Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (21 page)

“Good idea.”

“Hey, listen!” Harold hollered. “Music!”

Amanda slowed down. “That’s the clock tower.”

“I like it,” Harold said. “Especially the love song that’s playing now.”

Amanda wondered what Jerry was thinking. She couldn’t see his face since he was directly behind her, but she could tell he’d slowed down his pedaling.

“Come on,” she said as she pointed. “Let’s go that way.”

When they came to a stop at the next intersection, Amanda turned around and noticed that Harold wasn’t wearing his helmet. She knew he hated it, but she’d also seen some bad accidents where helmets had saved lives.

“I think your dad forgot his helmet,” Amanda said. “Did he leave it in the store?”

Jerry folded his arms, shook his head, and closed his eyes for a second. “Nope. He refuses to wear it. Says it’s for kids.”

“I have some extras in the store. Let’s go back and get one.”

He held up a finger then turned toward his parents. “Hey, Dad, will you wear a helmet?”

“I already told you,
no
!” Harold grabbed the handlebars on the back of the bicycle and motioned for Rosemary to start pedaling. “Let’s go before they start treating us like kids.”

“Harold, they’re telling you this for your own good.”

“I don’t care.” His tone sounded more juvenile than most teenagers. “If you want to wear a helmet, that’s your business, but I’ve gone seventy-something years without one, and I do just fine.”

Rosemary cast an apologetic glance at Amanda before pushing off and pedaling. “You two lead the way. We’ll be right behind you.”

“What do you think?” Amanda asked.

Jerry squared his shoulders. “I agree with you, but I don’t want to make a scene. Dad’s not gonna do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

“Okay, I guess since he’s not going to change his mind, we might as well accept it.” Amanda resisted the urge to call the whole rest of the bicycle ride off, but she didn’t want to make everyone miserable. Besides, chances were, nothing would happen if they didn’t go very far.

Jerry pedaled harder, while Amanda steered and did her share of pedaling. “The only time I’ve ever ridden one of these things is when I took Mom for a spin on the one we rented, and I was up front.”

“Are you having trouble being behind me?” she called over her shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, I can handle being behind you any day.”

Amanda resisted the urge to stop, turn around, and face him. His closeness reminded her of how easy it was to fall for a nice guy who said all the right things and was good-looking to boot.

Still facing straight ahead, she leaned back. “I thought we’d swing around by the bridge, come back to the clock tower and walk around, then maybe check out the beach.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go!”

“You two gonna sit there and talk all day, or are we going on a treasure hunt?”

“Have patience, Harold!”

Amanda and Jerry took off and maneuvered around Rosemary and Harold, who followed right behind. As they made their way down the street, people in cars slowed down and waved—something Amanda enjoyed about riding this bicycle built for two. When she was on a single, no one paid a bit of attention to her.

“This has always been such a friendly town!” Jerry shouted so she could hear above the traffic sounds.

Amanda laughed. “That’s because we’re on a tandem.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

As they approached the intersection, Amanda motioned to slow down. They were barely moving when a car from the adjacent street came barreling around the corner, turning right in front of them and not slowing down a bit. Her heart thudded at the close call. Suddenly she heard the screeching sound of brakes, and before she had a chance to turn around to see what was happening, the sound of Rosemary’s scream pierced the air.

Jerry didn’t waste a second in getting off the back of the bicycle. Amanda was right behind him.

“Dad?” Jerry leaned over his father, who’d fallen off the bicycle and obviously hit his head on the curb. “Can you hear me?”

A soft moan came from the elderly man, who was bleeding at the temple. He didn’t appear to be injured anywhere else, but no one was sure, so they didn’t try to move him. Amanda knelt down beside Jerry and Rosemary, whose panic-stricken face twisted her insides.

Jerry quickly pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and requested emergency service. Amanda went through the motions of telling Jerry where they were so he could relay it to the operator, but she was numb with worry.

After Jerry flipped his phone shut, Amanda quickly assumed the role of comforter to Rosemary. She placed her arm around the elderly woman’s trembling shoulders and whispered what she hoped were soothing words.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay,” Amanda said. “The paramedics will be here soon.”

She nervously leaned over and glanced down the street, hoping to hear the wail of sirens. Jerry tried to assess the situation, but there was so much blood that, by now, it was hard to tell much. He cast a worried glance toward Amanda. She reached out and gently laid her hand on his shoulder.

Jerry closed his eyes. Amanda assumed he was praying, so she offered her own to the Lord.
Please protect this family, Lord
.

When the siren’s shrill sound came blasting toward them, Amanda opened her eyes, as a sense of warmth washed over her. She gulped and took a step back so the paramedics could get to Harold, who’d opened his eyes.

“What’s going on here?” Harold asked. He lifted his head, but the paramedic gently pulled it back down and held it.

“You had a nasty fall, Dad,” Jerry said softly.

Harold tried to get up, and it took both paramedics to nudge him back down. “Let’s get you to the hospital and make sure nothing’s broken.”

“I don’t need to go to a hospital.” Harold’s voice came out in a rasp as he struggled to get up. But the paramedics were stronger, so he gave up. He glanced over at his son and smiled. “Glad you’re here, Steven.”

Amanda watched the color drain from Jerry’s face at the mention of his brother’s name. His very absent brother who rarely gave their parents the time of day. She considered trying to console Jerry, but she had no idea what to say.

It took several minutes for the paramedics to get Harold on a gurney and into the ambulance. One of them hung back and got pertinent information from Jerry. Rosemary asked to go with them. The paramedics exchanged a glance before looking at Jerry for assistance.

“Mom, I want you to go with us.” Jerry’s firm voice startled Amanda. She’d never heard him talk to either of his parents in such a stern tone, but she fully understood it.

“What if he needs me?” Her chin quivered, and she sniffed. “I should have been more careful.”

Jerry gritted his teeth. “It’s my fault. I should have insisted he wear his helmet.”

Amanda felt her own share of guilt in the incident. If only she’d made him understand the necessity of the helmet, and if only she’d waited a couple of seconds longer to let them catch up. But too late for all that now.

“What hospital are you taking him to?” Amanda asked the paramedic.

“Palms of Pasadena.”

She nodded. “I know where that is. We have to go back to get a car, but it won’t take long.”

Harold moaned. Rosemary’s hand flew to her mouth. “M–my husband…”

“He’s stabilized.” The paramedic jotted something down then glanced up at them. “We have everything we need. You might want to give it about twenty minutes. It’ll take that long to get him checked in.”

Amanda took charge, now that Jerry agreed. “Let’s get these bicycles back to the shop. We can go to my house and get my car; then I can drive to the hospital. I’m sure Tiffany won’t mind sticking around for the rest of the day.”

Jerry opened his mouth to speak, but Amanda gave him her no-nonsense stare that always worked with Lacy. She was relieved that he didn’t argue.

Amanda used her cell phone to call Tiffany to explain what they needed to do. “We’ll drop off the bicycles and leave right away. I hope you can stay until closing.”

“No problem,” Tiffany replied.

They were in and out of the shop in the time it took them to drop off the bicycles and for Amanda to grab her purse. “Let’s go.” She headed out the door, with Jerry and Rosemary right behind her.

Five minutes later they were in her car, on their way to the Palms of Pasadena Hospital. Once the hospital was in view, Amanda glanced over at Jerry to see how he was holding up. His jaw was set, and he stared straight ahead. He appeared to be in shock. Then she looked at Rosemary in the rearview mirror and saw that she wasn’t any better than Jerry. Amanda knew that nothing she said would change anything, so she pulled up to the emergency entrance in silence. Once she stopped the car, she gestured toward the door. “You two go on in. I’ll park the car and be there in a few minutes.”

Jerry got out and held the back door for his mother. Then he leaned over and forced a half smile. “Thanks for doing this. If it weren’t for you, well…”

If it weren’t for her, Harold wouldn’t have been on that bike, and he wouldn’t have fallen. She gulped, nodded, and offered what she hoped was a comforting smile. “Go help your parents. I’ll be there soon.”

After she got the car parked and locked, she whipped out her cell phone to call Pastor Zach and request prayers for Jerry and his parents. He promised to not only pray for them but said he’d call the prayer group leaders and get the word out. Amanda knew it wouldn’t stop there. The Treasure Island Community Church had the most generous members on the island and in St. Petersburg. She wasn’t sure exactly what they’d do, but they’d come up with something, and it wouldn’t take long. She’d been on the receiving end of it enough to know how loving they were.

Jerry had his arm around his mother and cradled her elbow to keep her from falling. Although currently shaky, she didn’t normally have a serious balance issue—at least not yet—but her nerves were frazzled from the accident. Somehow she’d managed to stay upright when his dad had tumbled to the street. But immediately after she looked at his dad, her knees buckled and she had to be helped up.

As soon as they walked into the emergency entrance, they were greeted by someone in uniform, who asked if they needed assistance. Jerry gave their information, and then they were asked to wait. He guided his mother to the chairs and helped her into one of them. Nervous energy prevented him from sitting down beside her, so he was glad when Amanda walked through the automatic doors and joined them.

One of the things he appreciated about Amanda was her ability to quickly size up situations and immediately react in the most appropriate way. He suspected it had something to do with all the practice of looking after her sister.

“Any news?” she asked as she sat down next to his mother and took her hand. Jerry’s heart warmed at how well his mother responded to Amanda’s nurturing.

Jerry shook his head. “Not yet.”

Amanda turned to his mother and squeezed her hand. “I called the pastor, and he’s going to get the prayer chain going.”

His mother managed a weak smile as tears glistened in her eyes. In spite of all the bickering, there was never any doubt that his parents deeply loved each other.

They waited another ten minutes before they were called to the desk. The nurse ushered them past the doors and into a room where his dad lay in bed, hooked up to monitors, with machines buzzing and beeping all around him. His eyes were closed, but the instant Amanda cleared her throat, he opened them.

Jerry leaned over the bed. “Dad?”

The elderly man blinked as though confused. “Steven?”

“No, Dad, I’m Jerry.”

As his dad closed his eyes, a tear trickled down his cheek. The only signs of the accident were a bandage on his head where he had hit the curb and a large bruise on his forearm.

A lump formed in Jerry’s throat as he tried to think of something to say. He was grateful when Amanda stepped up to his side and took over.

“You had a nasty spill, Harold.”

His dad opened one eye and stared at Amanda for a moment. “Who are you?”

She sucked in a breath and carefully took his hand without disrupting any of the attached tubes. “I own the shop where your son Jerry rents the bicycle built for two that you and Rosemary like to ride.”