Page 73 of Lee

“I’m sorry I didn’t see you at church this morning,” he said. “But Jackson said he sat with you.”

“He came in late, I guess, and there was space on the pew next to me.”

“He also said you had plans for this afternoon.”

She nodded. “I wasn’t sure about letting him know that they weren’t super important plans.”

“I get that,” Lee said with a huff of laughter. He glanced over at the blanket. “Are you enjoying your afternoon?”

Her gaze dropped without her permission, so she forced herself to look back up at him. “It’s been nice.”

“Would you like to come hang out with us?”

Rori hesitated, torn about what to say. Did she want to hang out with Lee and his family? Absolutely yes. Did she want to hang out with Lee, his family, and Carisa? She wasn’t so sure about that.

But how was she supposed to know if Carisa was there?

“You should come,” he said. “I don’t know if you saw, but Carisa was at church with her parents this morning. Charli invited her to join us, too. C’mon. It’ll be fun.”

When Rori didn’t respond, Lee continued. “And you won’t have to take a bunch of family photos since you took them all last week.”

“I didn’t mind that,” Rori said, still trying to figure out if she wanted to be with the Halversons enough to watch Lee and Carisa together.

“Do you really not want to come?” Lee asked, his brow furrowed. “I don’t want to force you.”

“I do want to come,” she told him, but then stumbled around for a plausible reason why she was also hesitating. “It’s just that, I’m… I’m… scared, I guess.”

“Scared? Did someone do or say something to you?”

She shouldn’t have said that. “No! Of course not.”

Lee crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one leg. “Then what do you mean?”

Rori needed a shovel to dig her way out of the hole she found herself in. She hadn’t meant to share what she did, but the words had just come tumbling out. And now she had to decide if she was going to be honest with Lee.

In the end, she just couldn’t lie to him, even though speaking the truth once again made her vulnerable.

“I don’t like to get too close to people,” she began, hesitantly. “Because it usually doesn’t work out well for me.”

Lee stared at her for a long moment, then said, “That’s not going to happen this time around, Rori. I won’t let it. If you consider us friends, we’ll always be that. And not just friends, but great friends.”

With tears stinging her eyes, Rori clutched the camera. How should she take that? Was Lee speaking for his whole family? Or was he speaking for himself?

“I could… I could use some friends,” Rori admitted, which was why getting close scared her so much. She’d allowed herself to think that her desire for good friends would finally be realized.

“To tell you the truth, so could I,” Lee said. “I left my friend group in Chicago, and all the guys I had as friends growing up have moved away from Serenity. So I have lots of family, but not many friends.”

But could she be okay with just being his friend and having to watch when he found the woman he wanted to be more than just friends with?

Maybe she’d go this one time and leave that problem for future Rori.

“You’re sure the others won’t mind.”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay. Just let me pack up my stuff.”

After she put her camera away, Lee held her backpack open for her so she could return the book and the remainder of her lunch to it. He helped her fold up the blanket, then they walked over to where her car was parked.

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