Take Three Read Online Free PDF

here.”
    “Me too.” He glanced at the girls unloading coolers and pulling large pans from a box. Then he gave her a wary look. “Good luck on the burritos.”
    “Hey!” He was teasing her, but only because he knew her that well. “My cooking’s gotten better. Seriously.”
    “Hmmm.” He nodded, his expression one of mock doubt. “You mean you got over your fear of turning on the stove? Even for boiling water?”
    “I wasn’t that bad.” She was laughing quietly now, because he was right. She used to have Connor cook Cream of Wheat for her because she was afraid of the stove. “I can even cook frozen lasagna now.”
    “Wow…” his eyes danced, but he backed further away, his eyes on the girls again. “Go work. We’ll talk after dinner.”
    She waited a few seconds, then hurried to join her team. Already the girls had lit the stove and were warming up the pre-cooked ground beef in an oversized pan. They divided up the tasks, taking turns grating cheese and lettuce, and stirring the meat. Bailey put herself in charge of heating the tortillas.
    While they worked, Bailey kept looking up and discretely finding Cody. He was working with the guys in his cabin, collecting wood from the campsite and stacking it near the fire. The muscles in his back flexed every time he bent down for another armful, and Bailey struggled to focus on the dinner.
    “Don’t know how much good the wood will do us,” one of the girls sighed as she cut tomatoes and put them into a bowl. “If it rains, we’ll be sitting around a bunch of soggy logs.”
    “Actually, the latest reports say the rain won’t come till next week.”
    Another girl smiled big. “Which is why I’m here. I’m not a big fan of camping in the rain.”
    Bailey was glad to hear the updated weather report. They still would have had fun in the rain, but it would have limited the time they could spend outdoors. Either way, this weekend was bound to make Cody and her stronger friends. She could already feel that much. Even if they didn’t quite find the sort of connection they’d shared all those yesterdays ago.
    One of the girls came up beside her. “You’re quiet.” She glanced at the pan of warmed tortillas and used her hand to feel for heat. “What’re you thinking about?”
    “Life.” She shifted the pan and turned down the heat. “And how glad I am that I didn’t let a northern copperhead snake stop me from being here this weekend.”
    They both laughed, and Bailey promised to tell the story about the snake later, when they were all tucked in their sleeping bags, safe from whatever creepy crawly things might come out at night.
    The meal took very little time to pull together, and the guys had two oversized piles of wood collected by the time Daniel called everyone to a double row of picnic tables. “Thank You for the food, God, and thanks for the dry weather. We really appreciate it.” Daniel raised his fork. “Amen!”
    Already Bailey could feel herself relax, feel the tension from the past week and her upcoming finals slipping away. She and Cody exchanged glances now and then, but Bailey sat with the girls around the fire and talked about the tests ahead and the grades they were expecting. A few of them, like Bailey, were taking classes, but the rest of them were going home in a few weeks or sticking around for summer jobs.
    “You’re lucky you live here,” one of them told Bailey. “I’d be up at this lake all the time.”
    She thought about that, how living close to a place like Lake Monroe made it easier to take it for granted. Maybe after the retreat she could talk Andi into coming up here. Whatever it took to help her find the truth once more. She looked across the fire and watched Cody talking to a group of guys. With Daniel in charge, she and Cody might not have much time to talk alone. That was okay, really. She had a boyfriend, after all. This trip was about seeking God and finding direction for the days ahead.
    And these days