by Nancy Naigle
He picked up the phone and took it to her. “Can you type in your password for me?”
“You can probably guess it. My birthday. Do you remember it?”
“I do.” He pecked at the keys and downloaded the app. All the while, Jesse shadowed him, picking up the boxes and wrappers as Paul installed the cameras at the gate and front and back doors. There were double-stick tape and Velcro options, but he went ahead and screwed the tiny cameras into place. No reason to do a job halfway.
A few more twists of the screwdriver and everything was working. He had the kids ring the doorbell and tested it, then gave Amanda a quick lesson.
“I love this. How handy! Especially if I’m waiting on packages. Thank you.” She walked back over to the stove. “I need about ten more minutes. Then we’ll be ready to eat.”
“Anything I can do?” he asked.
“Not a thing.”
“It smells great. We’ll go outside and stay out of the way until you’re ready.”
She mouthed, “Thank you.” He liked the feeling of being helpful.
“Let’s go. All three of you.” He ran behind Denali, giving the lazy dog a little encouragement to go outside.
The yard was small, but they still had a decent amount of space to play in. It was nice that the entire property was fenced in.
Hailey tugged on Paul’s arm. “Paul?”
“Yeah, Lightning Bug?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“Okay, sure.” He stooped down to get to her level. “What’s up?”
Her mouth moved from side to side. “I think this is going to make you really sad.”
“Oh no.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m ready.”
She wiggled a finger, begging him in closer. “Daddy is in heaven.” She placed her hand on his shoulder.
Paul took in a quick breath.
“We don’t talk about it much, but I know you love him too. He’s not coming back. We miss him a lot.” She placed her hand on his arm. “You’re gonna be really sad for a while like us.”
“I am.” He patted his chest. “It breaks my heart, but thank you for telling me.”
“It’s okay. I’m here for you, and Jesse will make you laugh.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s really good at that.”
“You are very grown-up. Anybody ever tell you that?”
“Mom says it all the time.”
“I bet she does. You’re extra special.”
“You are too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck so tight he had to lift his chin up to get a good breath, but he’d have given up breathing completely for this moment. He sucked back a sob that hung in his throat.
“It’s okay to cry if you need to.”
He pressed his fingers to his nose. “Thank you.”
“Daddy told me to be a good girl when he left. I’m doin’ my best, but it’s not always easy.”
“I bet you are. Guess what! I have a surprise for all of us tonight.”
She let go of his neck. “I love surprises.”
Amanda stepped out onto the stoop. “Come on. Dinner’s ready.”
Jesse led the way, with Denali on his heels. He was the first one in his chair, sitting high in his booster seat. Paul took the spot between Hailey and Amanda.
“Macaroni and cheese.” Paul’s head lolled back. “I’d forgotten until this second how much I used to love your homemade mac ’n’ cheese.”
“It’s my favorite,” Jesse said.
They enjoyed the panfried ham, macaroni and cheese, and fresh tomato-cucumber salad over silly conversations about cartoons, shells on the beach, and bugs they’d collected in the backyard.
“This dinner was great.” Paul rubbed his belly. “Are you full too?” he asked Jesse, who rubbed his belly in response. “We better clean up the dishes and the kitchen so we can get ready for fun!”
“What are you up to, Paul Grant? You’re keeping secrets from me now?” Amanda teased.
“Not really a secret. More like a surprise.”
“Oh, well that’s totally different.” Amanda looked over at Hailey, who seemed to agree. “I love surprises.”
“I need something from the store, though. Could we…all three of us…get you to run to the store? We have something else we need to do out here while you’re gone.”
“I see. Running me out of my own house?” She looked over at Hailey and Jesse, who were practically bouncing with excitement. “You sure you can handle these two?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can y’all take care of Paul while I’m gone?” Amanda reached for her purse.
“Absolutely,” Hailey said, so mature for her age.
“I’ll help,” Jesse added.
“Okay, okay,” Amanda said, pretending to concede. “I’ll play along.”
Paul scanned the room, then clicked his fingers. “I need a pen and paper.”
“Junk drawer, by the refrigerator,” Amanda said, pointing toward the kitchen.
He opened the drawer and took out a pen and a tiny rectangular hot-pink notepad. “Um, couldn’t spare something bigger than this to write on?”
“How long is your list?”
“Not long. I’ll make it work.” He turned around to write, then folded the sheet into a postage stamp size. “Don’t open that until you’re in the store.”
“Why?”
“So it’ll be a surprise for you too. Do I have to tell you everything?”
“Apparently.” Amanda lifted her keys from the hook next to the back door. “I’ll be back in a jiff.” She lifted a finger toward Jesse. “You be good for him, okay?”
Once Amanda had shut the door behind her, Paul grabbed Hailey and Jesse each by a hand and ran toward the front window, ducking down to peer over the windowsill. “Let’s make sure she’s gone, and then we’ll get started. But we’ll have to work fast.”
He watched as she got into her car and pulled away from the front of the house onto the street.
“Move out,” Paul said. “To my truck.” Paul lifted a big bag over the bed of the truck, then handed an extension cord and white Christmas lights to Hailey and Jesse to carry.
He made quick work of putting up the tent. Not one you sleep in but more the party kind with netting to keep out the mosquitoes. Then he plugged in the extension cord and ran it over to drape twinkle lights around the edge.
In his truck, he also had nine blocks. He carried them over about six feet from the tent and put them in a circle. “You two, go collect twigs and place them inside the blocks here.” He propped a couple of large branches in the middle to get them started.
“Are we having a campfire?”
“We are!”
Jesse’s mouth dropped open. “I’ve wanted to do that my whole life!”
The kids were so excited you’d have thought Paul had put Santa inside the tent too.
“She’s back! She’s back!” Hailey yelled as she ran from the front gate, where she’d been posted on lookout.
“We’re ready.” He gathered them and they all three sat inside the tent. It was starting to get dark, so the twinkle lights were beginning to really show up.
“Would you look at this!” Amanda came around the corner and stopped short of the tent. “This is beautiful. Look at how busy you were while I was gone. Wow!”
“Do you like it, Mommy?” Jesse danced at her side.
“I do. I think you’re going to really like what Paul had me pick up too.”
“What is it?” Hailey asked.
“Guess,” she said.
Paul watched their interactions with pleasure.
“Turtles?” Jesse looked hopeful.
“Nope.”
“More lights. Colored ones!”
Hailey’s guess should’ve been no surprise.
Amanda lifted up the shopping bag, then tugged out a giant bag of marshmallows. “S’mores!”
“No way!” Hailey clenched her hands into fists. “Oh my gosh. This is the best night ever.”
“We collected sticks for a fire and everything,” Jesse said.
“Okay, and there’s still more.” Paul went inside and brought the yellow bag out with him. “When it gets dark, we’re going ghost crabbing.” He handed out headlamps and buckets with matching shovels to everyone. “Amanda, you can be in charge of the net. It even has a light on it.”
“My. This is quite an adventure.”
The kids raced around the yard, wearing their headlamps, and Paul and Amanda sat in the tent.
“This is a lot of work. Thank you. It’s really nice.”
“You seem off. Did something happen while you were out?”
“Yeah. It’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
“I don’t know why I’m letting it bother me.” She let out a huff, then looked him square in the eye. “I ran into one of the wives from base at the store. She’s here vacationing for the week. She made a comment about us spending time together.”
Paul grimaced. “I mentioned it to Scottie when I saw him. He must have said something. That got around fast. I’m sorry.”
She lifted her hand to stop him. “No. We’re friends. It’s fine. It’s just the way she said it. I felt so…”
The look on her face weighed on him. Why did people have to be so judgy? And what if they were more than friends? It’s what he wanted more than anything. Please don’t shut down on me now. “She’s a pot stirrer. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Maybe.” Amanda shrugged, but the mood still hung over her. “What would Jack think? I wonder.”
“I think he’d be glad you’re smiling. Or you were. I think he’d be glad we’re renewing a friendship that meant the world to all three of us. He’s not here to take care of you. I think he would trust me with this.” He hated the fact that one little comment had made Amanda second-guess things.
“Is it duty? Honor? Is this some kind of secret Marine code, you being here?” Her jaw pulled taut. “You don’t have to do that.”
“No, no. You’re my best friend. I want to be here. You make me happy. Don’t let this ruin our night. Come on. We all need this. Life is good.”
“It does feel good, but does that make it right?”
“Something brought us back together. I think this is meant to be.”
“What is this?” She gestured between them.
“I don’t know. I know what I want it to be, but I don’t want to scare you away.”
“I’m already scared.”
“Don’t be. Please don’t overthink it.” He took her hand. “Relax. It’s time to ghost crab.” He turned on his headlamp, then reached over and flipped on hers too. “Let’s gather the troops.”
Her smile sent an encouraging rush through him.
“Fall out, woman!”
Amanda scrambled out of the tent, and Hailey and Jesse ran over, almost out of breath. “Are you two ready to go?”
“Yes. Gather the pails. The net. Onward to the beach!” Paul bellowed.
They marched in single file over the dune to the beach. “Left, right, left.”
For an hour they ran and danced in the damp sand, watching for the crabs to pop out so they could swoop them up and put them in the buckets. As it turned out, Hailey was better at it than any of them. Finally, they dumped all the buckets and watched the crabs scuttle sideways across the sand for safety.
“That was fun! I was the best!” Hailey cheered.
“You were very good. A natural.” Amanda placed a pretend crown on Hailey’s head. “Miss Ghost Crab.”
Hailey curtsied. “Now what?”
“S’mores time,” Paul said. “Back to headquarters.”
After s’mores, the kids wanted to bring their pillows and blankets out and sleep in the tent.
He pointed at the fabric stretched overhead. “This is really more of a picnic tent to keep the mosquitoes off us while we play. I tell you what. I’ll bring my sleeping tent over someday and we’ll do a campout. Deal?”
“Okay.”
Amanda tucked them in, and he waited outside by the fire.
She came out to sit with him. “Jesse was asleep before they finished the prayer. It was a pretty awesome day. Thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome. I had fun too.”
He put another marshmallow on the roasting stick, twisting it over the flames until it was golden brown, and offered it to her.
“Thanks.” She pinched her fingers around it and bounced it in her hand. “It’s hot.” She blew on it, then nibbled at the crispy edges. “Some things are yummy no matter how old you get.”
“I know.” He puffed the flames off another marshmallow and ate that one himself. I can’t leave here with you second-guessing us. I want to be more than friends. Fear knotted in his gut as he sat there staring into the fire, hoping for the right words. After a long silence, he put down his stick and grabbed Amanda gently by the hands. “I’m sure this seems abrupt, but we were so close before.”
“We were.”
“I’m so sorry I haven’t been there for you all along. I wish I’d fought to stay and help even when you pushed me away, but I needed the time. I wouldn’t have been useful no matter how good my intentions were at that point.”
“I wasn’t ready for it either.”
“All I’ve thought about is you. This whole time what made me know I had to change…” He swept a hand through his hair. “I got reckless, Amanda. You are all that kept me from self-destructing. In my heart I knew I couldn’t give up. It was always you and Hailey and Jesse.”
“I’m glad you’re safe, but that doesn’t have anything to do with me. I mean, I’m selfishly happy you’re not in the Marines anymore and are going to do something else now.”
“Amanda, it has everything to do with you.”
She stared at him. Obviously, none of what he said was making sense.
“I never thought about you as anything but my best friend’s wife and my best friend as long as Jack was alive. I loved him like a brother, but, Amanda, you stole my heart the first night I met you. When you leaned in while we were dancing and told me your name, I thought to myself, This woman is special.”
“You’re sweet, but—”
“No, no buts. Jack knew, but we had one priority back then: Marine Corps to the core.”
Her mind reeled, replaying moments from the past. From before she’d married Jack.
“When I came home and you and Jack were a couple, I was torn apart, but he was my best friend. I looked high and low for a woman just like you. Like Jack’s Amanda. There isn’t another Amanda that I could ever find. Everyone I dated I compared to you. But you’re the best, Amanda.”
She laughed, and that hurt his feelings.
How could she think this was funny? But then he recognized the nervousness in her laugh. For Pete’s sake, this is coming out of the blue. Slow down.
He laughed at himself. “I’m sorry. Okay, that was a lot to throw on you, and it sounds crazy and might even be. I’m not here expecting a declaration of love or anything, but I do want to be in your life. I want to be there for you and the kids.” He stopped and took a breath. “Sorry. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not us. I mean me. I know you need time, but please let me be there for you.”
He sat there baring his soul. “Please give me a chance. We can take it as slow as you need to. Let’s see what happens.”
Her eyes lowered and she bowed her head.
Afraid she was going to say something he didn’t want to hear, he filled the silence. “Amanda, if there’s one thing I’ve learn
ed, it’s that there are no coincidences. We ended up in the same town. That has to mean something.”
She raised her chin, hope in her eyes, a smile on her lips.
He sighed. “I probably should let you get to bed too.” The last thing he wanted was to rush her or mess it up.
“I am bushed. It was a lot of fun, though.” She stood, chuckling. “Thanks so much, and thanks for not letting me allow that old gossip to get the best of me. You’re right, she always did like to stir the pot.”
“Let’s trust the right things will happen. Enjoy every day and then do it again.”
“That sounds really good.”
He extinguished the fire and rolled up the extension cord to be sure no one would trip on it. “Do you mind if I leave up the tent? I thought it might be nice for y’all to enjoy over the summer.”
“Yeah, I can put a couple of chairs in there. We can stargaze. You always liked that.”
“That would be really nice.” He walked over to the gate.
He could hear her phone ping, just as it should when the gate opened. He turned and she gave him a delighted thumbs-up.
“Sweet dreams,” he said.
Her arresting smile tempted him. She’d be in his tonight. He looked up into the sky.
I love this woman. Please let her be mine…forever.
23
Amanda pulled in front of Maeve’s house. She leaned over to the back seat. “You two, stay put. I’ll just be a minute,” she said to Hailey and Jesse, then got out of the car.
She had been pleasantly surprised by the phone call from Maeve this morning. It was nice to be able to do something for her. She’d been such a sweetheart to Amanda since they’d moved here.
Dressed in a flowing pink sundress, Maeve looked like Mother Earth coming down the stairs.
“You look so pretty,” Amanda said.
“Well, it’s a very special occasion. I can’t wait to meet the two newest residents of Whelk’s Island.”
“It’s so exciting.” Amanda helped Maeve into the car.
The trip to Kimmy and Nate’s house was shorter than she’d anticipated. Apparently, Becky had been expecting them, because she was already on the front porch, waving when they pulled into the driveway.