Terry looked up surprised.“I am.”
“You’re not,” her sister accused.
“What would you like me to do?”
“I don’t know.But something.I...I don’t trust this guy.”
“Then lock your door.”
“I have.”
Lesley leaned against the counter, crossing her feet at the ankle.She hung her head, thinking over how much of the conversation with Cole she wanted to relate to her sister.The memory of her actions made her realize how ridiculous the whole thing had been.
“Maybe I should be more concerned.”Terry broke into her thoughts, and her eyes flickered over her sister briefly.“But I’ve continued to pray about this neighbor thing.”
“You have?”Lesley’s head shot up.
“If you want to know the truth, I’ve been worried about you lately.”
“Me?”
Terry stretched a piece of plastic wrap across the top of the cheese.Her gaze avoided Lesley’s.“I know how you feel aboutDale and I know”—she took in a deep breath and hesitated—“That you’re not seeing anyone else.So I started praying that God would bring a new man into your life.”
“You’re nuts!Do you mean to tell me that you’ve been praying that God would move a man in next door?”Gathering speed, her words seemed to stumble over her tongue.“And...and not just any man, mind you, but an unreasonable, mysterious boor?”
Lesley witnessed the silent laugh her sister struggled to disguise as Terry turned and pretended to stir the already cooked meat.“Nothing so dramatic,” she said at last.
“What, then?”
“Well, I’ve continued to pray about the neighbor situation, that’s true, but I assumed another girl would move in.”She hooked a long strand of dark hair around her ear.“I don’t know why.But I have been wondering about you and Dale.”
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
Terry set the spoon on a dish at the side of the stove and turned.“Are you two fighting again?”
“I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
Linking her hands behind her back, Terry shrugged.“See what I mean?”
Not willing to admit anything, but unable to ignore the taut line of her sister’s mouth or the concern etched about her eyes, Lesley nodded.
“You need someone new in your life.”Terry’s voice was gentle, loving.“That’s been my prayer.You can’t be angry with me for that, can you?”
Dusk was purpling the sky when Lesley pulled into her driveway and shut off the car’s engine.The conversation with her sister had been more disconcerting than she cared to admit.Her thoughts remained troubled as she opened the door.The aroma of stewing meat captured her immediate attention.
What was the matter with her appetite?No lunch and no interest in dinner.
The phone rang, jerking her attention beyond the kitchen.
“Hello.”
“It’s about time you got home.Just where have you been?”
“Evening, Dale.”Lesley released a slow breath and ignored his question.“What can I do for you?”
“The party.I want you to know you’re going to Larry’s party with me or that’s it.In other words, we’re finished, through, over.”
The decision wasn’t even difficult.“Then so be it,” she told him stiffly.
