Dating the Best Man Read online

  She finished the drink, then handed him the empty bottle. “Thanks. That was a great idea. But I’m not so sure about going back to get something to eat here, and I’m not fit to sit in a restaurant.” She especially wasn’t fit to sit in an enclosed vehicle with him. She needed a shower, and failing that, to stay downwind. “After all that exercise it doesn’t seem right to eat any of the greasy stuff from any of the concessions.”

  His smile deepened. “I was hoping you’d say that. Do you like chicken?”

  Before she could answer, he reached back into the truck and brought out a tote bag.

  “You brought supper?”

  He nodded. “Yup. Don’t think I went to a lot of work. It’s all bought. All I did was put it together.” He reached behind the seat again, this time bringing out a bag that she could tell from the sound contained plates and cutlery. “It’s still early so we should get a nice picnic table. If not I have a blanket so we can sit on the ground.”

  She hadn’t been on a picnic since she’d been a child. Alex had never taken her to a park; she’d never shared a meal anyplace other than a restaurant with him. “You know what… I’d like to sit on the grass. Bring the blanket.”

  His eyebrows scrunched. “Really? Okay. But only if you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Once more he reached behind the seat and brought out a classic and well-used gray picnic blanket. It even looked like the one her parents had used when she was a child. Only Cory’s was obviously more used, so well-used that some spots were even threadbare.

  This time walking at a pace comfortable for her, he led her to a grassy spot near the picnic tables. As he lifted the food containers out of the insulated tote, Daphne unpacked the plates—real glass plates and real cutlery—from the other bag.

  The only disposable items were napkins.

  When everything was set out and ready to be served, Cory paused to say a short, quiet prayer then began to open the containers.

  Daphne couldn’t hold back her smile. “I haven’t been on a picnic since I was a kid. This brings back such memories. Rick and I had those high-powered pump-type water guns, I forget what they were called, and we ran all over the park hiding then squirting each other. Did you have picnics with your family when you were a kid?”

  “No.”

  She waited for him to say more, but he lowered his head and reached into the insulated tote for more blue-colored drinks.

  “When Rick invited a friend to come with us, my dad teamed up with me while my mom just sat back and shook her head. We always won. My mom says that’s why Rick became a cop. Sometimes it was just me and my dad. He always let me win, but it was still fun.” She stopped, smiling at more memories. “Sometimes it was me and Mom against Rick and Dad. Whenever that happened it always ended up with Mom and Dad having it out while Rick and I just watched. It was hilarious watching them squirting each other.”

  “I’m an only child,” he mumbled, not looking up. “It was just me and my mother. My mother didn’t do water fights with me, or anyone.”

  She didn’t miss the point that he didn’t say anything about his father passing away when he was young, which meant that either his father had left when Cory was very young or had never been around at all.

  She waited a bit longer for him to say something, but when he didn’t, she thought it best not to ask. Growing up, a number of her friends had come from blended families. Everyone she’d known whose parents had gone through a divorce saw their fathers on scheduled visits or alternating weekends. One friend disappeared all summer to live with her father then came back a week before school started. She’d never known anyone whose father wasn’t in the picture at all.

  When the silence hung for an uncomfortable length of time, Daphne thought it best to change the subject. “You sure brought a lot of stuff. Even real plates and cutlery. I’ve never been on a picnic with real plates before.”

  He sighed and then looked at her. “You’ll never see me using paper plates or plastic knives and forks. I do a lot of campground work in the summer, and I see too much where people leave all their garbage in the sites. Or even worse, I’ve seen people bring foam cups and plates and then burn them in the campfires. That’s so bad for the environment. When you’re out camping, you’re supposed to respect nature, not burn hazardous materials and send toxic chemicals into the air.”

  He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be ranting. I had planned to bring you here for a nice picnic. Would you like some pickles?” He opened a small jar of dills and held it toward her.

  She would bet that he diligently recycled all his jars as well as the drink bottles. “Sure. I’d love some pickles.”

  “How are you feeling now that you’re sitting down?”

  Daphne sighed. “I want to say fine, but I’m not. I realize how badly out of shape I am if I can’t even do a fast walk for a period of time. I should probably join a gym or something.”

  He smiled. “Did Rick tell you that’s where we met, the gym?”

  “No. He didn’t.” But now that she knew, it wasn’t really a surprise. Rick went to the gym often, and with the shape Cory was in, it wasn’t a surprise, either.

  “I don’t know if going to the gym would be a good idea for you right now. I know it sounds wrong, but not many people who go to the gym are really out of shape. Many newbies are already in good shape and they go either for maintenance or to go to ridiculous lengths for extreme bodybuilding. Even the women. I think right now it would be devastating to your self-confidence. I’d like to keep working with you. When you’ve worked up to a certain point, I know some really great trails to build up your endurance.”

  “I suppose there are high minimum standards for strength and endurance to do what you do, isn’t there? I read that forest rangers also do search and rescue, and if it’s urgent, you have to help fight forest fires, too.”

  “Yup.”

  Doing those heroic things, and not talking about how strong and heroic he was to do them, said a lot about him as a man. Although search and rescue, and especially fighting forest fires, was dangerous. Not the same as police work, but still dangerous in a different way.

  By the time they were packed up and ready to leave many other people had come to also have a picnic, and had already left.

  “I guess you don’t want to go out for coffee or anything, do you?”

  She shook her head. “No. I just want to go home and have a shower and go to bed. I’m really tired, which is another reminder of how badly out of shape I am.”

  “What about tomorrow morning? Are you going to church? I’d like to go with you.”

  At the thought of going to church, her blood went cold. “No. I haven’t been to church since…well, you know. I went once and everyone kept asking about Alex. I haven’t told anyone except my pastor all the details about what happened. Everyone is blaming me for him moving away so fast, and they’re all talking, conjecturing what I’ve done to drive him away. I can’t face them. I can’t talk about it. I won’t. I haven’t been back since.”

  Cory’s brows knotted. “How about if you come with me to my church? You don’t know anyone there and you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

  A million thoughts coursed through her. She couldn’t say she was alone and that God had abandoned her. At the last second, literally, Rick had showed up to save her from the final invasion. She couldn’t blame God for Alex’s actions—she could only blame Alex. But she should have thanked God for Rick coming when he had, and she hadn’t.

  Now she had one more person, not a paid therapist, but a friend, even if he was a friend of her brother’s, who wanted to help. Maybe he could still be her friend when she got herself together again.

  She’d already told herself it was time to get her life together, and to get back in touch with people. It looked as if it was time to get back in touch with God, too.

  Daphne cleared her throat. “Sure. I
can do that. Give me the address and I’ll meet you there.”

  He opened his mouth and raised one finger in the air but didn’t speak. He lowered his finger. “Sure. I’ll text it to you.” He reached into his pocket for his phone and started texting. Soon her phone sang out the text ringtone.

  “Great,” she said, trying to mean it. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  * * *

  Again, Cory found himself waiting in a parking lot for Daphne.

  Usually by this time Sunday mornings he was already inside, greeting people and handing out bulletins.

  Today, he smiled and nodded at everyone as they passed by him on their way to the building while he leaned against his truck, his ankles crossed, trying to look casual, when he was anything but. He was starting to get nervous that Daphne wasn’t coming.

  Her home church should have been the first place she’d go for help and support, but he did understand why she hadn’t gone back. Hopefully she could find the same support here that he had received when he’d needed it. But he also knew that first she was going to feel awkward in a crowd of strangers.

  Not that his church was exactly a crowd. It was a comfortable enough group that everyone knew everyone else, even if just by name. Cory checked his watch, then reached for his cell phone so he could text her. The same second he laid his hand on his phone, her car came into the lot.

  He smiled like a kid in the candy store as he watched her circle, trying to get a spot closest to the door of the building.

  As she exited her car and approached him, he pushed himself to a standing position.

  “Hi. I was getting worried.”

  Her cheeks turned pink, which he thought was a good sign. “Sorry. I’m kind of embarrassed about the reason I was nearly late.”

  “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

  The pink turned to red. “I feel like I have to tell you. It sounds so dumb, but I couldn’t find anything to wear. You said it was casual so I wanted to wear jeans, but everything I picked looked sloppy because it was a couple of sizes too big. You’re right. I do need to gain the weight back. I don’t know many women who would say that, but I’m going to be honest. I really looked at myself, and don’t feel comfortable.”

  He extended one arm toward her, then quickly withdrew it and rammed his hand into his pocket. As much as he wanted her to hold his hand, that wasn’t going to happen right now. Maybe one day, but not today.

  “Then after church I’ll take you out for something fattening. You can make all the women around you jealous as you eat the whole thing and enjoy it. We’d better go in. There will be lots of good seats, but I don’t like to rush.”

  As they entered the foyer, Cory had to smile when he saw his friend Dave handing out bulletins. He’d never seen Dave do anything so outgoing before. Not that Dave was shy, but he didn’t interact with people very much.

  The second Dave saw Daphne he looked back and forth between the two of them and his eyes widened. He stiffened then smiled graciously, not doing a very good job of hiding his surprise that for the first time, ever, Cory had brought a woman to church.

  Dave extended one hand toward Daphne. “Welcome to St. Nick’s. I see you’re with Cory. I’m Dave. And you are?”

  Cory sighed. “Dave, meet Daphne.”

  As he spoke Dave’s name, Dave’s wife, who had been talking with a group of women, turned her head. The second she laid eyes on Daphne she excused herself and joined them.

  “Hi. I’m Ashley. I’m with him. And I can see you’re with Cory.”

  Daphne wasn’t as with him as Ashley was with Dave, but if he had his way, that would change as quickly as possible.

  Daphne smiled hesitantly. “Hi.”

  When she didn’t say more, he tugged a bulletin out of Dave’s hand. “I’m going to have to give you lessons at handing out bulletins. You’re supposed to let go when someone wants one.”

  While Dave’s jaw dropped, Ashley started laughing.

  Cory led Daphne toward the sanctuary, but didn’t get very far. Another friend, Jeff, was almost jogging toward him, probably to check out the woman he’d brought. His wife Natasha wasn’t very far behind. No doubt both of them wanted to check out the reason he wasn’t handing out bulletins this week.

  Before he had a chance to warn Daphne, Jeff and Natasha were standing in front of them.

  Natasha smiled warmly. “Hi. Welcome to St. Nick’s. I see you’re with Cory.”

  Cory cleared his throat. “You’re the second person who’s said that. Yes, we’re together. Duh.”

  Jeff grinned ear to ear. “I just wanted to be introduced to the reason Dave’s handing out bulletins.” Jeff leaned closer to him and lowered his voice. “He’s not very good at it, you know.” He turned back to Daphne. “I’m Jeff, and this is my wife, Natasha.”

  Again, Daphne smiled hesitantly. “Hi,” she said, barely audible.

  Cory very visibly checked his watch. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we need to find a seat. We’ll catch you later, after the service.”

  Daphne looked around then spoke, lowering her voice. “Jeff is right. Dave seemed a bit awkward about handing out bulletins, as though he’s never done it before.”

  Busted. “You nailed it. It is Dave’s first time handing out the bulletins. I usually do it, but today he’s doing it for me. It’s a good job. You get to say hello to everyone, then you don’t have to worry about being pulled into a long conversation. Each conversation only lasts as long as it takes for the next person to walk in the door.”

  “I’ve never thought of it that way before. At my church there are usually about five hundred people attending the service, so the people who hand out bulletins really don’t talk. They just give everyone a quick greeting as people shuffle past and continue on their way.”

  “Speaking of being on our way, we really should go sit down. Since the congregation is small everyone usually scrambles in at the last minute before the service starts. Let’s get a good seat while everyone is still out in the lobby.” Not that there was ever a bad seat here.

  Since every other Sunday he talked to everyone as they came in, now that he wasn’t talking, everyone was looking at him. He didn’t know if it was because everyone missed the conversation or curiosity since for the first time he’d brought a woman with him.

  Hopefully she’d come again with him next week, and the week after, and they’d just get to know her a bit without being overwhelming.

  As they sat, Daphne looked around, up at the small podium to the simple wooden cross on the wall.

  “You were right. This place is quite small, but in a good way. Everyone seems very friendly.”

  “Yeah. They are.” Sometimes a little too friendly, but he couldn’t consider that to be bad.

  Her voice lowered to a whisper. “What is that thing?”

  “It’s an overhead projector. That’s what churches used to use to project the words for the songs before PowerPoint. Pastor Rob doesn’t see the need to buy anything new until the old one goes.”

  “It’s held together with duct tape. Just barely.”

  Dave smacked himself on the forehead. “Now I remember what I needed the duct tape for.” He lowered his hand. “Although, if that last bit cracks without the tape, maybe finally Pastor Rob will have to move forward with technology.”

  As Daphne smiled, Pastor Rob stepped up to the microphone and welcomed everyone to the service.

  Cory tried to pay less attention to Daphne and more to the pastor’s words. But he couldn’t help noticing that she knew most of the worship songs and, even better, she appeared to be paying rapt attention to the sermon. Overall, she seemed to be enjoying the service.

  Cory sat back and smiled.

  If things went well, she’d enjoy his plans for after the service even more.

  Chapter 5

  When the pastor gave his final blessing, Daphne found herself surprised to be disappointed that the service was over. Usually, like the rest of the crowd at her
home church, she started to feel fidgety ten minutes before the sermon was over; longer if the pastor went overtime

  Here, the pastor finished at twelve noon on the dot.

  She wanted him to speak longer.

  She turned to Cory. “Is it always like this?”

  One eyebrow quirked. “What do you mean? The time? Yeah, Pastor Rob is usually finished right at noon.”

  Daphne shook her head. “No. Not just that. All through the sermon people kept interrupting your pastor. Asking questions and making comments. Like it was normal.”

  “Uh… Isn’t it normal?”

  She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t, but he looked so comfortable here, she didn’t want to burst his bubble. “How long have you been attending here?”

  “I don’t know. A few years, I guess.”

  “Have you ever gone anywhere else?”

  “Not really.”

  She couldn’t help but blink. “Are you saying this is the first church you’ve ever been to?”

  “Kinda. Yeah.”

  Daphne forced herself to keep looking into his eyes instead of looking around the building. Relying on memory, she recapped the place.

  It was an old building in an older neighborhood. To say there was nothing fancy here was an understatement. Cory had told her to dress casually, and this place defined casual as no church she’d ever been to. In setting, in mood and in the pastor’s presentation. In the middle of the city, it felt like a visit with grandma down on the farm.

  It was simple to a fault. But it worked.

  Cory’s voice broke her out of her mental meanderings. “How would you like to go for lunch? There’s a great place a few blocks away. My friends are coming this way, and I know they’ll be hungry.”

  Sure enough, the people he’d introduced her to earlier appeared beside them.

  Daphne stood, but Cory remained seated.

  Jeff spoke first. “If you’ve got nothing better to do, we’re going to have lunch at a little bistro a few blocks away. Would you two like to come with us? They have great bacon cheeseburgers with a special sauce that will make you think you died and went to heaven.” He paused and looked toward the front, at the wooden cross on the wall. “Am I allowed to say that in church?”