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“We can head out to the foyer to see if they’ve come upstairs yet.”
Because he was eager to make sure that Amelia was still okay, Blake didn’t object to heading out of the sanctuary, even knowing they’d be coming right back in.
“Daddy!” Blake smiled when Amelia ran up to him.
He scooped her up. “Did you have a good time?”
“The best,” she told him. Her blue eyes sparkled, even if she didn’t have a big smile on her face. She held a couple of papers up. “We learned about Jonah.”
“Did you?”
“Yep. And Aunt Julia gave us a paper with the story, so I can read it to you later.”
“That’s great, Berry.”
“She did really well,” Julia said as she joined them. “A couple of little girls she knew from school were in the class.”
“Did she seem to connect with them?”
Julia nodded. “I think so. Though she clearly has a preference for Layla and Peyton.”
“Is there a kids’ activity for her during the service?”
“Yes. There’s a junior worship for kids in grade six and under. They are with us for the first part of the service, then they’re dismissed before the sermon.”
“Hi, Layla!” Amelia waved at the young girl who was walking with her mom and Peyton across the foyer.
Layla darted over to them, her dark brown hair swinging in its ponytail. Her big smile was friendly as she came to a stop in front of them. “Hi, Amelia Berry!”
Blake set Amelia down, watching as the girls hugged. Glancing up, he saw that Charli was also watching them. However, she didn’t seem to be as happy about their interactions. It wasn’t that she looked mad, just… not entirely happy.
Although, after twelve years, what did he know? He was definitely out of practice reading her expressions. That was assuming her expressions even meant what they once had.
She was a woman with twelve more years of life experience, just like he was a man with all that additional experience, too. Not all of it had been good for him, and he thought that perhaps, since she was raising her daughter by herself, it hadn’t been all good for her either.
He just hoped that she’d let their daughters continue to build a friendship. He could see a gentleness in Layla that Amelia needed, because Amelia hadn’t known a lot of that in her life.
Lauren and her sister, who had been the most influential people in Amelia’s life, had frequently fought like cats and dogs. Blake hadn’t seen any of that until after he and Lauren had been together for awhile. Since it took awhile for her to introduce him to Callie, he’d only figured out why after he’d finally met her.
Callie had flirted with him every time they were around each other. He hadn’t been interested in her, not even after he and Lauren had broken up. She’d tried again after Lauren had died, but when she’d realized that he still wasn’t interested, she’d washed her hands of him and Amelia completely.
Now, though, Amelia was coming into contact with people who seemed to actually enjoy being around her. Who offered her that gentleness that Blake wanted Amelia to experience in her life.
“Can we sit together, Mom?” Layla asked Charli.
It took a moment for Charli to respond, but thankfully, when she did, she agreed.
“Why don’t we go find seats?” Jay suggested, having been joined by Misha and Peyton.
They headed back into the sanctuary, and this time, they settled into a row closer to the back. Jay and Misha stepped into the row and shuffled all the way to the end, followed by Charli, Peyton, Layla, and Amelia. Blake ended up on the aisle on the end opposite to Jay.
When he felt a touch on his shoulder, Blake glanced up and saw his aunt walk past him, pausing briefly to give him a warm smile. She had turned out to be such a huge support for both him and Amelia since they’d arrived back in Serenity. There had been no judgment from her. Just a desire to do what she could to help him and Amelia adjust.
The three kids were chatting softly as the sanctuary slowly filled. Blake kept his attention on the large screen at the front, reading through the announcements that appeared on it. He wasn’t particularly interested in them, but he didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone right then.
And he didn’t need to find himself staring at Charli yet again.
For the first time, Blake wondered if she’d be willing to have a conversation with him. He owed her an apology. However, it was possible that she’d feel it was too little, too late. And he couldn’t blame her if that was the case.
