His best friend flinched. But instead of backing off, he raised his hands in frustration. “Comments like that are what I’m talking about. You never talk like this. Something with these women has hit a nerve.” Before Graham could dispute that, he added, “Don’t start lying again, either. I saw that look you sent my way at breakfast. There was something in your expression when you looked at Sharon and me. It sure wasn’t that she meant nothing to you.”
“I didn’t—”
“Oh, jah, you did. You practically sent me a death glare when I offered to spend time with her.”
Everything Toby was saying was right. But because he still wasn’t sure what to do, Graham decided to stay on the offensive. “Instead of asking me twenty questions and chiding me for not being completely honest, why don’t you share what’s on your mind? Who are you after? Do you want to spend time with Sharon or Sherry?”
Toby laughed. “With Sharon, of course. Her sister is a firecracker. She’d wear me out in two minutes. Plus, those freckles and red hair? Not my type.”
“Sherry is cute in her own way,” he spit out automatically. Now, why did he feel the need to defend the girl he didn’t want to date?
Seeing a fence signaling the boundary of a private resort, they turned around and headed back. Graham was surprised how far they’d walked. He couldn’t see any of their group in the distance.
Not in any hurry to return, he slowed his pace. Toby matched it exactly, looking more than a little relieved as he wiped a sweat-soaked brow.
“So is that my answer, then? You like Sherry and you’re all right if I spend time with Sharon?”
He cared. He cared a lot. But he didn’t see how he was ever going to make his wants a reality. He was one of three brothers, but he’d heard sisters had an even stronger bond when it came to love and romance. Never would he want to hurt Sherry because he longed for her older sister.
It would be best to simply stay out of both women’s lives.
Plus, Toby was a good man. He was hardworking and kind. And a little on the shy side, he’d be perfect for a quiet woman like Sharon. A kind person who would treat her well.
With all that in mind, was there really any doubt about what his answer should be? “If you want to spend time with Sharon, I think you should. I won’t be mad, and I’ll even support you in any way I can.”
Toby exhaled. “Boy, you had me going there for a bit. Danke.”
His buddy sounded so relieved, Graham almost smiled. “Sharon really means that much to you?”
“I don’t know if she does or not. I do know she’s intrigued me in a way few other women have.”
“Ah.”
“Graham, the reason I came to talk to you is that our friendship is what means so much. I don’t want to step on any toes.”
“You won’t.”
“Gut.” Looking a far sight happier, Toby said, “I’m so glad everything is out in the open now. It’s better that way, jah?”
“For sure and for certain.” Well, it would if everything actually was out in the open. Realizing they were almost back to the rest of the group, Graham asked, “Is there anything else you want to discuss, Toby?”
“Of course not. We’re at the beach to relax, not discuss every problem in our lives.” Looking satisfied, he added, “I’m going to go buy myself a bottle of water and then sit on my towel for the rest of the morning and afternoon.”
“Me, too, though I’ll probably cool off in the water too. It’s hot out here.”
“Yeah, well, people say July is a hot month.”
Toby and his gift for understatement. Graham grinned in spite of himself. “Danke for talking to me. And gut luck with Sharon.” Realizing luck didn’t have much to do with it, he said, “I mean, I hope you and Sharon will find yourselves to be happy together.”
“Danke. I don’t know if I’m what she’s looking for, but I have to try, you know? Girls like her are few and far between,” he said before veering over to the snack shack.
Unfortunately, Graham knew far too well what his buddy meant. Girls like Sharon were mighty special.
But friends like Toby were too.
CHAPTER 7
ALTHOUGH A LOT OF AMISH GIRLS WORE BATHING SUITS, Sharon wasn’t quite ready for that. Oh, she’d bought one, of course. She and Sherry had gone into Millersburg and tried on swimsuits almost a month ago.
At first they’d been afraid of what their mother would say about making such a purchase. Sherry, being Sherry, hadn’t wanted to tell Mamm. She said their mother would never need to know what they’d done. But Sharon hadn’t felt okay with that. She’d hesitantly told their mother they intended to wear swimsuits at the beach in Siesta Key. Modest ones, of course.
To her surprise, Mamm had just laughed. “You act as if I’ve never been young, child. Wear one if you must. I’m sure it will be a great deal more comfortable than sitting on the beach in a dress.”
They’d taken their mother’s comments to heart and had quite a grand time picking out suits to try on.
Checking herself in the dressing room mirror had been a whole other story, however. She frowned when she stared at herself from every angle. Her skin had looked as pale as a newborn babe’s, and her hips and thighs had seemed far bigger than the mannequins’ in the store.
When Sherry knocked on her door and showed Sharon her choice, she mentioned the same concerns about herself. But they’d done it. They’d each bought a modest one-piece suit. Modest for the Englishers, that is.
But this morning, even though she knew it covered her up sufficiently, Sharon felt her swimsuit was far too revealing. So she’d worn her lightest and baggiest dress over it, in case she chickened out. Then when Sherry revealed hers—practically the moment she’d sat down on her beach towel—Sharon had known she couldn’t do it. Not yet.
Sharon knew her sister’s look of triumph had been directed at her. Sherry was pleased she was pushing herself a bit and wanted Sharon to do the same. But although she was hot, Sharon was still too self-conscious.
Thankfully, her sleeves were loose enough that she’d been able to roll them a few inches above her elbows. When she’d sat down, she’d pulled the skirt of her dress up to reveal her knees. And now that was how she was sitting—modestly and mildly warm, with some of her dress’s fabric sticking to the middle of her back. Soon after Sherry’s big reveal, Carla and Vera had pulled off their dresses and were sunbathing in swimsuits too. Matthew was beside them, putting an awful lot of sunscreen on himself.
Sharon sighed and stretched out her legs, grateful Vera would never push her to do anything she didn’t want to do. But boy, she wished she’d been braver! Now if she pulled off her dress it would look awkward. She was going to have to deal with her big reveal the next time they went to Siesta Key. And, she realized with a bit of embarrassment, she should also remember looks aren’t that important. She mustn’t be too prideful.
“You want a cold bottle of water?” Toby asked as he shook out his towel and sat down next to her.
He had shorts on, and his calves and knees were already starting to darken. Realizing how silly it was to stare at his legs, she diverted her eyes.
But what caught her eye next was the pleasant, kind way he was looking at her. Like he wanted to be her friend.
Forcing herself to examine the bottle he was holding out, she noticed it had droplets of condensation all over it. “Danke. Few things have ever looked so gut.”
“Oh, I can think of a few,” he said with a smile.
“Such as?”
“Why this beach, for one. The ocean for another.”
He was absolutely right. She needed to stop worrying what everyone was thinking about her and simply enjoy herself. “I think I walked into that, didn’t I? Here I am, sitting on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and I haven’t even taken the time to properly give thanks for it.”
“I’m sure the Lord knows you’re pleased with His work, Sharon.”
She smiled at him. “
Indeed, I’m sure He does.”
He unscrewed his bottle cap and promptly swallowed a good half of the bottle’s contents. “Boy, was I thirsty.”
She laughed. Toby was so open and vibrant! Almost like a puppy. She found him easy to be around and easy to talk to. “You and Graham went on a long walk.”
“We went farther than I intended. I hadn’t planned on walking with him that long.”
Liking how he simply said whatever was on his mind, she added, “I thought maybe you were going to go for a swim, but instead it looked like you were racewalking.”
“What you saw was correct.” He grimaced. “We were race-walking. Practically running.”
If they did it all the time, that meant he liked it, right? But he was acting as if he didn’t care for it one bit. “Do you and Graham do that a lot?”
“Nee.” After he finished the rest of his water, he put the cap back on the bottle and tossed it into a nearby canvas tote bag. “We had some things to talk about. Graham . . . well, Graham likes to walk and talk at a brisk pace. I reckon it has something to do with all those acres he walks when he inspects his corn.”
“But not you?”
“Nee. I’m in construction. I spend most of my days running around whatever building I’m working on. I like to sit down when I can. I’m lazy that way.”
Sharon firmly pushed down that little burst of appreciation whenever she heard Graham’s name. He was her sister’s beau. What she needed to do was concentrate on Toby. He was handsome and kind. She could probably learn to like him a lot if she just gave him a chance!
She smiled at him more brightly. “I’m lazy that way too. I work in a bakery, so I like to rest when I can.”
“My aunt worked at a bakery in Walnut Creek. She took care to tell me it was much more work than handing out donuts!”
“It is. Absolutely. I’ve been giving thanks all day for the fact that I’m not pulling heavy trays in and out of ovens. Some nights when I get home, I have to lie down on the floor to relieve the cramps in my back.”
Toby stared at her in concern. Then he said softly, “Those commercial ovens can be dangerous, especially for a slight girl like you.”
She’d never thought of herself as slight, but she did like the way he said the word. Like being slight was a good thing. “I’m stronger than I look. Though I have had my share of little accidents while I learned the best way to pull out heavy sheet pans.”
“Is this a work injury?”
“Is what a work injury?”
Carefully, as if he feared he was going to bruise her, he looped his thumb and fingers around her wrist and turned her arm.
And sure enough, there was a burn mark on her forearm. Eyeing the dark-red patch that was only about a half inch in length, she said, “I’ve had that for so long, I’d almost forgotten about it.”
His hand remained where it was. Then, ever so slowly, he ran one finger along the mark. She shivered involuntarily.
His brows pulled together. “Does it hurt?”
“Nee. Not at all.” No, she surely wasn’t hurting from his touch. But she was reacting to him in a way that caught her off guard.
With his fingers still on her arm, he murmured, “How did you get it?”
She was becoming flustered.
Nervously, she pulled her arm away, then took another sip from her water bottle. She tried to think of an interesting way to tell what had happened to her. That would be kind of difficult, though, for it was actually a boring story. “I’d love to tell you it was when I was doing something out of the ordinary, but it was just a simple mistake. I was paying more attention to making sure my thumb didn’t damage the side of a cake than I was taking care not to touch my arm on the hot rack. Like I said, things like that happen more often than one might expect.”
“It happened years ago?”
“Jah. Probably five years,” she said. Then she winced as she realized how breathless she sounded.
He shifted. She was sure he was going to move away, but he didn’t. “That had to hurt.”
“It did,” she squeaked. “But it served me well. I remembered that experience and minded those racks far better than I had before.”
“Put that way, I can see how it might be a blessing.”
“Jah.” At the moment, that was what that burn felt like. A blessing. Looking at him, she said, “I bet you have a scar or two that has served as a learning experience.”
“I do.” Gripping the bottom of his shirt with both hands, he pulled it off over his head and tossed it to one side. That wide expanse of smooth skin and defined muscle was shocking.
And, if she admitted it, intriguing too. Toby Miller was a handsome man. Fearing she was staring at him a bit too long, she took another fortifying sip of water.
Of course, he misinterpreted her discomfort. Stretching to one side, he kind of twisted his torso to get a better look. “Oh, it ain’t that bad, is it?”
His body? No, it was not.
Of course, her discomfort increased tenfold when she realized he was pointing to a thick, jagged scar on his side. It had to be a quarter-inch wide and at least three inches long.
How mortifying that she’d been so intrigued by his chest that she hadn’t even noticed what he’d been trying to show her! “Actually, that scar is bad. Really bad. What happened there?”
Straightening again, he looked her way and grinned. “I had a run-in with the corner of some metal siding. It caught me gut, and happened in seconds too. It hurt like the dickens, I tell ya. And it was a real mess.”
“My word.”
“Yeah. Blood everywhere.”
She was starting to feel a little queasy. She was also starting to wonder how they’d ever landed on this subject. “I’m sure you needed stitches?”
“I did. Twenty-six.”
She gulped, imagining the sight of that. “That’s a lot.”
“Sure was. That wound was real deep.” He grunted. “Then, just when I thought it was healed, I got impatient and did more than I should have.” He paused dramatically. “Next thing I knew, I’d torn the stitches and had an infection. Off I went to the hospital again.”
Her queasiness was reaching a dangerous level. “Well. Um, I’m glad you’re all right now. Real glad.”
“Me too. However, my accident had some gut consequences. I learned my lesson about taking the time to care for myself, and it’s made for a gut story.”
“Oh, you.”
“It’s true.”
“I’m sorry you have such a bad scar.”
“My mamm was so mad at me. She said it would have healed far quicker if only I had been a lot more patient. She was tempted to whip my behind for being so pigheaded and stupid.”
Sharon giggled. “Maybe you were simply impatient. Ain’t so?”
Toby pulled up his knees and wrapped his arms around them. “I used to be impatient. That is true. But now I’m beginning to think I have all the time in the world for some things.” He looked into her eyes when he said that.
She smiled weakly as his full meaning hit her hard.
How strange and unexpected life was! Here she’d assumed her biggest romance concern was going to be watching her sister receive Graham’s attention while she watched from a distance and pretended not to be affected. Instead, she was entertaining a possible flirtation of her own. To her surprise, it hadn’t been uncomfortable, either.
“Toby, I, uh, I think you have a gut point. Patience is a virtue. It’s definitely a blessing when one is able to appreciate the value of waiting for the perfect time.”
He smiled at her, then glanced just beyond her and grinned broadly before lying down on his towel and closing his eyes.
Unable to help herself, she turned to see what he’d seen.
That’s when she saw Graham was looking steadily at her. Intently. Not looking too pleased at all about what he’d just witnessed. Just as he had at breakfast that morning.
Figuring that was something to think about, s
he stretched out on her towel and pulled the hem of her dress up an inch or so above her knees. She closed her eyes then too. Glad to have an excuse to spend some time with her thoughts.
Her mighty mixed-up, jumbled thoughts.
CHAPTER 8
“IT’S MIGHTY KIND OF YOU TO COME WITH ME TO THE Der Dutchman, Graham,” Sherry said as they walked along Beneva Road two days later.
“It wasn’t out of pure kindness. I wanted to walk with you.”
Sherry was so surprised, she almost gaped at him. But then she pulled herself together and told him she’d like a walk. She was looking forward to chatting with him too. She still wasn’t sure how Graham felt about her, but she was bound and determined to follow Carla’s advice and simply enjoy herself.
After their day at Siesta Key, the heat taking more out of them than they thought it would, the seven of them decided they needed more rest. Graham, Matthew, and Toby had slept in on Tuesday, before ordering pizza for lunch and then proceeding to do nothing more than lounge around the inn’s outdoor courtyard for the remainder of the afternoon. The four girls had gone to Yoder’s to enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by wandering in and out of stores. Then the four of them had spent the majority of the evening in the girls’ attic room playing cards.
This morning, however, Sherry had wakened ready to explore more of Sarasota. She and Carla borrowed two of the inn’s red bikes and rode up and down the streets in Pinecraft. After lunch, Sharon made plans to talk about cookbooks with Beverly.
Since Carla and Vera wanted to sit outside and read, Sherry walked to the front porch where all the guys were. She discovered that, despite all the wonderful baked goods Beverly would provide for tea in just a couple of hours, they’d been trying to convince each other to walk to Der Dutchman and bring back two of their special pies. Sherry volunteered to go, and, surprising her, Graham offered to go along.
Now as they walked down the street together, every so often stepping to the side so mothers with their strollers could get by, Sherry found herself relaxing with him. He’d been teasing her about the way she’d been chatting with every child who crossed their path.
A Reunion in Pinecraft Page 5