You’re awfully quiet.” Jaidon glanced over at Catherine on the drive home from the pizza parlor. The smell of the restaurant still lingered on their clothing. She didn’t know whether or not to be thankful that Ariannah hadn’t come with them this time.
Her tumultuous thoughts remained below the surface, threatening to wreak havoc with everything she held dear. Catherine didn’t want to lose her newfound friendship with Jaidon. Yet she had a promise to fulfill to her father. She didn’t want to mislead Jaidon. How should she broach the subject? Her stomach knotted. She opted for the chicken way out. “I’m not sure hanging out this weekend is a good idea.”
“Why?” Jaidon stared at her. If the frown on his face was any indication, he wasn’t happy. “Did Ariannah say something to you?”
Catherine shook her head. “I really don’t know her that well. What would she have to say to me?”
“I don’t know. She’s been acting weird for a while. Normally she’s a nice kid, but lately—” Jaidon shrugged. “I don’t know what her problem is.”
Catherine’s lips pursed. What could she say? She didn’t know how the other youth sponsor used to act. Adding a comment would only contribute to gossip or speaking ill of someone when they didn’t have a chance to defend themselves. She couldn’t think of any reason she’d given the woman to dislike her. She didn’t want to start now.
When Catherine didn’t speak, Jaidon continued, “Anyhow. What’s wrong with this weekend?”
“It’s just—” How could she make him see the futility of even trying to have an intimate relationship? She’d never been able to get other guys to understand. They didn’t want to be just friends. She’d made a promise to her father. A promise she couldn’t break. “I come from a long line of Quakers.”
“I know. That doesn’t bother me.” Jaidon shrugged. He glanced at her a couple times. His eyes widened. “But it bothers you.”
“I don’t want it to bother me.” And she didn’t want it to. “But like I explained earlier, I’m stuck. I promised my father on his deathbed that I would marry a Quaker.”
Jaidon’s brows furrowed. He nodded. “Hmm. So you can’t hang out with non-Quakers either?”
Hang out? “I thought you liked me?”
“I do. You’re fun to be around, and I had a blast playing basketball tonight,” Jaidon said. “I thought it’d be great to hang out this weekend and help get your mind off things, like your father’s birthday and your mother dating another man.”
Catherine’s cheeks warmed. Jaidon was only trying to be a good friend. She’d let Gabby and Kristen’s assumptions put her in an awkward situation. “I’m sorry, Jaidon. I’d really like to go, if you are still interested in going—as friends.”
Jaidon reached over, cupped her hands with his right hand, and smiled. “Friends.”
When Jaidon picked Catherine up Saturday morning, he almost felt guilty. One look into her beautiful hazel eyes and he squelched the niggling feeling. He’d already had the last couple of days to bolster his confidence, knowing Catherine had considered him as a possible suitor. He couldn’t help grinning every time he thought about it.
The fact that he wasn’t a Quaker was an obstacle they could get over. With time, either he could get her to at least consider going to his church to visit so she could see for herself that his church really wasn’t so different from hers or—but or wasn’t something he wanted to think about right now. It meant either he would have to convert or their friendship would be over. He swallowed hard. That definitely wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate at the moment.
“I haven’t been here in a long time,” Catherine said as Jaidon drove into the parking lot of Taltree Arboretum and Gardens. “Didn’t they open a new garden?”
Jaidon smiled at her enthusiasm. She sounded like a kid who’d just pulled up to an amusement park. It made his day knowing he’d chosen well. “Yes. The Railway Garden is open.”
“Oh goodie.”
Jaidon laughed at her enthusiasm. “I even packed a picnic lunch.”
“You thought of everything.” She returned his smile.
Almost everything, Jaidon thought to himself. Now if only he could find the magic ingredient to make her feel the same way about him that he felt for her—hopelessly in love.
During the next couple of hours, Jaidon walked along Railway Garden’s beautiful landscaped paths, enjoying the lovely scenery that also included his delightful companion. He should have brought a camera. That way he’d have more than just his memories to capture the moment.
At lunch Jaidon laid down an old quilt he had from his youth for them to sit on the grass beneath the shade of a bur oak tree. While they ate their sandwiches and chips, they sipped on bottled tea and chatted about the scenery. Jaidon stuffed their trash back into the picnic basket then lay on his left side, arm crooked to lean against his knuckles in order to better observe his lovely companion’s beautiful face—the cute way her nose tipped up slightly on the end. She was beautiful, both inside and out.
Catherine lay on her stomach, arms crossed in front of her and head resting on her forearms. “You know, it occurred to me that I really don’t know much about you.”
“I’m an open book.” Jaidon laughed. “Read me.”
“Read you?” Catherine raised her head and chuckled. “That sounds like a bad pickup line or something.”
“No not a line.” Jaidon shrugged. “You’ve been around me three times in the last week. What have you ascertained since we met?”
“You’re going to make this hard on me, aren’t you?”
“Is it that hard?” Maybe she hadn’t paid any attention to him since they ran into each other at the hospital. Had he only been getting his hopes up?
Her expression grew solemn. “Your sea-blue eyes convey genuine sincerity. And you have a very caring nature, which is evident in your love for working with youth. You light up around them at the center.” Catherine pretended to clear her throat. “Mind you, I’ve only observed you around youth at the center.”
“So you were observing me?”
“No.” Catherine’s eyes widened. Her cheeks blushed. She play-slapped him and laughed. “You have a deviant side, my friend.”
“Is that another observation?”
“Yes.” She chuckled. “So tell me what I don’t know. For example, we’ve never talked about what you do for a living. For all I know you may be a vagabond.”
“Really? Do I look like one?” Jaidon smiled.
Her expression grew stern, but a hint of playfulness danced in her eyes. “I thought we’d completed the obvious observations.” Catherine shrugged, a smile creasing her lips. “Besides I’ve never met a vagabond”—she wiggled her eyebrows—”that I know of. I wouldn’t know how they dressed.”
“Oh no you didn’t.” Jaidon reached over and tickled Catherine’s sides until she laughed uncontrollably. “I’m not a vagabond, and you know it. Take it back.”
“All right. All right,” she gasped between giggles. “I take it back.”
As their laughter subsided, they lay side-by-side on their backs. Jaidon clasped his hands together on his stomach, resisting the urge to reach over and hold her hand. “I’m a workers’ comp lawyer.”
She turned her head and studied him. “Hmm. I can actually see that.”
“Oh?” Jaidon smiled. “You can?”
Catherine nodded. “It fits with your caring nature.” She glanced at him, and he lost all train of thought, hypnotized by the warmth of her hazel eyes. “This is where you say something.”
“Huh?” Jaidon blinked. “Sorry.” He rolled to his side and smiled. “What are you doing tomorrow?”