CHAPTER FOURTEEN #2
“Go right ahead. He’ll tell you the same thing.” Or at least she hoped he would.
“Or maybe I’ll just mention something to Josh.”
Amy spun around to see a grin on Lance’s face. She pointed a finger at him. “Don’t stir up trouble where there is none.”
He looked like he was going to say something more but wasn’t given a chance because Isabella skipped into the room, Will right behind her.
“Night,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Amy’s hips. “See you tomorrow.”
“You bet.” Amy gave the girl a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Be good for your dad.”
“Amy, if you need me to do anything else, just give me a call,” Will said.
She nodded and smiled, aware of Lance’s attention on them. “Don’t forget to shave your legs.”
Laughing, Will took Isabella’s hand. As they left the kitchen, he looked back, winked at her and said, “Never in a million years.”
Lance didn’t say anything further about Will as they finished putting away the groceries. “Well, I know it’s early, but I’m going to close up down here and call it a night. I need to spend some time with Jessa.”
“I’ll take care of getting Julia to bed if you’d like.”
“That would be great.” He paused. “I’m a little worried about Jessa and these contractions she keeps having. We’re going to the doctor tomorrow though, so hopefully they can tell if it’s something we need to be more concerned about.”
“I’ll be praying that it’s nothing more serious than Braxton Hicks.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a one arm hug around her shoulders before heading to the hallway to lock up the front.
It took a while, but finally, the little girl had said goodnight to her dad, was satisfied with the number of stories read and was no longer thirsty.
Amy let out a sigh when she closed the door of Julia’s room behind her.
She made her way to her own room, and even though it wasn’t super late, she got ready for bed herself.
Once she was in her pajamas and comfortable on the bed, she called Sammi.
“I can’t believe you agreed to go out with him,” Sammi said after Amy had shared the events of the day.
Amy leaned back against her pillows and stared up at the circle of light on the ceiling cast by the bedside lamp. “Tell me about it. Ever since I did, I’ve gone back and forth a million times on whether it was a smart idea or a dumb one. You probably think it’s a dumb one.”
“Not at all. I’m just surprised that you agreed. I don’t suppose you told him anything about how you really feel about him, did you?”
“I’m not quite sure how I should have broached that conversation.” Amy sighed. “Guess I could have just said, ‘Oh, by the way, I had a huge crush on you when I was fifteen and believed you were the man God wanted me to marry.’ That might have sent him running in the opposite direction.”
“You do plan to tell him at some point though, don’t you? It certainly is a dynamic in your relationship with him.”
“I guess. I haven’t had much chance to think about it. He shocked me when he asked me for a date. I didn’t have time to think about a response.” Amy thought back to that moment and couldn’t hold back a smile. “Actually, I think he kinda shocked himself, too.”
“Where do you think it’s going to go?” Sammi asked.
“No clue. I told him that I don’t date lightly and that I hadn’t planned to settle permanently here.” Amy sighed. “Maybe I should have just said no.”
“Too late now,” Sammi pointed out. “So don’t focus on the maybe’s and what if’s. I actually think it’s better this way. At least you know he’s interested in you. That’s not going to be something you have to keep wondering about.”
Will is interested in me. Will is interested in me!
Amy could hardly believe the words that kept going around in her mind.
The sixteen year old inside her was positively dancing with joy.
She closed her eyes and curled onto her side.
For a moment she was able to forget the past hurt.
Forget Delia. Forget everything but the look on his face when he’d told her he wanted to go out with her.
Could it really be this easy? Had the hope of her sixteen year old heart just been deferred a few years?
“Are you going to give him a chance?” Sammi asked.
Amy let out a long sigh. It would be stupid not to, but could she keep all the memories and fears at bay? Instead of sharing those weightier concerns, she decided to voice a lesser concern to Sammi.
“Is it weird? The fact that one of his sisters is married to my brother and another to my cousin?”
“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve heard of something like that. At least if you ever did get married to him you know you’d like your in-laws.”
“My brother would also be my brother-in-law. That’s crazy.” Amy twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “Maybe a little too crazy.”
“Oh, don’t think that way,” Sammi admonished her. “If it’s what God wants, don’t worry about stuff like that. People will think what they want, but if you’re certain it’s God’s will and you’re happy and in love, just ignore them.”
“It may all be for nothing,” Amy said. “It’s just one date. He may decide I’m not really who he sees himself with in the long term.”
“Then he’s not the man for you. But something tells me, from what you said, that there’s already something serious enough there for him to ask you out.”
She still couldn’t get it out of her mind how different she was from Delia, but she didn’t say anything about that to Sammi.
Her friend would probably think Amy was having self-esteem issues, but that wasn’t it.
It wasn’t that she thought she didn’t measure up to Delia, but that if Will had loved Delia who was so different from Amy, how could he love her?
Thankfully, the conversation veered in another direction as they began to talk about Sammi’s boyfriend, Eli.
They’d been dating for ages, and Amy kept waiting for the phone call to let her know that they were engaged.
Once their call ended, Amy curled up on her bed. Sleep was a long way off as her mind still spun with a million different thoughts. The day had certainly taken a few unexpected twists and turns, and something told her that the days ahead would be just as crazy.
~*~*~
Will sighed with relief when Isabella finally settled down for the night. He grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and went into the den. After settling on the couch, he turned on the big screen TV and flipped to the channel for the news of the day.
Instead of it capturing his attention like usual, Will found his thoughts drifting to the time with Amy at the lake.
He still wasn’t entirely sure what had possessed him to ask her out.
Was it wrong to want to spend more time with her?
To see if that infectious love of life she had would rub off on him?
He’d hoped that maybe if they spent time together, she might see that he could bring something to her life, too.
And he couldn’t lie—to her or himself—that how she and Isabella got along was an important part of the picture.
But it certainly hadn’t been the main reason he’d asked her out.
Clearly his invitation had taken her off-guard, and he had almost expected her to turn him down.
However, she’d surprised him and said yes, though he could see that she had reservations about it—maybe even more than the ones she’d voiced.
He understood that. After all, this wasn’t her home and dating someone who had roots deeply planted in the town might have put her off.
In the meantime, he was going to run with it and show her that considering Collingsworth home wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
And maybe a move to Dallas might be an option, if it came to that.
As he propped his feet up on the coffee table, his glance went to where his phone sat.
He half- expected to get a text from Amy saying she was cancelling.
Once she had time to think about it, he figured she’d give in to whatever doubts were plaguing her.
He didn’t know what he’d do then. For the first time since Delia’s death, he wanted to spend time with a woman.
And not just any woman. He wanted to be with Amy.
Will jumped when his phone chirped an email alert.
He lowered his feet to the floor and reached for the phone.
Since it was an email and not a text, he didn’t hesitate to read it.
The email was from Delia’s mother detailing their itinerary for the next day.
They’d been to Collingsworth several times over the years so had made the decision to rent a car and drive from Minneapolis after they flew in from Seattle where they had been visiting friends.
It looked like they were likely to arrive later in the afternoon than Josh and Cami.
As he finished reading the email, his phone rang, and Amy’s name appeared on his screen. Will stared at it for a moment, reluctant to answer. Finally, he tapped the screen and pressed the phone to his ear. “If you’re calling to cancel our dinner, this is a recording, and I don’t check my messages.”
There was a beat of silence before Amy laughed. The sound of it brought a smile to Will’s face.
“No, I’m not calling to cancel, but I just wondered if postponing it might be a good idea.”
Postponing...cancelling...somehow they rang the same in Will’s mind. “Why would it be a good idea?”
“I remembered that, uh, Delia’s parents are arriving tomorrow. Won’t that be awkward?”
“Because I was married to their daughter?”
“Well...yes. Would it upset them?”
“No. If anything, they would be delighted.”
Amy didn’t reply right away then said, “Delighted?”
“They never expected me to put my life on hold indefinitely after Delia’s death. In fact, for the past couple of years Charlotte has suggested with ever increasing forthrightness that I should consider dating again.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You have nothing to worry about where Charlotte and Henry are concerned.”
“Do they have other children?”
“No, Delia was their only child. They could never have children, so they adopted Delia when they were in the Philippines as missionaries. They were already in their forties when they adopted her, so there wasn’t much time after that to adopt any more.”
“That must have been awful for them when she passed away.”
“It was a very difficult time. Because they were in their sixties, I was afraid it was going to kill them. I know it almost killed me.” As soon as he said the words, Will wished he could take them back. He decided it was probably better to just let the moment pass.
There was a long pause before Amy asked, “Does Isabella ask about her?”
“Not often,” Will admitted. “I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
“As long as you’re willing to talk when she asks, I would guess that she’ll ask about the things she needs to know when she wants to know them.”
Not comfortable to continue talking about Delia with the woman he was hoping to date, Will said, “So are you still okay with going out for dinner on Saturday?” Suddenly his brain made a connection. Saturday. The day Delia had died. His first date with Amy.
It was too late to back out now without having to give an explanation.
And how did he tell Amy that he didn’t want to go out because he needed to remember the day his wife died?
Somehow he just knew that wouldn’t be a good start to their relationship.
He would just have to continue forward with the plans as they stood.
It surprised him that he hadn’t made the connection earlier, but Saturday had become the day of Isabella’s party, not the anniversary of Delia’s death.
“As long as you don’t think it will cause any issues.” Amy’s voice drew him back to their conversation.
“Frankly, I’m more worried about issues with Josh than I am with Charlotte and Henry.”
Amy laughed. “Yep. Lance asked tonight if something was up.”
“Really? Why did he ask that?”
“Guess he sensed a little...tension between us when we got back. And when I wouldn’t confirm anything, he threatened to sic Josh on me.”
“Are you comfortable with the family knowing we’re going out?” Will hadn’t really thought too much about how their siblings might react.
“I don’t know. Part of me would like to keep it on the down low in case things don’t work out.”
“Wow. Nothing like starting off with a positive outlook on it.”
“You have to admit it would make things a little awkward,” Amy said.
“Well, if you want to try to keep it a secret, I suppose we could try, but I doubt we’d be too successful.”
“No, we wouldn’t be. Cami would know something was up immediately. Better to just put it out there.”
“Thank you,” Will said.
Another pause. “For what?”
“For giving me—us—a chance. I don’t think I’m wrong in feeling that you have some hesitations about going out with me.”
“Yes, I do,” Amy agreed.
“Aside from the family and your presence in Collingsworth being temporary, you haven’t really talked about any of your other reservations.”
“I can’t just yet. Maybe as we spend time together, those concerns will be resolved.”
Will knew in that moment that he would do whatever it took to put her mind at ease. He wanted her in his life. That was the bottom line. “Hopefully Saturday will be the first of many dinners.”
“Yes.” Though she’d agreed with him, she didn’t sound as positive about it as he was. “Well, I’d better go. Busy few days ahead.”
Though he would have liked to continue to talk, Will said, “Yep. See you tomorrow.”
After the call had ended, Will sat there flipping his phone over and over in his hand.
In his mind, he could see the ready smile that lit up Amy’s face and made her sea- foam green eyes sparkle.
How he wished that those eyes had sparkled with excitement at the prospect of going out with him.
But he was going to take what he could get and hope that it would go up from there.
She wasn’t going to make this easy for him, but something told him that the end result would be worth all the extra effort it looked like he’d have to expend to keep her in his life.
~*~*~