Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (26 page)

“Why? Do you still need the hours? Don’t you want to take a little break and hang out with friends?”

Tiffany looked embarrassed as she shrugged. “Yeah, well…”

“You know I can always use a couple of extra hands—especially on Mondays.”

“Good!” Tiffany walked to the back room to put her purse down then came back out front. “What would you like me to do first?”

They reorganized the shop, stopping only when customers came in. By noon, everything looked good. “I appreciate your coming in, but I don’t want to keep you cooped up too long on such a pretty day.”

“It’s hot out there,” Tiffany said. “I’m glad to be in the air conditioning.”

Amanda had met Tiffany’s family in church a few years ago. After the service, Pastor Zach had pulled her aside and let her know how the family struggled and how he wanted people to remember them in their prayers. A group of men had gone over to repair the roof of their small bungalow, and Amanda had hired Tiffany part-time as soon as the girl turned sixteen. At the time, Amanda only did it to help Tiffany, but she turned out to be a quick study who didn’t mind doing whatever needed to be done—from renting out equipment to showing customers how to use it. Fortunately business was good, and Amanda loved having Tiffany there for backup.

“Hey, look who’s coming!” Tiffany pointed at the window.

Amanda spun around in time to see Jerry’s mom and dad round the corner and open the door. She looked back at Tiffany, who smiled and quickly glanced down at the counter.

Harold led the way and stopped a couple of feet from Amanda. “Wanna go for a walk?”

“I told him you had to work, but he wouldn’t listen.” Rosemary looked contrite as she stood with her hands clasped in front of her.

Tiffany cleared her throat. “If you wanna go, I’m cool with that.”

Amanda thought for a couple of seconds then nodded. “Sure, but I don’t want to be gone long.”

“He’s still on that treasure-hunt kick.” Rosemary rolled her eyes.

“One of these days you’ll be glad.” Harold puffed out his chest. “I’ll find the treasure, and everyone will be happy.”

“I’m sure.” Rosemary shook her head.

“Where do you want to go today?” Amanda asked.

Harold rubbed his chin in thought then beamed. “How about we head toward John’s Pass?”

“Sounds good. Let me get out of these sandals and put on some walking shoes. Be right back.” She took off for the back room then came out a couple minutes later in time to see Harold looking at the helmet display.

“We just picked up a new line. See any you like?”

“Harold doesn’t need a new helmet. He already has one that’s practically new.”

“It’s boring,” he said, as he lifted one of the new ones with redand-orange flames off the shelf. “I like this one.”

“Why don’t you take it and have Jerry bring back the last helmet he bought? I saw it still in the box on the table by your front door last night.”

Harold’s eyes lit up. “If I could have this helmet, I’d wear it all the time.” He gave his wife a puppy-dog look. “I promise.”

Amanda looked at Rosemary, hoping the woman wouldn’t be so practical. She was relieved when Rosemary nodded.

“Okay, but I expect you to wear it.”

“I promised, didn’t I?”

Amanda got one of the boxes below the display and carried it over to the counter. “Put this aside for Mr. Simpson. He can pick it up when we come back.”

Tiffany grinned and did as she was told. Then she turned to Rosemary. “Where’s Jerry?”

“He’s working on his computer today.” Rosemary cast a glance in Amanda’s direction as if to make sure she was listening. “He can work anywhere as long as he has his laptop with him.”

Amanda took a couple of strides to the door then stopped and held it open for Rosemary and Harold. “I’ll be back in about an hour, unless you need me beforehand. I’m taking my cell phone.”

“Take your time,” Tiffany said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

“You’ve got a good thing going here,” Harold told her as they left the building. “Business seems good, and you have that young lady who seems awfully good at what she does.”

“Yes, I’m blessed.” She sensed that something else was behind Harold’s words.

“I think you could probably have a successful business no matter where you were,” Rosemary interjected.

Time to change the subject. “So we’re supposed to be looking for treasure, right?” She focused on Harold, who didn’t look her in the eyes.

Rosemary grunted. “She’s talking to you, Harold.”

“I know she is. I’m just thinking.”

“What’s there to think about?” Rosemary sniped. “Either you’re looking for treasure or you’re not.”

Amanda was about to say something when Harold spoke out. “Sometimes treasure is in the most unexpected places. And it doesn’t always look like what you would think.”

“What are you talking about?” Impatience was evident in Rosemary’s voice.

“What I’m saying is…” He stopped and planted a fist onto his hip as he turned to Amanda. “It’s not always about things.”

“Oh, brother.” Rosemary offered a sympathetic smile to Amanda. “Please excuse my husband.” She twirled her finger around her ear. “Sometimes he’s not altogether there. It’s the Alzheimer’s.”

Her voice had dropped to a low whisper, but Amanda suspected Harold knew exactly what she’d said. He clamped his mouth shut, jutted his jaw, and took off walking ten paces ahead of them.

They were about a quarter of a mile from the shop when Amanda couldn’t take the suspense any longer. Harold had dropped back and was only a couple of steps ahead. Finally, she simply had to ask.

“Did you and Harold need to discuss something with me?”

Rosemary tilted her head and forced a look of innocence. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I figured the two of you came without Jerry because you wanted to talk about something.”

“Well…” She glanced ahead at her husband, who’d stopped and turned to face them.

“C’mon, Rosemary, she’s on to us. Don’t lie to the girl.”

Rosemary gasped. “Why, I’d never lie.”

Harold chuckled and shook his head. “We’re heading back to Atlanta in a few days, and we wanted to see what you thought about our son. You have my wife convinced that you and that skateboard fella aren’t romantically involved.”

“That’s true,” Amanda said slowly. She wasn’t sure how much to tell them about her feelings toward Jerry. If she said she wasn’t interested, she’d be lying. However, if she told them that the chemistry between them crackled every time they were together, she’d be telling them too much.

“So out with it.” Harold folded his arms and waited.

“I…uh…” She gulped as her face heated with a blush. “Jerry is one of the nicest guys I know.”

“That’s not what we’re asking.” Harold progressed to foot tapping.

Finally Amanda decided to tell them exactly what was on her mind, even if it wasn’t what they wanted to hear. “I’ve lived in Treasure Island almost all my life, and this is where I want to stay. I have my shop, a house I like, and my church.”

“But are you happy?” Harold was relentless.

Rosemary closed the gap between herself and her husband and gently put her arm around his waist. “That might be too personal, Harold. Let’s not make her uncomfortable.”

“That’s ridiculous.” He squinted at Amanda. “Are you gonna tell us if you think you could fall in love with our son?”

A nervous giggle escaped Amanda’s throat. “I think that’s a moot issue, since the three of you are leaving soon.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Rosemary said in her typical take-charge manner. “We’re supposed to be on a treasure hunt, and that’s what I aim to do.”

He made a face and shook his head. “I’m suddenly not in the mood to hunt for treasure anymore. Let’s go home.”

They walked Amanda back to the shop, where she got the new helmet with red and orange flames. Rosemary promised she’d have Jerry drop off the unopened one and pay her the difference, even though Amanda said it would be an even swap.

After they left, Amanda felt as if someone had knocked all the air out of her lungs. She leaned against the wall in the back room and closed her eyes.

“That bad, huh?”

Amanda opened her eyes and saw Tiffany standing a few feet away. She nodded. “Yeah. They wanted to know my intentions with Jerry.”

Tiffany grinned. “Isn’t that the job of the girl’s family to ask the guy?”

Amanda lifted a brow and snickered. “Can you imagine my mother doing that?”

“No way. So what did you say?”

As tired as she was about discussing this, she didn’t want to hurt Tiffany’s feelings. “I told them that a long-distance relationship would be difficult.” The sound of the bell on the door caught their attention.

Tiffany bobbed her head as she glanced over her shoulder toward the showroom. “I’ll be right there.” Then she turned back to Amanda. “I’ll take care of the customer while you pull yourself together.”

Amanda started to argue with her, but Tiffany’s no-nonsense expression let her know not to argue. After her young employee left her alone, she chuckled to herself about how a teenager was more astute than her own mother.

Once the customer was gone, Tiffany returned. “So did they argue with you?”

“No, not at all.”

“I hope you don’t move to wherever they’re from.” She made an exaggerated pout. “I’d really miss you.”

Amanda smiled. “Trust me, I like it here and I don’t plan to move.”

The rest of the day was business as usual at the shop. Tiffany left about an hour before closing. By the time Amanda locked the door to head home, she was emotionally exhausted. Fortunately, Lacy had said she’d be out with friends, so Amanda wouldn’t have to deal with more turmoil later.

However, when she opened the door to her house, the first thing she saw was Lacy sitting there staring at the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Amanda dropped her things by the door, rushed over to the sofa, and sat next to her sister. “What happened? I thought you were hanging out with friends.”

“My friends canceled on me, so I called Brad.” Lacy sniffed and gulped. When she looked Amanda in the eyes, she started sobbing. “It’s over.”

“You and Brad?”

Lacy nodded. “He told me he had plans.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“If he really loved me, wouldn’t he want to be with me all the time?” Lacy asked.

“Not necessarily. Did he tell you what his plans were?”

Lacy shrugged. “Just something stupid with Timmy.”

“At least he’s spending time with his son. That’s a good thing.”

“I told him what you said, and that’s when he got mad.”

Amanda thought back and tried to remember what she’d said, but she couldn’t remember anything that would upset Brad. “How did anything I say come between you and Brad?”

“You said he didn’t have enough time for Timmy.” Her chin quivered, and she covered her face with her hands. “That’s when he told me he’s doing the best he can and I expect too much from him.”

Amanda gasped. “You took what I said completely out of context, Lacy. You know that’s not what I meant.”

Lacy lowered her hands. “You did say that. I remember.”

“What I meant was…” What was the point? Lacy would take anything and twist it to her advantage, only this time it wouldn’t work. “Why don’t you call Brad and ask him to come over here? I’d like to talk to him.”

“I don’t think he wants to talk to you right now.”

“This is a huge mess, Lacy. If you ever want a chance at a relationship, you need to learn to talk through things.”

“That’s what I thought we were doing.”

Amanda stood up, picked up her things by the door, and started for her room. “I’m too tired to deal with it now. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

“You talk about Brad not having enough time for Timmy. Well, I think you’re guilty of that yourself.”

Amanda stopped in her tracks. “What?”

“You don’t give me enough of your time. All you do is lecture me and boss me around.”

“Give me a break, Lacy. You’re a grown woman. Now act like it.”

As soon as she closed her bedroom door behind her, Amanda felt sorry for the outburst. But she’d let all those feelings build up inside her for so long, they’d come out in an explosion. She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes.
Lord, why do I keep messing everything up?

Amanda rubbed her temples and prayed for enough energy to get through to her sister. She waited a few minutes before leaving her room. Lacy had gone into the kitchen and was banging around some pots and pans in the cupboard. “Where’s the pasta pot?”

“Behind the skillets. Are you cooking dinner?”

Lacy stood up and gave her a look that answered her question. “You know I can’t cook.”

“But you can boil pasta and heat up some sauce.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Lacy bent over, reached behind the skillets, and pulled out the large pot. “Is that what you want me to do?”

“That would be nice. Maybe after we eat we can talk about a few other things you need to start doing.”

“No lectures.”

Amanda shook her head. “I’m too tired to lecture. All I want to do is discuss a few things. Maybe I can help you with Brad.”