She came back into the kitchen and continued putting things away in the fridge. “Nothing. Everything is fine.”
“Maybe I should ask Will.”
“Go right ahead. He’ll tell you the same thing.” Or at least she hoped he would.
“Or maybe I’ll just mention something to Josh.”
Amy spun around to see a grin on Lance’s face. She pointed a finger at him. “Don’t stir up trouble where there is none.”
He looked like he was going to say something more but wasn’t given a chance because Isabella skipped into the room, Will right behind her.
“Night,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Amy’s hips. “See you tomorrow.”
“You bet.” Amy gave the girl a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Be good for your dad.”
“Amy, if you need me to do anything else, just give me a call,” Will said.
She nodded and smiled, aware of Lance’s attention on them. “Don’t forget to shave your legs.”
Laughing, Will took Isabella’s hand. As they left the kitchen, he looked back, winked at her and said, “Never in a million years.”
Lance didn’t say anything further about Will as they finished putting away the groceries. “Well, I know it’s early, but I’m going to close up down here and call it a night. I need to spend some time with Jessa.”
“I’ll take care of getting Julia to bed if you’d like.”
“That would be great.” He paused. “I’m a little worried about Jessa and these contractions she keeps having. We’re going to the doctor tomorrow though, so hopefully they can tell if it’s something we need to be more concerned about.”
“I’ll be praying that it’s nothing more serious than Braxton Hicks.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a one arm hug around hershoulders before heading to the hallway to lock up the front.
It took a while, but finally, the little girl had said goodnight to her dad, was satisfied with the number of stories read and was no longer thirsty. Amy let out a sigh when she closed the door of Julia’s room behind her. She made her way to her own room, and even though it wasn’t super late, she got ready for bed herself. Once she was in her pajamas and comfortable on the bed, she called Sammi.
“I can’t believe you agreed to go out with him,” Sammi said after Amy had shared the events of the day.
Amy leaned back against her pillows and stared up at the circle of light on the ceiling cast by the bedside lamp. “Tell me about it. Ever since I did,I’ve gone back and forth a million times on whether it was a smart idea or a dumb one. You probably think it’s a dumb one.”
“Not at all. I’m just surprised that you agreed. I don’t suppose you told him anything about how you really feel about him, did you?”
“I’m not quite sure how I should have broached that conversation.” Amy sighed. “Guess I could have just said, ‘Oh, by the way, I had a huge crush on you when I was fifteen and believed you were the man God wanted me to marry.’ That might have sent him running in the opposite direction.”
“You do plan to tell him at some point though, don’t you? It certainly is a dynamic in your relationship with him.”
“I guess. I haven’t had much chance to think about it. He shocked me when he asked me for a date. I didn’t have time to think about a response.” Amy thought back to that moment and couldn’t hold back a smile. “Actually, I think he kinda shocked himself, too.”
“Where do you think it’s going to go?” Sammi asked.
“No clue. I told him that I don’t date lightly and that I hadn’t planned to settle permanently here.” Amy sighed. “Maybe I should havejust said no.”
“Too late now,” Sammi pointed out. “So don’t focus onthe maybe’s and what if’s. I actually think it’s better this way. At least you know he’s interested in you. That’s not going to be something you have to keep wondering about.”
Will is interested in me. Will is interested in me!Amy could hardly believe the words that kept going around in her mind. The sixteen year old inside her was positively dancing with joy. She closed her eyes and curled onto her side. For a moment she was able to forget the past hurt. Forget Delia. Forget everything but the look on his face when he’d told her he wanted to go out with her. Could it really be this easy? Had the hope of her sixteen year old heart just been deferred a few years?
“Are you going to give him a chance?” Sammi asked.
Amy let out a long sigh. It would be stupid not to, but could she keep all the memories and fears at bay? Instead of sharing those weightier concerns, she decided to voice a lesser concern to Sammi.
“Is it weird? The fact that one of his sisters is married to my brother and another to my cousin?”
