by Debby Mayne
That was all it took for Amanda. “Sure, bring Timmy over. I’ll watch him. Rosemary called last night and said Harold wants to see him, anyway.”
“Perfect!” Lacy jumped up and carried her mug to the sink. “Timmy loves Gramps.”
Amanda grinned. “Happy I can help.”
When she arrived at her shop, Amanda did all her opening tasks. A bicycle group came in for goggles and water bottles, but then she found herself alone. Normally during quiet times, Amanda busied herself with ordering and other business matters, but today she felt antsy.
Finally, Brad, Lacy, and Timmy arrived, with Timmy taking the lead. “Where’s Gramps?”
“He’ll be here soon,” she said. “I hear he’s excited about seeing his little treasure-hunting buddy.”
Timmy beamed. “He told Daddy he has a surprise for me.”
“He did?” Amanda had no idea what it was, but she had no doubt it would be perfect.
Lacy stepped up to the counter and got her attention. “We’re leaving now, okay?”
“When will you be back?” Amanda asked.
Lacy turned to Brad, who shrugged. “An hour or so? We’ll call if we’re any later.”
Amanda thought for a moment then offered a nod. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, Timmy?”
Rather than answer her question, Timmy pointed to a skateboard display. “I want one of those.” He turned to his dad. “Will you buy me a dark blue skateboard?”
Brad tilted his head forward and gave Amanda a look of pure exasperation; then he turned back to Timmy. “When you’re a little older.”
Timmy scowled at his dad, so Amanda took charge. “That’s something you can look forward to, Timmy! I have a friend who can teach you all the tricks, when you’re…” She glanced up at Brad and mouthed the word “seven.”
Brad nodded. “Seven,” he said.
With his forehead furrowed and his lips pursed, Timmy thought it over for a moment. “That’s a long time.”
Amanda grinned at him and leaned forward. “It seems like a long time now, but time will go by faster than you can say boo.”
Lacy headed for the door. “C’mon, Brad, let’s go.”
He followed her as he waved to his son. “We’ll be back soon. Have fun!”
After they left, Amanda tried to think of something to entertain Timmy and was relieved when she spotted Jerry’s SUV pull around the corner. “Hey, Timmy, I think Gramps is due to arrive any minute.”
Chapter Seventeen
Jerry and his parents walked into the shop, all of them smiling. Timmy ran straight to Harold and flung himself full-throttle into the elderly man’s arms. Jerry reached out to stop him, but Harold managed to sidestep him and catch Timmy at the same time. Amanda was impressed by his strength.
“Gramps!” Timmy hugged him tight. “I missed you so much!”
Amanda saw the misty look in Harold’s eyes. “I missed you, too, little guy. Are you having a fun summer?”
Timmy leaned back and frowned. “Summer’s almost over. I have to go back to school soon.”
“Yes,” Harold acknowledged, “but you’ll be a first-grader, not a kindergartner anymore.”
Timmy’s frown quickly turned into a smile. “I’ll be one of the big kids at school.”
Rosemary lifted her finger, and Amanda turned to her. “I need Jerry to take me somewhere. Do you mind if I leave Harold here?”
“Of course not.” Amanda felt that all was right in her world now, so anything was fine. “I’d love for him to hang out here with Timmy and me.”
Jerry winked. “We won’t be gone long. Mom and Dad sold their car before the move, so I’ll be their main mode of transportation for a while—at least until they figure out how to coordinate their errands with the Tropical Gardens Village shuttle.”
“Take your time.” Amanda looked over at Timmy, who was already deep in conversation with Harold. “We’ll be just fine.”
When Jerry and Rosemary slipped out, the only person who noticed was Amanda. Harold turned around. “Where’s my wife?”
“She and Jerry left for a little while.”
He made a face. “I wish they’d told me they were leaving.” Then he turned to Timmy and exaggerated his face even more.
Timmy laughed. “Gramps, you’re so funny!”
Harold made another face, which sent both of them into a fit of laughter. Amanda loved the joy that flooded her shop.
They both made faces at each other for a few minutes and then started up a new conversation, when Harold reminded Timmy about Babe Ruth’s bungalow. Timmy told him his dad had driven him by it and it wasn’t any big deal.
For the next hour, Harold managed to keep Timmy occupied, but eventually lunchtime approached. “I’m starving,” the little boy said. “I want a hamburger.”
“Your daddy said they’d only be gone a little while. I’m sure he’ll be back any minute.”
After another half hour passed and still no Brad, Amanda tried calling Lacy on her cell phone, but there was no answer.
“Call Jerry or Rosemary,” Harold said. “Maybe they’ll bring us something to eat.”
“Let’s wait just a little bit longer before I call them.” Amanda didn’t want to interrupt whatever Jerry and Rosemary were doing. Brad and Lacy lost track of time when they were together, but that wasn’t typical of Jerry. One of the many things she loved about him was that he was responsible.
Another half hour passed. Amanda was annoyed with her sister and Brad because it was their responsibility to contact her, since she was watching Timmy. Timmy had resorted to whining, so Amanda knew she had to do something.
“Want me to call and order a pizza?” she asked.
Timmy frowned. “I already told you I want a hamburger.”
“Want me to go out for some burgers?” Harold offered.
She wasn’t going to take a chance and have Harold go off looking for hamburgers. She didn’t know how well he was acquainted with the area. However, she had no doubt he could look after Timmy for a few minutes—if she didn’t stay gone too long.
Amanda looked at the clock. “It’s lunchtime, and the hamburger place will be packed. Want me to run home and whip up something really quick?”
Harold’s eyes lit up. “Got any peanut butter?”
“I’m pretty sure I do.” She turned to Timmy. “How does peanut butter sound?”
Timmy looked at Harold, who nodded. “I’m pretty sure that’s what the pirates ate,” the older man said.
“I want peanut butter!” Timmy clapped his hands. “We’ll eat pirate food!”
Amanda smiled. Harold definitely had a way with Timmy, which confirmed her instinct to let them stay in the shop while she ran out.
“What do you want me to do if a customer comes in?” Harold asked. “I’m a pretty decent salesman.”
“I can see that. If someone wants to buy something, tell them I’ll be right back. And if the phone rings, you can either let it go to voice mail, or you can just answer it with the name of the shop and take a message.”
Harold offered a clipped nod. “Sounds easy enough.”
Amanda grabbed her handbag and headed for the door, with only a slight hesitation. She’d been put in an awkward situation, and this was the only thing she could think to do.
She ran most of the way home, headed straight for the kitchen, made a half dozen peanut butter sandwiches, grabbed a bag of chips, and tossed them all into a canvas bag. Then she went back to the shop as quickly as she could.
As soon as she opened the door, her heart skipped a beat. Harold and Timmy were nowhere in sight. She dropped the bag on the floor, ran back to the storage area, and knocked on the restroom door. Still no sign of either of them.
Panic quickly gripped her. What had happened? Harold seemed to understand his responsibility with Timmy. Maybe something worse…
She shuddered then closed her eyes to pray about what to do. She picked up the phone and speed-dialed her sister. Lacy didn’t answe
r, so she left a message to call her ASAP. Then she called Jerry. “Your dad… Timmy…they’re gone.”
“What?”
Amanda took a deep breath and started over. “Lacy and Brad still haven’t come back, and Timmy got hungry, and your dad was here entertaining him, and they didn’t want pizza, and I didn’t know what else to do—”
“Whoa, slow down,” Jerry said. “Start over. What happened?”
“That’s just it.” Her voice was tight and high-pitched. “I don’t know. I ran home to get some food, and when I came back, they were gone.”
“Who was gone?”
“Your dad and Timmy.”
“You left my dad and Timmy in the shop while you went home?” Jerry’s voice had a harder edge now, which only made her feel worse.
Panic swelled in her throat. “Yes. And my sister isn’t answering her cell phone.”
“We’ll be right there.” Then the phone went dead.
Amanda called the businesses located on both sides of her shop, but none of them had seen an elderly man and a little boy. She put down the phone, inhaled deeply, and said a prayer for Harold and Timmy to be found safe.
Jerry and his mother made it back to the store within fifteen minutes. She noticed the angry scowl on Jerry’s face and the terror on Rosemary’s. And she couldn’t blame them a bit.
“Why did you leave them alone?” he demanded.
She’d asked herself the same question. “I shouldn’t have. They told me they’d be okay for the few minutes it took me to run home and get food.”
Jerry set his jaw and shook his head. “You know my father’s condition. How could you put him in charge of a little boy? What if—”
Rosemary reached out and squeezed Jerry’s arm. “Stop. It’s too late for blame. We just need to find them and deal with this later.”
“I’ll take one of the bicycles and look for them,” Amanda said.
“No,” Jerry replied. “You’ve done enough damage already. You can stay here while I go looking.” He turned to his mother. “Stay here with Amanda.”
Rosemary tilted her head and lifted a brow. “I’ll stay here so Amanda can help you look.” Her voice had a commanding tone.
Jerry opened his mouth to argue, but he narrowed his eyes and nodded. “Fine. I’ll take the car. Amanda can go on a bike.”
Amanda went to the back, grabbed one of the rental bicycles, and started for the door when Brad and Lacy came walking in with dreamy smiles on their faces. All it took was a couple of seconds before they realized that something wasn’t right.
“Where’s my son?” Brad asked.
“Timmy and my dad are missing,” Jerry blurted.
All the color drained from Brad’s face, and Lacy gasped. Amanda had no doubt her sister was genuinely concerned.
Brad turned to Amanda. “How did that happen?”
Rosemary came to her rescue. “Let’s talk about what happened later. Right now, all of you need to go find my husband and Timmy.”
Everyone exchanged cell phone numbers and set off looking for the missing guys. Amanda headed toward one of the neighborhoods behind the shop. She had a hunch—even though it was a long shot.
She slowly rode up and down the grid of streets flanked by tiny older Florida-style houses. Right when she’d decided to go one more street before turning back, she caught sight of a gray-haired man and a little boy walking hand-in-hand. Her heart flipped as she pedaled faster toward them. When she got within twenty feet of them, they turned to face her, and she realized it was someone else.
“Hi,” the little boy said. “My grandpa and grandma came to see me.”
Amanda felt sick inside. “That’s nice.” She asked if they’d seen another man and little boy. They said they hadn’t, but that if they did, they’d let them know someone wanted to see them.
They waved as she took off to look some more. After a half hour of searching in vain, she gave up and headed back to the shop.
When everyone came back, Jerry pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops before it’s too dark to see.”
Rosemary walked over to the window then turned around. “They’re here.”
“What?” Jerry ran to the window and looked out. “They’re coming up the street on one of your tandem bikes.”
Brad ran outside and started yelling at Timmy and Harold. Amanda wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of her life.
“Timothy Charles Deavers, where have you been?” Brad hollered at Timmy. “We’ve been looking all over Treasure Island for you.”
Timmy’s chin quivered. “I wanted to show him where Babe Ruth used to live, but I can’t find it.”
Harold squinted. “So we went on a little treasure hunt. I think we finally found what we were looking for.”
Brad unsnapped the chin strap on Timmy’s helmet and removed it from the boy’s head. Timmy couldn’t fight back the tears any longer.
Lacy was right behind Brad, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Timmy was obviously shocked at his dad’s anger. Lacy didn’t waste another minute before she threw her arms around Timmy.
“We both wore our helmets,” Harold said. “You should at least be proud of us for that.”
Everyone glared at him, so he hung his head. Rosemary linked her arm in his and patted him on the shoulder. It obviously didn’t make him feel any better.
Amanda stood and watched in amazement as Lacy gently rubbed the little boy’s arm and uttered soothing words until he stopped sobbing. Then Lacy turned to Brad. “Let’s go now. He’s okay.”
She helped him into the backseat before she turned to Amanda. “We’ll discuss this later.” Then she lowered herself into the front seat of Brad’s car, and they took off.
When Amanda turned around and saw the look of despair on Harold’s face, she felt sorry for the man. “Are you okay?” she asked.
He shook his head then looked down at his feet. She knew he felt shame over what had happened, and it took every ounce of self-restraint not to run to him like Lacy had with Timmy. She didn’t want to humiliate him any further.
When she dared a glance in Jerry’s direction, she saw his balled fists at his side. This wasn’t a good time to try to talk to him.
Amanda thanked the Lord for finding Timmy and Harold safe, and then she asked for forgiveness. She never should have left them alone— not even for a minute.
“This isn’t your fault, Amanda,” Rosemary whispered. “My husband knew better than to leave.”
Harold looked up at her with glistening eyes. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Timmy and I were talking about Babe Ruth’s house. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, we were out looking for his house. He said it was right around the corner, and he made it sound like we’d only be gone five minutes. I figured we could get back before you, but when we couldn’t find it, Timmy was so disappointed that I said we could look for treasure instead. We sort of forgot and lost track of time.” He paused and visibly swallowed hard. “I hope you didn’t lose any business because of me.”
“Don’t worry about business,” Amanda said as she tried hard not to notice Jerry’s glowering face. “I’m just glad you and Timmy are okay.” She remembered the food she’d brought back. “I have some peanut butter sandwiches.”
“I’m not hungry. Timmy and I…well, we stopped off and got burgers. I’m really very sorry.”
Jerry stepped in front of his dad. “I need to get my folks back home.” He escorted his parents out the door and left without saying good-bye.
Amanda stood there staring after him, feeling as though the world had ceased spinning. The man she loved had just walked out the door of her shop—and probably her life. She doubted she would ever see him again.
It was late, so she flipped the Closed sign and left. When she got home, she was surprised to see Lacy there.
“You really messed up big-time,” Lacy said. “How could you have been so irresponsible as to leave a five-year-old boy in the care of a se
nile old man?”
That did it. Something inside of Amanda snapped. She turned and glared directly at her sister.
“How can you say such a thing after leaving Timmy for what was supposed to be an hour that turned into three?”
“We said an hour and a half or so.”
“You said an hour. And the least you and Brad could have done was bring Timmy some lunch or at least made arrangements for me to feed him. It was almost two o’clock and the poor kid was starving, so I did what I thought was best and went to get him something to eat. I couldn’t get ahold of you.” Amanda knew her voice was a few decibels higher than normal, but she didn’t care. Lacy had pushed her too far this time.
“He wouldn’t have—”
“Don’t try to make me fully responsible for what happened, Lacy. Yeah, I made a mistake, but if you and Brad hadn’t been so selfish—” Amanda stopped herself and hung her head. “I didn’t mean that.”
“I hope not.” Lacy chewed her lip before gesturing toward the other room. “Let’s go sit down. I have some news.”
Amanda followed Lacy into the living room, where they sat across from each other. “Okay, so what’s the news?”
“Brad and I are getting married. He proposed, so we went to look at rings. That’s why we were so late.” She held out her left hand to show the glittering diamond.
Amanda stared at the ring then looked Lacy in the eyes. “Why didn’t you at least call and tell me you were running late?”
Lacy shrugged. “I forgot.”
“You forgot,” Amanda repeated, as she stood on shaky legs. “Then don’t call me irresponsible. I might have messed up, but at least I didn’t forget about Timmy.” She started for her room before she stopped and turned around. “Another thing, Lacy. Harold isn’t a senile old man. He’s a wonderful person who loves Timmy enough to entertain him while I worked.”
Lacy didn’t say a word. She just splayed her hand in front of her face and stared down at the diamond ring.
