Page 96 of Zane

“I know, but Gareth is keeping tabs on me, so you don’t have to worry.”

“It’ll be fine,” his dad said, putting his arm around Zane’s mom.

We know that God will be with you, just like He’ll be with us.”

“We’ll take care of him,” Rori said. “And make sure he does what the doctor tells him.”

“Well, we’ll try at least,” Lee added with a chuckle. “Zane is nothing if not a little stubborn.”

“Zane is sitting right here,” Zane pointed out. “Do not disparage my character.”

That got another laugh out of Lee, and Rori joined in. If there was one person who didn’t take him too seriously, it was Lee.

“I’ll expect regular updates,” his mom said. “That will help me focus on what we’re supposed to be doing on the ship.”

“When are you coming back?” Lee asked.

“We had planned to be back for Thanksgiving,” his dad said. “But they asked if we’d be willing to extend to the middle of December, and we agreed.”

That his parents had agreed to leave Serenity was a sign to Zane that he really was on the right path to recovery. There was no way his mom would leave his side if he wasn’t doing okay.

When they finished the meal, they visited a little longer, but then his parents decided it was time to go. They gave hugs and said goodnight before leaving the house.

Zane went into the kitchen and settled on one of the barstools at the counter. Lee worked to put the food away while Kelsey and Rori finished clearing the table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher. He’d tried to put away a lot of what he’d used in the meal prep, so there wasn’t too much else to clean up.

“That casserole was delicious,” Kelsey said. “Thanks for making it.”

“Yes,” Rori agreed. “It was very yummy. You’ll have to make it again.”

“I’m actually surprised you made a casserole.” Kelsey wiped the counter in front of him. “You told me once that you hated making them.”

“I do,” he agreed. “But my family likes them, and they’re fairly easy for me to make, especially being on crutches.”

“How are you feeling?” Lee asked as he took a seat on one of the other stools at the counter. “You didn’t overdo it, did you?”

“No. I’m not doing enough in a day to overdo it by making a simple meal.”

“Once you get your cast off, you might have to go to physio to strengthen your leg muscles again.”

Zane nodded. “Yeah. Gareth told me that might be necessary. I suppose it would give me something more to do while everyone is working or sleeping.”

“We need to go for a double date,” Rori announced, completely veering off-topic. “What do you think?”

Zane glanced at Kelsey, but she didn’t respond, apparently leaving the decision up to him.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. “Keeping in mind that I’m not up for anything too athletic.”

“Maybe dinner and a movie? We could see if there’s anything on at the theater in Coeur d’Alene.”

“We can talk more about it tomorrow,” Lee said. “I’m ready to wind down now.”

Soon, Lee and Rori retreated to their bedroom, leaving Zane with Kelsey.

“I guess I need to get ready for work,” Kelsey said. “They asked me to come in a little early tonight.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“I think it’s for an employee meeting, so I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing. Hopefully, they’re not laying us all off. I haven’t heard anything about that, but I guess you never know.”

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