Leaving the 99

7~I would like to talk to you about Jesus

I hope I'm lucky enough to have a guy look at me the way Ty does you." Rachel's voice held a note of longing as she folded sweet pickles in the potato salad.

Annie almost told her that was exactly how Caleb looked at her, but she didn't think Rachel was ready to hear that. She gave the baked beans another stir. "You and Caleb still not talking?" she ventured carefully.

"We talked." Rachel glanced up, her eyes wide with innocence. "We're going to be friends."

"Does Caleb know?"

"Of course!" Rachel answered a little too enthusiastically. "Friends are great. I mean they made a sitcom about them."

Annie shot her a skeptical look and put her hand on Rachel's back. "You alright?"

"I went on a date with Gary Shelton, and I invited him here for dinner," Rachel blurted.

Annie blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you were interested in Gary."

"I'm not sure I am. He's nice and we had a few classes together. When he asked me out, I thought why not?" Guilt shined in her eyes. "You think I made a mistake?"

"Gary seems like a great guy."

"He's a Christian." Rachel sounded defensive. "I like him. He wants to be a doctor." She shoved a few strands of hair behind her ears. "It's just even though we're not together I feel weird about seeing someone other than Caleb. You think I'm making a mistake, don't you?"

"Listen, Rach, Ty invited Caleb over tonight. I'm sorry. I didn't know you invited Gary."

"It's Ty's place he can invite who he wants. This is my fault. I should have asked you." A small cry escaped Rachel. "Oh, my goodness. This is going to be a disaster. I can call Gary and—" The doorbell rang.

Rachel's eyes went wide.

"It will be fine," Annie promised. At least that's what she hoped.

"It's going to be awkward at best."

"We should pray." And they did.

***

The five of them sat outside on the deck, dining on burgers and potato salad, baked beans and sweet tea. Thanks to Ty and Annie the conversation flowed.

Rachel sat between Caleb and Gary, feeling as smothered as the cheese on a burger.

"One of parishioners is looking for well broke horse for his daughter. You wouldn't happen to have one?" Ty asked Caleb.

"Dan Grayson. He talked to me last Sunday, and I'm getting a gelding ready for him."

Rachel felt her skin tingle at Caleb's deep voice, but she didn't dare look at him.

"So you're running your own ranch now?" Gary inquired politely.

"Yes. You're planning to be a doctor, right?" Caleb returned, equally polite.

"That's the plan."

A moment of awkard silence fell.

"I've always wanted a horse," Annie said.

"Me too," Rachel added trying to help. "I love horses."

"We could go for a trail ride sometime," Caleb offered. His gaze flicked to Gary. "You ride, Gary?"

Rachel watched Gary laugh. He was a handsome man, but next to Caleb's larger than life persona Gary seemed to pale in comparison.

"Actually, no." Gary wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "I have a cat."

"Well, you're invited," Caleb continued good naturedly. "Any friend of Rachel's is welcome."

Gary sat stiffened, sat up straighter, a smug smile settling into place. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm busy with school. I have to keep my GPA up. Pre-med is a time consuming major, but I know it will pay off in the long run."

"What medicine do you plan to specialize in?"

"Gynecology."

Rachel almost choked on her tea, and she swore she saw Caleb's lips twitch. She didn't dare look at Annie or Ty.

"Would anyone like dessert?" Annie asked, her voice oddly high-pitched.

"I'd love some," Rachel answered quickly.

"Me too."

"I never turn down desert, especially when my girl makes the best lemon pound cake I have ever tasted."

Gary's intent gaze briefly met each one of theirs before skipping to another. "Sugar is poisonous to our bodies and highly addictive."

"You don't say," Caleb drawled. "I had no idea."

Ty and Caleb shared a look.

"It's true. I have the research to back it up if you'd like me to send it to you." Gary whipped out his phone and waited for Caleb's number.

Rachel got up to help Annie, and they fled to kitchen.

***

"What does Rachel see in that guy?" Caleb asked when Gary excused himself to go to the bathroom.

"He seems nice." Ty grabbed the remote and turned on a ballgame.

"So do most serial killers," Caleb grumbled.

Ty glanced toward the hall, where Gary the wannabe-gyno had gone. "I'm trying not to judge. You shouldn't either."

"How would you feel if he were seeing Annie?"

Ty's jaw tightened. "Point taken. I am sorry, man, but it is Rachel's choice."

"Yeah, I know. It's my fault for being an idiot, but it still hurts."

Ty gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's one date."

"The dude thinks football is violent and sexist." The last words were spoken in a falsetto voice. "What is he thinking?"

Ty shook his head. "I don't know, but he's a guest in my home. I'm making an effort to get along with the guy."

"Good luck with that. Sure makes me miss Parker."

"You talked to him lately?"

"Last week. Think he's going to ask Missy to marry him."

"He called me yesterday. We've been playing phone tag. Maybe he wanted to share the good news."

"Yeah. Maybe." Caleb's head ached, but not as much as his heart. "Rach isn't going to be happy with me if I act like a jerk to this guy."

"Keep playing it cool," Ty agreed. "You've done a good job so far."

"I didn't even frown when he all but accused us of being sexist pigs for letting the girls cook dinner."

Ty's head lifted. "Seriously?"

"Sure did. Dude's a proud card-carrying feminist. I had no clue that was a thing."

"The world is changing and not for the better."

Caleb couldn't have agreed more.

Gary sauntered back in the living room, sat in chair, crossed his legs and smiled. "If you gentlemen don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about respecting the female gender.

Ty's smile never slipped. "Absolutely, Gary, and I would like to talk to you about Jesus," he said smoothly, never missing a beat.

Caleb grinned.