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And she was coming to the place where she could accept that she wanted that possibility to become more of a reality. It was scary for her, but maybe this time around, they had a chance of making a relationship work.
She’s very fortunate to have you.
Blake: I’m fortunate to have her because she’s brought me back to the place I always wanted to be.
But would Amelia be enough to keep him in Serenity?
Would Charli be enough to keep him there?
She wasn’t so sure about that, considering that she hadn’t been the first time around.
Serenity seems to agree with her.
Blake: Yes, she really loves it here. Doesn’t seem to miss Texas at all. For which I’m very glad.
Charli could only hope it stayed that way after winter descended on Serenity. Coming from Texas, northern Idaho’s winter was going to come as something of a shock, she was sure.
Blake: I’d better let you go. Ten o’clock is quickly approaching. Thanks for the chat!
See you tomorrow.
After they said goodbye, Charli gripped her phone and prayed yet again that she wasn’t making a mistake in allowing Blake and Amelia into her and Layla’s life.
She knew that she could survive if Blake walked away again. She’d already suffered one heartbreak at his hands, and she’d lived through it.
What she didn’t want was for Layla to be heartbroken if things didn’t work out. And that would only be worse if she knew who Blake and Amelia truly were to her.
Charli felt trapped, but she knew the longer she put off telling Blake, the worse breaking the news to him could end up being. She hoped that he’d understand why she was reluctant to reveal Layla’s relationship to him. After all, he’d walked out of her life without even giving her a chance to talk with him.
As she sat on her bed, Charli closed her eyes and prayed, asking God to give her wisdom on how to handle everything. That she would somehow get control of her emotions, and not make her decisions motivated by fear.
And more importantly, she prayed that Blake’s heart would remain open and understanding when he finally found out about his relationship to Layla.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
When his text alert went at lunch on Monday, Blake pulled it out to check the message.
Charli: I forgot that I have a meeting after school, so I’ll be about an hour later than usual getting home. Will that still be okay?
Yep. That’s definitely fine.
Blake was still in shock that Charli had agreed to have regular contact with him again, with the possibility of something deeper developing. He hoped and prayed that it would, but only time would tell.
Charli: Have a good afternoon.
You too. See you later.
He stared at his phone for a moment, then slipped it into the pocket of his coveralls.
“Everything okay?”
Blake looked at his co-worker. “Yes. Why?”
“You just looked a little shell-shocked.”
That was a pretty apt description, Blake realized. However, he wasn’t going to share the reason he’d looked that way. He didn’t plan to talk to anyone about what he and Charli were doing until she told him that she wanted people to know.
Though he wanted to shout it to the world, Blake understood why Charli was being cautious. The reasons to keep things to themselves were different this time since there were kids involved. She was protecting Layla from the possibility that it might not work out, just like he was protecting Amelia. He didn’t want Amelia to be disappointed, especially since she was praying for this very thing.
