Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida (37 page)

Each day for the rest of the week she felt a little better. She was able to attend church. She sat with Suzanne, whom she hadn’t seen in several weeks.

“How was your trip to Europe?” she asked.

Suzanne shrugged. “It was okay at first, but I missed home.”

“Glad you’re back.”

Every once in a while, like when they stood up to sing, Amanda glanced behind her, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jerry and his parents. But she never saw them. He wasn’t at the Bible study, either.

On the way to the parking lot, Suzanne stopped her. “Why are you acting so strange?”

Amanda was tempted to brush off the question, but she really needed to talk. “Do you have about an hour?”

Suzanne nodded. “Let’s go to my place, and you can tell me over a salad.” She patted her belly. “All that rich food in Europe…”

After telling the details and pouring out her feelings, Amanda saw a smile form on Suzanne’s lips. “Looks like you might be in love…this time for real.”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, I’m afraid so. But I also think I blew it.”

“Maybe not. Why don’t you talk to Jerry?”

“He’s so mad at me he’s not talking.”

“Then give him some time,” Suzanne advised. “Why don’t you call him later this coming week and see if he’s open to discussion?”

“I can do that.”

On Monday and Tuesday, Amanda reached for the phone to call Jerry, but she chickened out. Finally, on Wednesday morning, shortly after she opened the store, she followed through. When he answered, he didn’t sound the least bit upset.

“I’ve been wanting to call you, too,” he said. “Mind if I stop by for a few minutes later this afternoon?”

Her heart leaped. “That would be great!” She was past the point of being coy or hiding her feelings from Jerry.

After lunch she kept watching the door, hoping to see Jerry walk through. Her nerves stood on end each time the bell jangled.

When Jerry arrived, she was finishing up with a customer who’d bought a bicycle and an entire set of safety gear. Jerry stood off to the side, hands in his pockets, patiently waiting. After the customer left, he approached the counter.

“Customers like that’ll keep you in business awhile.”

Amanda smiled as she came around from behind the counter. “True.” Suddenly a wave of shyness washed over her. She glanced down then looked back up into his eyes. “Thank you for stopping by. How have you been?”

“Miserable.” He cleared his throat. “I want to apologize for being such a jerk. I overreacted.”

“I’m sorry, too. I never should have left them here alone. I had no idea—”

“I should have told you that might happen,” Jerry said, interrupting her. “It was my fault, not yours.”

Amanda lifted a shoulder then let it drop. “You trusted me, and I let you down.”

After a few minutes of self-blaming, they both laughed. “I think we’ve beaten ourselves up enough,” Jerry said. “Let’s learn from our mistakes and move forward.”

A lump formed in Amanda’s throat; since she couldn’t speak, she nodded. The warmth in Jerry’s expression melted her heart. She wanted to reach for him—to hold on and never let go. But she didn’t. She just stood there wondering what would come next.

“I’ve never felt this way about a woman before,” Jerry said softly.

She blinked. Had she heard right? “You haven’t?” Her voice came out in a squeak.

He chuckled. “This really isn’t the place to talk about how I feel… how we feel. I just wanted to see you again.”

“I wanted to see you, too.”

The look on Jerry’s face was one of pure joy. He took a step toward her, hesitated only for a second, then pulled her into his arms. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

After he left, Amanda found herself sighing a lot. In the short time he was in her store, something had changed between them.

Amanda expected to hear from Jerry by the end of the week, so when she didn’t, disappointment clouded her day on Saturday. She knew she hadn’t dreamed Jerry’s visit, but perhaps she’d misread his intentions.

On Sunday Jerry was in church without his parents. She paused before approaching him, but when he smiled and headed toward her, she met him halfway. “Would you like to sit with me?” he asked. “My folks decided to go to chapel at Tropical Gardens Village. That’s where all their friends go.”

“I’m glad they’re adjusting so well.”

“Yeah, me—”

“Amanda!”

The sound of her name caught her attention. She turned and saw Suzanne waving her over.

Amanda turned back to Jerry. “I already told Suzanne I’d sit with her. Would you like to join us?”

He started to shake his head then obviously changed his mind. “Sure, if there’s room.”

“There’s always room.”

Suzanne seemed genuinely happy for Amanda as they chatted before the service began. After church, Jerry said he’d promised his parents he’d come by, so he was skipping the Bible study. “I’ll call you sometime next week, okay?”

After he left, Amanda told Suzanne what was happening. Suzanne gave her a hug. “I think he’s the one.”

The next day, business was slow—typical of most Mondays. Amanda kept expecting to hear from Jerry, but she didn’t.

On Tuesday she’d been at work only about an hour when Rosemary walked in and announced that she needed a tandem bicycle ASAP. “I hope you have one available. I figured you might since most vacationers have gone back home.”

“Sure, I have one. When do you need it?”

“Right now.” Rosemary cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. “I don’t have long.”

Amanda thought the woman’s behavior was strange, but she agreed to get the bicycle. “Wait right here. It’s in the back.” She thought about Rosemary’s sense of urgency and then remembered that Jerry’s parents had sold their car. She wheeled the bicycle out on the sales floor. “How did you get here?”

Rosemary shrugged. “I have ways of getting around.”

Amanda got the paperwork started, and Rosemary quickly signed everything. She kept looking over her shoulder and acting nervous.

“Would you like for me to help you get it to the car?” Amanda leaned forward to see if anyone was outside waiting, until Rosemary broke into a fit of coughing. “Let me run and get you some water.”

Rosemary stopped coughing and held up her hand. “No, I’m fine.”

“I’ll help you.” Amanda started to wheel the bike toward the door, but Rosemary grabbed the handlebars and yanked the bicycle away. Something strange was happening.

Suddenly the phone rang. “Why don’t you get the phone, Amanda?”

“Okay, wait right there a sec.”

She heard the bell on the door as Rosemary struggled with getting the bike out. She felt torn, but after Rosemary’s insistence on her answering the phone, she figured the woman wanted her to leave her alone.

After she said, “Treasure Island Bicycle and Skate Shop, may I help you?” she heard a click on the other end of the line. That was strange. She quickly put down the phone and ran out of the store to help Rosemary and see what the woman was so nervous about. To her dismay, there was no sign of Rosemary or the bicycle.

Later that day, Jerry called. “Can you stop by my place later, after work?”

“Sure,” she replied. “I wanted to talk to you about your mother’s strange behavior this morning.”

He chuckled. “Okay, you can tell me all about it when I see you.”

After she hung up, she leaned back and thought about Jerry’s reaction, which was rather odd itself. He didn’t even seem curious after she mentioned his mother’s odd behavior.

The rest of the afternoon dragged by, but finally it was time to flip the Closed sign. She quickly went home to change into something a little nicer then called Jerry to let him know she was on her way.

“I’ll be waiting outside,” he said.

All the way to Jerry’s, she thought about how weird the whole day seemed. She said a prayer for Jerry, his parents, her sister, Brad, and Timmy. By the time she got to the condo parking lot, an extraordinary sense of peace surrounded her.

She parked her car then headed toward the main entrance of the high-rise. Then all of a sudden out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone coming toward her, wheeling a bicycle. She turned and spotted Jerry beside the bicycle-built-for-two—the one his mother had rented that morning.

“What—?”

Jerry laughed. “My mother and I came up with a plan. Wanna go for a ride?”

She tilted her head then smiled back at him. “Sure.”

He offered her a helmet, and after they had them securely on their heads, they took off toward the beach. Jerry seemed to know where he was going, so she just settled back and helped with the pedaling.

When they finally got to one of the secluded spots on the beach, he steered toward a place to secure the bicycle. Then he reached for her hand and led her to a lone palm tree.

“This is nice,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to be alone with you for a long time.”

“It’s very nice,” she agreed. “But I don’t understand what’s going on. Why did your mother come into the shop and rent the bicycle instead of you?”

Jerry laughed. “When I told her my plan, she insisted on doing something to help.”

“Your plan?”

He shuffled his feet for a few seconds then took her hands and looked into her eyes. “My mother pointed out that you might not believe me when I say I’m here to stay.”

“Well, that thought has crossed my mind.”

“That’s why I’ve been out looking at places to buy.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. “So you bought one?”

He shook his head. “I started to, but I decided to let you help me pick it out.”

“Why would I—”

Jerry stopped her by gently placing a finger over her lips. Once she quit talking, he gently caressed her hair then traced her face with his fingertips. The slightest touch sent her senses reeling.

Then he stopped and took a step back. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I have a question for you…sort of a preliminary question, that is.”

“Huh?”

He took a deep breath then blew it out. “Okay, here goes.” Jerry looked down at his feet then looked her in the eyes. “Do you think it’s too early for us to talk about a future together?”

“Like, what do you mean a future together?” She didn’t dare assume anything at this point, but she was hoping…

He took her hand in his as he dropped to one knee. “Amanda Burns, I love you with all my heart, and nothing would make me happier than if you’d agree to be my wife.”

Amanda opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. This was the last thing she’d expected when Jerry asked her to come over. She looked down at him as he waited, and she felt joy as it began in her heart and spread throughout her entire being.

As tears formed in her eyes, she nodded. Jerry jumped to his feet and pulled her to his chest.

“I have a ring that was my grandmother’s.” He let go of her with one hand and fumbled around in his pocket before pulling it out. “We can go shopping for another one you like, but until we find the perfect ring, I’d like for you to wear this one.”

She held out her hand, and he slipped it on her finger. It was a perfect fit!

“I love it!”

After a long, tender kiss, he stepped back and suddenly started laughing. What was he up to now?

“What’s so funny?”

He shook his head. “My dad was right all this time. He said there was treasure on this island.”

“What kind of treasure?”

“Unconditional love—and we both found it. My dad and Timmy have a relationship that my dad’s always wanted with his grandkids but hasn’t gotten. And now I have you. My mother is thrilled that he and I have both finally found what we’re looking for.”

Want a peek into local American life—past and present? The
Love Finds You
™ series published by Summerside Press features real towns and combines travel, romance, and faith in one irresistible package!

The novels in the series—uniquely titled after American towns with unusual but intriguing names—inspire romance and fun. Each fictional story draws on the compelling history or the unique character of a real place. Stories center on romances kindled in small towns, old loves lost and found again on the high plains, and new loves discovered at exciting vacation getaways. Summerside Press plans to publish at least one novel set in each of the 50 states. Be sure to catch them all!

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