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“I’ll come and help carry.” Whitney popped out of her seat. She looked at me. “You want the strawberry cheesecake?”
“I do. In a bowl.”
“Kayla?” Whitney looked at her.
“Yeah, sure. That sounds refreshing. I’ll do the cake cone though.”
I wrinkled my nose. Why anyone would take a cake cone when there were literally any other options was beyond me. “Hang on. Let me go get some money.”
“Nah. My treat.” Jenna stood. “We can call it a thanks for adding me to your crew gift.”
“You don’t have to—” I stopped when Jenna glared at me. “Thank you.”
Jenna nodded. “Better. You ready, Whitney?”
“Absolutely. Not sure about ice cream two nights running, but I guess I’m going to live on the edge.”
Jenna chuckled.
I waited until Whitney and Jenna had left before looking at Kayla. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just busy and somehow harder than teaching was.”
“Do you think it’s because you just get the struggling kids?”
I’d wondered about that when my brother first got this idea. He’d always told me the bright kids—the super achievers—made things more bearable on days when he wasn’t sure he was reaching the kids who struggled.
Kayla shook her head. “Actually, no. We’ve got a couple classes running in the late morning and early afternoon for homeschoolers. They’re more like a typical classroom with that mix of students. It’s nice to see kids who are excited about learning, too.”
“All of them?” I lifted my eyebrows.
Kayla snickered. “Well, no. They’re still kids, after all. But it’s still been fun to mix things up that way.”
I could see that. “Maybe it’s just change. You know, now that you’re in the middle of it and you have to face the reality that you’re not in your classroom like you thought you’d be.”
“That could be it.” Kayla sighed. “Either way? I’m glad I’ve got Austin with me. I don’t think I would have liked it if I’d stayed at the school and he wasn’t there.”
Aw. I loved how much Kayla loved my brother. And how much he loved her. They really were perfect for each other.
Maybe someday, God would see fit to bring me someone who would love me the same way.
And if it happened to be Cody? I wasn’t going to complain.
7
CODY
The church service finally wound to a close, and contemporary Christian music, like the local radio station loved to play, drifted through the speaker. I glanced down the row of my friends until my gaze landed on Megan, and I tried to catch her eye.
“So subtle.” Austin’s elbow in my ribs accompanied his whisper.
I glared at him. “What? I need to talk to her.”
“Uh-huh. So go talk to her.” Austin raised his eyebrows. “Will you be joining us for lunch?”
“Don’t I always?” I actually looked forward to hitting up the diner after church with the crew. Sometimes the women sat at a different table. Sometimes we pushed tables together for a big, rowdy crowd. Either way was fine. I just liked the fellowship and sense of family that it brought.
“Just thought you might have other plans.”
