Page 64 of Lee

As they joined them, Lee saw Rori stifle a yawn, so he wasn’t surprised when she said, “I think I need to go. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I’m tired, so I’m sure you must be too,” he said. “You didn’t need to go in to work for the regular time.”

“I know.” She shrugged. “But my alarm went off, so I got up.”

“Well, we won’t come by too early tomorrow. Would one o’clock work?”

“Yep. That would be fine.”

Rori made the rounds, thanking people for the evening and giving the kids hugs when they approached her with their arms stretched out.

When she was done, Lee walked out of the house with her. Standing on the sidewalk beside her car, she said, “Thanks for inviting me to join you for tonight. I really enjoyed myself.”

“I’m glad.” He hesitated. “Hopefully Jackson didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

“He didn’t, though the interaction with him was a bit weird. He knows nothing about me, so I’m not sure why he’d ask me out.”

“Jackson probably assumed that if you were a friend of our family’s that you were a decent person.” He cleared his throat. “Did you want to go out with him? You could have accepted.”

“No. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but I have no interest in dating him.”

His relief at hearing that just reinforced that his emotions were getting more and more involved in Rori. And it didn’t help that she seemed to look to him for reassurance, especially when hanging out with his family.

Logically, he told himself that was because he was the one she knew best in that group. But he enjoyed being a place of security and safety for Rori, even though it stoked the feelings that were growing in his heart.

“He won’t bother you any further about this,” Lee said.

He didn’t think Jackson would set himself up for more rejection, given that Rori had given him a decisive no. But regardless, Lee was going to have a little chat with him.

When she lifted a hand to hide another yawn, Lee said, “You’d better go so you don’t fall asleep on the drive home.”

“Yeah. I’m definitely ready for a solid night of sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lee remained on the sidewalk, watching as Rori’s car drove away. He should have asked her to text him when she made it home. The drive was short enough that she shouldn’t fall asleep, but when it came to her, he worried. Probably more than he should.

He was pretty sure that there were precious few people who worried about her. Certainly, her mother wasn’t among them. And from the sounds of things, neither were her father or siblings.

So he would worry about her, even if she was oblivious to his concern.

Jay and Misha had left earlier with their kids, but the others were still around. Not for long, however. One by one, each headed out, leaving just the inhabitants of the house behind.

“Blake has a small table and chairs from his apartment that he’d be willing to part with,” Charli said as Lee settled on a stool at the island counter. “I didn’t mention it to Rori because I was sure she’d refuse.”

“You’re probably right about that,” Lee said. “I haven’t seen inside her apartment, but I think it’s pretty small. If it turns out she doesn’t have room for it, we can always bring it back.”

“I’m going to get a few other things together. Bedding and such. It’s a good excuse to get rid of some things that we haven’t been using.”

Lee was grateful for the generosity of his sister, and he was sure Rori would be as well.

As he thought back over the evening and the time he’d spent with his family and with Rori, Lee pondered if he really needed to know about his past.

The details of his past didn’t matter to his family.

Would the knowledge make him happier?

Would it give him more peace?

At that moment, he really wasn’t sure that it would.

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