Page 23 of Lee

But this song…

It said that God not only saw her struggles, He cared about them. He cared about her. And in that care, she could be happy, regardless of what she was facing.

Was that real? Or just some platitudes in a song?

Rori blinked rapidly as a longing grew within her heart to embrace that hopefulness. To trust that, insignificant as she was in the world, God would still see her.

But she was afraid.

Afraid that believing God saw her would just be setting herself up for disappointment. And she’d been so very careful not to do that in order to minimize the hurt she felt in her life.

CHAPTER SIX

Lee balanced the large flat box on his arm as he closed the door of his car. The morning was gray, but so far, there hadn’t been any rain.

Pulling the door of the clinic open, Lee stepped into the back hallway and went directly to the staff room. He set the box on the counter, then moved to the coffee machine to fill his mug.

When he heard the back door open, followed by soft footsteps, Lee knew it was Rori even before glancing over to see her walk through the doorway. It was on the tip of his tongue to tease her with fancy meeting you here, but he bit back the words.

The desire to flirt with Rori had taken Lee by surprise. In his mind, pursuing a relationship had been off the table until he got the answers he needed. And he still thought that was probably for the best.

However, Rori was tempting him to change his mind…

Whether he wanted to be or not, he was drawn to Rori. She seemed like a sweet person who cared for those around her. At the clinic, she was always quick to offer her help, and she was eager to learn about all aspects of the clinic’s operation.

She wasn’t like women he’d dated in the past. They’d all been career driven to varying degrees. Headstrong women, who went after what they wanted. In all but one of his relationships, they’d also been the one to pursue him. And he’d been fine with that.

So why he was drawn to a woman who appeared to be completely different from his previous girlfriends was a question he didn’t know the answer to. Maybe the slower pace of his life in Serenity had him re-evaluating what he wanted in the woman he hoped to share his life with.

For sure, the women he’d dated in the past wouldn’t have been well-suited to life in Serenity. Anytime he’d told his girlfriends about his life growing up there, they’d joked about small towns and Christmas movies, while making it clear they never saw themselves wanting to make a life anywhere but in a big city.

And at one time, he might have agreed with them.

But circumstances changed, and so did hearts. He’d felt he was where God wanted him when he’d been in Chicago, but then doors had begun to close, starting with being laid off from his job, followed by the ending of his relationship.

So he’d come home, uncertain where else to go. Uncertain if this was where God wanted him. Uncertain of what lay ahead for him.

And now there was Rori…

“Good morning, Lee,” she said as she opened the fridge. “How was your weekend?”

“It was good. How about yours?”

“Mine was good as well. A friend invited me to a southern gospel and hymn sing at her church.”

Lee leaned a hip against the counter, mug in his hand as he focused his attention on Rori. “You were there last night?”

“Yeah.” She gave him a quick smile. “I saw you there.”

“Why didn’t you say hi?”

Rori’s eyes widened for a moment, but then her brow furrowed. “Oh. Uh… Well, since I had come with Essie and her husband, I just stuck close to them.”

“Did you enjoy the evening?” Lee asked as he lifted his mug to take a sip.

Her smile grew. “I did. The music was lovely.”

“How do you know Essie and Al?”

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