Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (8 page)

Jerry squinted an eye, flexed a muscle, and said, “Arrgh....”

Amanda chuckled. “Very good.”

He dropped the pose and grinned. “Did I scare you?”

“Can’t you see me shaking?” Her broad smile was warmer than the sunshine reflecting off the white sandy beach.

They watched the artist for a few minutes then headed toward a makeshift stage, to where Amanda pointed. “I think we made it here in time.”

It didn’t take long for Jerry to get in the spirit of things. On the way to the stage, he ducked into a small shop, bought a T-shirt with the Sun, Sand, and Swing logo, and slipped it on over his bike clothes. He held up a tiny plastic treasure chest. “For my dad,” he said. “He’s always on a treasure hunt.” Amanda’s smile flooded him with warmth.

“Hey, Amanda!”

Amanda whispered, “That’s my sister, Lacy. Remember her?”

Jerry nodded, although he only vaguely remembered another slightly taller girl with lighter blond hair. “Did you know she was coming?”

“Yeah.” Amanda turned her attention on the woman who quickly approached. “So where’s your date?”

Lacy offered a coquettish shrug. “I’m supposed to meet him here in about an hour. I was just so excited, I got here early.”

“Would you like to hang out with us until he gets here?” Jerry offered.

She looked over at Amanda, smiled, then glanced back at him and shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Some of the other teachers are here, so I’ll just go talk to them. See ya at home tonight.” She started to walk away, until Amanda called after her.

“Lacy!”

She turned around to face Amanda. “What?”

“You never did say who you were meeting here.”

Lacy cast a quick glance in Jerry’s direction, shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then shrugged and flipped her hand from the wrist. “It doesn’t really matter. I’ll tell you later.”

Jerry quickly turned to Amanda to see her response. He watched a flicker of pain then a look of resignation.

“Fine,” she said then briefly hesitated. “Don’t stay out too late.”

Lacy looked like she was about to argue, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked down then back at Amanda. “I won’t.”

After Lacy turned and walked toward the restaurant on the corner, Jerry frowned. “Did her behavior seem strange to you?”

“Not really.” Amanda shook her head. “Lacy has always been like that.”

“Did you want to stick with her and meet her date?”

“I don’t think she wants us to. I’ll deal with her later.” The set of her jaw was firm, and she seemed less carefree than just a few minutes earlier.

Jerry got the impression that Amanda was more like a mother to Lacy than a sister. He wanted to ask questions, but it wasn’t any of his business.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening listening to music, watching the dancers, and browsing through the art in the booths throughout the festival. Jerry stopped off at some of the vendors and got some snacks to keep up their energy. He couldn’t remember having this much fun in a very long time, in spite of the fact that Amanda kept looking around, most likely for her sister.

Finally, shortly after the sun barely hovered over the water, Amanda turned to him. “I guess we’d better start heading back before it gets dark.”

Jerry agreed. He wasn’t about to let his disappointment show that the day was quickly coming to an end. After all, she was right. Not only did they need to get back before dark, he didn’t want to leave his parents alone too long. He’d reminded his mother to call his cell phone if there was an emergency. But he also knew she wanted him to find a nice girl, and Amanda just happened to be the only prospect in sight. He’d have to talk to his mother later and set her straight on what was really important to him.

The ride back was quiet, with the exception of the times when Amanda pointed out things they’d missed on their way to the festival. They were back at her bicycle shop in fifteen minutes.

“I had a great time,” he told Amanda as they approached the front door. “Where do you want me to put this bike?”

“Inside. I’ll hold the door while you wheel it in.”

She didn’t even look him in the eyes as she spoke. She reminded him that his things were still in the restroom.

“I’ll launder the shorts and shirt and bring them back tomorrow,” he told her.

“No rush. In fact, you can keep them if you want. I have plenty more just like them.”

He stood at the door until she finally glanced up at him. “Thank you for everything, Amanda.”

Her cheeks turned pink as she blinked and forced a smile. “My pleasure.”

There was no doubt in his mind that she wanted to be alone now. So he left.

The next day, Amanda arrived at the store exhausted. She’d tried to wait up for Lacy, but midnight came and went with no sign of her. She finally left a note for her sister and then crawled into bed, hoping for a good night’s sleep. But it didn’t happen.

For more than an hour she tossed and turned as she rehashed the day with Jerry. She’d had a great time, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened between them. In fact, it was one of the most eventless festivals she’d ever attended. However, she felt as though she’d been turned inside out.

Being in the bicycle business had exposed her to plenty of attractive, single men, so she knew that his physical good looks had nothing to do with how she felt about Jerry. He was kind and gentle, but so were most of her steady customers. There was some sort of chemistry with him that she couldn’t define.

She’d been with him most of the day, and she still didn’t know if he was a Christian. He didn’t curse, and she didn’t see him act in a non-Christian manner. However, there were plenty of people with good morals who weren’t believers. The couple of times she’d thought about bringing it up didn’t seem appropriate, so she kept her questions to herself. Besides, what did it matter since he was only there on vacation?

She got up and went to work with a lack of sleep and an unsettling feeling that something had changed between her and Jerry. Every time the door opened, she jumped. By noon, she felt like she’d been beaten and dragged through the shell-encrusted parking lot.

“What happened to you? Was Jerry mean? You look awful,” Lacy said as she entered the store midmorning.

“No, Jerry wasn’t mean. And thanks a lot. What time did you get in last night?”

Lacy narrowed her eyes in defiance, but she didn’t say anything. Amanda decided to keep trying to get through to her.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have school?”

Lacy shrugged as she glanced at her fingernails to avoid Amanda’s scrutiny. Amanda saw the tiny smirk of defiance that lifted the corners of Lacy’s mouth. “I took a sick day and called a sub.”

“You don’t look sick to me.”

Lacy scowled and folded her arms, reminding Amanda of when Lacy first hit puberty. “Don’t talk to me like that, Amanda. I’m sick of it. You’re always telling me what to do.”

Amanda started to argue that someone needed to tell her what to do then thought better of it. She shook her head. “Sorry about that.” She minimized the window on the computer then stepped around from behind the counter. “Did you need something?”

“Why would you think I need something?” Lacy pouted and scrunched her forehead, further enhancing the prepubescent look.

“I dunno,” Amanda replied, “maybe because you came by in the middle of the day when you’re supposed to be sick?”

“I just wanted to tell you that I thought you and Jerry make a cute couple.”

Amanda sputtered before she was able to talk. “Um, first of all, we’re not a couple. He’s simply a customer who wanted something to do. I thought it would be fun to go to the festival. His mother invited me to have dinner in their condo, and, well, I just thought that might be a little too uncomfortable.”
Whoa.
Too much explaining was always a sign of guilt.

“So you’re in tight with his parents?” Lacy asked.

Amanda glared at her sister. “We’re all friends. That’s all.”

Lacy’s pout turned to a sly grin. “If you want to believe that, fine. But I saw how he looked at you.”

“Don’t imagine something that doesn’t exist,” Amanda warned.

Lacy did a double take at something outside, so she turned to see what her sister was looking at.

The second their gazes met, Jerry felt a thud in his chest. He’d been standing outside the shop for a few seconds, trying to decide whether to go inside or act like he was on his way to somewhere else. He didn’t have a reason to be there—other than to gawk at Amanda. But that didn’t seem like enough.

A smile slowly spread across Amanda’s lips, and she waved. Now that he’d been caught, he couldn’t very well keep going.

His mind raced for a reason to be there as he pushed open the door and walked in. “I had a great time yesterday,” he said.

“Yeah, me, too.” Amanda’s face reddened as her sister snickered.

The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her in front of her sister, so he blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I just wanted to stop by and ask if there were any good churches around here.”

Amanda’s sister frowned then turned to Amanda. “I’d better get going. See ya tonight.”

After she left, Amanda cleared her throat, blinked a couple of times, then looked him squarely in the eyes. “There are several churches,” she said. “It all depends on what you’re looking for.” Was that a tone of defensiveness in her voice?

“I want the pure gospel of Christ,” he replied as he squared his shoulders.

She pursed her lips then looked him in the eyes. “We have several in the area.” Her attention went to the door, so he turned around in time to see Lacy looking back at Amanda.

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he hoped he hadn’t caused a problem between the sisters. “Did I come at a bad time?”

“No, not at all.” Amanda offered a smile as she focused all her attention on him. “Now about church. Do you like contemporary or traditional?”

His parents had moved to a more contemporary service when he and his siblings became teenagers, and they seemed to enjoy it. “Contemporary would be nice.”

She drummed her fingers on the counter for a moment, as though she wasn’t sure what to do. He was about to let her off the hook and tell her never mind when she looked up. “I go to Treasure Island Community Church. A lot of tourists are there every week, so you might like it.”

His heart sang just knowing she went to church. “Just tell me when and where, and we’ll be there.”

“Let me write it all down for you,” she replied. “We have two services because it’s kind of small and the regular membership is growing. We’re looking for a bigger place, but that’s not easy in a place like Treasure Island.”

“At least you’re growing.” He’d been through church growth in Atlanta, so he knew what a challenge it could be.

“The place is bursting at the seams, so we need to do something soon.”

He felt his body relax just knowing he was in the presence of another believer. “That’s a good problem to have.”

She nodded. “Would you prefer the early service at nine, or would eleven be better?”

Jerry’s parents hated to sleep in. “The early one.”

“That’s the one I like to go to, too. We have an adult Bible study between services, if you’re interested in that.”

Jerry wasn’t sure if his parents would be up to it, so he shrugged.

“I’ll have to see what the folks want to do, but I know they’ll want to at least go to the church services.”

Her face brightened as they talked about church and the Christian songs they liked. He hadn’t planned the conversation, but he was glad he’d had to come up with a reason for being there. Knowing she was a believer intensified his feelings for her. That might not be a good thing, but he figured he could handle it since he’d only be in the area for a short while.

“What do most people wear?” he asked. “That’s the first thing my mom will want to know.”

“It’s casual,” she replied, “just like everything else around here. Pretty much anything goes. I generally wear lightweight cotton pants and a comfortable top with sandals. But some people still like to dress up.”