Page 139 of Lee

Rori’s plan was to text him after the service to see if he would come over. They needed to have another conversation now that she had all the information.

When the service ended, Rori kept an eye on Gareth as he left the stage following the final song. She waited for him to walk to the foyer, where she approached him.

“Gareth?”

When he turned and saw her, he smiled and stepped away from the group of men he was standing with. “Hey, Rori. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she said. “Lee came to talk to me yesterday.”

“He told me. In your estimation, how did it go?”

“I was glad he was at least talking to me, but he seems convinced that we need to break up.”

Gareth gave a shake of his head, frustration on his face. “I wish he’d take some time and perhaps seek counsel to help him work through it before making a decision like that.”

“He gave me some information he wanted me to look over so that I understood why he wants us to break up.”

“And did you look over it?”

“Yes. I understand what he’s concerned about, but I don’t happen to share those concerns.”

“Good.”

“I’m going to ask him to come over again this afternoon so we can talk more.” She paused, then said, “Will you pray for us?”

“Of course. I already have been, but I’ll pray specifically this afternoon.”

“Thank you.”

“No. Thank you for not running away from Lee now that things are a little rough.”

“I love him, so I’m going to fight for us in hopes that he’ll understand he’s not going through this alone.”

In her bed the previous night, a fragment of a verse had floated through her thoughts as she’d prayed. She hadn’t been able to remember the reference, so she’d turned the light back on and looked through her notebook, searching for it.

Once she’d found and read it, she was certain that God had brought it to her mind, and she hoped that it would help bring clarity to Lee’s dilemma.

Not wanting to delay getting in contact with the man she loved, Rori said goodbye to Gareth and escaped out of the church before anyone waylaid her. It was a sunny day, so she assumed that there would be a picnic and volleyball at the park, but she wouldn’t be going.

It felt far more important to focus on Lee and what was threatening their relationship. If they could work this out, there would be plenty of picnics in their future together.

But if they couldn’t… she may have already attended her last picnic with the Halverson family.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Lee finished drying his hair, then lifted his brush to tame it into some semblance of his usual style. He’d also taken a few minutes to trim his beard.

And while doing those things had helped to make him look more put together, there was no denying he still looked haggard. The dark circles under his eyes weren’t something he could hide unless he asked his sisters for some of their makeup.

He didn’t bother with that, though. Rori had already seen his exhaustion the previous day when he’d gone by her apartment. There was no need to hide it.

When he’d gotten the text from her earlier to ask him to come over again, he’d decided he needed to make an effort to pull himself together. And if taking a shower and sprucing himself up helped him to feel fortified for the coming conversation, well, no one else needed to know that.

The house was quiet as he made his way downstairs. Since it was a nice day, everyone had gone to the park once again. Charli had knocked on his door earlier to invite him, but by that point, he’d already gotten the text from Rori.

When he’d told Charli he was meeting up with Rori, Charli hadn’t pressed for them to come to the park too. She probably thought it was a positive thing that they were spending time together.

Bright sunshine greeted Lee as he stepped out of the house, forcing him to don his sunglasses. The day seemed to mock him with its beauty. There was no appreciation for it when he was so weighed down in his soul.

---