it wasn’t really a contest. Lace was nice, but Rae…Rae had him almost regretting he was going back to Africa in a couple months.
Dave dropped a new log on the fire and both ladies jumped. He ruffled Rae’s hair. “Sorry. Want a toasted marshmallow if I get the stuff?”
“Sure.”
Patricia came back and James slid over, gestured for her to put her feet up on the couch. She had finally convinced two worn-out kids that ten o’clock was late enough for bed. “Thanks, my feet are killing me.”
“Maybe you should have passed on the game of tag.”
She laughed. “And lose out on the opportunity to hug my son? It’s worth a few aches.”
James pushed off her tennis shoes and gently massaged her feet. Both her ankles were swollen. He smiled. He was almost positive she was pregnant.
He would be back in Africa when the child was born. His face tightened at the thought.
“Ribs still bothering you?” Patricia asked quietly.
“Not bad,” James replied. The pain was tolerable. He’d live. “What’s that you’re eating?” he asked, noting the sandwich she had brought back with her.
She looked guilty. “Roast beef and hot mustard.”
She was pregnant.
James grinned. “Next time you go scavenging for something to eat, I’ll teach you how to make Manallies. You’ll love them.”
Lace won the checker game and Rae rolled over onto her back with a groan. “Lace, you are a devious, underhanded, world champion of world champions. What is that now, the last fifteen games we have played?”
“Leo could beat me,” Lace replied, sliding the pieces back into the box.
“Leo could beat anyone at anything,” Rae replied, pushing herself up and redoing the ponytail that was holding back her long hair.
Dave offered a golden toasted marshmallow. “Careful, it’s hot.”
Rae slipped it off the stick. “Thanks.” She stood up. “Anyone need a drink? I’m going to go raid the ice chest.”
“See if we’ve got another Sprite,” Lace replied. Rae glanced at Dave who shook his head and at Patricia who indicated a soda at her feet, stopping at James with a raised eyebrow.
“Root beer.”
She nodded. “Coming up.”
She was gone a long time for someone simply getting sodas from the ice chest. She came back with three soda cans. She handed the Sprite to Lace. “Dave, you want to help me carry in more wood for the box? The radio said we might get some rain tonight.”
“Sure. Be right there.”
James caught a private byplay between Lace and Rae, saw a smile pass between them, and wondered if the guys should stick together. They were outnumbered two to one. Rae looked at him as she handed him the soda he had asked for; James decided Dave was on his own.
They disappeared out the front door and James saw Lace struggling to contain her laughter.
“Sorry, I’ve got to see this. It’s two years overdue.” Lace slipped over to the window to look out at the porch.
“What did he do?”
“Put ice down her back when she and Leo were dancing.”
James glanced at his sister. “Who’s Leo? He’s been mentioned several times,” he asked softly.
“Rae’s business partner. He was killed in a car accident a year and a half ago,” Patricia replied.
“They were close?”
“Yeah.”
His heart tightened. No wonder he saw sadness behind Rae’s smile.
There was a crash from the front of the house and the roar of a surprised man.
Lace was laughing. “Good job, Rae.” She came back and dropped into one of the plush chairs. “We’re going to need to get more ice,” she remarked, reaching down to pick up her soda. “Dave is sitting in it.”
Dave came in brushing water off the back of his jeans and shaking ice out of the back of his sweatshirt. “Rae, that was excessive,” he mildly remarked, scowling at her as she slipped under his arm.
“That was two years of interest,” she replied with a twinkle in her eyes. “You want a towel?”
He tweaked her ponytail. “Bring me two.”
She came back with two bath towels, draped one around his shoulders. He took the other and rubbed under his sweatshirt.
“You know I owe you one now.”
She laughed. “Got to catch me first.”
She dropped into the chair opposite Lace. “Lace, he’s got six days to retaliate. I think I should have waited a few days.”
Dave came in carrying a soda and Rae ducked when he stopped behind her chair, half-afraid she was going to get a bath with it.
James chuckled.
It was going to be quite a week around these three friends.
Chapter Four
“Tranquil morning.”
It was the crack of dawn. Rae, seated on the porch steps, turned, surprised. She knew neither Dave nor Lace were likely to be moving at this time of the morning.
James.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked, concerned. He was in pain, she could see it in his movements and his face.
“Overdid it yesterday. I pay for mistakes like that,” he replied, sinking down onto the porch steps beside her. “Thanks for making the coffee.”
She smiled. “Not a problem. I don’t wake up without it.”
“These days, neither do I,” he replied. “Why aren’t you sleeping in?”
How was she suppose to answer that? The truth or something that made sense? Rae shrugged a shoulder, then changed her mind and decided to tell him the truth. “Ever have one of these experiences in life that just stops you in your tracks until you figure it out?”
She liked his smile and the frank way he turned and met her gaze. “Like God just grabbed your jacket collar, tugged, and said ‘No, think about this’?” he asked softly.
Rae nodded. She drew her knees up and folded her arms around them. “I woke up about 2:00 a.m. with Psalm 37 running through my mind. I don’t know why. Feels important.”
He
