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Gray clouds obscured the sun when Blake and Amelia left the apartment the next morning to go to church. They’d had completely sunny days for the time they’d been in California, but Blake was still glad they were in Serenity. The cold outside couldn’t touch the warmth that existed inside him. The warmth of contentment and even joy.
The only thing that would make life better would be if the relationship between him and Charli was official and out for the world to know.
When they reached the church, they took off their jackets, then headed downstairs to the Sunday school rooms. His aunt was waiting in the room and greeted them with hugs. Blake gave her a quick rundown of what had happened with his family.
“You’ll have to tell me more later,” Julia said.
“I will,” Blake promised. “But just know that we are both very happy to be home.”
Julia beamed at him. “I love hearing you say that. We’re so happy to have you here.”
When the arrival of more children interrupted their conversation, Blake said goodbye to Julia and Amelia before returning upstairs.
His heartbeat thumped rapidly in anticipation of seeing Charli again. It had been late by the time they got home from the airport and Amelia was settled, so they hadn’t been able to talk yet.
Once inside the sanctuary, he looked around but didn’t see Charli there yet. He headed down to one of the rows they usually occupied and took a seat.
Faces were becoming more familiar. Like the man sitting in the row in front of him, who he recognized from having worked on his car at the garage.
It wasn’t long before the rows around him began to fill.
“Hey, Blake,” Jay said as he stood at the end of the row.
Greeting the man, Blake got to his feet and shuffled down to make room for the others. Jay didn’t immediately follow him. Instead, he motioned for Charli to precede him as she joined him and Misha.
She did so without complaint, and as their gazes met, she gave Blake a quick smile.
Something settled inside him at the sight of her, and he was happy when she chose to sit next to him, leaving only an inch or so between them. He’d moved right to the far end of the row, so he didn’t have anyone sitting on his other side.
“How are you doing?” Blake asked.
“I’m good. Especially now.”
The boldness of her response made Blake smile. “I feel that way too.”
“By the way,” Charli said, leaning close. “We’re going to get our Christmas trees this afternoon. Want to come?”
Blake lifted his brows. “I thought you were going on Friday.”
“We were, but once we realized you weren’t going to be able to come with us, we decided to wait.”
Unexpected emotion choked Blake for a moment, and he had to swallow before saying, “In that case, we’d love to join you.”
“Perfect.”
Charli seemed much more relaxed than she usually was when they were around her siblings. Had something happened over the past few days?
“Come by the house for lunch after the service, then we’ll go to the tree farm,” she said as the Sunday school teacher stepped up behind the small podium.
“Sounds good.”
In fact, it sounded great. He was more than ready to spend the afternoon with people he and Amelia had come to really care about. Particularly Charli and Layla.
Sunday school and the service were a comforting familiarity, and as he listened to announcements about the weeks ahead, Blake found that he was looking forward to being part of the congregation for the Christmas season.
Once the service was over, he told Charli that he and Amelia were going to run by the apartment to change into more appropriate clothes for wandering around a Christmas tree farm. Amelia was flying high once she heard the plan for the afternoon and hurried him along.
“You don’t have to speed, Daddy,” she said. “Just go fast.”
