Page 69 of Lee

“It’s a good thing they brought chairs,” Rori said as she brought one over for Lee to stand on.

Lee took it from her and set it against the wall under the window. “And it’s a good thing they’re sturdy.”

“Should we wait until we can get a ladder?” Rori asked, her voice worried.

“Nope. This chair will be fine.”

Thankfully, Blake’s large toolbox was fully stocked, and it didn’t take long to get the first blind installed.

“You did that so fast,” Rori said as he moved the chair over to the other window. “That’s amazing.”

“Does that mean I’m amazing?” Lee asked with a wink.

“Oh, definitely.” Her cheeks pinked a bit as she grinned. “The animals at the clinic tell me that all the time.”

Lee chuckled. “Do they now?”

“They’re all satisfied customers.”

“Even the ones I neuter?”

“Well, they’re usually pretty groggy and have no idea what’s happened. Probably why they still like you after that.”

Lee laughed as he climbed up on the chair by the next window, pressing a hand to the wall to steady his balance. Installing the second one went as smoothly as the first, and all too soon, his reason for being there was gone.

As soon as both blinds were pulled down, blocking people from being able to see inside, Lee felt a bit better about her living arrangements. It didn’t make it more secure, but at least it would keep the wrong people from being able to watch Rori in her home.

The sheets would have done that too, but someone still would have been able to see the lights on inside. These room darkening blinds would keep most of the light in and out.

“Thanks so much,” Rori said. “For everything. This was way more than I expected when I agreed to the bed last night.”

Lee snapped the clasp closed on the toolbox. “Charli occasionally goes overboard. Since you had a need, and she had extra, it was a guarantee that she’d want to help as much as she could.”

Rori hugged her arms across her body. “Still. You didn’t need to do anything.”

Oh, yes, they did. Or maybe it was Lee that needed to do something. But it helped that he could join his need to help her with Charli’s generosity.

“Will I see you at church tomorrow?” Lee asked as he picked up the toolbox.

“Yep. I’m planning to be there.”

Lee wasn’t sure what the afternoon’s plans were, since it was often weather dependent, but he would chat to her about it once he knew.

With great reluctance, Lee said goodbye. At least he’d see her the next day and not have to wait until Monday.

At the thought, Lee gave his head a shake. He was getting far too emotionally involved. It kind of felt like he had slipped at the top of a mountain and was hurtling down the side, unable to stop himself.

But surprisingly, he was far less worried about it than he should have been, given everything that had happened in the past year.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rori lingered in bed for a bit the next morning, enjoying the feeling of laying on an actual mattress. And bonus, it doubled as a couch. So she had a place to sit and to sleep.

Being able to put her clothes into drawers instead of just living out of her suitcase had also been wonderful. And she’d eaten her first meal at the table the night before as she watched a video on her laptop.

For the first time since arriving in Serenity, the small space truly felt like it could be a home. It inspired her to do even more to make the apartment a comfortable place.

Up next, she was going to hang some of the pictures she’d developed and framed for her place in Denver.

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