Free Evolving Dreams (New Beginnings Series) by Mandie Tepe Page B

first pregnancy, but this one seems to be going better.”
    “That’s good. I didn’t know you were getting ready to be an aunt. How many siblings do you have?”
    “Just the one older sister.”
    “Are you close?”
    “Really close considering I’ve been gone so much the last few years. It’s easy to keep in contact with everyone with cell phones and email and stuff. I do wish I could see them more often. I’m thinking about taking a few weeks off when Maura has the baby and helping out with Aubri—my niece—while she recovers. It’s a good excuse to hang out with my folks too.”
    Trace nodded. “I miss seeing my mom—and Michael—more often too. I go back when I can, but it’s not the same.”
    “Were you never very close with Sean? I’ve been surprised he hasn’t carved out a little more time to spend with you. He’s always spoken really highly of you. The whole family does.”
    “That’s right, I forget you probably see my family more than I do.” He looked pensive. “I guess Sean and I have been close enough for stepbrothers. We never had a lot in common, but we always got along okay. It was a little hard for me when Mom first married Michael because I was so used to it being just the two of us. And Sean, of course, was high-maintenance with all the dance competitions and stuff. Mom was his new mother as well as his dance teacher and manager. But I was pretty self-sufficient and Michael was good to keep an eye on me. He always seemed to know when I needed him around.”
    “Michael is a great guy. I like him—and your mom—a lot.”
    The waiter showed up with their wine and stuffed mushrooms. After he left, Trace pushed the appetizer over to Meg and said, “Here, you go first. Hey! You never told me what you thought of the museum last weekend.”
    “It was great. Anthony and I had lunch then went over there and Tobi showed up to tour it with us. We had a lot of fun. Then Tobi and I went grocery shopping and she came back over with me to your house. We fixed salads for dinner and sat out on your deck—watched the sunset. Hope you don’t mind.”
    “Of course not.”
    “Oh! I didn’t tell you about the best part of my weekend, though!” She leaned forward in her seat. “Do you know that church at the corner of your street and Tidal Road? It’s that big Christian church . . . umm . . . Bayside Christian Church.”
    “I think so. It has that steep pitched roof, right?”
    “Yeah. I went there Sunday morning and it was awesome. Have you been there?”
    “No. I think the last time I went to church was when I was visiting my mom. I never really tried to find one here. You liked it, huh?”
    “Yeah, I was telling Mom it didn’t feel like a lot of big churches do. You know, impersonal? Everyone seemed really friendly and the worship time and preaching were great. I got a lot out of it. I miss being able to go to church on a regular basis. We’re usually traveling or have matinees to perform on Sundays. How about you? Are you a church guy?”
    “I used to be. I grew up in church and we had a really active youth group when I was in high school. You know . . . Bible camp every summer . . . mission trips . . . all of that stuff. I even played around with the idea of becoming a youth minister for a little while.”
    “Sounds like you liked it.”
    “I really did. But then I left home and went into the Navy. By the time I knew where I would be stationed I kind of fell away from it.”
    Meg tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Why do you think that is?”
    “Maybe I’ve seen too much and it’s caused me to wonder about some things. It’s not that I don’t think there’s a God—I still believe there definitely is. I just wonder why such bad things can happen to people who don’t deserve it.”
    “Oh, I understand. That’s interesting because . . .”
    “Here are your salads. Would you care for more wine?” the waiter interrupted as he gathered the appetizer platter and