Page 12 of Every Star that Shines

She waited a full five minutes before she left the theatre to give Caleb a chance to leave. When she made her way back to her car, the white truck was gone, and her heart stuttered in relief . . . and a touch of disappointment.

Yep. This was going to be interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

Two days later, Caleb held the truck door open for Emma while she climbed in—carefully, to avoid damaging the fluffy dress she’d worn to church that morning—and then he handed her the brown paper bags from the local sandwich shop. After she tucked her dress under her legs, he shut the door and made his way around to the driver’s side. He would have preferred sandwiches from Cool Beans, but they weren’t open on Sundays. And, with so little time between church and play rehearsal, he and Emma didn’t have time to go home, prepare lunch, and get back to Mackenzie Playhouse. If he had been thinking ahead that morning, he would have made sandwiches to bring with them. At least he’d had Emma grab a change of clothes at the last minute. She could change out of her dress at the hall.

He wasn’t normally this disorganized, but ever since he had seen Delanie on Friday night—and again yesterday at Molly’s funeral—he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind. Oh, he had tried, but she hadn’t made it easy on him. Not with the way she kept glancing at him from across the church reception hall yesterday, nor with how sensational she had looked in that slim black dress. Every time he had caught her looking at him, she had quickly looked away. And when he had gone to give her his respects, she had said only enough to be polite. Can you blame her, Caleb? It was her grandmother’s funeral, not a high school reunion.

Still, he had hoped to pull her aside and ask how she was doing, maybe make up for how awkward he’d been the night before. She’d caught him by surprise, appearing in the hall like that, talking to Emma, and looking even better than the last time he’d seen her—though, understandably, a little shaken up. He had probably sounded like an idiot. He’d certainly felt like one—his leaden tongue had been as helpful as a green-broke horse.

Maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t had the chance to talk to her. She didn’t owe him anything, not really. And he would be seeing her often enough over the next two months—there would be other chances.

But should I take them?

He frowned at the voice of wisdom in his head. Knowing he should leave well enough alone and doing it were two entirely different things.

As he jumped in the driver’s seat and closed the door, the jangle of an old rotary phone pierced the air. It was loud and shrill enough to catch his attention even on the job site, but he would have to remember to put his phone on vibrate when they got to the hall. Lucky he hadn’t received a call during church. This time.

The moment he saw his older sister’s name on the screen, his gut tightened with guilt. He already knew why she was calling.

“Hi, Rach. You’re probably wondering why I’m not at Mom and Dad’s right now.”

Toews Sunday Dinner was a family institution, when all of his local siblings and their families would descend on Marcus and Adelaide’s sprawling farmhouse to feast and reconnect after a busy week. He had been so distracted by Delanie and the funeral that he had completely forgotten to tell his mom or Rachel about the regular Sunday afternoon all-hands-on-deck play rehearsals that meant he and Emma wouldn’t be at dinner for the next two months.

“Actually, I was hoping you would still be in town,” Rachel said. Caleb could hear car noise in the background. Oliver must be driving. “Can you stop at the store and buy some coffee cream on the way out? Mom asked me to do it, but it slipped my mind. Ivan was up all night—he’s still teething that nasty molar, I think—and neither of us got a lot of sleep.”

Caleb sighed. With four kids under eight, it seemed Rachel was always up at night with someone. He didn’t know how she managed it. “Sorry, I wish I could, but actually, I won’t even be there today. Emma has play rehearsal every Sunday afternoon for the next two months, and I’m helping with sets. Maybe Dinah can bring it. Mom should have asked her in the first place.”

Twins Dinah and Isaac, the youngest of the Toews siblings, were both still single and childless. Isaac lived in Calgary, so he usually only made it to the farm for holidays and special occasions these days. But Dinah lived in town, where she worked as a hairdresser at a local salon. As the only single sister in the family, Caleb thought Mom should call on her a little more often to step up for things like this. At the same time, he knew why she didn’t.

“Is that Aunty Rachel?” Emma asked through a mouthful of sandwich, and Caleb nodded distractedly. “Say hi to Hannah for me!”

He shifted the phone down to answer his daughter. “Okay, Chickadee. I’ll tell her.” Into the receiver, he said, “Emma says hi to Hannah.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her,” Rachel echoed him. “Um, maybe I’ll call Abby,” she continued. “Dinah is probably out there already, anyway.”

“Sure.” And even if she wasn’t, she would probably forget the request the second she got off the phone. Caleb could never decide if Dinah were too self-absorbed to take note of others’ needs, or if she was just an airhead. Probably a bit of both. And Abby and her husband, Jake, had been perpetually late since their second son had been born a few months ago, so chances were good they were still near a grocery store. “Sorry I couldn’t help.”

“No problem. Who did they get to direct the play?”

Caleb hesitated before replying, “Delanie Fletcher.”

Silence hung. “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Things were over between Delanie and me a long time ago.”

Emma glanced up from her grilled cheese with bacon and eyed him.

“There’s over, and then there’s over,” Rachel said slowly.

Caleb glanced at Emma, who had gotten distracted by something out the window, and lowered his voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just worried about you. Can’t a big sister care?”

Caleb sighed and started the truck. “I’m fine, Rach. Thanks, though. And please give my love to everyone. We get Thanksgiving Sunday off, so I’ll see everyone in a month. Emma’s with me this year, I think.” He frowned, not sure about that.

“Feel free to stop by before then if you need to talk.”

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