looked at her from the bed. “You didn’t answer my question. What’s Omar doing here? You were adamant about not wanting him to come. ‘He’s getting too serious’ and all that.”
Libby shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
“Don’t try it, Lib. This is me. You know I already know. I just want to hear you say it.”
“Say what?”
“You invited Omar to get your mind off of Travis.” She continued before Libby could comment. “And it’s not right. You shouldn’t play with Omar’s feelings like that.”
Libby waved away her concern. “I’m not playing with anybody’s feelings. Omar knows we’re just friends.” She paused. “But I have a question for you. Why didn’t you tell me about Travis and Trina?”
Janelle frowned slightly. “There was nothing to tell. Still isn’t, far as I can see.”
“Come on, Janelle, you heard them last night. They’ve been out together. You go to church with them, and she’s in your Soul Sisters group. You had no idea they were friends?”
“I knew they knew each other, of course,” Janelle said. “But no, I had no idea they’d been out or anything like that.” She eyed Libby. “And you care because . . . ?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s the same thing Travis asked me.”
Janelle scooted to the edge of the bed. “We haven’t had a moment alone to talk about that. What happened between the two of you?”
Libby sat back down with a sigh. “Nothing really. Just me making a fool of myself again, in tears, halfway admitting I have feelings for him as he let me know we could never be together.”
Janelle looked stunned. “You were crying?”
“I just said that.”
“You care about Travis more than I thought.” She put a hand on Libby’s shoulder. “Libby, I’m sorry. I wish we’d never invited Trina last night. It ruined the weekend for you.”
“It was best,” Libby said. “I’m glad I know. Wasn’t like me anyway to start fantasizing about a relationship with him—as if it could ever go anywhere.” She shook her head. “He and Trina can pursue their happily-ever-after.”
Janelle looked at her.
“What?”
“You’re the reason you and Travis aren’t together.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Unless I’m totally clueless, Travis has feelings for you too. But you’re the one who drifted from the Lord, stopped going to church, started living however you wanted to.”
Libby stared at the floor.
“If you’d stop running from commitment—and I mean commitment to God—maybe you and Travis could begin to build something.”
Libby’s phone dinged again. She looked at it. Where are you?
“That’s Omar,” Libby said. “I have to go.”
She headed for the door as another knock sounded, and then Stephanie poked her head in.
“Hey, they’re calling for everyone to come out,” Stephanie said. “Tournament’s over, and they’re awarding trophies.”
“I thought you were handling that, Libby,” Janelle said.
“I told my dad I wasn’t up to it. He said he’d do it.”
The three of them went out the back door, along with others who’d been inside escaping the heat. During the volleyball tournament, barbecue ribs and chicken were cooking on the grill. The inviting aroma hit them the moment they stepped outside. Once the winners were awarded their trophies, they’d all feast.
The backyard was crowded, as it had been Friday night. Libby snaked her way through, looking for Omar, and ran into Travis instead.
He touched her arm as she passed. “You weren’t going to speak?”
She barely looked at him. “Didn’t see the point.”
“So all the progress we made becoming friends again, we’ll just take twenty steps back?”
“However many steps it takes,” Libby said.
“Oh, there you are.”
Libby cringed inside when she heard Omar’s voice. All these people, and she’s caught between these two?
She turned and smiled. “Hey, glad you could make it.”
Omar hugged her. “All I needed was an invitation.” He spoke in her ear. “You know I wanted to be with you all weekend.”
Libby took a step back. “You remember Travis, right?”
“Of course.” Omar extended his hand. “Good to see you again, Pastor.”
Travis shook it. “You as well.”
“Okay, everybody, listen up.” Wood waved his arms on the top step of the back porch so people could see him. “I don’t have a microphone, so I need silence.”
It took a good two minutes for the noise to quiet down, especially from the kids playing on the swing set.
“Libby came up with a great idea to start a volleyball tournament this year,” Wood said. “And yes, I’m bragging on my baby girl again, because I could tell even from the barbecue pit that everybody had big fun!”
A round of cheers went up.
“Competition was