Page 37 of Lee

“Not everyone has to be dating,” Lee told the girls, since Rori seemed at a loss as to how to respond. “Sometimes people are just friends.”

Right then, Elsa came sniffing around them, distracting the girls. Lee decided not to address the comments, and he was relieved when Janessa and Kayleigh sat down near them and struck up a conversation with Rori.

“Would you take pictures of me and Elsa when we’re done eating?” Layla asked.

“Yep, I can do that,” Rori agreed readily.

“Me, too,” Amelia said.

“Me, three,” Peyton said with a grin.

Rori laughed, her smile lighting up her face. “Sure, we can do all of you. I like taking pictures, so we can take as many as you want.”

That got the kids chatting excitedly, and though Rori didn’t take part in the conversation, she seemed pleased by it. Elsa had settled on the grass next to Lee. Every once in awhile she’d shift her eyes at him as if to ask for a piece of food.

He rarely fed her table scraps, but carrots and cheese were among her favorite foods, so he handed her a piece of the cheese he’d put on his sandwich. And when she’d inhaled that, he gave her a carrot to chew on.

Once they’d finished eating, Lee gathered up their plates, along with the kids’, then left Rori to unpack her camera while he threw everything away.

“Are you going to play volleyball with us?” Jay asked.

Lee’s gaze went to Rori. “I’m not sure.”

“Is there something you’d like to tell us?” Gareth asked as he stood there with his son, Timothy, in his arms.

The eldest of the family, Gareth had finally started a family of his own, embracing the role of husband and father with ease. It was nice to see.

“No. Nothing to tell you,” Lee said, well aware that his denial would mean absolutely nothing to his siblings. “And I’ll think about playing.”

“We can always use another bad player to even out the skill balance,” Jay told him.

“Way to feed a guy’s ego,” Lee retorted with a laugh. “I’m not bad.”

“You’re not as good as Jay,” Jackson said. “Which automatically means you’re bad.”

Lee wasn’t bad at volleyball at all. In high school, he hadn’t been that great when he’d had to play it in gym class. But during college and the past few years, he’d been part of a group of guys who’d gotten together at least once a week to play one sport or another. Volleyball was the one they’d played the most.

“Well, let’s play,” Lee said. “And see who’s the best of the worst.”

As the guys organized themselves, Lee went to where Rori was helping the kids pose with Elsa so she could photograph them.

At his approach, she looked up, a smile on her face. Her joy made him happy in a way perhaps it shouldn’t have. But his heart clearly didn’t care about why his previous relationship had ended, and why he should wait before getting emotionally involved with another woman.

“You okay hanging with the kids?” he asked. “The guys are bugging me to play volleyball with them.”

“Yep. I’m fine. Have fun.”

“If you want to play later, some of the ladies usually join us for a game or two.”

“Uh… nope. I haven’t played since high school gym, and I sucked so bad.”

“Well, if you change your mind…”

“Not gonna happen. Embarrassing myself is something I try to avoid doing.”

Jay yelled for him to get over to the net, so Lee left Rori and the kids and jogged over to the guys. He’d always enjoyed their Sunday afternoons at the park, but that afternoon felt just a bit more special.

Which likely should have alarmed him more than it did.

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