Page 38 of Lee

CHAPTER NINE

Rori sat back on her heels and waited as the three kids debated the poses they still wanted her to photograph. They were a delightful trio, and Rori couldn’t help but smile at them.

She’d had very little interaction with kids as an adult. In fact, she’d never held a baby in her life.

That clearly wasn’t the case for the other women there. Even Kayleigh and Janessa, who didn’t have children of their own, looked comfortable holding the younger children.

Kayleigh currently had Shiloh, Charli’s youngest daughter, and appeared perfectly at ease with the baby tucked up onto her shoulder. Rori was tempted to lift her camera and take a picture of the woman as she swayed with the baby, but she didn’t.

She wasn’t sure how these people might feel about her taking pictures of them without having given her permission. Her photography had centered around nature and landscapes, so she had no idea if she’d be any good at taking casual shots of people.

Even taking pictures of Elsa and the kids made her a little nervous because she didn’t want to disappoint them. But since it seemed to be just a fun activity for them, she told herself to relax and just do what they asked her to do.

A yell from the volleyball court drew her attention, and Rori looked over to see one team high fiving each other. Lee was in the middle of them, grinning as he smacked hands.

At the clinic, he was always pretty easygoing and smiled readily enough, but with his friends and family, he was even more relaxed. His laughter drifted to her across the short distance between them, and it made her smile.

“Can we take a picture of Elsa as we toss a treat to her?” Peyton asked.

Rori dragged her gaze from Lee and focused on the boy. “We can try.”

Layla and Peyton took charge of setting things up, while Amelia waited with Elsa and a bag of treats. After she took the first shot, they crowded around her to look at the display screen on her camera.

They ended up taking a dozen shots, with some of them looking rather crazy as Elsa lunged forward with her ears flying back and her mouth open—teeth on full display—to catch a tossed treat.

“Thank you for doing this with them.”

Rori looked up from the camera to see Charli settling on the blanket beside her. She gave her a quick smile. “It’s been fun. I don’t usually take pictures like these, so it’s another learning experience for me.”

“If I can talk Blake into it, would you take a picture of our family?”

“Sure. As long as you realize I’m not a professional.”

“I don’t care about that. We’re not really a professional photographer sort of family, to be honest. I leave that to Kayleigh and Hudson.”

Rori could see why she’d say that. Even dressed in casual clothes, the couple exuded elegance and wealth.

“Do you play volleyball?” Rori asked, as the guys called for the women to join them for a game.

“No way. Kayleigh and I are professional cheerleaders. We never play. Do you want to?”

Though Rori would have liked to do something with Lee, she wasn’t about to embarrass herself. “No. I’m not much of a sports person.”

“Me either,” Charli said.

Janessa and Misha jogged over to the net, and soon, they were on opposite sides of it, ready to start another game. There was lots of laughter and plenty of heckling as they began to play again.

Rori frowned at the taunts that were being tossed around. Given her own experiences with sibling taunts, she wasn’t sure how to take them. However, no one seemed to be upset by them, the target often returning the jab with one of their own.

“They’re just teasing,” Charli said, her voice soft. “Smack talk is a given when it comes to competitions in this family. No one is taking it seriously.”

Rori glanced at her, surprised that she’d picked up on her unease. “It does seem like they’re all having fun.”

“They are.”

Aria came over to sit with them, leaving her little boy with Layla. The pre-teen sat with him on her lap while Elsa sniffed around the pair. The boy giggled as the dog licked his face, which made the others laugh too.

There was just so much happiness around her. It was a new experience for Rori. Her presence at family gatherings had always caused tension. But so far, it seemed like her being with this family at the park hadn’t had a negative impact.

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