Page 30 of Serendipity

“Shoot me now,” Leah mumbles. “Don’t tell your brothers what you walked in on.”

Corbin Rae zips her lips and tosses the key with a smile while sliding into a chair at the counter, looking around at all the food. “You’re going to have to roll me to my car after this. Wish you’d have let me help you, Mom. You made too much.”

“I wanted you kids to have a relaxing Sunday morning. Besides, you know I love this.”

Corbin Rae’s eyes twinkle when she looks up at me. “It’s true. She does love it. Especially when she wakes up in a good mood.”

I smirk and pour myself a cup of coffee.

“Coffee?” I ask her and she nods, still grinning.

“Yes, please.” Cash’s voice carries as he joins us in the kitchen.

He’s in flannel pants, a college t-shirt, and hair still messy from sleeping.

“Cash had a good night, too,” Corbin Rae jokes. “What time did you get in? Three?”

He grins over his coffee cup that I handed him. “About then, yeah. Met up with the guys,” he says, of his old high school friends, “had fun.”

“Too much fun, probably,” Leah remarks with her eyebrows raised.

He simply shrugs. “I was safe. Didn’t drive, Mom.”

“Good. How was your night?”

“Wonderful,” she replies.

Cash’s eyebrows hit his hairline and he turns questioning eyes to me. “Well, it appears you did well.”

I nod. “We had a good night. Glad we finally did it.”

At my words, Cash’s eyes widen. “Pardon?”

“I meant, finally had a date.”

Well, I’m glad for the way he took it, too, but I’m obviously not about to say that.

“Ahh. Yeah, why’d it take you so long to ask her out? According to Naomi, she thinks you’ve wanted to for a while now.”

“I have but your mom needed time and I was willing to wait.”

“Good answer.”

“Only answer there is.”

“Is the food ready?” Brock comes into the kitchen, asking.

“Yup. Sure is. You hungry?”

“What do you think?”

Boone joins us and we load up plates before the six of us sit around the table, eating and talking. There’s only a few moments of awkwardness when Corbin Rae goes back on her promise not to say anything about catching her mom and I kissing in the kitchen and announces it to her brothers, but it’s squashed pretty quickly.

I sit back in my chair and enjoy the moment. The time with Leah’s family and the feeling that’s almost overwhelming. Being with them, the only one missing is Malina. And Naomi, but definitely Malina.

She texted me this morning to see how my date went last night and promised to come to Red Oak the following weekend after Leah invited her to a family meal since Corbin Rae and Cash were going to be home again.

Danielle even texted me, having heard from Malina that Leah and I were finally going on a date, to tell me she was happy for me. Fortunately, I know she meant it.

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