She laughed, but the feel of Alex's breath on her neck, his shoulder pressed against hers, flustered her and she dropped her fork. Alex retrieved it for her, and his eyes glimmered with the knowledge that they wanted more than a few touches or kisses. She sighed. The idea of a motel room was becoming more and more tempting.
After Doris served strawberry shortcake, Ed stood at his place. "This is probably the best time to tell you our news."
Alex looked perplexed. "What news?"
"We're going to put the house up for sale and, come October, we're moving to Florida."
Silence met his announcement as if no one knew quite what to say. Ed's gaze on his wife, he continued, "We can't take the cold winters as well as we used to."
"But, Dad, it's only for a couple of months--" Alex started.
Ed held up his hand. "It's not just the cold, though that's a big part of it. We really like the senior community we visited down there. We're getting older, son, and I don't want to end up in a rocking chair. We can buy a little bungalow and have activities fifty yards away. They have a dance once a week with the kind of music your mother and I like. So we're going to do it. Of course, we'll come up here and visit you and Kristy, and you and Kristy can come visit us."
"But I won't see you all the time," Kristy complained.
Doris patted her granddaughter's hand. "But when you do see us, it will be special. And you can come down and stay without your dad if you want."
"It's a lot to absorb," Alex said, glancing at his daughter.
He had gone very still beside Amanda, and she could tell by the change in his voice that he didn't welcome this news.
When Ed took his seat again and they continued with dessert, he went on to explain all the advantages of living in a warmer climate. But most of all, he and Doris repeated the merits of being near friends their own age and a community that understood older people's needs.
Alex had become quiet and remote, though Kristy asked tons of questions, and Amanda could see that even she was liking the idea of taking trips to Florida. But as she helped Doris clear the picnic table and load the dishwasher, Amanda could tell that Alex was unsettled. Where before their conversation had been lively, now it drifted into lulls and soon Alex said, "I have some paperwork I have to go over tonight. We'd better go."
After Amanda thanked the Woodsides for their hospitality, Alex drove her home. "Do you want to come in?" she asked Alex, wondering if he needed to talk.
"Can we, Dad? We don't have to stay long," Kristy said.
"Just for a little while."
As the girls ran around to the back yard, he and Amanda followed them more slowly. "You don't like the idea of your parents moving, do you?" Amanda asked.
"It's not a matter of liking," he said. "I just can't imagine them selling the house and leaving behind all the memories that are there."
"They want to try a new life," Amanda responded softly.
"I just hope it's not an impulsive decision they're going to regret. And I've heard horror stories about retirement communities. I'm going to make sure I investigate this one for them. It's too easy to get swindled these days. Besides, Kristy's going to miss them..."
"You'll miss having your mother here to watch her."
He frowned. "Do you think that's all I'm worried about--how this is going to inconvenience me?"
Anger was evident in his tone, and Amanda realized he wasn't ready to admit how much he was going to miss his parents. "Alex, no. But their moving does cause some problems."
"I can hire someone to watch her," he grumbled.
"But it has to be someone you can trust."
She'd wanted to ask him more about Kristy's mother, about his relationship with her and exactly what had happened, but she knew now wasn't the time. They paused along the carport in front of a climbing rose bush. The crimson blooms sent a heady fragrance into the evening air.
He dug his hands into his shorts' pockets. "I'll find out if Mom wants to spend the summer watching Kristy or if she'll be too busy packing."
"Alex..." Amanda said softly, laying a gentle hand on his arm.
"I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm lousy company tonight."
As he gazed down at her, she had no idea what he was thinking--about her, about them. Or if he was thinking about the two of them at all. And when he spoke, his voice was...slightly distant, even guarded. "I'll just get Kristy and we'll go. I'll let you know at the meeting tomorrow about keeping her. And about tutoring...do you think Kristy needs more sessions?"
Amanda shook her head. "I was going to talk to you about that tonight. Her last few worksheets have all been correct. I don't think she needs any more help."
"I want to thank you for everything you've done for her, Amanda."
"No thanks are necessary."
He looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but he didn't. He moved away from her and walked toward the back yard.
Amanda felt as if something had changed between them, something that only Alex knew about, and she would have no idea what it was until he told her.
Chapter Six
On Wednesday, the fifth of July, Alex drove Kristy to the baseball field at the edge of town. The fireworks display had been postponed because of rain the evening before. After he parked on the grass amid rows of cars, they waved and said hello to the people they knew milling about. Alex bought a soda from a concession stand while Kristy decided on cotton candy. Most of the citizens of Cedar Grove had brought blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the annual event.
As Alex spread his blanket on the grass, Kristy tugged on his arm. "Dad, there's Heather and her mom. Let's go sit with them."
Alex hadn't had any contact with Amanda since the Career Day meeting on Sunday. Before the meeting he'd told her that his mother wanted to watch Kristy for the rest of the summer, and that conversation had been brief. During the planning session, Amanda's smile had made his pulse race crazily. But ever since his parents had announced their plans for a change in life style, he'd decided to cool things off with Amanda and think. Something about his parents leaving had opened old wounds. He didn't know why he was equating his parents' departure for Florida with Rhonda walking out of his life. But he was. Life could change faster than the sun could rise, and he wasn't sure he wanted to get involved more deeply with Amanda. Yet that's where they were headed if they kept seeing each other.
As he raised his gaze to find her in the throng of people, he mentally prepared himself for the sight of her. But he wasn't prepared to see her engaged in a animated conversation with...Ted Livingston! His former high school classmate was pointing to something in the distance, and Amanda was smiling and nodding. Heather sat on a blanket beside them, looking none too happy.
So Livingston had made his move! And it looked as if Amanda was glad of it.
Why shouldn't she be? a taunting voice in his head asked. She tried to be friendly before, during and after the meeting at your house, and you were coolly polite.
So polite, he thought, that she'd looked a little hurt when she'd left. He'd told himself that they'd merely shared a few kisses, and it was his right to call a halt if that was what he wanted. Apparently she'd gotten the message clearly.
Capping his daughter's shoulder, he said, "I think Mrs. Carson's busy this evening. Why don't we just sit here and enjoy the fireworks on our own?"
Kristy looked terribly disappointed, but this time there was nothing he could do about it. As he settled on the blanket and urged his daughter to do the same, he purposefully kept his gaze away from Amanda's direction. He was here to enjoy the fireworks, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
***
When the phone rang the night after the fireworks, Amanda and Heather were watching a DVD and dipping into a bowl of freshly-made popcorn. Heather stopped the movie as Amanda went to the kitchen to answer the phone. Part of her still hoped it was Alex every time it rang. But when she picked up the receiver and said hello, the masculine voice didn't belong to the man down t
he street. It belonged to Ted Livingston.
"Hi, Amanda, it's Ted. I just thought I'd call to see if you'd like to go out to a movie this weekend. We could get dinner someplace first--"
She had run into Ted at the fireworks, and he had sat with them to watch the display. During the bursts of light, she couldn't help but imagine sitting there with Alex rather than Ted. Although Kristy was still in and out of the house in the evenings, Amanda hadn't seen Alex since the Career Day meeting, and then he had acted like a polite neighbor, not like the man who had kissed her senseless. He had been sending her the message that whatever they'd shared hadn't meant anything to him. Maybe he'd been friendly to her, more than friendly, to make sure she kept taking care of Kristy while his parents were gone.
She didn't know what to think any more. She felt confused by his attitude, and more than a little hurt. But she'd get over it. Ted didn't make Amanda's heart beat any faster, but he was a nice man. Still, she didn't want to lead him on. "This is a bad week, Ted. I'm taking Heather to summer camp on Sunday, and we're busy getting things organized and just spending time together."
"How long will she be gone?"
"A week."
"Then why don't we do something while she's gone? How about next Friday night? We can go to dinner, catch a movie. What do you think?"
Since her divorce, Amanda hadn't dated at all, and with Alex, they'd hardly even had a real date...alone, just the two of them. She could sit around, moping over Alex's change in attitude, hoping he'd call, but that would be futile. And she would miss Heather next week. Terribly. A date with Ted would give her something to look forward to and help her pass a lonely evening. "All right, Ted. Next Friday night sounds good."
"I'll pick you up around seven. Take care, Amanda. I'll see you then."
When Amanda hung up the phone, she decided she'd just taken her first step in forgetting about Alex Woodsides.
***
The steaminess of a temperature hike into the 90's didn't squelch Heather's enthusiasm for her week at camp. Amanda climbed the ladder and spread her daughter's bedroll over the top bunk in her assigned cabin. "Are you sure you want the top?" she asked Heather.
There were four girls in each cabin. Two of them had already been in and out with their parents and were now heading over to the communal building for orientation. They seemed like nice girls, but Amanda knew Heather was looking forward to Kristy's arrival.
"Kristy wants the bottom bunk, and I like sleeping on top. It'll be neat climbing up and down the ladder."
"Just be careful."
"Please don't say it again, Mom."
Amanda had been giving her daughter safety tips and mentioning "do's and don'ts" for the past week.
Suddenly the screen door on the cabin swung open, and Kristy came barreling in with her sleeping bag. Alex followed close behind with what looked like a heavy duffle bag.
On the ladder, her arms stretched as she smoothed out Heather's bedroll, Amanda felt self-conscious, and she straightened. She couldn't ignore Alex's gaze passing from her feet, up her legs, over her knit top, to her face. And she felt herself blushing. Damn the man. You're on your way to forgetting him, remember, she chided herself.
Kristy tossed her state-of-the-art sleeping bag onto the bottom bunk and sat down beside it. "Isn't this just too cool, Dad?"
He ran his hand across his brow. "Actually, it's pretty hot. Are you sure you're going to be able to sleep at night without air conditioning?"
"I'll be fine, Dad," Kristy told him patiently as if she'd been doing it longer than just today.
Awkwardness filled the cabin as no one spoke. "Hello, Amanda," Alex said.
Finished with fixing the bedroll, she climbed down the ladder carefully. All she needed was to fall on her face in front of him. "Hello, Alex." She didn't have anything else to say, and it was obvious neither did he.
Heather filled the gap. "We'd better get over to the dining hall, don't you think?"
Crossing to the door, Kristy agreed. "Yeah, we don't want to be late."
Amanda picked up the purse she'd laid on Kristy's bunk and followed the two girls out the door. Although Kristy and Heather jabbered about all the things they were going to do for the next week, Amanda and Alex were silent. When they reached the dining hall, she saw that folding chairs had been set up in the empty area in the back of the room. Parents and their children had filled in the rows. Kristy and Heather went ahead and found four chairs. To Amanda's dismay, the girls sat on either end, which left her in the middle with Alex. Both of them made sure no part of their bodies touched.
She had never felt more awkward.
Not a bit of breeze stirred through the long screens, and Amanda's shirt stuck to her back. Feeling perspiration at her temples, she pulled a hair band from her purse, and gathered her hair into a ponytail. With it off of her neck, she felt a little cooler. That helped her composure as her arm accidentally brushed Alex's. Her gaze smacked into his, and her throat suddenly got tight. What had she done wrong? Why was he acting so distant? But those were questions her pride kept her from asking. She looked away, trying to concentrate on bits of conversation floating around her or just the chatter of the children. She wished they'd get the orientation under way. She wasn't anxious to leave Heather, but she would be glad to get this over with and escape Alex's presence.
"We saw you at the fireworks," he suddenly said.
She supposed making small talk would be easier than sitting there in the tension. "Did you? The next day, Heather told me that Kristy was there, but I didn't see you."
"You were busy. With Livingston."
The tone of Alex's voice puzzled her. Certainly, he couldn't be jealous. Yet, if there was the slightest possibility... "We enjoyed the fireworks together."
"I see."
"With Heather gone this week, he thought I'd enjoy going to a movie on Friday. I'm looking forward to it."
Alex gave her a long look, then crossed his arms over his chest and stared straight ahead.
So much for small talk being better than tension!
Finally the activities coordinator stepped up to the microphone. After explaining the daily schedule, rules and regulations, she talked about Parents' Day next Saturday, encouraging all the parents to join in the activities with their children. After asking the parents to take their children back to their respective cabins where they could say good bye, she closed the session.
Back at the cabin, Kristy and Heather met their counselor for the week, and Amanda felt tears prick in her eyes. It was so hard to leave Heather here. But she knew it was good for both of them. Finally when it was time to go, she said, "Use the phone card and call me whenever you want."
"Mom, I'm gonna be busy. Is it okay if I don't call?"
Amanda smiled. "Yes, it's fine."
Amanda saw Alex slipping Kristy some money to tuck away safely. She had already done that. After giving their daughters hugs, she and Alex headed for the parking lot.
She wanted to talk to Alex as she had before. She wanted to tell him how much she was going to miss her daughter. But he didn't seem open to conversation. Still, they weren't strangers, either.
As she motioned to her car, she said, "I'm over there."
He stopped beside her for a moment. "I'm parked at the other end. I guess I'll see you on Parents' Day."
"I guess so." There was nothing else to say, so she walked toward her car until she heard his voice over her shoulder. "Good bye, Amanda."
Facing him, she responded, "Good bye, Alex."
As she opened her car door, she felt very sad. Something had ended, and she didn't know why.
***
Parents' Day at Camp Rocky Top looked like chaos. But Alex realized it was organized chaos. When he arrived a little after noon and received his schedule of events, he realized he'd be paired with his daughter most of the day. That was fine with him. He hoped they didn't run into Amanda too often. Thinking about her dating Ted Livingston made his blood boil. Most of the
day while he kept busy, he could forget about her. Yet at night when he lay in the dark staring at the ceiling, all he could think about was her smile, the softness of her skin, the silkiness of her hair, and the sensual pleasure of her kisses.
But he just wasn't sure he was ready to open himself and Kristy up to the possibility of getting hurt again. What if it didn't work out with him and Amanda? What if she walked away like Kristy's mother had? The price of having a woman in bed beside him every night was just too high to pay.
Kristy led Alex to the field where the relay races were going to take place, and that's when he realized trying to forget about Amanda would be impossible. Apparently the teams were arranged according to the girls' cabins; therefore, he, Kristy, Amanda and Heather were on the same team. He couldn't help glancing at Amanda often. She wore a pink tank top and white shorts that left bare enough leg to more than whet his appetite. She wore her hair in a ponytail again, and the style made her look younger and very desirable. But she didn't look his way whenever he looked in her direction. She was ignoring him, and it annoyed him. Had Livingston kissed her after the fireworks? What about after their date last night? And had she responded with as much fire as with--
That train of thought would drive him crazy. So as best he could, he concentrated on the relay races--first a sprint with a baton, then a three-legged race with a burlap sack. When it came time to toss water balloons, he almost looked forward to getting wet in the afternoon heat. But after a few tosses, the balloon landed at Kristy's feet and neither of them got the benefit of a water splash.
The parents and children had a choice on the next activity. They could either join a group for a nature walk or explore caverns on the west boundary of the property. Kristy wanted Alex to see the caves she'd toured earlier in the week. And as they began their trek across the softball field, Amanda and Heather joined their group. Three counselors led them at an easy pace.
As they walked, Kristy gave Alex a play-by-play of everything she had seen and done that week. When he glanced at Heather talking animatedly to Amanda, not far behind them, he guessed that she was doing the same. It was obvious the girls had had a terrific time. This camp had been a good choice, and he owed Kristy's successful week to Amanda's persistent avowal that lots of money didn't always buy the best.
When Mom Meets Dad Page 8
