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“Not too bad.” Mia grinned. “I always have to remind myself that they’ll get better and better throughout the season.”
Del helped herself to a glass of lemonade and took a seat at her sister’s picnic table.
“That band stuff seems so hard. With sports, you just try getting better each season. With band, you guys toss out your old music and drill and start from scratch every year. Come on—that’s brutal.”
“Marching band is not for the faint of heart.” Mia reached for her spatula and gave the burgers a flip. “Neither is dating. How are you two doing anyway, after his big announcement last week?”
“Announcement?”
“You know, that he’s only here temporarily.”
“Oh. Honestly, we haven’t talked much more about it than what you heard. He believes they need him back east, so when it’s time, he says he’ll go.”
“What do you believe?”
“That the company will do just fine without him. I mean, they’ve stayed afloat with him out here for nearly a year. How badly could they really need him there?”
Mia frowned. “Staying afloat and prospering are two different things, sweetheart. Besides, knowing Isaac, if there had been struggles along the way, he probably wouldn’t have mentioned it to keep you from worrying.”
“Says the queen worrier.”
“I worry because I care,” Mia said, throwing her a look over her shoulder. “And you do, too.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Heck, she was worried about him now, and he’d only been struggling with deadlines for one day. How would she react if this went on for days? Or weeks? “I just wish he would consider the alternatives, you know?”
“Have you asked him to?”
Had she?
Del tried to think back to their conversations surrounding the topic. But as much as he’d been open about the responsibilities waiting for him out east, she wasn’t sure she’d actually admitted she wanted him to stay. Or asked him to consider continuing to work remotely.
“Surely he knows that’s what I’m hoping for.”
Mia turned to face her. “Sweetheart, he’s a man. They need everything spelled out for them. Everything.”
Delaney laughed. Yes, that’d been her experience over the years, too.
But she had to admit, Mia might be on to something. If Del asked him to stay, it would at least plant the seed in his mind. Hopefully, all the time they were spending together would help that seed grow. For tonight, though, she focused on girl time. With Isaac in the picture and all the event planning meetings, she and Mia hadn’t gotten to just hang out much lately. And while she loved spending time with her new man, she had no intention of letting the rest of her relationships fall by the wayside. The chat with Isaac could wait.
Unfortunately, he sounded just as busy on Tuesday as he had on Monday. And on Wednesday. And Thursday. But after receiving big news at the talent show planning meeting that night, she decided to pop over to his place and surprise him with some warm cobbler. She rang the doorbell and waited, surprised there were no lights on inside. When Isaac answered the door, he joined her on the porch instead of stepping back to invite her in. The scruff on his chin was longer than usual, and there were bags under his eyes.
“Hey, Del. Everything okay?”
“Yep, just thought I’d bring my hardworking man a little dessert. Please tell me you’re not too busy to remember to eat.”
“Uh, no…”
He raked a hand through his hair, and Del knew he’d done precisely that.
“Wow, this must be one crazy big proposal.”
“Multiple proposals, actually.” He glanced back toward the front door. “I should keep working, but that cobbler does smell delicious.”
Isaac dropped into a chair on his porch, and Del did the same. She dug into the bag and handed him a plastic container and fork, then took out one of each for herself. “I promise not to stay long. I was just missing you. And also, I had to share the big news!”
“Big news, huh?” he asked in between bites.
“Not sure if you know of them, but there’s a huge, international musical instrument and equipment distributor down US 30, just before you get to Fort Wayne. They heard about our event and offered to loan us one of their portable stages and amazing sound systems…for free! That alone is saving us about a thousand dollars, but they also agreed to be a sponsor and donated another two thousand!”
