A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn(71)

He had also been delighted to discover that he had much in common with Edward and Kathleen Overholt. He’d found Tricia’s parents to be faithful, kind to their daughter, and a lot of fun, too.

After that first awkward hour, which had involved several minutes of cautious conversation, they’d settled in and ended up having a good time. They had enjoyed the following two evenings as well when they’d begun playing Rook, which had allowed the two families to spend time together without fumbling for conversation. Little by little, Tricia had come out of her shell and Ben had gained his confidence. It soon became obvious that the young couple knew what they were doing.

The night before Edward and Kathleen were to leave, Beverly had invited everyone over to the inn for supper. She’d made a beautiful buffet and served it outside on her back patio. She and Tricia had even strung up white lights around the porch.

It was an evening of fun and laughter. The food had been delicious, but spending time with family and friends had been even better. He’d especially enjoyed watching his eldest fuss over Tricia and become friends with her parents. He’d also liked watching Beverly and her brother. She’d seemed to relish the family time even more than Ben and Tricia.

Now, the wedding preparations were in full swing and just this week Jay had opened the market full-time. Life was busy and full and rich with new experiences—including the knowledge that it had been a very good decision to follow the Lord’s plan and relocate to Sarasota.

The only area he wasn’t sure about was his relationship with Emma. He liked her—he liked her a lot—but he also knew that being “in like” wasn’t enough to build a relationship.

Furthermore, she seemed to be having some of the same misgivings. She’d canceled the last date they’d planned, citing that she needed to be home with the girls. Perhaps that was true. But he also wondered if there was more to it. Which was why he’d told Ben that he would be the one to get William from Emma’s house that afternoon. He wanted to spend some time with Emma and gauge how she was feeling about him.

They were all in the backyard when he arrived, and Frankie alerted the girls to his approach with a happy howl.

“Who’s here, Frankie?” Mandy asked. Then, when she spied Jay, she opened the gate and rushed to him.

“Mandy, don’t leave the backyard!” Emma cried.

“I’m not leaving. I’m lettin’ Jay in,” she called back, then looked up at him happily. “Hiya, Jay.”

Jay knelt down to give Mandy a little hug. “Hello, Miss Mandy. How are you?”

She giggled. “I’m gut. We went on a walk today at school.”

“That sounds like fun. Where did you go?”

“To Yoder’s. A lady there showed us how they make pies.” Her pretty smile turned into a bright, blinding grin. “And guess what?”

“What?” he asked, unable to keep from mirroring her excited expression.

“We got to have pie, too!”

“That sounds mighty special,” he said as he led her into the backyard. “What kind of pie did you have?”

“Peach.”

“Yum.”

“Uh-huh.” She smiled again. “It was yummy.” Then she let go of his hand and ran to where William and Lena were climbing on Emma’s small jungle gym.

And that, Jay decided, was the difference between little girls and boys: His boys would have simply shared that they’d had pie at school and been done with it. But for little girls like Mandy? A walk to Yoder’s, followed by a slice of peach pie?

It was very big news, indeed.

Spying Emma kneeling next to Annie on the ground he walked over to say hello. “What’s going on here?” he asked as he noticed they were both peering into a plastic sand pail.

“We found a frog, Jay,” Annie said. “I’m going to keep him forever.”

After peeking at the little green frog sitting rather forlornly at the bottom of the pail, he teased, “Is that right? Are you hoping he will turn into a prince?”

“Nee. I just want him to be a frog. He likes being a frog, I think.” She looked so intent and serious and sweet that it took everything he had not to press his lips to her brow. Each time he was around Lena, Mandy, and Annie, it seemed that they let him into their hearts just a little bit more. And as they became more comfortable with him, he felt more comfortable reaching out to each of them.

When he turned to Emma, her expression was soft . . . and a touch guarded. He was glad he’d decided to stop by.

“What brings you here this afternoon?” she asked.

He knew he needed to be as honest and direct as possible. “I wanted to get William, but I also wanted to see you, too. I think we need to talk, Emma.”