Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (16 page)

Jerry didn’t mean to kiss her. It just happened. All he’d done was grab a wayward football—something he’d done many times. And it had never turned out like this—a pretty girl in his arms, her face tilted up toward his, a look of utter awe in her eyes.

He tried to quiet his thudding heart.

She licked her lips and blinked, which turned him inside out. “Thank you for catching that ball. I didn’t even see it coming,” she repeated.

What else would he have done? He lowered his eyelids to hide his feelings. “It was nothing. Really.”

Still smiling down at her, he slowly released his grip on her. She inhaled and closed her eyes as she let out her breath.

Difficult as it was, Jerry turned to face the Gulf, where the sun barely hovered over the water. “Look. We’re about to see what we came here for.”

She shaded her eyes as she looked toward the water. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I never get tired of sunsets.”

The colorful sky provided a breathtaking panorama, with blues, purples, and various shades of red and orange. The water reflected the sky, and the beach provided the bottom of the frame. Jerry squeezed his eyes shut and thanked the Lord for the glorious scene before them. When he opened his eyes again, he caught Amanda staring up at him.

“The Lord is good, isn’t He?” she whispered.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. So he nodded and wrapped his arms around her once again. He was tired of fighting the attraction he’d felt from the day they rode bicycles to the festival.

Her shoulders tensed, but she soon relaxed and leaned into him. This felt so right, but there was that one obstacle he would have to face. He and his parents only had a short time left on Treasure Island. Then what? He shuddered as he tried to put that out of his mind.

“Amanda!”

He and Amanda both turned around and saw a woman coming toward them. He was fairly certain he’d never seen her before. She had a slender build, chiseled facial features, and a halo of frizz above her otherwise straight, gray-streaked, auburn hair.

“Hey, Mom.” She quickly pulled away from his embrace, leaving him standing there with his arms dangling awkwardly by his sides.

The woman looked him up and down before turning to Amanda. “Is this your new boyfriend?”

“Um…Mom, I’d like for you to meet Jerry Simpson. This is my mother, Diane Burns.”

Jerry extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Burns.”

“Miss Burns,” she corrected as she took his hand. “I’ve never been married.”

“Oh.” Jerry had no idea what to say now. If he commented, he risked embarrassing Amanda. So he just gulped and said, “Sorry, Miss Burns.”

She flapped a hand and smiled. “Just call me Diane. Everyone else does.”

“We were just enjoying the sunset,” Jerry said, trying to divert the conversation. He sensed Amanda’s discomfort, but at least now he understood a little more about her. “There’s no amount of money that can buy something so beautiful.”

Diane cackled. “You’re kidding, right? Money can buy just about anything you want, including a condo on the beach where you can have this sunset every day of your life.”

“Mom,” Amanda said softly, her voice laced with an undertone of warning.

“Oh, Amanda,” the older woman said with another flap of her hand, “you know what I’m saying.”

Jerry felt like he’d been caught in the middle of something he wasn’t prepared for. Although Amanda had mentioned that her mother had problems, she hadn’t gone into enough detail to get the whole picture.

“I’m sure he knows what I mean,” Diane said as she grinned at Jerry. “Don’t you, sweetie?”

Her casual term of affection startled him. He glanced over at Amanda, who appeared to be steaming beneath a controlled exterior.

After gently reaching down for Amanda’s hand, he decided to take charge of the situation. “It was very nice meeting you, Diane. Maybe I’ll run into you again sometime in the future.” He took a couple of steps away from the woman who clearly had Amanda in a dither. “I’d like to find a spot where we can watch the sun go down for the night.”

“You can do that just about anywhere on this beach.” Diane gestured widely.

“Good evening, Diane,” he said, trying to be firm yet polite.

Without another word, he pulled Amanda toward him, hoping to leave a clear sign that they wanted to be alone. Fortunately, Diane took the hint and waved as they walked away.

Once they were out of hearing distance from her mother, Amanda offered Jerry an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry about that. My mother can be so…so…I don’t know…”

“Motherly?” he asked with a chuckle.

She grinned up at him. “Yeah, I guess you can say that. You probably want to know about my father, right?”

He had to admit he was curious, but he wasn’t about to make Amanda any more uncomfortable than she already was. “Not unless you want to tell me.”

He sensed her uncertainty about telling him, so he squeezed her hand to let her know he was there for her.

“Maybe some other time, okay? Right now I just want to enjoy the moment.”

He agreed with a nod. “Sounds good to me.”

They found a spot with dry sand and sat down to watch the sun as it melted into the water. The smell of the salty air mixed with the sweetness of the coconut oils that lingered from the sunbathers. The sounds of the waves lapping onto the shore blended with distant strains of music and children playing and added to the ambience Jerry knew he wouldn’t find anywhere else.

“There is absolutely nothing like it,” Jerry said. “No matter how many times I see this, I feel a newness in God’s presence.”

She leaned toward him and rested her head on his shoulder. This simple gesture surprised him, but it felt nice. He held as still as he could until she finally pulled away.

“Ready to go?” she asked.

“Not really.” He winked at her. “But I can take a hint.”

They stood up and walked hand in hand back to the beach access, where they stopped. “I had a wonderful time, Jerry. And thanks again for saving me from the crazy football.”

He wanted to kiss her again, but the timing didn’t seem right.

Nothing had been so difficult as leaving Jerry to go home. She could have stayed on the beach for hours, watching the horizon and enjoying the peacefulness that washed over her when she was with him. But that wouldn’t be good for either of them. She needed to keep her emotions in check or risk being abandoned again. She took her time plodding home.

Fifteen minutes later, Amanda opened the door to her house. Lacy and Brad were on the couch watching TV.

“Where’s Timmy?” Amanda asked.

“Mother stopped by to tell us she saw you and Jerry acting all cozy on the beach.” Lacy paused. “I asked her to take Timmy out for ice cream.”

If Brad hadn’t been there, Amanda would have asked questions— lots of them.

“Timmy was impressed with your miniature bicycle collection,” Brad said. “That’s all he can talk about anymore. I never thought he’d be interested in collecting stuff.”

Amanda suspected there were a lot of things Brad never thought Timmy would be interested in, when, in fact, he might be pleasantly surprised if he actually exposed his son to more than a tiny nibble of his time. But that was none of her business.

“It was fun showing it to him. Not everyone gets excited about old stuff like that.”

Brad tilted his head. “I used to collect trains, until my family moved. Dad packed them all up, and I never saw them again. I wonder if they still have them.”

“You might ask them about it,” Amanda suggested. “I bet Timmy would get a kick out of them.”

“Yeah, I bet he would.”

Lacy rolled her eyes. “What good is all that stuff? It’s just clutter.”

“Some people might say the same thing about your shoe collection,” Amanda quipped.

Lacy gasped. “I wear all my shoes. I don’t just pull them out to look at them.”

“True.” Amanda didn’t mean to insult her sister. It just came out that way. “I hope Mom doesn’t forget how young Timmy is. It’s been a long time since she’s been in charge of a child.” And she didn’t do very well the first time around, Amanda remembered. When Lacy came along, Amanda was her main caregiver practically from the beginning. Not many fourteen-year-olds had the full responsibility of baby siblings while their mothers wigged out and simply took off, not telling anyone where they were going.

“So,” Lacy said with a mocking voice, “tell me all about you and Jerry. Mother said you two were acting very romantic.”

A lump instantly formed in Amanda’s throat. She didn’t want to talk about her feelings with Jerry because she hadn’t had time to sort them out in her own mind.

Brad locked gazes with Amanda for a split second then turned to face Lacy. “That’s their business, Lacy. I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’d like to go to the other coast with me next week, after school is out for summer break. It’ll just be for the day. I have to make a couple of business calls in Daytona and St. Augustine, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to.”

Lacy’s eyes lit up. “Sounds like fun. Can you drop me off at the mall while you make your calls?”

“Of course,” he said. Then he turned to Amanda. “Now all I have to do is find someone to help out with Timmy.”

There was no doubt he was hoping Amanda would volunteer. But she wasn’t sure if she should. After all, she had a business to run.

“Amanda wouldn’t mind,” Lacy piped up. “Would you?”

Now she couldn’t avoid the subject. “Um…” The hopeful look on Lacy’s face made her waver. Finally she offered a clipped nod. “Sure, I can watch him. It’s just for the day, right?”

“Absolutely,” Brad assured her. “I can drop him off with you when I pick up Lacy. That is, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine.” Exhaustion fell over Amanda, so she turned toward her room. “See you tomorrow, Lacy.”

Simmering with a blend of anger and frustration, Amanda flipped on her bedroom lamp and closed her door. This had been an exhausting day—both physically and emotionally. Caught in the midst of her mother’s return, Jerry’s kiss, and being cornered by Lacy to watch Timmy, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

After a fitful night of restless tossing and turning, Amanda got up the next morning. Lacy was already in the kitchen sipping coffee.

“So,” Amanda said as she poured herself a cup of the strong brew, “you ready for the last day of school?”

Lacy set her mug down on the table and looked up at Amanda. “You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m really going to miss those kids.”

“Believe me, I understand.”

“It’s strange. All I could think about all year was that if I could make it through the school year, I got a couple of months off during the summer, so I counted the days until now. But I’m sort of sad.”

“Do you have anything special planned?” Amanda asked as she remembered her own elementary school days.

Lacy slowly shook her head. “No, should I?”

“Well, let’s see. You’re sad about today being the last day, and I’m sure the kids feel attached to their very first teacher.” Amanda paused and thought for a couple of seconds. “Why don’t you stop off at Publix and pick up some cupcakes and punch?”

Lacy’s face lit up. “We can have a good-bye party!”

“That’s the idea.”

Amanda left Lacy with that and headed to the shop. She’d barely gotten inside and turned on all the lights when she heard the bell on the door behind her.

Her mother stood by the door, looking around with a smirk on her face. “This is insane, Amanda.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t see a thing in here that looks the least bit girlish.”

Amanda squinted. “What are you talking about, Mother?”

“All these…these bicycles and skates and skateboards. It’s all guy stuff.”

Amanda had heard it all before. Her mother was of the mind that anything sporty or athletic was reserved for boys, and girls needed to be…well, needy.

“What kind of man do you think you’ll attract if you can do everything better than him?”

“Um…if I ever wanted to attract a guy, I would hope he’d be secure enough with himself to accept that I’m competent.”