Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (32 page)

“Did you tell Amanda our plans?”

Rosemary shook her head. “I wanted to, but I decided it was time to butt out and let Jerry talk to her first.”

Harold’s laughter annoyed her, but she didn’t comment. Even after sleeping half the trip, she was tired. She’d woken up occasionally during the long drive, but Harold and Jerry were getting along so well that she didn’t want to interrupt their father-son time. It was nice to see Harold in such good spirits.

“Did you want to take a shower tonight or in the morning?” she asked.

“I’ll take one tonight.” He crossed the room and took her hands in his. “But you go first. I want to fix myself a snack.”

“If you want me—”

He gently nudged her toward the bathroom. “No, let me take care of myself as long as I can. It won’t be too much longer before I won’t be able to.”

She slowly nodded and had to bite back the tears that stung the backs of her eyes. Harold knew his diagnosis, and after denying it for a few months, he’d finally come to terms with it. She knew that many of his grouchy moments were due to frustration about what they had to look forward to, and she couldn’t say that she blamed him a bit.

As soon as she got out of the shower, Harold took his. Then together they cuddled on the sofa and watched a late movie. This was the closest she’d felt to her husband in a very long time.

Each day since Jerry and his parents had left Treasure Island, Amanda had felt sadder than the day before. Rosemary had called a few times, and she’d mentioned that they might take an extra vacation. At least Amanda wouldn’t have to wait a whole year to see them again.

Matthew had called the night before and said he was bringing by some new items for her to decide what she wanted to carry in her store. She knew she needed to look at them, but she wasn’t in the mood. Maybe he’d let her hang onto them for a few days. Vendors approached him at his events and offered freebies if he’d consider endorsing them. Then he always brought what he liked to her so she had the most upto-date safety equipment for skateboarding.

In addition to Matthew coming in, she had a group order for a dozen bicycles as well as a couple of vendors dropping by on their regular rounds. She was glad to have a busy day; it kept her from thinking about Jerry so much.

She counted her money and closed the cash drawer. Then she moved to the sales floor to rearrange a few items when she heard the bell.

With a smile, she turned to face her customer. The instant she saw Jerry walk toward her, she felt blood rush to her face. She opened her mouth, but words wouldn’t come out.

She continued staring at him as he approached the counter. “What are you doing here?”

Jerry’s smile quickly faded as he hesitated. “Should I leave?”

“No.” What had she been thinking? She sucked in a breath to compose herself. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I thought…well, I don’t know what I thought.”

“I take it I surprised you?”

Amanda finally regained her faculties enough to nod. “Yes, that’s one way of putting it. How long are you in town?”

“For good.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave her a look that was disquieting. “Mom and Dad decided to move here, and I didn’t want them to come alone.”

Amanda cleared her throat. “I’ve spoken to your mother a few times, and she never said a word about it.”

“She wanted to surprise you. To be honest, when they told me they’d already made arrangements to move down here, I was shocked. They’d talked about it before, but I never thought they’d actually follow through.”

Amanda wasn’t sure why he was in the shop—whether he came to see her or if he was there to pick up a bicycle for his parents. There was one way to find out. “The tandems are out, but one of them should be back tomorrow. I can have it ready the next day, if—”

He held up his hand. “No, I don’t think they’re ready for bike riding yet. I just wanted to see you before I headed for the store and stocked up on supplies.” Jerry started toward the door then stopped and turned back to face her. “What are you doing tonight? Wanna go out somewhere?”

She’d already promised to keep an eye on Timmy while Lacy and Brad went to Pastor Zach for counseling. Amanda tilted her head and slowly shook it. “I’m sorry, but I’m taking care of Timmy tonight.”

“Are Brad and Lacy going out?”

Amanda didn’t want to say too much about her sister’s personal life without Lacy’s permission. “Yeah, they have plans. I know it won’t be as exciting as what you might have planned, but if you can’t find anyone else to do something with, you can come over and hang out with us.”

He instantly smiled and nodded. She was thrilled with his reaction, but she tried to backpedal so he wouldn’t realize just how much his being here meant. “We’re not really doing anything. He wants to look at my bicycle collection, which should be good for at least five minutes. I don’t know what I’ll do with the other hour and fifty-five minutes he’ll be with me.”

“Maybe I should bring my dad.”

“You can if you want to.”

Jerry shook his head no. “Nah, I’ll just come alone tonight. After Lacy and Brad get back, you and I can go for a walk or something…that is, if you’re up for it.”

“Absolutely. I haven’t had much time to get fresh air lately, so a walk would be nice.”

After they settled on a time, Jerry left. Amanda’s heart sang as she went through the rest of the day. She tried calling Rosemary’s cell phone a couple of times, but it kept switching over to voice mail. The first time, Amanda left a message, but she hung up each time after that.

“Who is it this time?” Harold asked as they walked toward the dining room on the first floor. Rosemary’s phone had been ringing all afternoon.

Rosemary looked at the number in the tiny window of her phone. “Amanda.”

“That girl is persistent.” Harold chuckled. “You might as well pick up next time.”

“I’m not talking to her until I know it’s okay with Jerry.”

Harold frowned. “You don’t have to ask him for permission to talk to anyone.”

“I also don’t want to lie to Amanda, and I don’t know if Jerry’s talked to her yet.”

“Good point.” Harold gently placed his hand on the small of Rosemary’s back, and she shivered. His touch never failed to delight her.

She stopped outside the dining room. “Let me try to call him one more time before we eat.”

“Maybe he’s screening his calls and not answering ours—just like you’re doing to Amanda.”

Rosemary gave him her standard look. “He wouldn’t dare.”

“True. Then he’d have to answer to you. He probably just left his phone in another room.”

She scrolled through her speed-dial numbers and hit Call when his number came up. This time he answered right away.

“Where have you been?” she asked without a greeting. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all afternoon.”

“Sorry. I had to make some business calls.”

“Oh.” Now she felt bad. Ever since she and Harold had retired, she rarely thought about work or jobs. Even when Jerry worked on his computer during their vacations, it still didn’t seem like work because he could do it anywhere.

“Did you need something?” Jerry asked.

“Have you talked to Amanda yet?”

“I stopped by and saw her today. She’s watching Timmy tonight so her sister and Brad can go somewhere, so I’m going to her place.”

Rosemary glanced up and winked at Harold, who was watching with interest. “Good. She’s been trying to call me, and I’ve been ignoring her calls.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin anything for you, that’s why.”

Jerry laughed. “You couldn’t mess up anything for me if you tried. Don’t worry about it. I’m a grown man.”

“Yes, I know, and that’s the reason—” She caught herself. “Oh, never mind. Go have fun with Amanda tonight. Your dad and I are about to have dinner.”

“Call me tomorrow, okay?”

“You know I will,” Rosemary replied. “I’ll want a full report.”

The sound of Jerry’s laughter came through until she flipped her phone shut. She grabbed her husband by the hand, took a deep breath, and tugged.

“Time to meet, greet, and eat,” she said. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, her nerves were a bit jangled at the newness of everything and meeting so many neighbors at once.

Harold snorted. “I’ll have to remember that one. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

Within minutes, they were surrounded by neighbors welcoming them to their new home. Rosemary watched a couple of men pounce on Harold.

“I’m Marvin,” one guy said. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re outnumbered by the biddies. We fellas have to stick together.”

The woman next to him playfully gave him a light shove. “Don’t mind Marvin. He loves it here. I’m Doris, and this is Norma.”

Rosemary smiled and said hi to all her new friends. “I’ll do my best to remember your names.”

“We’ll give you a week,” Doris said. “By then you’ll feel like you’ve known us forever. Do you play board games?”

“I haven’t in a while,” Rosemary replied.

“Every Tuesday night we have board games in the recreation room. On Wednesdays, we have church; then afterward we stay in the chapel and watch a movie.” Doris turned to Norma. “Help me out here. I can’t think of everything.”

Norma took over. “Thursday is bowling night. We all go in the Tropical Gardens Village shuttle. On Fridays, the guys get together and shoot pool in the billiards room, so the ladies sometimes get together and decide what we want to do then.”

“Don’t forget to tell her about charades night,” Marvin said. “That’s my favorite event.”

Doris rolled her eyes. “All the guys like charades because they get to revert to their childhood and act silly.”

“It all sounds wonderful.” Rosemary turned to Harold, who stood off to the side with his arms folded and a wry grin on his face. “I’m sure we’ll take advantage of many activities.”

“Trust me.” Doris reached out and laid her hand on Rosemary’s arm. “After you’re here awhile, you won’t want to miss a single thing. We’re a tight group around here.”

Marvin belted out a laugh. “Our kids and grandkids have to call in advance to get on our schedules.”