Ben hobbled down the hallway to the living room without his crutches. He wasn’t technically supposed to be without them, but between the rubbing and weight bearing, his arms needed a break. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was going far. He’d grab a bag of chips and hunker down on the couch for some game playing time. His knee started to give. He grabbed for the wall.

“Oof. Ow.” Okay, maybe not the brightest move to leave the crutches in his room.

Jackson’s head popped up above the back of the couch. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just stupid, I guess. What are you doing home? Thought you were hanging with Paige tonight?” Ben limped the rest of the way into the room and stopped as his gaze landed on Paige, curled on the couch next to Jackson. “Ah. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Why don’t you join us? We were going to put on a movie.” Paige sat up and scooted over, making room on the couch.

“I don’t want to intrude. I’ll just...”

“I have a variety of stuffed puff pastries in the oven. I’d love more than one opinion on them.”

Ben looked from Paige to Jackson. What was the protocol here?

His expression must have betrayed his dilemma because Jackson laughed and gestured to the empty cushion. “Sit down before you fall over and reinjure yourself. We’re here because we knew someone would be home.”

“Oookay. If you’re sure.” Ben eased into the space they’d created for him. “Let me know if I’m in the way. I can watch a movie in my room.”

“Get that knee elevated.” Paige patted his leg as she stood. “I’m going to check on the food. Why don’t the two of you figure out what we’re watching.”

“If you give me just a minute to rest my leg, I’ll get out of your hair. I can’t imagine you actually want me to play chaperone any more than I want to be third wheel.” Ben propped his leg on the coffee table. “I really didn’t know you were here or I would’ve just stayed put.”

“It’s all good, man. Paige is pretty strict about not being completely alone together.” Jackson frowned down at his hands, which were twisted together. “Realistically, it’s good that she’s vigilant, but it’s still frustrating.”

“It’s not exactly a picnic for me.” Paige grinned and set a plate of steaming hors d’oeuvres on the coffee table before pressing a kiss to Jackson’s cheek. “But...”

Jackson grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side. “I know, I know. This way we don’t get carried away.”

Heat crawled up Ben’s neck. He should go back to his room. Even if they didn’t want privacy, they should have it. If being in the house knowing he could walk out whenever was enough, he’d give them a little more space. He scooted forward and cleared his throat. “I’ll just...”

“Oh no you don’t.” Paige glared at him until he sank against the back cushions. “You at least have to stay and try the food. I really do need opinions. I’m considering them for the winter menu, but I’m worried they’re too frou-frou.”

“I’m sure they’re delicious. Anything you come up with is tasty.” Jackson winked as he selected a pastry and bounced it between his hands. “Hot.”

“That’s the whole ‘I just took them out of the oven’ thing.” Paige shook her head and offered Ben a toothpick.

Ben speared a morsel. “Do we get to know what’s in them?”

“Nope. It’s a surprise.”

Ben frowned and sniffed. All he could smell was pastry. There couldn’t be anything terrible in there with no smell, right? He tentatively bit through the flaky crust and he teeth sank into gooey...cheese? Flavor exploded on his tongue. “Mmm. These are good. Are they all the same?”

Paige shook her head. “There are two kinds. Try the other side of the plate.”

Ben stuffed the rest of his first piece into his mouth and reached for another. Jackson still hadn’t tried his. “What are you, chicken? Take a bite.”

Jackson offered a half-hearted chuckle before putting the pastry in his mouth. He gave a tight-lipped smile while he chewed.

“Well?” Paige scooted over to meet his eyes.

“The thing is, I’ve never really liked goat cheese. So, I’m not really the person to ask. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. It’s just...” Jackson shrugged.

Crestfallen, Paige nodded. “Not your thing. Got it. The other one doesn’t have cheese. Will you try it?”

“Of course.” Jackson laid his hand on her knee. “I’m sorry. It’s good.”

She held up a hand. “It’s fine. You don’t have to love everything I make. I value honesty, you know that.”

Ben turned his laugh into a cough.

“You all right, bro?” Jackson whacked him on the back.

“Fine. These are good, Paige. Definite menu material.” Ben struggled to his feet. “I’m going to take a few and head back to my room. I forgot I needed to do...something.”

“You’re not going to stay and watch the movie?” Paige frowned. “I promise no chick flicks.”

“Nah. You two have fun.” Ben grimaced as he put more weight than he should on his knee and made a mental note to follow instructions more closely in the future. When they said he wasn’t ready to ditch the crutches, they were telling the honest truth.

“At least let me go get your crutches for you.” Jackson stood and brushed past him.

Ben sagged against the wall. He ought to object, for form if nothing else, but the throbbing in his knee pushed his ego aside. He accepted the crutches. “Thanks.”

“You sure you have something to do? Paige wanted to know about Rebecca—she’s hungry for a female friend and is hoping that you and Zach will find nice girls and deliver them into her clutches.”

“I can hear you, you know.” Paige knelt on the couch, looking over the back at Ben and Jackson. “But he’s not wrong. At least give me a little hope before you go hide in your room.”

He wasn’t hiding. Exactly. “She’s great. In college, she had dreams of helping people—she has an amazingly tender heart. And that’s what she does. I’ve watched her with her other clients when I get to PT early. She’s gentle, but tough. Plus she volunteers at the homeless mission we’re hoping to partner with.”

Paige gave a slow nod. “Sounds encouraging. Is she a super girly-girl?”

Ben scoffed. “No. I don’t know if she still does, but the girliest thing she used to do was collect salt shakers.”

“No pepper shakers in that collection?” Jackson’s brow lifted.

Ben shrugged. “Probably. But it was the salt shakers she cared more about—they were her reminder that we’re to be salt and light, and that even the tiniest pinch of salt offered someone the promise of a better life in Christ.”

Paige grinned. “A pinch of promise. I like that. I want to meet her.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Back in his room, Ben flipped channels on the TV before turning it off. How could you have that many channels and still be without anything entertaining to watch? He dragged his laptop over to the bed and stretched out. Maybe he could get some work done. Scrolling through the email that had collected since Friday he huffed out a breath. When he did manage to get back to the office, it was going to be an adjustment. Did they realize how many pointless meetings they had? If they could keep him in the loop through a two-paragraph email, why not just do it that way to start out?

Ben typed a few responses and sent them before opening the email from the director of the downtown mission. A slow smile spread across his face as he read. Only God would do something that amusing. And perfect. He stopped at the bottom of the email where Rebecca’s contact information was neatly typed. His gaze darted to the clock glowing on his nightstand. Before he could over-think, he picked up his cell and punched in her number.

“Hello?”

He didn’t bother fighting the grin at the sound of her voice. “Rebecca? It’s Ben. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure. I just got home and need to unwind a little before bed. I was going to see if there was anything good on TV.”

“There isn’t.”

She laughed. “Alrighty then.”

“No, seriously, I just spent ten minutes flipping channels. There’s nothing. Unless you’re one of those people who watch the food shows. There are always food shows.”

“Yeah, that’s not really my thing. I cook, but I don’t love it so much I want to sit and watch someone else do it. Plus, when they get going fast with their knives, I cringe. I keep expecting someone to lose a finger.”

“See, now, that possibility is what makes them interesting enough to watch.”

“Gross. Why are guys always gross?”

He let out a bark of laughter. “It’s in our DNA, I think.”

“Bleh. I’m guessing you didn’t call so you could set me up for nightmares about lost appendages though, right?”

“Right. Sorry. Hey, do you still collect salt shakers?”

“You remember that?”

Ben hunched his shoulders. It probably wasn’t a good idea to let on that he still remembered all their conversations. Practically word for word. “Apparently.”

“I do. I’ve started getting a little pickier about which ones I pick up, though. Some of the plain crystal ones, even if they’re antique...I only have so much room. Why?”

Uh-oh. How was he supposed to explain why Paige was asking about her without giving away too much? “You remember I told you about my roommate Jackson?”

“Dating the chef, right?”

“Right. She’s over tonight, they’re watching a movie in the living room. It came up when I went in to mooch some food.”

“Hmm. A roommate with a chef for a girlfriend sounds like a winning situation. Lucky.”

“Definitely. She made these cheese puff type things tonight, and another that was sort of mushroomy. Really good.”

“That’s just mean. My dad dragged us to a Thai restaurant. It was good, but just not my favorite.”

He frowned. She’d loved it in college. Every night off, they’d driven to the nearest place that had passable Pad Thai. “What happened?”

She hesitated. “You remember that, too? I don’t know. Overexposure, I guess.”

“Hmm. That’s too bad. There are some good Thai places in the area. Anyway, still not the reason I called. Sorry. I got an email from Jerry, at the mission downtown and he said you’re going to be the point person for our joint effort. I’d been hoping to get together with the folks there at some point this week to get things going. I know your parents are in town, but is there any chance you’ll have some time?”

“Maybe. When did you have in mind?”

“I’m pretty flexible. This is the only major thing on my plate right now since I’m stuck telecommuting, unless I can get a roommate to drive me in. Do you know who else will be on your committee?”

“Funny.”

He blinked. “What’d I miss?”

“I’m it. They’re not what one would term ‘over-staffed’ at the mission. If I hadn’t agreed, Jerry was going to have to tell you guys that they didn’t have the personnel to take on the project, regardless of the potential good it can do.”

Ben winced. He’d known things were tough for them, but hadn’t realized it was that bad. “Hmm. We still on for lunch on Thursday?”

There was a long pause. “That was the plan...”

“Maybe we could take thirty minutes before or after?” Her sigh crackled in his ear. “Or not. I guess it can wait ‘til next week when your folks are gone.”

“Sorry. My parents just...complicate things. I should have time in the evenings for email though. Or some phone calls?”

That could work. His driving desire for a meeting was to get to know the committee in person, put names to faces, that sort of thing. If she was it...he probably didn’t need that, regardless of how much he might want it. “All right. But be warned, I’m known as the email king at work.”

She chuckled. “Noted. But I draw the line at calling you ‘Your Highness.’”

“What about ‘Oh, Great One’?”

“We’ll see. I don’t remember you being this full of yourself at camp.”

Ben chuckled. “I was young.”

“You’re a goof.”

“Guilty as charged. But that hasn’t really changed.”

Her voice sobered. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. Though I guess I’d like to know what for.”

“It was a long day. Talking to you was, apparently, just what I needed.”

Warmth spread through him. “Get some sleep. I’ll send an email tomorrow.”

“All right. ‘Night.”

Ben ended the call and leaned his head back, staring up at his ceiling fan. She’d been flirting, right? He wasn’t mis-reading their conversation, seeing what he wanted to see? He replayed their banter. Definitely flirting. With a chuckle building in his chest, he sat up and flipped open his laptop. He double-checked the email address from Jerry and began to type.