Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (24 page)

Jerry was happy to have his dad home, but he wasn’t nearly as happy as his dad was to be home. They didn’t even have his bags unpacked when his father started pacing.

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“I’m bored.”

“You haven’t been home more than ten minutes. How can you be bored?”

“Don’t know. I just am.”

“Why don’t you rest for a little while and then we’ll think of something to do.”

His dad turned to him and lifted his hands. “I don’t wanna rest. That’s all I’ve been doing for the past couple of days.”

“You’re not supposed to exert yourself!” his mother hollered from the kitchen. “Doctor’s orders.”

“That doctor’s just a kid. What does he know?”

Jerry couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, so what do you want to do?”

“Call Timmy’s father and see if he can come over.”

“I can’t do that, Dad. It doesn’t seem appropriate.”

“That’s ridiculous. What’s not appropriate about an old man enjoying the company of a boy?”

Jerry couldn’t think of anything wrong with his dad talking to Timmy because he knew where his heart was. “Tell you what I’ll do. Later on, I’ll call Amanda and see if she can get her sister to arrange for us to meet at her store sometime next week.”

His dad narrowed his eyes and turned back to look out the window at the Gulf of Mexico. The sun still hung above the water, but it wouldn’t be long before it set. As he turned back to face Jerry, his expression changed to a look of resignation.

“Okay.” He paused for a moment. “Do you think Timmy might be in church tomorrow?”

Jerry wasn’t sure, but he didn’t remember seeing either Timmy or Brad in church. “I really don’t know, but I doubt it.”

“That’s sad. Timmy needs a good Christian upbringing—like you had.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Harold, I hope you don’t get between Timmy and his father about church.” Jerry’s mother stood in the opening between the kitchen and the living room, wiping her hands on a towel. “You know it’s none of our business what they choose to do.”

“I disagree, Rosemary. If he’s not getting any Bible teaching at home, someone needs to talk to him about the Lord.”

She headed back into the kitchen, mumbling under her breath. Jerry saw both sides, but he kept his mouth shut. Deep down he agreed with his dad, but he was sure his dad was spoiling for an argument, and he wasn’t about to add the fuel.

“Let’s go out onto the balcony and get a little fresh air, Dad. You’ve been cooped up inside way too long.”

Sunday morning, as Amanda got ready for church, she wondered if she’d see Jerry and his folks. She was torn between wanting them there and wishing she’d never told them where she worshipped. Then she had a flash of guilty conscience.

Once she was dressed and ready, she rapped lightly on Lacy’s bedroom door. “Lacy, are you awake?”

“What do you want?”

“Are you okay?”

“No. Leave me alone.”

Amanda hadn’t seen her sister in a couple of days—not since Brad had called her a spoiled brat and the two of them had talked about it. Amanda wondered if she’d gotten through to Lacy. Until now, she’d avoided confronting Lacy with her feelings, but it was time to face reality. Lacy needed to grow up and accept that the world didn’t revolve around her.

“I’d like for you to go to church with me, Lacy.”

“It’s not doing you any good.”

Amanda shook her head. “That’s not why I go to church, and you know it.”

“Just go and leave me alone.”

With a heavy heart, Amanda left her sister alone in the house. Lacy was hurting, and Amanda had no idea what to do to help her.

All the way to church, she thought about how she could have handled the situation differently, and she couldn’t think of a single way that wouldn’t bring them right back to where they started. If she continued to coddle Lacy, nothing would change. It was time to make some major changes. Lacy had a college degree and a job, but she didn’t have any major responsibilities. Amanda paid her mortgage and all the utilities. Occasionally Lacy helped out with food, but most of the time her entire paycheck went to designer clothes, handbags, shoes, and whatever else her heart desired—and that never involved anything outside herself.

Amanda decided right then that it was time to start charging her sister rent. Even though she didn’t need the money now, Lacy needed to assume some of the responsibility of being a full-fledged adult. Until that happened, she’d remain in a fairy-tale world.

She managed to put Jerry out of her mind until she spotted him walking into the church with his parents. Her heart pounded hard against her chest, and she found herself short of breath.

Why had she let this happen? Before getting out of her car, she closed her eyes and asked the Lord for the strength to face Jerry without going to pieces and losing her heart to another man. Once she managed to calm herself down, she got out, turned toward the church, and put on her game face.

“Hey, Amanda!”

Matthew’s voice was a welcome sound. She turned and smiled. “Hey, Matthew. Have you seen Suzanne?”

“I think she went on vacation. Wanna sit with me?”

“Sure.” She was thankful not to have to sit alone with Jerry in the sanctuary.

Unfortunately, knowing that Jerry and his parents were in the church prevented her from totally focusing on the sermon. Every now and then, Matthew glanced over at her and offered an understanding smile.

Once church was over, he chuckled. “Looks like you’ve got it bad, Amanda.”

She bobbed her head but couldn’t directly face him. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I’m saying. You have a thing for Jerry. Take my advice, and don’t deny it.”

Amanda felt her shoulders sag. Matthew could see right through her, so there was no point in continuing to pretend. “What am I supposed to do after he leaves?”

Matthew took her hand. “Don’t look for problems before they happen. Pray about the relationship, and if it’s something the Lord wants for you, He’ll show you how to get it.”

That sounded good, and if she’d been in his position talking to a friend, she might have said the same thing. But Matthew didn’t grow up without a father, and he wasn’t left at the altar. He had no idea what it was like to be abandoned.

“I don’t know.” She glanced over her shoulder and spotted Jerry talking to the pastor, who’d made his way to the back of the church. “It’s just difficult knowing he’s here on vacation and he hasn’t given any indication that anything will change.”

“Maybe you’re not looking at the same thing I am.” Matthew glanced back at Jerry then turned to face her again. “From my perspective, it looks like he’s open to a relationship. I think he might just be waiting for a sign from you.”

“A sign?”

Matthew nodded. “Yeah. Guys don’t like rejection. We look for some kind of sign that the lady is as interested in us as we are in them before we make our move.”

Amanda couldn’t hold back her laughter. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” Matthew twisted his mouth and shook his head, making her laugh even harder. “Before a guy says ‘I love you,’ he wants to be pretty sure he’ll hear it back. In fact, coming from a guy, it’s more of a question than a statement.”

“I never realized that.”

“It’s true.” Matthew looked back at Jerry again. “I also know that he doesn’t like you sitting next to me because he thinks you and I are…” He let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, you know.”

She gave him a gentle shove. “He doesn’t think that.”

“Based on the way he keeps looking at us, he’s not happy at all.”

She quickly changed the subject. “Are you going to the Bible study today?”

“Yep. In fact, I’m leading it. The pastor has a family commitment, and he asked if I’d take over.”

“Cool,” she said out of the corner of her mouth. “This should be interesting. Will it involve skateboards?”

“Hey, give me some credit. I’ve been working hard on this lesson all week.”

“Sorry.” She knew that in spite of all his quirkiness and kidding around, Matthew took his walk with the Lord very seriously. “I’m sure it’ll be wonderful, and I can’t wait to get there.”

“Okay, don’t overdo it on the praise, either. I don’t need that kind of pressure.”

“I’ll see you there in a few minutes, okay? I need to talk to Jerry’s mother and see how things are going now that Harold’s home from the hospital.”

Matthew smiled and winked as he edged toward the aisle. “Great idea! Don’t be late to class.”

Some of Amanda’s enthusiasm waned and turned to apprehension as she approached Rosemary. Rather than the cheerful greeting she normally received, all three of the Simpsons acted cool toward her. She regretted making such a big point of going all the way over to talk to them, but she couldn’t turn around at this point.

“So how are you feeling, Harold?” The formal tone of her own voice startled her.

A frown wrinkled his forehead. “Like I fell on my head.”

A nervous giggle escaped, so she forced a cough to recover. “I can imagine. I’m just glad it wasn’t more serious.”

She caught Rosemary casting a glance over toward Jerry, who took a small step back—almost as though he wanted to get away from her. This bothered her more than she ever imagined it would.

“Are you up for the Bible study?” She looked directly at Jerry, hoping he’d make more of an effort to talk to her. As it was, she wanted to run to the nearest dark corner and hide. Then Matthew’s comments played through her mind, and that gave her strength.

Jerry opened his mouth, but Rosemary took charge of the situation. “I’m sorry, Amanda, but he needs to take us back to the condo. Why don’t you come over this afternoon, and we can visit then?”

“Um…I don’t know,” Amanda began as she looked to Jerry for confirmation that it was okay. When he nodded, she felt an overwhelming relief. “Okay, I can stop by for a little while.”

“Let’s plan on having dinner together, okay?” At least Rosemary was trying.

“That sounds great.”

“I’ll have some hors d’oeuvres ready around four.” Rosemary turned to Jerry and smiled in such a way that Amanda knew there was some unspoken communication going on between them. “Why don’t we go to Captain Kosmakos for dinner?”

Amanda nodded. “Perfect! I love seafood.”

Jerry offered a good-bye grin, while his mother gave her a hug then quickly took him and his dad by the hand to lead them away. Amanda felt as though something had happened between them, and it didn’t seem good. At least she’d see them later, and hopefully whatever was going on would come to light. Was it possible that Matthew was right? Could Jerry be jealous? She didn’t think so, but maybe….

“Don’t assume anything, son,” Harold said. “Just because she sat next to that boy doesn’t mean there’s something going on between them.”

“It really doesn’t matter if there is.” Jerry stared straight ahead at the road. “What they do is their business.”

“You expect me to believe you mean that?” Harold belted out a loud snort. “You’re so in love with that girl, you’re impossible to be around.”

“Harold, stop it. Don’t embarrass him.”

“I’m not going to stop, Rosemary. I don’t know what’s going on with our youngest boy, but it’s time he stopped trying to run our lives when he still has his own to deal with.”

Jerry glanced in the rearview mirror and caught his dad staring directly at him. “Dad, I admit I do like Amanda. Very much. But we’re leaving, and I probably won’t see her again until next year.”

“If there is a next year,” his dad retorted. “We don’t know what will happen the next day, let alone next year. You’d better seize the opportunity while you have it, or it might be gone. Even if she is involved with that boy, I think she’s sweet on you.”

Jerry grinned in spite of the jealous gnawing at his gut. “Thanks for the advice, Dad.” He had no intention of taking it, but he wanted to end the argument.

“You’re welcome.”

His mother remained silent, so he turned to her. “Captain Kosmakos, huh?”

“I’m craving seafood.” Her answer was so abrupt, he almost laughed.

“Not to mention the fact that it’s always been my choice for comfort food.”

She slowly nodded. “Yes, well, there is that. I figured you might be able to use a little comfort food.”