too. They all got up to walk him and Katie to his car and say goodbye.

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