Page 25 of Cole

“How are you, Annie?” Skylar, Cole’s younger sister, asked.

Leaning forward so she could see past Cole a bit better, Annie smiled at the other woman. “I’m doing well, thank you. How are you?”

“I’m good.”

Before they could continue the conversation, the worship leader began to talk, welcoming them all to the morning service.

Dawn had first invited Annie to church three years ago, and that visit had changed her outlook on several things.

Becoming a Christian had helped her see that she needed to trust that God had given her the ability to use common sense rather than fear to view a situation.

She’d lived such a life of fear, allowing her dad to dictate how she lived. Annie had overcome some of that fear, but she had abig enough sense of self-preservation that she didn’t completely dismiss the safety measures her dad had put in place for her and later for Benji.

Though she wasn’t super active in the church, she’d volunteered for a few things, and she supported it financially through the substantial monthly allowance her dad gave her.

She hadn’t made any close friendships in the church, partly because it was just too complicated to explain her situation to anyone. Over time, Dawn had become a close friend, though she was always careful about what she shared with her that her dad might object to. She had no idea if Dawn reported everything back to him or not.

Thankfully, she was also close to her step-mom. Though, again, she didn’t tell her everything. Because while she wasn’t sure what Dawn told her dad, Annie was pretty confident that her step-mom, Elizabeth—or Betsy, as her dad called her—would definitely share things with her husband.

Over the time she’d been attending church, Annie had learned the songs, and her Bible contained a lot of highlights and notes from sermons over the years. But she’d never sat next to a man for any of those services—just Benji—let alone one she admired and had a teeny, tiny crush on.

Sitting beside Cole did a real number on her focus, but she did try her best to pay attention to the pastor’s sermon. She appreciated the way the older man directed them to the scriptures as a guide for living their lives in a way that honored and glorified God.

It had all been very new to her when she’d started attending church, but she’d soaked it up like a sponge. Though Annie had tried to talk to her parents about what she’d discovered, her dad hadn’t been interested in what she had to say.

Elizabeth had been more open to what Annie had to share, and she’d recently become a Christian herself, though she didn’t attend services with them yet.

Thankfully, they hadn’t been opposed to Benji attending with her. He was more involved at the church, which is where he’d started to hang out with Amelia.

They were in the same grade at the high school, but according to Benji, it wasn’t until they were both attending the youth group at the church that they’d gotten to know each other better.

When they stood for the singing, Annie accidently bumped into Cole’s arm. He glanced down at her and smiled, before angling himself so she had a bit more space, though he was slightly turned in her direction. Standing, the differences in their height, and just their sizes in general, were very apparent. She suspected that Benji would be close to Cole’s size once he was done growing.

On her other side was Dawn, while Benji stood next to Amelia in the row in front of them. Layla and one of the other guys from the basketball team were also with them.

Annie liked to keep Benji in her sights when they were out together. Not just for safety’s sake, but also to make sure that he behaved. Since he was often left unsupervised by their parents, Annie took on the role of surrogate parent.

So far, he was behaving as he should, and he was treating Amelia in a way that made Annie proud of him. He was everything to her, and her feelings toward him were an odd mix of sisterly and parental love.

She’d been ten when he was born, and she’d spent a lot of time helping to care for him since she was tutored and around him for a large portion of each day.

When the service ended, Cole turned to Annie. “So, what are your plans for the afternoon?”

“I didn’t really have anything planned,” she said. “I usually wait to see what Benji wants to do and if he needs me to drive him anywhere.”

“Then may I make a suggestion?” Cole asked as they followed the others up the aisle to the foyer.

Last time he’d invited them for something, it had been to join him on a pontoon boat on the nearby lake. So, it wasn’t a big surprise when he extended the same invitation.

The weather wasn’t super hot now that they’d moved closer to fall, but it was still a nice day to be out on the water.

They did have boats of their own. One was a speedboat. Another, a large pontoon. Her dad tended to buy them things that he thought they’d enjoy without asking them if that was the case.

When it came to the boats, they were things better used with groups of friends, and neither of them had those, so the boats were rarely put to use.

“Of course Benji is invited as well,” Cole said. “And Dawn too, if she’d like to come along.”

Oh, Dawn would definitely go with them, but first, Annie needed to decide if she wanted to go.

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