CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I thought she was here for the summer. The summer isn’t over yet.”
“She’ll be back,” Cami told him. “Her friend arranged an interview for her, so she flew home for that.”
Though it was great to hear she was coming back, the fact that she was looking for a job in Dallas didn’t make the sick feeling go away. She seemed to be moving on from whatever short-lived relationship they’d had. If only he could do the same.
He swallowed hard, hoping it wasn’t obvious how the news upset him. “I know she was worried about getting a job.” He paused. “I hope the interview goes well for her.”
Cami tilted her head to the side then reached out and rested her hand on his cheek. “No, you don’t, and neither do I, but I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what unfolds over the next few days.”
Easier said than done, Will thought.
~*~*~
After Sammi had picked her up at the airport, they had gone back to her folks’ place.
As expected, her mother and father had been thrilled with her surprise visit.
And even happier about the reason for the trip.
Amy had hoped she’d be able to chat with Sammi, but her friend had promised to call later and then they’d arranged to meet at Sammi’s apartment after the interview the next day.
Though she was happy to see her parents, she found it hard to keep up her end of the conversation.
Her thoughts were split between Will and the interview the next day.
She knew there was no sense in talking with them—particularly her mother—about Will.
Her mom would no doubt say it was for the best since Will lived so far away.
That was not really what Amy wanted to hear right then.
After her parents retired for the night, Amy crawled into bed and sent Cami a few texts. Though Cami had commented in her reply that Isabella missed her, there had been no mention of Will. Amy supposed it wasn’t her right to know anything about how he was doing.
“So tell me what’s going on?” Sammi said when Amy answered her call
That was all Amy needed to spill everything out. It wasn’t easy since the emotion of it all was still so fresh. Thankfully, Sammi patiently waited through her bouts of crying for her to finish.
“You thought something like this might happen,” Sammi commented. “I’m sorry that’s is the way it’s worked out.”
Amy sighed. “I suppose your advice is the same as everyone else’s.”
“What’s that? To pray?”
“Yes. No one seems to understand that I have been praying about it.”
“What exactly have you been praying for?” Sammi asked.
“That God would help me deal with the memories. That they wouldn’t hurt so much when they come.”
“And that’s all you’ve done? Pray?”
“Well, it’s been pretty hard to do anything else when I’m trying to keep from falling apart when a memory hits.”
“All I’m saying that sometimes—often—God requires more than just us praying for His help.” “
“What more can I do? I don’t know how else to get this stuff out of my head.”
“I don’t know either. I’m sorry,” Sammi said, her voice gentle. “I am so sorry you’re hurting like this.”
After their conversation had ended, Amy curled up in her bed. It had felt good to be home. To talk with her parents. To chat with Sammi. To lie down in her bed. But now as she lay in the darkness, her thoughts went to those in Collingsworth.
She wondered if Isabella had had a good day.
The little girl hadn’t been happy to hear she was leaving, even when Amy had assured her that she would be back.
What was going to happen when she had to leave for good?
How would Isabella handle that? Oh, she’d go back to visit, most likely.
Or maybe she wouldn’t. Could she handle seeing Will move on with someone else?
She’d watched him find love with someone once already, she wasn’t sure she could survive that again.
A band tightened around her heart, and she found it hard to breathe. The thought of him loving some unknown woman in the future hurt more than the memory of his love for Delia. The realization caught her by surprise. Amy struggled to sit up and catch her breath.
Head bent as she sat in the darkness, she tried to imagine her future without Will, but all she got was pain at the thought.
Would the pain over the future lessen as time went on?
Or would she be left with never-ending regret and wondering what if?
Yet maybe with time, she could get past the pain of Will’s past.
She stood up and began to pace her room, able to avoid bumping into furniture because of her familiarity with the placement of everything.
All she knew was that if it weren’t for this struggle over Will’s past with Delia, she’d gladly move to Collingsworth to be with him and Isabella. Even with its frigid winters.
As she paced, the words of both Cami and Charlotte came to mind.
Not everything in God’s will would necessarily come easily.
She realized now that she had just assumed if it was God’s will for her and Will to be together, He’d make it easy for that to happen.
That His clear sign to her would involve her not dealing with this emotional upheaval over every memory that cropped up.
Maybe God expected her to take that step of faith, believing that she and Will could work through her struggles together.
Amy returned to her bed and laid down. She closed her eyes and this time when she prayed, it was a different prayer than the others.
Please give me the strength, God, to take this step of faith.
I don’t know if Will will even give me a chance now, but if he does, I’m going to trust that You will work in both of us and that this relationship will bring You honor and glory.
And if it’s not meant to be for Will and me, I will trust You to bring healing from this for both of us.
Amy had always figured that it would take knowing with certainty that things would work out between her and Will to bring her peace. Surprisingly enough, it was this prayer of faith that brought her the first measure of peace she’d had since all of this had started.
She would go to the interview the next day, but something told her she wouldn’t be taking this job.
Something deep inside told her she needed to turn it down if they offered it to her.
It would be yet another step of faith. She was going to go back to Collingsworth trusting that she and Will would be able to get through this.
If he’d give her another chance even after she hadn’t given him one.
~*~*~
The next few days were torture for Will. Cami had told him that she’d gone to her interview but that there had been no official job offer yet. From what Cami said, it sounded like it was just a matter of time though. It was disheartening, but not surprising.
Needing some direction in his life since everything had fallen apart with Amy, Will decided to tackle the house that sat empty.
He approached Lance to see if he’d have room in the next few months to finish up the interior so he could put it on the market.
There was no doubt he would take a loss on it, but at this point he just needed it gone.
Even if Amy did, by some miracle, decide to give them another chance, knowing what he did about how she felt regarding his past with Delia, he couldn’t ask her to live in a house that he’d initially started building for his family with her.
He didn’t think it would make any difference to her that Delia had told him she didn’t want to live out in the forest and that, after their decision to move, they never would have lived there as a family.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Lance asked him as they sat in his office Friday morning. “I know you had big dreams for that place.”
Will shrugged. “Seems my plans don’t count for much these days.”
“You do need to get out of that apartment though.”
“Yes, I agree, but I think I’ll just try to find a house here in town with enough yard for Isabella. The two of us don’t need that much room.”
“It might not always be just the two of you.”
“I don’t think I’m destined to find lasting love,” Will said without emotion. It was the conclusion he’d come to over the past couple of days. “Right now I just need to focus on my daughter and doing what I can to make up for the way things have been between us.”
Lance looked like he was going to say something but instead just nodded. “How about we go by there tonight? We can figure out what you want done and then see when we can fit it onto the calendar.”
“Thanks.” Will stood.
“Listen, Will.” Lance also stood up and came come around his desk. He clapped his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about what happened with you and Amy?”
Will could see the concern in his brother-in-law’s face, but he just didn’t have it in him to spill his guts. “Not really. But thanks for offering to listen.”
“Well, if you need a listening ear, I’m here for you. We love you both, and it’s difficult to see you hurting.”
Will nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
Returning to his office, he shut the door before going to sit behind his desk.
He had hoped that getting the ball rolling on the house would give him a sense of purpose, but if anything, it had just been a reminder of what he’d lost. First Delia and now Amy.
The home he’d hoped to provide for his family was a joke.
Maybe just getting it done and sold would bring about the peace he wanted.
In the meantime, he’d try to keep busy with the things in his life that he could count on. His job and his daughter.
~*~*~
“Is Will coming over tonight?” Amy asked Cami when she arrived back at the manor shortly after five Friday afternoon. Isabella had been there to warmly and enthusiastically welcome her home, but there’d been no sign of Will.
“I don’t know.” Cami glanced to where Laurel and Violet stood. “You guys know?”
“I think Matt said he was going to meet Lance at the house.”
“Is he going to finish it?” Violet asked.
“Matt said Will talked to Lance this morning about finishing it, but not to live in. He’s planning to sell it.”
“A house?” Amy asked, looking back and forth between them. “What house?”
“Will has a house that he was building when Delia died. Since then it’s been unfinished and empty. I guess he figured now was a good time to finish it up and get rid of it.”
A sudden rush of panic engulfed Amy. She had returned with the intention of seeing if Will would give her a second chance, but it sounded like he was moving forward, cutting off any idea of having a family in that house he’d built.
She picked up her phone then looked at the women standing there. “Will you guys pray for me? I need to talk to Will.”
“Are you going to try and work things out?” Cami asked, a hopeful expression on her face.
“Yes. If I haven’t burned that bridge already.”
The three sisters exchanged looks that made Amy uneasy.
“We’ll definitely pray for you,” Laurel assured her. “Just cut him a little slack. He’s reverted back to the old Will in some ways. It might take some effort to get through to him.”
Amy nodded. “I understand.” She lifted her phone. “I’m going to phone Lance and see if he’s with Will.”
“I’d say good luck,” Violet said, “but I don’t believe in luck. I will say that I hope you can work this out with him.”
“Thank you.”
~*~*~
Will stood in the center of the big open room. Even after all these years he could still picture in his mind what he’d planned for the space. The memory didn’t bring him any of the joy it used to.
“Sorry about that,” Lance said as he walked in. “Got hung up on a phone call at the office.”
Will swung around. “No problem.”
Before he could say anything more, Lance’s phone rang again. He plucked it from his belt and stared at the display. Frowning, he said, “I’ve got to take this.”
Will watched as Lance walked back out of the house.
From his vantage point, he could see through the large glass windows at the front of the house.
Lance had walked out onto the sidewalk and stood with the phone pressed to his ear, one hand on his hip.
As he talked, he glanced toward the house.
After he had lowered the phone to his belt, Lance stood for a moment, his fingers pressed to his forehead.
“Everything okay?” Will asked when Lance walked back into the house.
“Yeah, I hope so.” Standing with his hands on his hips, Lance surveyed the room. “Are you just going to stick with the original plans you had drawn up for the place?”
“I think that would be easiest. I don’t really want to spend any more time on this than I have to.”
Lance stared at him for a moment. “Are you sure about selling it?”
“Yes,” Will said without hesitation.
They walked around for the next ten minutes discussing materials and timeframes. After finishing up on the main floor, Will led the way upstairs. While up there, he heard the sound of an engine.
“Were you expecting someone?” he asked Lance as he walked to one of the front windows to look out at the driveway.
“Maybe we should go down and check it out,” Lance suggested.
Without waiting for him to respond, Lance headed for the stairs and began to descend. Abandoning the window, Will strode to the stairs and followed him.
By the time he reached the last step, Lance was standing with his back to him talking to someone. Will started in his direction, but froze as Lance leaned forward to hug the person then stepped around them and left the house.
Amy.
Wearing a flowing sundress in a soft pink and her hair down in long curls, she had never looked more beautiful. She fidgeted with her purse strap as she watched him.
For a moment, Will wondered if this was another of the dreams he’d been having ever since she left. The ones where she came back to him, and they were able to live happily ever after.
“Hi, Will,” she said, her voice soft.
Will stood with his hands on his hips, squashing down any flicker of hope. Nothing short of a miracle could have changed things for her. “What are you doing here?”