Chapter 5

    The four were kept busy for the next several minutes, bringing more pans of bacon, scrambled eggs, and pancakes out to the buffet as the food disappeared at an amazing rate.

    “Here, let me help with that.”  Greg could tell that Caitlyn was flagging, try though she might to disguise it.  She surrendered the tray of juice glasses without a fight, and he was surprised by how heavy it was.  He opened his mouth to scold her, but the tired look on her face made him reconsider. 

    For her part, Cate didn’t give him much chance to comment.  Relieved of the tray, she immediately turned to the coffee service area to assess the supply of cream and sugar, then returned to the kitchen to bring out more cups.

    Thirty minutes later, Caitlyn looked ready to fall over and Greg was wondering how he could discretely extract her from the kitchen when Pastor Devlin appeared in the doorway.

    “The four of you have done a wonderful job this morning—Greg, I have to admit this is quite an unusual way to welcome you to our church, but we’re grateful for your help.  I have a crew of young men in here, though, who are going to take over the clean-up so the four of you can have a chance to sit down and enjoy some of this food you’ve worked so hard to prepare.”

    Jodi glanced at the clock on the wall as the pastor left.  “I need to head down to the store, Cate—Meghann won’t want to open without me.”

    Keith beat Caitlyn to the protest.  “Jodi, I know your boss, and she wouldn’t want you to go to work without eating.”  He winked at Caitlyn, who merely nodded.  Jodi didn’t protest too strenuously—she was hungry, and knew Meghann to be capable of handling the few customers that would arrive in the early hours of Sunday afternoon.  Cate slipped aside to make a discrete call to the store to warn her employee and was ushered to a table by Greg while Keith and Jodi brought food for all four of them.

    “A toast,” Greg said, raising his coffee mug.  “To mothers.”

    “And to Caitlyn, who needs one to keep an eye on her,” Jodi chimed in.  Cate was too tired to argue and simply shook her head as she raised her juice glass.

Cate mostly listened as the lighthearted conversation swirled around her.  Greg and Keith had obviously been friends for a long time, and Jodi had no problem entering into the conversation before she excused herself to head to work.  Cate briefly felt guilty that her friend had to rush off to the store when she had the day off.

    “Don’t, Cate.”  She looked up at the sound of Keith’s voice directed at her.

    “Don’t what?”

    “Feel guilty that Jodi has to go into work.”  His voice softened.  “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard Jodi thank God for that job?  She honestly loves working for you and the Dawsons, even though it’s not the most glamorous job in the world, and she’s never forgotten who it is that gave her a chance.  She adores you, Caitlyn, and she’d be upset if she knew that you felt guilty for asking her to do her job.”

    Cate knew he was right, but still felt she had to justify her position.  “It’s just that it’s Mother’s Day, and she can’t even be with her children because I had to ask her to cover extra hours this week—we let someone go yesterday.  But I’m the manager, and I should have gone in and covered it.”

    “Yes, but Jodi wasn’t in a car accident yesterday, and she’s a big girl.  She’s fine, Caitlyn, and I’m sure she’s not the least bit put out over working today.  She’s looking forward to proving herself to you and the Dawsons, since it sounds like you guys need a new assistant manager, and she . . . “ Keith’s voice trailed off, realizing he might have just said too much.

    “She said that to you?” Cate asked.  She was thrilled that Jodi was interested in the position, but that would make it even harder if the Dawsons didn’t agree to her plan.

    “She mentioned that you guys had a problem with Kara, but didn’t go into any detail, and that you were planning on advertising for a new assistant manager some time this week.”

    Cate sighed.  “I really shouldn’t say anything, because I haven’t even talked to Carl and Jackie about it yet, but I’m hoping to be able to promote Jodi.  The Dawsons have been adamant about not promoting her until she finishes her GED, though, and that likely won’t be for several more months.  If I hire someone new now as an assistant manager, it’ll likely be quite awhile before I’ll be able to promote Jodi, and I hate that she has to keep working two jobs and never seeing her family.”

    “God will show you the way, Caty-girl, and I’ll pray that His direction will be clear soon.”  Keith reached across the table and squeezed his long-time friend’s hand, wishing he could hold onto it, but remembering their audience.

    Greg watched the interaction between the two, wondering if there was more than was being said.  He tried to recall Keith’s conversations about “Caty,” wondering if he’d inadvertently blundered into the middle of something with his impromptu invitation to Cate the night before.  He didn’t think Caitlyn was the type to accept an invitation from another man if she was seeing someone already, but it was obvious that she and Keith were close.

    “Caty’s an angel, Greg.”  Why Keith’s words chose that moment to return to his mind, Greg had no idea, but he tried to picture the look on his friend’s face as those words had been uttered.  It hit him as he watched their present conversation continue.  Keith was in love—or at least in serious like—with Caitlyn Jordan. 

    Feeling slightly sick, Greg knew what that meant.  Even if Cate didn’t return those feelings—and from the way she was looking at Keith, she had some affection for him, at least—there was no way he could pursue Caitlyn and not disappoint his good friend.  It was only fair—Keith had known Caitlyn for years, and it was obvious they were quite familiar with each other as he watched them laugh and joke.

    Besides, Greg told himself, Keith was probably more Cate’s type.  He was dependable, faithful, and committed to his church and his friends.  At this moment, Greg had never been more painfully aware that his chief commitment since leaving law school had been to his job.  She wouldn’t want a man who worked long hours in the name of tax law—he’d want someone who came home to his wife and family ever evening, coached Little League in the spring, and attended church each Sunday.  That hadn’t been him in a long time, and he wondered if it ever could be again.

    He became aware of both sets of eyes on him and realized that he’d tuned out of the conversation.  “I’m sorry, my mind was wandering,” Greg admitted.

    “Keith had finally finished scolding me for worrying about Jodi and we were wondering if you had any plans for the afternoon.”

    All Greg heard was the word “we.”  Forgetting that they had been friends for years, he automatically assumed that there was more going on than either Keith or Cate had admitted so far and mentally kicked himself for pursuing a woman who was unavailable—or would be shortly, if Keith had anything to say about it.  “No,” he managed, “no plans this afternoon.”

    “Well, great, then—you can join us for a movie at my place after we finish here with the clean-up.  Cate’s going to call Jodi and ask her to stop by with the kids after the store closes, and we can have a cookout tonight.”

    “If you’ll excuse me.”  Cate rose to her feet.  “I’m going to see how those boys are doing in the kitchen—I’m responsible for making sure things are cleaned up properly, and for some reason a crowd of teenage boys doesn’t inspire confidence in their abilities to sweep and mop.”  She was gone before either man could say a word.

    Greg drained his coffee cup and began to gather things off the table.  Keith followed suit.  “Are you going to join us?”

    Greg tried to think of a polite way to decline.  Since he’d ridden to church with Keith, there was no way to avoid riding home with him.  Cate would likely follow them, and he’d appear rude if he simply got into his car and drove off at that point.  “I don’t want to be in the way.”

    Keith laughed.  “In the way?  You’re a good friend, and besides, Caty wouldn’t have told me to invite you if she’d thought you’d be in the way.”   

    Cate had told Keith to invite him?  Maybe there was hope after all.  “Sure, I’ll join you.  What are we watching?”  Greg wondered briefly when Keith shook his head.

    “Caitlyn has a couple of movies all picked out.  Apparently, they’ve made two of her favorite romantic novels into movies recently, and she’s thrilled that she’s finally found a victim, er, audience, to watch them with.”  Keith rolled his eyes.

    “What kind of books are we talking?”  He couldn’t imagine straight-laced Caitlyn Jordan reading the type of Harlequin novels his mother had always said should be banned from the public library.  Greg had never picked one up, but he’d not lived under a rock for the past 28 years and knew what kind of “literature” was generally contained between the covers featuring shirtless, longhaired male models and modelesque females sporting adoring expressions and little else.

    “Christian romance novels, if I know Caitlyn.  She’s been reading this series since she was in high school, if I recall.  She calls them her brain candy—it was a joke between us in college.”

    Until that moment, Greg had been unaware that such things even existed, but he would take Keith’s word for it.  Watching romantic movies with Cate did have a certain appeal to it, even if Keith’s presence would serve as a reminder that he wasn’t starring in one himself.  Christian romance novels—who knew?  “So I’m being recruited to watch chick flicks?”

    “Don’t say that in front of Cate,” Keith warned.  “She’s very adamant that she’s not into chick flicks or anything else stereotypically single-twentysomething.  She’s always hated movies like that, especially where the characters end up in bed together after a brief cup of coffee, or even really kiss on a first date.  Caty-girl is definitely not that sort.”

    “I never thought she was.”  Except for maybe a brief moment last night.  But no, that had been more wishful thinking on his part than anything else, he realized now.  Caitlyn was a sweet girl, very polite—and very uninterested.

    The last of the dishes gathered, Keith motioned with his head toward the kitchen.  Caitlyn saw them coming and held the door open.

    “How do the other tables look?”

    “Those boys did a great job with the dishes, but not such a good one wiping down the tables,” Keith reported.  He reached for a sponge and a spray bottle and was back out the door, headed to take care of it himself.