CHAPTER TWELVE #2
“We still have more to do, so you’ll get even more practice.” She paused then said, “Do you need your credit card back?”
“No. I have another one if I need to buy something.” He paused then said, “And if you need anything for yourself, please feel free to use that card to buy it.”
Her brow furrowed at his words. “For myself?”
“I know that money will probably be tight if you don’t have a job to go back to in the fall. I have more than I’ll ever need, so if you need something, just buy it.”
“Thank you, Will. I appreciate your generosity, but I think I’ll be okay. Lance and Jessa are paying me well to help out, plus I haven’t had many expenses while living here.”
“Okay. Just know the offer stands if something should come up. Plus I will be paying you for your help with the party anyway.”
Her eyes narrowed briefly. “I believe part of the deal was that you didn’t pay me, Will. I’m not doing this for the money.”
Not wanting to get into a discussion about it right then, he just said, “We’ll talk about it after the party is all done.”
Isabella joined them with the small bag she’d brought with her. She wrapped her arms around Amy’s hips. “Bye, Amy. See you tomorrow.”
Amy ran a hand over Isabella’s dark hair and bent to press a kiss to her forehead. “Yep. I look forward to it. Bye, sweetie.”
Will held his hand out to Isabella. She slid her tiny one into his grasp and skipped along beside him as they went to where the truck was parked.
As he climbed behind the steering wheel, he looked over and saw Amy was still standing on the porch watching them, her arms crossed over her waist. He rolled down his window and as he headed down the driveway he lifted a hand to wave goodbye.
~*~*~
Amy watched the shiny vehicle disappear from view.
Instead of going back into the manor, she sank down on the top step, drawing her knees close.
The sun was still bright in the late afternoon sky, and she loved the feel of its warmth on her skin.
As she sat there, the events of the afternoon replayed through her mind.
It was a relief that the others were aware of her situation.
She realized now she should have at least told Lance what had happened.
Their concern for her was touching and made her glad she was at Collingsworth instead of home in Dallas.
Her mother would no doubt have been hovering over her in concern which would have driven her nuts sooner rather than later.
Here they had offered their sympathies and, when she had moved onto something else, had not forced her to continue thinking about it.
And Will’s offer had been touching as well.
That care he had for others was one of the things that had always made him attractive to her.
She heard the front door open and looked over her shoulder to see Lance step out.
“You doing okay?” he asked as he sat down beside her.
Amy looked over and smiled at him. “I am, actually. Having the party to focus on is a big help.”
“Seems like you have that well in hand.”
“I do. Just hope it all comes together.”
“I know Jessa would love to help you out. If you have some stuff that she can do, I know she’d appreciate the distraction.”
“I was thinking about that as we worked on the pinatas today. I think I have a few different things she and Julia could help me with. And Laurel and Violet said they’d help more too. A girls’ day- in might be in order.”
“You looking forward to Cami and Josh arriving?”
“Yes. Very much so. How about you?”
“Yeah, I’ve missed Josh a lot. You know how it is.
He isn’t just my cousin. I sure wish they could have settled here, but I know that their music ministry is important.
” They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lance spoke again.
“So I know it was kind of a joke thing this afternoon, but was there any truth to you avoiding Will because of something he did?”
Amy glanced over at him. “No, he didn’t do anything.”
“So maybe the other theory might be worth considering?” Lance asked.
“Other theory? I never heard the other theory.”
“When Will insisted he hadn’t done anything, he mentioned that he treated you just like he did his sisters.”
Amy nodded. “That’s true.”
“That’s when Rose suggested maybe that was the problem.”
When she turned to look at him again, Amy found Lance watching her. “I don’t have a problem with how Will treats me.”
Lance lifted a dark brow. “Are you sure? Rose thought maybe the reason you were avoiding him was because you didn’t want to be treated like a sister.”
“Are you asking me if I want Will to view me as potential girlfriend material instead of a sister?”
Both of Lance’s eyebrows rose at that remark. “I forget that you’re not one to beat around the bush too much, are you?”
Amy shrugged. “Sometimes getting right to the point is the best thing.”
“And if I was asking that?”
“I had a crush on Will when I first met him almost ten years ago. I’m older now and wise enough to know that there’s no chance of anything between us.
” When Lance looked like he was going to question her further, Amy held up a hand.
“Just trust me on this. I have my reasons for how I feel. And since I don’t think Will is interested in me that way, it’s all a moot point anyway. ”
“Okay. I just don’t want your mom mad at me for sending you home with a broken heart.”
Amy smiled. “Don’t worry about that. I think my mom would be more upset if you hooked me up with someone here, and I didn’t go back to Dallas.”
Lance laughed. “True.”
Their conversation moved away from Will to the week ahead.
They had two last sets of guests booked for the week ahead, but because of the family coming in they’d closed the bed & breakfast to any more guests for the following three weeks.
Amy was looking forward to a break from guests and to just being able to focus on the family arriving and the party.
Over the next few days, Amy continued to gather what she needed for the party.
Slowly but surely the items on her list were getting ticked off.
The photographer Jessa had suggested had been available to take pictures at the party.
She’d found a caterer who had been willing to work with her on the special food she wanted.
The things she’d ordered online were arriving.
All the party preparations had been a nice distraction from constantly thinking about what her future held.
Sammi had called her the previous Sunday night, and they’d had a long chat about everything.
That had helped Amy as well. Her friend was always such an encourager and had promised to pray for her.
Sometimes, Amy wondered if prayer was the only thing she could do.
Everything else she had tried seemed to yield no positive results.
She had made several phone calls to schools in Dallas, but no one had any openings.
Although she’d left her name and asked to be contacted if something opened up, she had her doubts that anything would.
Amy just wasn’t sure what else to do and it was getting a bit depressing, so she focused on the party stuff as much as possible.
After the last guests left Sunday morning, Amy breathed a sigh of relief.
Not that she hadn’t enjoyed meeting the guests who’d come to visit.
It had been fun getting to know them and finding out where they were from and why they were in Collingsworth, but now she could focus exclusively on the party and the family who would be arriving at the end of the week.
As usual, everyone gathered at the manor after church for lunch.
Knowing the story of their family, Amy was glad to see the closeness that had developed between the siblings.
She did wonder about Lily though. Given that Lily had experienced the worry the others had had about Cami when she'd left Collingsworth, Amy was surprised that she would turn around and do basically the same thing.
She knew from conversations with Jessa that they heard from her periodically.
Enough to know that she was busy travelling around the world.
She wondered if Lily’s departure had had anything to do with their mother’s death.
It was about two years ago that Elizabeth Collingsworth had passed away.
Amy remembered when Josh had called with the news that Elizabeth’s health was failing and asked them to pray.
In the end, it had apparently been God’s will to take her instead of heal her.
She knew from talking to Cami it had been a difficult time for everyone.
“Ready to eat?” Lance asked, drawing Amy back to the present. Once everyone had gathered together, Lance said grace.
“Is Jessa not coming down?” Violet asked Amy after the prayer was done.
She shook her head as she handed paper plates to the kids. “She said she’s been feeling some contractions today, so she’s laying low.”
“Contractions? Already?”
“Most likely Braxton Hicks as they do go away, but she’s not taking any chances.”
As they sat down, Amy found herself sitting next to Isabella with Will on the other side. It wasn’t hard for her to picture them as a family, but she knew she needed to keep her mind—and emotions—from going in that direction. Heartache was the only likely outcome of such thoughts.
Once the meal had ended, Lance left the group to once again go spend some time with Jessa. After they’d finished clearing up the food and dishes, Laurel said, ““Hey, Amy, do you still need some help with stuff for the party?”
“Well, since you’re offering...” Amy grinned. “I have a few things you could probably do. Do you want to do some now or wait until later in the week?”
“Now is fine. I’m in no rush to get home.”
“Great! I’ll go get my stuff, and we can work on a couple of things.”
“Should us guys leave?” Matt asked. “I’m not about to get roped into making tutus or crowns.”
Amy laughed, feeling better than she had in a few days. “I won’t make you do anything. Unless you want to wear tights at the party like Will is going to.” She tossed the comment over her shoulder as she headed for the back porch.
“Hey now!” She heard Will call out after her. “I thought we’d decided that wasn’t going to happen.”
Leaving him to explain her comment, Amy hurried up to her room and went through the bags there to pull out a few things she figured would be easy to do in an afternoon.
~*~*~
“Seriously, I was never going to wear tights,” Will insisted.
“Not even for Isabella and Amy?” Violet asked, a grin on her face.
“Not even,” Will confirmed. He glanced at Matt and Dean. “Are you telling me you guys would wear tights for your daughters?”
“Not a chance,” Matt said.
“Never in a million years,” Dean agreed.
“At any rate, it was just a joke. She did get me pretty good though, I have to say.”
Laurel laughed. “I wish she’d let the joke play out a little more. I would have liked to have been part of that.”
“I think she could hear the absolute panic in my voice as she was telling me all about the costume she had for me to wear. And then she asked if I’d be willing to shave my legs since hairy legs and tights apparently don’t go too well together.”
Laurel and Violet burst into laughter, joined by their husbands. Will couldn’t keep from laughing at the memory as well.
“Oh man,” Laurel said through giggles. “I would have paid good money to see the expression on your face.”
They were still laughing when Amy came back out. The guys vacated their spots around the picnic table as she began to empty the bag she carried. From his seat in a lawn chair, Will watched her lay out yards of ribbon and some fluffy pink material.
“I’m beginning to rethink my offer,” Violet said. “Already this looks complicated.”
“It’s not,” Amy said. “Trust me. We’ll start with something easy.”
As Will watched her showing his sisters and Rose how to cover shower curtain rings with ribbon, he once again found himself wondering if Amy might agree to go out with him.
Now that he’d considered the possibility, he found he couldn’t dismiss it.
But was he willing to upset the apple cart by talking to her about it?
Suddenly Amy turned around to look at him, and Will realized the other three women at the table were staring at him as well. “What?”
“You have been off in lala land more than once lately,” Violet informed him as she got back to work on her project.
“Sorry. Just thinking about something.”
Laurel glanced away from the ribbon she was wrapping around a ring. “Care to share?”
“Uh. Nope.” Will could only imagine the awkwardness that would ensue should he spill his thoughts. “What were you trying to get my attention for in the first place?”
“I was just saying that these ring things are pretty easy.” Violet held up the one she was working on. “And I thought you should give us a hand since it’s for your daughter.”
Will watched as Amy picked up a ring and a long strand of ribbon. When she headed in his direction, he held up his hands. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s really easy,” Amy said. “If you can do a pinata, you can do this. Here I’ll show you.”
She held out the ring, leaving him no choice but to take it from her. Will tried to keep his attention on her words as she bent down to show him what to do. Unfortunately, the brush of one of her blonde curls on his cheek distracted him almost as much as the soft scent of the perfume she wore.