by Mayne, Debby
She turned around and looked at Peter, who continued standing in front of her smiling. “I’ll give you some time to think about us, Shelley, and I’ll be back later.”
“No, Peter. I’ve done all the thinking I need to do about us.”
“Think some more.” With that, he didn’t waste another second before striding toward the door.
Without turning around she knew that as Peter left, Jeremiah came inside. His footsteps were soft, but she saw his shadow as he approached.
Jeremiah didn’t speak right away, so Shelley slowly turned to meet his silent gaze. “Hi, Jeremiah.”
He smiled at her, but she couldn’t hide her disappointment. His smile quickly faded. “I just wanted to find out what’s going on with us.”
Shelley’s breath caught in her throat, so she took a step away from Jeremiah to place some distance between them. “With us?”
Jeremiah nodded. “Yes. With us.” He shuffled his feet and glanced around the restaurant before settling his gaze back on her. “And between you and Peter.”
“I’ll answer your last question first. There is nothing going on between Peter and me.”
He visibly relaxed. “That’s not how it looked, but if you say nothing is going on, I believe you.”
“Do you really?” she asked.
“I’m trying.” He looked down at her with a closed-mouth grin.
“Now for your first question, that’s not quite so simple. I’m not even sure I understand the nature of it.”
“C’mon, Shelley, you know how I feel about you.”
She thought she knew, but after assuming Peter’s intentions, she wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. “I’m not positive how you feel, Jeremiah.”
“I feel … well, I feel like you and I get along really well, and I like being with you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “No, I take that back. I love being with you. When I’m with you, I feel like I can do anything.”
Shelley had to try hard not to smile. She’d been hoping Jeremiah felt this way, but there was still the one issue of her parents not approving. She suspected if she could get her mother to come around, her father might follow.
“Well?” he asked. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
She lifted her hands to her sides. “I’m not sure what to say, Jeremiah. But honestly, this probably isn’t the best place to discuss it.”
“What time are you getting off today?”
“Soon. I’m waiting for Mrs. Penner to arrive.”
“I’ll wait.” He sank down in the chair directly behind him.
“But first,” she said slowly, “where did you get that car? Is it yours?”
He looked at her and then cast his gaze downward. “No … well, at least not yet. I’m thinking about getting a new set of wheels, and that car just happened to be sitting in the car lot, and I—”
At least he hadn’t yet bought the car. Relief flooded Shelley before she considered the fact that she didn’t have the right to approve or disapprove of what automobile Jeremiah drove. Or if he even drove one at all.
“What do you think?” he asked softly.
“Does it matter what I think?”
“Yes, of course it does.”
Shelley folded her arms and shook her head. “I didn’t think you’d be able to resist buying a car, but I have to admit I’m disappointed in the one you chose.”
“Too flashy, huh?” His expression was contrite and rather impish.
“Ya. It’s very flashy. But who am I to cast judgment?”
“I value your opinion, Shelley. If you think the red car is wrong for me, I won’t buy it. It’s really not that important.”
“Then why are you driving it?” She paused before adding, “How important is any car? I thought you were doing just fine without one.”
“I guess I have been. It’s just that …” He lifted his hands and let them slap his thighs. “I don’t know. I came in here and saw you and Peter, and it was frustrating.” He hung his head and looked back at her with soulful eyes. “I just reacted.”
“That is a concern, Jeremiah. Reactions from bad emotions often involve bad decisions. What happens when something really awful happens? What will your reaction be then?”
Jeremiah grew pensive and rubbed his chin. “That’s a good point, Shelley. I suppose I’ve been reacting all my life.”
Shelley knew that. Jeremiah had a tremendous number of good qualities, but the one bad thing about him negated much of the positive. “You need to practice self-restraint.”
“I’m working on it.”
“I’m sure it takes time.”
Jeremiah didn’t respond to her last comment. Instead, he gestured toward the door. “Okay, so I probably won’t buy the car, but would you like to go for a ride in it before I bring it back?”
She glanced outside at the shiny red car that held no appeal for her. “No, I’d better not.”
Jeremiah sensed that he’d taken a step back in his quest to pursue Shelley, simply by showing up in a sports car. He wanted to kick himself a thousand times for not thinking through his decision to stop by during his test-drive. He knew he needed to do something to salvage even a shred of hope to see her again.
“I’m returning the car now, and I’ll take the bus home.” He took a couple of steps toward the door, stopped, and turned back to face Shelley. “I’m fine without my own wheels. It’s just fun sometimes to drive a car like that.” Why did he have to keep talking? That last statement eliminated anything he’d done to improve his situation. “But it means absolutely nothing to me.”
Shelley grinned at him as though she understood. “I’m sure that’s not the case, or you wouldn’t be so excited about driving it.”
He figured he’d better quit before he dug any deeper. “I’m still returning it. Can we talk soon?”
“Yes, that would be good.” Shelley took a step back. “Come back tomorrow.” She spun around and was barely past the kitchen door when the bell on the door jingled.
“Jeremiah, what are you still doing here?” The sound of Peter’s voice grated Shelley.
“I was just leaving,” Jeremiah replied.
Shelley hovered behind the kitchen door, trying to decide what to do. Mr. Penner approached and startled her.
“What is going on, Shelley?” he asked. “You look pale.”
“N–nothing. I was just checking to see if Mrs. Penner was here yet.”
“She should be here any minute. If you need to leave now—”
“Neh!” Shelley swallowed hard after her sudden outburst. “Sorry, but I can wait for her to arrive.”
He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he regarded her. “Is there something I need to know about?” He leaned past her, opened the door to the dining room a couple of inches, and peeked. “Oh, I see the problem. You don’t want to leave with Peter, is that right?”
Shelley nodded. “I know I shouldn’t worry you with my personal concerns, but I had no idea he was coming back.”
“What happened to Clara?”
She explained what she knew. Mr. Penner made a face. “Sounds to me like he wants everything his way.”
“I don’t know the details about what happened between him and Clara, but I do know that I am no longer interested in him.”
“Then tell him you want to go home alone. I’ve found that it’s always best to be direct.”
“I already told him that, but it doesn’t seem to matter,” Shelley replied. “Would you like for me to talk to him?”
“Neh, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Mrs. Penner arrived from the back. “It doesn’t look terribly busy today,” she said. “Why don’t you go on home now, Shelley? I can take over from here.”
Shelley glanced back at Mr. Penner, who nodded. “Have one more talk with Peter, and let him know that in no uncertain terms you aren’t interested in a relationship with him anymore.”
Mrs. Penner
planted her fists firmly on her hips and glared first at her husband then at Shelley. “What’s the matter with Peter? He’d make some girl a fine husband.” She frowned for a moment. “Wait a minute. I thought he was engaged to Clara.”
“Why don’t you run along, Shelley?” Mr. Penner said. “I’ll explain everything to my wife.”
Happy to be let off the hook, Shelley removed her apron, grabbed her tote, headed for the back door with only a brief hesitation, and left. She made it nearly a block before she heard Peter’s voice behind her.
“Wait up, Shelley. I’ll walk you home.”
“That won’t be necessary, Peter.” She quickened her pace, but he caught up with her.
Peter laughed. “You’re very independent, as always. I hope Jeremiah doesn’t hold on to this silly notion that you would ever be interested in him.”
“That’s not your concern, Peter.”
“Oh, but I think it is. I already told you I made a mistake, and I want to make it up to you. I feel terrible that I hurt you.”
“People get hurt all the time. I’m over it.”
“I stopped by and saw your mother this morning,” Peter said.
Shelley stopped and turned to face Peter. “Why did you do that, Peter?”
“Calm down, Shelley. I care about you and your family, and I thought it would be the right thing to do.”
“The right thing to do is leave me alone. You made your feelings for me and my family very clear when you became engaged to Clara. Now let things be.”
Peter looked down at the sidewalk and then lifted his gaze to hers. “I can’t, Shelley. I’m not getting any younger, and I need a wife.”
“Oh, so that’s it.” She tried to hold back the sarcasm, but it erupted anyway. “You think it’s time to get married, and you figured I’d be an easy catch.”
“No, that’s not it at all.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “You are the ideal woman for me, Shelley. You’re everything I want in a wife, and I plan to marry you.”
“You should have felt that way months ago. It’s too late now.”
“I don’t think so. Your mother told me she would welcome me into the family.”
Shelley felt fury well in her chest. “You told my mother you wanted to marry me?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Yes, I feel it’s important to make my intentions clear from the beginning—especially after what happened before. I don’t believe in hiding anything.”
“You should have asked me first.” She started walking again but not as quickly as before. “Now I think you should turn around and leave me alone.”
“I can’t do that, Shelley. I promised your mother I would join your family for dinner.”
“You what?” The shrieking sound of her own voice startled her, so she steadied herself before continuing. “You have no business doing that, Peter. I do not want to marry you.”
“Your mother invited me, and I don’t want to disappoint her,” he argued. “She seems to approve of me as a suitor.”
Peter’s underhandedness confirmed what she already knew from the moment he’d announced his engagement to Clara—marrying him would have been a huge mistake. They walked the rest of the way to her house in silence.
Jeremiah had just gotten off the bus after returning the car to the dealership when he spotted Shelley and Peter walking toward her house. Curious, he followed them from a distance until they reached the sidewalk in front of Shelley’s house. His heart sank, and once again he had to use every bit of self-restraint not to confront them. He didn’t think Shelley was trying to deceive him about not wanting to be with Peter, but maybe she wasn’t ready to let him go.
Competition had always brought out the worst in Jeremiah, but he couldn’t let Shelley go without at least trying to win her over. He’d have to come up with a plan before acting, though, because he knew from experience that acting on impulse would bring him the opposite result of what he wanted.
Jeremiah took a couple of steps toward home when he heard the commotion behind him. Without another thought, he spun around and spotted Shelley’s mother frantically waving her arms, sobbing, and trying to talk to Shelley. Peter hung back while Shelley reached out to comfort her mother. Something bad had obviously happened.
Rather than leave, Jeremiah made the hasty decision to see if there was anything he could do to help. He took off running toward the Burkholder house.
Peter’s lip curled as he spotted Jeremiah running toward him. “What are you doing here, Jeremiah?”
Jeremiah ignored Peter and focused his attention on Shelley and her mother. “What is going on?”
Shelley’s arm remained around her mother’s shoulder as she looked at him. “William has disappeared, and no one has any idea where he could be.”
“I’ll help look for him,” Jeremiah said without hesitation.
“We don’t need you to help,” Peter said. “I think we have this covered without you.”
Mrs. Burkholder’s expression changed to one of confusion. “That was out of line, Peter. We need all the help we can get.”
“Y–Ya, ya, of course,” Peter said. “It’s just that … I don’t know if Jeremiah knows enough about William to be of much help. He might even be a hindrance …” The look on his face showed that he was aware he didn’t have any idea what he was talking about, and he was floundering.
“Where was he last seen?” Jeremiah asked. “And do you remember what he was wearing?”
Mrs. Burkholder sniffled and wiped her nose with her hankie. “He went on break at work, and he didn’t come back when the time was up. He was wearing a purple shirt that someone at work gave him. I remember because I wanted him to wear his white shirt, and we argued about it.”
“Thanks. I’ll start in the area around where he works,” Jeremiah said. “Shelley, would you like to come with me, or do you need to stay with your mother?”
Shelley turned to her mother. “What would you like me to do?” Again, Peter spoke up. “Don’t pull this nonsense, Jeremiah. She’s needed at home.”
Instead of sticking around for a battle of words with Peter, Jeremiah waved. “That’s fine. Instead of wasting time talking, I’m going to go look for William now. Someone needs to let all the neighbors know, so they can be on the lookout.”
Mrs. Burkholder lifted her finger. “I got a new cell phone. Let me give you my number.”
After Jeremiah added her new number to his phone, he sprinted to the bus stop. He rode across town and got off at the car dealership where he’d seen the red sports car. The salesman grinned at him until he realized who Jeremiah was, and then he scowled and shook his head.
“I need a car right away,” Jeremiah said.
“You said you weren’t in the market for a car,” the salesman reminded him.
“I’m not. I just need to borrow one for a little while.”
“Unless you’re in the market for a car, I can’t let you test-drive one. We’re not in the business of loaning cars,” he said, his voice harsh.
“This is an emergency,” Jeremiah said. As he explained what was happening, he witnessed the man’s expression softening.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” the salesman asked.
“I have no idea, but I don’t have time to argue. Will you let me use a car or not?”
The man swallowed hard and then nodded. “Tell you what. If you can give me a description, I’ll take another car and search for him, too.” He glanced down at his feet. “Business has been slow lately, so I don’t have anything better to do.”
Jeremiah nodded and described William. As soon as he had the keys to one of the cars on the lot, he took off for William’s workplace.
William’s supervisor gave him all the information he had and handed Jeremiah a card. “If you find him, please call my cell phone.”
Chapter 11
Jeremiah drove in circles, starting with the block of William’s office building. He gradually widened the circle until he s
potted the entrance of a city park. On a hunch, he turned and slowly made his way through the mangroves and toward a small clearing of trees. Someone with a purple shirt sat on a picnic bench, so he turned the car toward the small parking area nearby.
As he approached the clearing, he saw William sitting there with his face in his hands. “William?”
The sound of his name caught William’s attention, and he looked up. “What are you doing here, Jeremiah?”
“I came looking for you. What’s going on?”
William’s chin quivered, and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I had to get away.”
“Did something happen?” Jeremiah joined William at the bench.
“Myra tricked me.”
“Myra?” Jeremiah pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. “Give me a minute to let everyone know you’re okay, and then I want to hear all about what Myra did.”
Jeremiah called Mrs. Burkholder first. The instant she heard that William was safe, she broke down crying and handed the phone to Shelley.
“Is he hurt?” Shelley asked.
“Not physically. I’ll take him home as soon as I can.”
After he got off the phone with Shelley, he called William’s supervisor. “He seems fine.”
“That’s a relief. We take our job here very seriously, and we don’t like to lose our workers.”
Next on the list of calls was the salesman from the car dealership. “I found him,” Jeremiah said. “As soon as I take him home, I’ll return the car.”
“Why don’t you keep the car for the rest of the day? You might change your mind and decide to buy it.” He cleared his throat. “Even if you don’t want to buy it, maybe it’ll come in handy.”
“Thanks,” Jeremiah said. “I’ll bring it back before you leave.”
“I’ll be here until seven or eight.”
Jeremiah punched the Off button and turned his full attention to William. “Okay, so tell me what happened with Myra.”
William grasped the front of his shirt. “Myra gave this to me yesterday and said she thought I would look better in purple instead of my ugly white shirt Mother always wants me to wear.” He sniffled. “She says I have funny-looking clothes, and that is why she didn’t want to marry me.”