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He was settling the tire into the truck bed when another car pulled up behind Charli’s. Will climbed out from behind the wheel and called out a greeting, which was echoed by Janessa when she appeared from between the two cars.
“What are you doing here, Blake?” Janessa asked as she and Will headed toward him.
“I’m picking up Charli’s winter tires to switch them over tomorrow when I winterize her car.”
The three of them walked into the garage, where Will said, “Do you need a ride to work tomorrow, Charli?”
Blake hefted another tire up and headed back to the truck, leaving Charli to answer that question.
“No. Blake has offered to let me use his truck while he works on my car.” Blake grinned as he dropped the tire with the others, happy that she wasn’t trying to hide that they were choosing to have contact with each other. “And I’ll take Amelia to and from school.”
“Wow,” Janessa said, like Blake knew she would. “Look at you two having conversations, even when you’re not being forced to.”
Blake grabbed the last tire and carried it to the truck. Once all four were positioned correctly, he closed the tailgate, then pulled the cover over the tires, and locked it.
“What are we having for supper?” Janessa asked as Blake joined them.
“Spaghetti and pasta sauce.”
“Oh, you always make plenty of that,” Janessa said before turning to Blake. “You and Amelia should stay for dinner.”
Blake hesitated, looking over at Charli. She didn’t look upset or frustrated with Janessa’s invitation, which was progress, as far as Blake was concerned.
When she didn’t protest, he took encouragement from that and said, “Sure. That would be great. Although Amelia’s probably going to be torn about it.”
“Why’s that?” Charli asked.
“I told her we’d be having burgers, nuggets, and fries for supper. But I think she’ll be equally happy to spend more time with Layla.”
“Well, let’s head inside,” Charli said. “I need to check the food.”
Blake followed the others inside as the garage door rumbled down into place. He took off his boots and jacket and left them in the mudroom, then stepped through the short hallway into the kitchen.
He’d gotten a light whiff of spicy tomato sauce and garlic as he’d stood at the front door earlier, but the aroma intensified in the kitchen.
The girls were there as well, and they were setting the breakfast nook table. It was quite a bit smaller than the dining room table, but there was plenty of room for the six of them.
Amelia always helped to set the table at the apartment, so she didn’t need too much instruction from Layla. The way the group moved around each other made it obvious that everyone pitched in to help regularly. He offered his help, but he was waved away.
Soon enough, however, they sat down around a table filled with food. Janessa said the prayer for the food, then they filled their plates.
The food was great, but the company was even better. He was glad—and relieved—that Charli seemed to have no issue with him and Amelia crashing a meal in her home yet again.
Blake sat at one end of the table with Amelia on one hand and Charli on the other. Will sat opposite Blake, between Janessa and Layla. Conversation flowed easily between all of them, and there was a lot of laughter as well.
This was what he was working toward with Charli. This was what he wanted in his and Amelia’s future. He didn’t know if he deserved it. He didn’t know if it was truly God’s will. But he was going to give it his full heart, moving forward until the door slammed in his face.
Twelve years ago, he might not have had the strength and determination to fight for what he wanted. Now, however, he knew what he’d lost, and he was willing to work as hard as he needed to in order to achieve it.
But if it came to the point where he needed to walk away, he could do so knowing that he’d given it his all. That he hadn’t let the fear of being hurt keep him from trying his best with Charli.
Once they were done eating, the girls went off to Layla’s room.
When Blake offered to help clean up, Janessa said, “That’s a great idea. We’ll leave you two to it.”
Charli gave a huff of laughter. “Yeah. Off you go.”
“Are you sure?” Will asked, glancing at the back of his wife as she left the kitchen.
