“Is your family excited to see you?” She resumed eating her steak, though with less gusto than moments ago.
“Only Dad knows in my immediate family, but Aunt Jenny also knows. I wanted to make sure I could see her with the small availability of free time I’ll have. Dad invited her and my uncle to dinner on Saturday, along with the twins, but Becka and Candace don’t know I’ll be there. I’ll show up and surprise them.”
“That will be fun. My parents did something similar when Drake was in college. He attended a small university in upstate New York, so his visits home were scarce. They told me with Thanksgiving so close to Christmas, him coming home for Turkey Day wasn’t possible that year. Our church always has a special service that Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and I did think it odd my parents didn’t attend, but I took their word that something came up they had to take care of. Little did I know that something was picking up Drake at the airport.”
“Did they make you wait until Thanksgiving Day to see him?”
She took a sip of tea. “After the fact, Mom and Dad told me that was their original plan, but Drake talked them out of it. He said with such limited time, he’d rather spend it with me than hiding from me.”
Judah hadn’t met Drake yet and didn’t know when he would, but his estimation of the man increased with Maegan’s story. “That was sweet of him.”
“He can be, but don’t let him know you know. He’ll deny it to his dying day.”
“My sisters would say the same about me. I wish I could see them tomorrow night, but the workshops for the conference don’t end until eleven, so Saturday will have to do. I’ll be happy for the time I do have with them.”
“That’s the spirit.”
A natural lull in conversation arose as they finished eating. They cleaned up together, and he loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher to run after she’d left.
“I should get going. You have an early morning tomorrow.”
“Not too early,” he said, hoping to buy a few more minutes with her, even as they walked to the front door. “Do you have any big plans for the weekend?’
“Mom asked if I wanted to help her plant seeds, so I’ll be in the greenhouse with her Saturday morning. I thought about going to jazz night still, but no one else is able to make it.” She ran her teeth over her bottom lip then opened her mouth like she wanted to say more but nothing came out.
“What is it?”
Her shoulders squirmed. “Saturday and Sunday will be weird is all. I’ve kind of gotten used to hanging out with you on the weekends.”
“Me too. Your friends probably think I’m monopolizing all your time.”
“Nah, they like you. Morgan already suggested a double date. Her husband works odd hours, so we’d have to work to find a good time, but you’d like Flynn.”
“I’m down for it.”
“When you’re back in town, we’ll figure out a time.”
Her hand reached for the doorknob, and an unexpected shock jabbed his heart at the thought of her leaving. He knew she had to, but he didn’t have to like it.
“Have you told anyone that we’re, you know, not actually dating?” What had possessed him to ask that question? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, or what that answer could mean.
Her gaze darted to the floor, and her arms fell to her sides. “No. Have you?”
He shook his head. “I don’t see that it’s anyone’s business but ours.”
“Agreed.” She glanced at the door but didn’t grab the doorknob again, seemingly as reluctant to leave as he was for her to go.
Opening the door, he let her pass through first, then walked with Maegan to her car. “I’ll call you when I get to Charlotte.”
“Drive safely.”
“I will.” Before he could think too much into it, he bent his neck and kissed her forehead. He touched her arm softly, letting his fingers trail against the sleeve of her arm ever so briefly.
She looked up at him, questions burning in her eyes. The same questions he had, but fear held him back. Without another word, she got in her car, and he stepped aside so she could drive off, leaving him with a gaping hole of loneliness for the next few days.
Chapter Eleven
Judah rubbed his temples. The drive from Dogwood Creek to Charlotte had been downright tedious, leaving him wishing he’d accepted the offer of a flight. An overturned eighteen-wheeler on I-40 had all lanes blocked, and he sat in traffic for two hours without moving an inch. On the bright side, he’d heard the driver was safe and had minimal injuries, which was more important than his delay.
