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I watched my sister flounce out of the kitchen with her food, and sighed. I was never going to understand women.
I stared at the food on the table and my stomach twisted. I wanted a big, juicy hamburger and crisp fries. Not this homebody meal.
I took out my phone and frowned at it. After a moment, I opened the group text with the guys and tapped away. Maybe someone would meet me. Maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, not hanging out here was exactly the right call.
I couldn’t quite make myself leave everything a disaster, so I spent a few minutes putting away the food and stacking the dishes in the sink. I’d cooked, which made it Megan’s turn to clean. So that was enough.
I didn’t even tell her I was going out.
Yes, we usually did. But it wasn’t a rule or anything. And since she couldn’t even with me—I rolled my eyes; what a stupid phrase—then I didn’t need to disturb her with my comings and goings.
It wasn’t a long drive to the burger joint. Technically, it wasn’t in Old Town, but it was close enough that it didn’t lose the small-town vibe. The parking lot was practically deserted. Not surprising for a Tuesday, but I also wasn’t going to complain about not having to fight for a table.
Since none of the guys had responded, I took a four-top and placed my order.
“Hey, man.”
I looked up as Cody dropped into a seat across from me. “Hey.”
“You order already?”
“Yeah. Haven’t been here long, though.” I slid my phone back into my pocket. “I would have waited if I’d known you were coming.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Cody grinned. “I’d say I’m going to try to do better about that but I also don’t want to lie.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad you came. How’re things in the nonprofit world?”
“Pretty good. You remember Jackson?”
Did I? I’d been to one event that the Ballentine Corporation had put on and Cody had introduced me around, but unless someone sat in my class five days a week, I didn’t learn names fast. “Maybe?”
“Jackson Trent. He’s my direct boss. Doesn’t matter. Anyway, he’s talking about taking a sabbatical. I guess he and his wife have friends who are missionaries in Mexico and they might go down for two or three months to help out with a big building project.” Cody shrugged. “So I might get to take his job on for the duration.”
“Nice. Congrats.” I gave him a high five. “Is that instead of or on top of your current workload?”
Cody winced. “On top of. So, yeah. I get it. Still. I’m psyched. Where’s Megan?”
My eyebrows lifted. “At home, probably? Or maybe she went to the bookstore. Why?”
“No reason.” Cody paused when the server brought me my drink and he placed his order. When the server left, he continued, “I guess I figured she’d be here. Don’t you cook on Tuesdays?”
“Yeah. And I did. That’s what she’s eating. I decided I wasn’t in the mood.”
Cody studied me. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t even know. That’s what’s annoying. Kayla’s going on a date with Luke Donnelly on Sunday after church.”
“The youth pastor?”
“See? That was my response.”
Cody frowned. “I don’t see them together at all. She’s perky and fun. And he’s…well, okay, he’s a youth pastor so he’s kinda the same. Hm. Maybe it’s not so wrong after all.”
I clamped my teeth together to keep from objecting. Because it wasabsolutelywrong. I just couldn’t explain why. “Anyway, I told Megan. She went off to text Kayla. Then when she came back, she’s all angry at me because Kayla has a date.”
“Huh.”
The server came back with Cody’s drink and assured us that the food would be up shortly.
