Lakeside Sweetheart. Lenora Worth

I’ll shut up now. Are we still on for pizza Thursday night?”

      “As always.”

      “And we are gathering at the camp house for my bachelor party in two weeks?”

      “You better believe it. And I do have surprises lined up for you.”

      “What? Choir rehearsal and memorizing Bible verses?”

      “After we play a serious game of tic-tac-toe, yes.”

      “Wild night. Love it.” Blain shook Rory’s hand and headed to the door. “Hey, Alec and I, we’ve been there. We should be the ones giving you advice these days.”

      Rory finally caved. “I might take you up on that offer. I like her. A lot. But...she’s not returning that feeling.”

      “Give her some time,” Blain suggested. “Like you said, she’s been through a lot. One thing I’ve learned, dealing with Rikki and her family, strong women don’t like to be messed with until they’re ready to be messed with.”

      “Got it,” Rory said, grinning at Blain’s down-to-earth assessment. “I’m learning that, my friend.”

      After Blain and Rikki left, he turned to Barbara. “Please tell me it’s quitting time.”

      “It’s quitting time,” she said. “You know you officially have Mondays off, so why are you still here?”

      He shrugged. “Habit.” Then he went back in his office and tidied up. “I think I’ve signed all the proper checks and documents so yes, I’m taking off early. I might take a run around the lake or maybe go kayaking.”

      “Great idea,” his secretary called back. “Me, I’m going to go home and piddle in my garden.”

      “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

      Barbara left by the side door.

      Rory locked up and was about to head to the garage underneath his apartment to get his kayak out when he saw Vanessa’s car moving up Lake Drive.

      She was home.

      * * *

      He was standing by his garage apartment.

      Glad she was wearing her shades, Vanessa noticed Rory out of the corner of her eye. She’d tried not to think about him, but he seemed to be front and center in her mind. Reminding herself that he did live and work right across the street, she chalked up this preoccupation with the cute preacher to being in such close proximity to him. Hard not to think about him when the pretty white church stood as a reminder every time she looked out the window.

      So she pulled her car into the drive and geared up for a warm, soothing bath and a bowl of ice cream. Yes, she’d been craving ice cream all week. His fault, too. But she’d had a long day of talking to lawyers and discussing things on the phone with Realtors both here in Millbrook and at the various properties she now owned in Alabama.

      Overwhelmed, she glanced back toward the church.

      And saw Rory heading straight for her.

      She almost ran into the house, but her heart stopped her. She couldn’t be rude to the man. He’d been nothing but kind to her. The least she could do was say hello to him.

      Hello. And then on to ice cream.

      “Hi,” he called when she turned and waved. Then he walked over. Did he seem relieved?

      “Hello,” she replied, smiling. “How are you?”

      “Good. I’m calling it a day,” he said. His dark blond hair was in a perpetual state of shagginess, but it suited him. “I’m going kayaking. Wanna come?”

      Kayaking? The thought of putting on shorts and a sleeveless top made her cringe. The sun had not touched her legs all winter. Did she have the nerve to actually relax and go for a ride on the lake? With him?

      He must have sensed her hesitation. “I’m sorry. You’re probably really busy.”

      She glanced at the glistening water and then gazed at him. “I’ve been going nonstop all day dealing with my inheritance, but that water looks so tempting.”

      And so did he. Not what you’d expect. Better than ice cream even.

      “I have an extra kayak. It’s actually Alec’s, but he won’t mind if you want to use it. He stores it over here so some of the kids I mentor can borrow it.”

      “You mentor kids?”

      He nodded and looked sheepish. “Yes. Mostly teens. We have a get-together here at the church once a week. Anyone is invited, but some of the kids are in foster homes.”

      “Wow.” She only wished she’d had a safe place to go when she was a teen. “That’s a good idea.”

      He smiled at her comment. “They need someone to talk to at times. They come with their guardians or foster parents, but we team each kid up with a mentor. Supervised, of course.”

      “That’s good. That they’re able to talk to someone and that it’s supervised.”

      He went quiet for a couple of moments. “Listen, if you don’t want to go—”

      He was talking about kayaking, but he must have seen the darkness in her eyes. Pushing aside the flare of distant painful memories, she gave him a weak smile.

      “Let me get inside and change,” she said, making a snap decision she hoped she wouldn’t regret. “I haven’t been kayaking in a while so I might slow you down, but yes, I’d like to take a ride around the lake.”

      “Good. I’ll go get the kayaks ready. You can meet me at the boat landing.”

      “Okay.” Vanessa hurried into the house, her mind buzzing with good and bad thoughts. She didn’t want to group Rory in the same category as her mother’s ex-husband, but how could she not think about it? She’d been a troubled teen, and her so-called stepfather had pretended to be her mentor.

      And yet he’d betrayed her in the worst way.

      Would Rory do that?

      No. Because for one thing, Vanessa was a grown woman now. Stronger and more assertive. No longer afraid to stand up to people.

      Rory Sanderson wasn’t anything like Gregory Pardue. Not at all. Thank goodness.

      And yet when she came back outside, Vanessa felt a shiver moving down her spine. Was she making a mistake, getting to know the preacher?

      She looked up at the sky and for the first time in years, she asked God to protect her heart. Because she didn’t want to be wrong about Rory.