CHAPTER SIX #2
“Probably right around the time of the birthday party, I think. I don’t have a definite date.”
“Well, focus on the fun you’ll have when they arrive. I know you’re excited to see them again.”
“Yes, I definitely am,” Amy agreed. “That was one of the reasons I agreed to come help out.”
“Hang in there. And if you need some back-up, let me know. I’d happily trade this heat for a more moderate temperature.”
“I may take you up on that offer. But in the meantime, thanks for the listening ear. I really appreciate it.”
“I just wish you’d told me about this before. Any other secrets I should know?”
“Nope. That was the biggie. I didn’t tell you before because I knew how dumb it sounded, and I really thought it was in the past and wasn’t going to be an issue again. Anyway, tell me what you’ve been up to.”
After chatting for another twenty minutes, Amy ended the call with Sammi and sprawled back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
While it felt good to have shared her turmoil with someone, she still didn’t have any answers.
And aside from flat out avoiding Will, she didn’t know how she was going to keep those teen emotions from flaring every time he came around.
She kind of wished she hadn’t agreed to help with the party, but for Isabella’s sake, she wouldn’t back out.
Somehow she’d figure out how to get through this without getting hurt again.
Even if Sammi thought she should be open to how things might unfold, Amy really didn’t relish getting burned once more when the pain had never completely faded from her memory.
It would be like when she’d burned herself twice in the same place while making cookies one time.
Burn upon burn. Pain upon pain. She had been able to go a long time without feeling it, but now she felt every single stab of agony she’d experienced back then.
“Nope. Not going to let that happen again,” Amy murmured to herself. If God truly wanted this to work out with Will, He was going to have to make it very clear. So clear that everyone else, including Will, could see that it was what God wanted. Otherwise...no go.
~*~*~
Uncertain what to make of what had transpired Sunday afternoon, Will had purposefully steered clear of spending any time at the manor.
Though he’d had to go by there each day to drop Isabella off, he hadn’t gone in with her.
She spent mornings with either Laurel’s or Violet’s kids and afternoons at the manor with Julia.
So even though he hadn’t seen Amy since Sunday, he’d heard plenty about what she’d done with the girls.
Isabella was completely smitten with her and that worried Will.
He knew her time at the manor was temporary, and he hated the idea of Isabella being upset when she left.
He had emailed back and forth with Amy a couple of times since he’d gotten the list from Violet for the people to invite to Isabella’s party.
She hadn’t mentioned anything about him helping again, and he wasn’t sure if she’d changed her mind, forgotten or if it was still pending.
Will hadn’t decided yet if he would remind her or not.
Laurel had called him earlier to say they were going out there for supper and invited him to join them.
Never one to turn down a meal he didn’t have to cook, Will agreed.
That day Julia and Isabella had actually spent the afternoon with their cousins since Laurel and Violet had taken them all to a waterpark. The girls would be arriving with them.
The manor was quiet when he got there Thursday afternoon. Lance had left the office early because the bride and groom who had booked the chapel for their wedding were arriving to prepare for the weekend. He assumed that Lance and Amy had both gone to show them where their ceremony was taking place.
He settled on a stool at the counter and pulled out his phone.
He was waiting for a couple of emails in response to some he’d sent earlier in the day.
One had been to his parents to see if they’d made a decision yet on coming for Isabella’s birthday.
He was pretty sure they were going to say no since they’d just been there to visit them, but he wished they would just make their decision already.
As he sat there reading other things on his social media, he heard the chirp of a text alert. He glanced over and saw a phone sitting on the counter at his elbow. The display was lit up, and before he realized what he was doing, he’d read the short message.
Hey sweetie! Just wondering how you’re doing. <3
It was from someone named SamSam. The phone chirped again, and another message appeared.
Been worried since our convo on Sunday. Hope you’re doing okay. Been praying for you!
Trust God to guide both you and him. Don’t dismiss this without making sure it really isn’t His will.
Will tore his gaze from the phone before another message appeared.
It sounded like even though Amy had said she didn’t have a boyfriend, there was someone on the horizon.
And why would she have told him that when they’d talked about dating earlier?
She didn’t know him from Adam. If she’d found someone to love, more power to her.
She seemed like a sweet girl, and he hoped she could find happiness with some guy who treated her like a queen.
It helped him understand Sunday afternoon a bit better.
He’d thought maybe being with him—especially after Maura’s comments—had made her a bit uncomfortable, even though she’d been too polite to say anything.
Apparently she’d had another guy on her mind the whole time.
That made him feel a little better. Or did it?
Suddenly he wasn’t sure. At the very least it would be easier to spend time with her knowing she didn’t care at all about the insinuations of Maura’s comments.
He returned his attention to his phone and even though the phone chirped two more times, he didn’t look.
When the back door opened a short time later, Will glanced up to see a young couple enter the kitchen followed by Amy and Lance.
As he watched the couple, he thought how in love they looked.
So much like he and Delia had been. They looked young.
..and happy. He hoped that they enjoyed their happiness for many years.
As Amy approached the counter, he noticed she also looked young.
The light green sleeveless shirt she wore had several buttons open to reveal a white tank top underneath which was tucked into jean capris.
Her blonde curls were up in a high ponytail.
He didn’t know how old she actually was, but right then she looked about eighteen.
“Hey, Amy,” he said.
“Hi,” she replied with a smile as she reached out and picked up her phone.
Out of the corner of his eye Will saw her touch the screen.
He was only half-listening to Lance as he talked to the couple.
At one point Amy’s head jerked up, and he felt her looking at him.
Will kept his gaze on Lance, not wanting her to suspect that he’d read her messages.
He felt horrible about having done it, but there was no way he could confess without making it awkward all around.
Amy ducked her head again, and he could hear her quickly tapping out a message. Once done, she crossed her arms, tucking the phone against her side.
“So the rest of your party is arriving tomorrow?” Lance asked.
“Yes,” the bride replied. “Our parents are staying here with me and my sisters, but everyone else has rooms at the hotel with Jim.”
“Rehearsal will be at four as you requested, and reservations have been made at the restaurant you wanted for six. Hopefully, that will give you enough time.”
“Sounds perfect,” the groom said. “We tried to keep it small and simple, but it’s still gotten a bit bigger than we anticipated.”
“Yeah, I remember that from my wedding. All that planning and then having things tend to take on a life of their own,” Lance said with a laugh.
After the couple had thanked them, Lance walked them to the front door.
“Are you involved in planning for this wedding?” Will asked.
Amy glanced up from her phone. “Uh. No, not the planning. I will be helping Violet and Laurel with decorating tonight. I guess Jessa likes to have the decorations up before the rehearsal so the bride can approve it. She brought everything with her and gave some instructions on what she wanted.”
“Sounds like...fun,” Will said. That was one area he’d left to Delia and her mom, and they’d outdone themselves. At least it had seemed that way from his male perspective.
Amy smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Weddings are always fun. Usually I just attend them, so it will be fun to help prepare for this one. I remember helping Cami decorate here for her wedding, too.”
“The chapel has been put to good use since then.”
“I’m not surprised. I hope whoever I marry doesn’t mind a destination wedding, because I’d love to get married in the chapel here.”
Will wondered if the guy she had her sights on would agree to that. “The combination of the manor being a bed & breakfast and having the chapel was a great idea. It’s just too bad that Jessa is down for the count at the moment. I know she enjoys this part, too.”
Her phone chirped again, and she looked down at it. Her brow furrowed, and she gave a slight shake of her head as she typed out a response.
“Trouble?” Will asked when she tucked the phone back under her arm.
Amy shook her head. “Just my best friend giving me some advice. I love Sammi to death, but when she gets her teeth into something she’s a bit relentless.”
“Friends are usually that way,” Will commented, realizing as she said the name that SamSam from the text message was a girl. “Out of the best of intentions most the time.”
“Oh yes, I know she means well. She just doesn’t see things quite the same way I do.”
“Hope it doesn’t cause problems for you two.”
“Not a chance.” Amy grinned. “Neither of us can get rid of the other that easily.”
A racket from the front of the house drew Will’s attention. He turned on his stool to see his nieces and nephews spill into the kitchen from the hallway. Their cheeks were rosy from their afternoon at the pool. He spotted Isabella and watched as her gaze searched for—and found—Amy.
“You should’ve come,” Isabella told her after giving her a hug. “We had so much fun.”
“I’m sure you did.” Amy ran a hand over the little girl’s hair. “Hey, look who’s here.”
Isabella glanced in the direction Amy gestured. “Hi, Daddy.”
Before he could return the greeting, she turned back to Amy, her expression open and full of excitement. “I went down the slide a thousand times.”
“A thousand times? That’s pretty impressive,” Amy said as she glanced his way.
Isabella’s dismissal of him stung, but he knew he had no one to blame but himself.
He couldn’t deny that she was never as animated or excited to share things with him as she was with Amy right then.
And Amy appeared to soak it all up like she’d never heard anything so exciting in her whole life.
How could this woman who had known his daughter for just a week love her like that?
And strangely enough, he didn’t doubt she really did love Isabella.
He didn’t think Amy could fake the affection she showed to Isabella.
And what was it she’d said the first day they’d met? She’s a child. What’s not to love?
Matt, along with Laurel and Violet, had joined them in the kitchen.
“Dean not coming?” Will asked.
Violet plopped down in a chair at the table. “He’ll be here in a little bit. He’s stopping to pick up pizza.”
“Pizza!” all the kids said in unison and cheered.
“I’m going to go see Jessa for a couple of minutes,” he said as he stood up. “Or did you need me to do anything?”
“Nope. Go keep her company,” Laurel said.
Upstairs, Will walked through the open door of the suite and then knocked lightly on the bedroom door.
“Come in.”
Will pushed open the door and stepped into the bedroom. The curtains were all wide open and lots of light spilled into the room.
“Hey, sis. How’re you doing?” Will asked as he sank down on a chair near the bed.
Jessa set down the book in her hands and turned over on her side, so they faced each other. “For someone who can’t get out of bed, I’m doing pretty well. How about you?”
“I’m doing good.” Will stretched out his legs and laced his fingers over his stomach. “Being replaced in my daughter’s life, but otherwise, doing good.”
Jessa’s eyebrows rose. “Amy?”
“Yep. They just got back from swimming, and Isabella couldn’t have cared less that I was here. All she wanted to do was tell Amy every detail about their time swimming.”
“I love you dearly, Will, but honestly, you have no one to blame but yourself. She’s hungry for someone to be with her the way Amy is.
Someone who makes her feel special and that what she has to share is important.
Don’t you remember wanting that as a kid?
How you felt when your mom or dad didn’t have time for you for some reason?
I’m guessing Isabella feels that way more often than not. ”