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"I'd rather go for a walk outside, and I'm not going anywhere dangerous," I said. "Probably to a park."
"Parks are dangerous," John said. "People are abducted from parks all the time. Killed, even."
"Thanks, John," I said, being sarcastic and smiling a little.
"He's right," my mom said.
"I'm not going to do anything unsafe," I promised them. "I'm just going to a park to walk and do my devotional."
I was reluctant to say that, but I knew mentioning the Bible would get them off my case. I made a mental note to show up fifteen minutes early and keep my word about doing a devotional before Owen got there.
I had to hold in a smile at the thought of meeting Owen. I was a grown woman, and I was having to sneak around to take a simple walk with a guy. Perhaps it was more fun because it was forbidden.
Chapter 3
The following morning
I woke up at 5:30am.
Stanley was awake, but I snuck around behind his back, and he didn't notice that I was taking a double portion of food. He didn't question me about where I was going since we had already mentioned it last night. My mother was still in bed when I left, and I was thankful for that because she would have noticed the extra burrito.
I had sent Owen the address of a trail I knew that would take us to a beautiful spot on Rock Creek—one where John would never be fishing.
I brought my Bible, and I arrived fifteen minutes early. I went to sit in a nice spot where the sun was shining on me, and I read a chapter in the book of Proverbs. It was one of my favorite books in the Bible.
I barely finished reading the chapter once. I had only been there five minutes when I saw a truck pull up and park next to mine. I had planned on reading it again and maybe looking up some commentary, but instead, I closed my Bible. Owen had pulled up before I had time to finish. I tried not to hide it or feel embarrassed, but it felt prudish to be reading my Bible on our first…was this a date?I wasn't even sure what we were doing.But it felt slightly sheltered of me to be reading my Bible at the beginning of it. I held the book discreetly by my side as I walked back toward my truck.
Owen had already gotten out of his vehicle by the time I made my way over there. I went directly to my back seat and traded the Bible for the bag that was sitting there.
"Hello!" I called, seeing Owen walk around the front of my truck.
"Hello!" he said. He came around to my side of the truck just as I closed the door. "You brought a Bible instead of a gun. That's a step forward."
"I don't guess I'll need either for breakfast."
"No," he said innocently, assuring me. He pointed at my bag. "I'm sorry to show up empty-handed," he added.
"Oh, no, I was happy to make these."
"I know this sounds bad, and I'm thankful, but I was getting tired of the chef's cooking."
"You must be important in that movie if they hire a chef to make you meals. Are you an actor? The director?"
"I'm an actor, but I didn't mean to bring it up for that reason. I'm nervous in front of you. I guess I'm trying to show off."
"No, I didn't take it like that, I'm just saying, my burrito's probably not going to stack up to some chef-made meal."
"Yes, it will."
I closed the door and we walked around the back of my truck toward the trailhead. I motioned to the path.
"It's a short trail," I said. "The creek's only about fifty yards from here. I didn't even think to ask you if you had any dietary stuff."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Are you a vegetarian or anything?"
"No." He laughed. "Saying dietary stuff reminded me of my great aunt… she can't cook, and we would all pretend to havediet issues when she brought a dish for the holidays. It was bad. She used to bring these casseroles, and we didn't even know what was in them. She would ask how we liked them and follow up to make sure. Sometimes she would stand there and watch while we tried a bite."
