Page 83 of Lee

“Are you looking for marriage, though?” Lee asked. “You’re still… young.”

Rori wondered if he viewed her as young. She was definitely young in age, being only twenty-four, but she felt old in spirit. She’d been taking care of herself for a lot of years, which had made her feel much older than others her age probably felt.

“I’m not opposed to marriage. I’m twenty-four, and that’s the same age my mom was when she married my dad.”

“There’s one more thing,” Lee said. “Serenity is Jackson’s home. His career is working with his dad, and I’m not sure you’d ever get him to leave here. If your future plans don’t include living in Serenity, a relationship with him is probably not going to work.”

Carisa nodded. “That’s good to know.”

“I’m not trying to discourage you from pursuing something with Jackson. I’m just trying to make sure that neither of you gets your heart broken. Jackson has had enough of that.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Carisa said, her tone was sincere. “I’ll keep what you’ve shared in mind as I get to know Jackson.”

“Start as friends,” Lee told her, sending a quick glance Rori’s way. She wondered at that as he added, “I think it’s the best way to start a relationship.”

“That’s good advice,” Carisa said with a smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And if you want to spend more time around Jackson, come to our pizza night on Friday.”

For a moment, Rori felt a bit sick.

The ease with which Lee extended the invitation to Carisa made her realize that when he’d done the same for her, it hadn’t meant anything special. At least not to him. To her, it had meant the world.

Rori hated not knowing where she stood with Lee. Or maybe she did know where she stood. They were friends. Hoping for something more wasn’t necessarily going to lead to what she wanted.

“I’ll send you the info for Friday, so if you decide to join us, you’ll know where to go.”

“Sounds good.”

They all walked to the front door, then said goodbye to Carisa and headed for the car. Rori wished her workday was over so that she could retreat to her apartment.

“Didn’t really see Carisa’s interest in Jackson coming.”

Swallowing against the tightness of her throat, Rori asked, “Are you going to tell him?”

“I haven’t decided. I think perhaps it would be better to just let it unfold the way they want it to.”

She had a feeling that if this was what Carisa wanted, it would work out. The woman seemed like she was used to getting what she wanted. Not in a spoiled way, necessarily. More that she would work to get what she set her mind to.

It didn’t take them long to get back to the clinic. She’d missed lunch, but honestly, she didn’t feel much like eating. Her appetite had vanished as her emotions regarding her role in Lee’s life continued on their rollercoaster.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. The clinic was decidedly quieter than the morning had been, so she spent a few minutes in the shelter, playing with the kittens and puppies. It was soothing and helped distract her from her thoughts since Rachel was there as well.

The teenager was friendly, chatting about everything going on in her life. The latest venture being her having gotten a starter for some sourdough bread. Rori had no idea what that was, but when Rachel offered to bring her some of the bread when she made it, Rori accepted without hesitation.

Lee had been called out about half an hour before closing to meet up with Dr. Carl because something was going on with a birthing at a nearby ranch. Rori and Alys closed up the clinic, then left for the day.

Once home, Rori made supper and ate it while watching a documentary on her laptop. The cleanup afterwards was quick, then she took a nice hot shower.

When she settled onto her bed afterwards, she grabbed her laptop and opened it up. She needed to figure out her plans for the next day before she fell asleep since it might change what time she set her alarm for.

She’d made an appointment at a garage to get the oil changed in her car. Knowing that she couldn’t afford another vehicle, she’d always done her best to take care of it.

They’d said she could drop it off after eight, so she needed to see how long it would take for her to walk from the garage to the clinic. Though there were a couple of garages in the town, she’d chosen the one that was closest to work.

She’d had a reliable mechanic in Denver, and she missed them now that it was time for an oil change. But that was just one more change she’d had to make after uprooting her life there.

Since it was just a simple oil change, she figured it would be okay. And how they interacted with her would determine if she’d go back or try the other one next time.

---