CHAPTER TWELVE
Finally, he said, “I’ve been accused of worse things in my life. And given what did upset you, I almost wish it had been something I did. I’m sorry to hear about the fire.”
“It was quite a shock. I never saw anything like this happening. That’s for sure.”
“What are you going to do now?” Violet asked.
Amy looked away from Will to his sister. “I’m not sure. I’m just trusting that God has a plan because I sure don’t.”
“We’ll be happy to have you stay as long as you want, cuz,” Lance said. “I know Jessa would love help with the baby after it’s born. Just know that you are more than welcome to stay here until you figure out what to do next. Same salary you’re currently getting.”
Tears stung the backs of Amy’s eyes as she smiled at him. “Thank you. I might just take you up on that offer. I’m going to be putting out some feelers this week regarding subbing positions. If your winters weren’t so cold, I’d look into options here.”
“Isabella would love that,” Will said.
But would you? The thought popped into Amy’s head but, as quickly as she could, she shoved it aside.
The reality was that part of her emotional upheaval over the past few days had been because of Will.
Soon the one person who understood more than most her feelings for Will, both past and present, would be there.
Amy had to admit she was looking forward to being able to spill everything to her sister-in-law.
Though Will was Cami’s brother, when it had come to Amy’s feelings about him, Cami had always spoken of him as if he was just any guy Amy might have been interested in.
“So is everything going well with the party planning?” Laurel asked.
“My end is going great,” Amy said. “I’ve got plenty still to do this week, but I think everything will be ready in time.” She looked over at Will. “Any luck with the tables and chairs?”
“Actually, yes.” He straightened in his seat.
“I realized today that the church likely had the smaller furniture you wanted. I spoke with the guy in charge of the building maintenance to ask him if we could borrow it for the day. He said that wouldn’t be a problem as long as we had it back in place for church the next morning. ”
This time Amy’s smile was genuine as she clapped her hands. “Oh, I’m so glad. And I’ll make sure we’re done with them in plenty of time.”
“Do you know yet if your folks are coming, Will?” Lance asked.
“Last I heard they were still considering it. I wish they’d just make up their minds already. I told them I’d pay for their tickets, so it’s not like it’s a money issue. And they can stay at Grandma’s place.”
Laurel poured a glass of lemonade and handed it to Amy. “But Delia’s folks are coming for sure?”
“Yes, they’re arriving next Friday.”
“Same day as Cami and Josh.” Amy took a sip from her glass. “It’s going to be a busy few days.”
Lance frowned. “And Jessa is not too happy that she can’t be part of it.”
“I feel so bad for her,” Violet said. “I know it’s incredibly difficult for her to have to sit out so much of everything going on this summer.”
“She knows it’s for a good reason, but it’s still a challenge for her. Particularly now that she’s even more restricted.” Lance ran a hand through his hair. “And I miss having her around.”
Amy saw the love mixed with sadness on Lance’s face. It touched her to see how much her cousin still loved Jessa after nearly a decade together. She hoped it would be that way someday for her.
“And on that note, I think I’m going to go spend some time with my love,” Lance said as he stood. “Feel free to come by and see her before you guys leave. She loves it when you visit.”
Once he was gone, Violet said, “Do you need our help with anything, Amy? I’m not the most crafty person around, but if you give me some directions, I can probably do a few simple tasks.”
“Oh my!” Amy turned to look at Will. “I’m so sorry I forgot. We were supposed to do the pinata today.”
Will nodded. “But it’s okay. I realize you’ve had other things on your mind. We can do it another day.”
“No, I think now would be a great time,” Amy said. “I’ll just go get what we need to do it.”
Half an hour later as he draped yet another sticky strip of newspaper on the balloon Amy had given him, Will understood what she’d meant about messy. His fingers were coated in the smelly flour paste that she’d made up along with instructions on how to apply the strips to the balloon.
“How’s it coming?” Amy leaned over his shoulder, giving him a whiff of her perfume. It was infinitely better than the paste smell.
“I’m getting the hang of it, I think,” Will said as he lifted the balloon that now had a coat of strips on it.
Amy reached past him and ran her fingertips along the damp surface. “That’s really nice and smooth. You’re doing a terrific job.”
Will chuckled. “Well, at least I know I could a job making pinatas if Lance ever fires me.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen,” Lance said from where he sat on a lounge chair. He’d gone upstairs for a bit but then had reappeared when Laurel and Violet had said they’d go spend some time with their sister.
“How many layers am I doing?” Will asked as he set the balloon back down.
“One on this balloon to start. It needs to dry before we do the next layer.” Amy pulled out another balloon and blew it up. “But we can work on this one while we wait.”
“How many of these things are we going to make?” Will asked.
“Just the two.” Amy tied off the end of the balloon and handed it to him. “Here. How about I get the strips ready, and you can put them on the balloon.”
She sat down across the newspaper-covered picnic table and picked up a strip and ran it through the paste.
He watched her slender, pink-tipped fingers slide the excess paste off the paper before holding it out to him.
As he laid the strip across the balloon, she took another and prepped it for him again.
They worked in silence while Lance, Matt and Dean talked.
The kids ran over every once in a while to check on the progress.
Isabella was particularly curious since she knew they were for her party.
Will fell into a rhythm with Amy, and the process went more quickly except for when they had to wait for the layers to dry a bit before adding another one. In total, they did three layers on each balloon.
“We’ve got plenty of time for them to dry completely before the party,” Amy said. “I’m going to be painting them next week so they won’t look like this.”
Will held up his paste-coated hands. “This is certainly a first for me.”
Amy grinned. “Well, now you can make one for her birthday every year.”
“I’m too chicken to tackle this on my own,” Will informed her. “I don’t know how to make the paste.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Or you could just make sure you’re around to do it yourself.” Even as he said the words, Will wondered if he’d crossed a line.
She regarded him for a moment, her expression guarded, but then she smiled. “I might be able to do that. There are worse things than spending summers in Minnesota.”
“We’d love to have you come each summer,” Lance said. “You’ve been such a great help.”
Amy began to gather up the stuff they’d used. “I’m glad it worked out for me to come. This is the first time I’ve been in Collingsworth for a summer. The last two times I was here you guys still had snow on the ground. I have to say I like this a whole lot better.”
“Are we leaving these out here?” Will gestured to the pinatas.
Amy nodded. “Until they’ve dried a bit more. I’m just going to clean up the rest of this stuff and get this paste off me before it dries completely.”
Will followed Amy into the house. After washing his hands, he said, “Is there a garbage bag I can put all the other stuff into?”
“The garbage bags are under the sink,” Amy said as she set down the paste bowl.
“What exactly are those pinatas supposed to be?” Will asked as he opened the cupboard doors and pulled out a garbage bag.
“I’m still debating a bit on that. I could paint them shades of blue and say they’re raindrops.”
“Raindrops? Well, there will certainly be showers of candies when they whack them open.”
Amy laughed. “True.” She scraped the rest of the paste into the garbage can before taking the bowl to the sink and filling it with water. “Probably be the best part of the party. The mad scramble for candy.”
“I suppose I need to be at the party, right?” Will leaned back against the counter, hands braced on the edge. “Not that I don’t want to be with Isabella on her birthday, but I’m thinking it’s going to be mainly mothers at the party with their little girls, right?”
“There will be a few mothers. Not sure that each one will stay. I think there will be a few who hang around.” Amy glanced over at him as she cleaned the paste bowl. “But yes, you will most likely be the only male at the party.”
“I guess I should just be glad you’re not making me dress in a costume,” Will said with a grin as he remembered their conversation.
“Well, all I said was you wouldn’t have to dress as a fairy. I could still get a costume for you.”
Will laughed. “I think I’ll stick to human attire, so the other parents there don’t feel out of place.”
Amy shot him a look, humor in her gaze. “How kind of you.”
“I’m nothing if not kind and considerate. My mother would expect nothing less of me.”
Though Will was as reluctant as Isabella to leave, when the others all decided it was time to head for home, they got ready to go as well.
“Thanks again for all the effort you’re putting into this,” Will said as Isabella gathered up her things.
“You’re welcome. Again.” She smiled at him. “I need this to take my mind off...everything else. I know it’s not really your thing, so I do appreciate your efforts.”
“A few more afternoons like this and it might just become my thing,” Will said with a laugh. “You’re making me see sides of myself I never knew existed. Who knew I had a crafty bone in my body.”