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Now, however, she was more jaded. More aware of what could happen.
Hopefully, she and Blake would use the experience they’d gained over the years to work harder at making the relationship a success. Charli was willing to do her best, but the wariness that lingered in her mind couldn’t be ignored.
As she sat on the edge of her bed, still dressed in her wedding finery, Charli prayed that she hadn’t just set herself up for heartbreak.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Blake walked a tired Amelia into church the next morning, then helped her out of her jacket in the coatroom. There were times when she would sleep in, but there were also times when, even if she went to bed way past her normal bedtime, she would wake up early. Which was what had happened that morning.
Usually, she was much more eager to get to church and go to her Sunday school room. But that day, she held Blake’s hand and slowly walked beside him as they went downstairs, instead of tugging him along like she normally did.
“Good morning, my dears,” Julia greeted them as they walked through the door into the small classroom. “How are we today?”
“I’m fine,” Blake said. “But little Miss Berry is a bit tired this morning.”
“Did you have fun yesterday, Amelia?” Julia asked as she took Amelia’s hand and led her over to the table set up in the middle of the room.
Blake watched her for a moment, waiting until Amelia looked at him to give her a smile and a wave before he left the room. He nodded to people he met on the stairs as he went back up to the foyer, then made his way to the sanctuary for the adult Sunday school class.
He stepped into the large room, then moved to the side to check who was there already. Usually everyone sat on one side of the sanctuary for the lesson, since the leader used a smaller podium set on the floor instead of on the stage.
It didn’t appear that any of the Halversons had arrived yet, so Blake made his way along the outside aisle to an empty pew a little over halfway down, stepped into the row, and sat down.
He took a deep breath, then blew it out, trying to focus on what he was there for. Yes, he was excited to see Charli, but he knew he needed to not let that be a distraction.
Blake was determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, which included not allowing his motivation for attending church to shift. He had to remember the importance of the changes he’d made in his life over the years. Changes that made him a better man than he’d been twelve years ago.
He was just glad that Charli had given him the opportunity to show that, and he didn’t want to mess it up by being distracted from the thing that had helped change him.
There was a time and a place for dwelling on the second chance Charli had given him, and that wasn’t during the church service.
“Morning, Blake,” Jay said as he and Misha joined him in the row.
“Good morning.” Blake shifted in the pew. “You recovered from yesterday?”
“Yeah. We tossed Peyton into bed and crashed ourselves. Unfortunately, Ciara went to bed at her normal time, so she was also up at her usual time, which was… early.”
“Amelia was up early too,” Blake said. “And she’s dragging today.”
“We’re not usually the first ones of the family here, so I have a feeling a lot of them must be dragging.”
They chatted for a bit, and it was with just minutes to spare before the service started that the others arrived. Charli came down the center aisle with Will and Janessa trailing after her. She scooted in and sat down next to Blake.
“Made it,” she said with an exhale and a tired smile. “Whew.”
“Busy morning?”
“Late start.”
“Welcome, everyone,” the leader said as he stepped up to the podium, putting an end to their conversation. “Let’s say a word of prayer before we begin.”
Unlike the service, the Sunday school class dove right into the lesson following the prayer. They’d been going through the book of James, and Blake was enjoying it. The last time he’d been part of a book study had been when he’d been deployed. Unfortunately, he’d had to leave before it was finished.
At first, he’d found it a bit odd that the army chaplain had chosen to do an extended study of a book or passage of the Bible since people on the base were constantly coming and going. There was no guarantee someone would be there for the entire study. However, he’d since realized that he didn’t need to be there for everything in order to find value in the part he was present for.
Those lessons had also been less in depth than the Sunday school ones, but Blake had come to realize that, like him, many who chose to attend the services and the Bible studies were young in their faith. Not everyone, of course. The ones who were more mature in their Christian faith had often helped to mentor others.
As the leader began the lesson, Blake unzipped the case that held his Bible and notebook. Charli also pulled her Bible and a much fancier notebook out of the large bag she’d brought with her.
