Sarasota Dreams (39 page)

“Peter, I don’t need to explain anything to you.”

“But we had something special.”

She had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep her anger in check. “So special you could get engaged to someone else, leaving me wondering what I did wrong?”

“Nothing, Shelley.” He held her gaze for an uncomfortable moment. “You did nothing wrong. I want you back in my life.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Where is Clara?”

His jaw tightened for a split second, and then he forced a smile. “She moved back to Pennsylvania. I—I chose not to go with her.”

His confession solidified her opinion of him. “It is too late for us. I don’t want to be with someone I can’t trust.”

“I am so sorry, Shelley. After I realized you and William were a package deal, I wasn’t sure we were meant to be together.” He looked down at the floor and then back up at her with sadness.

Shelley lifted her eyebrows in shock. “Are you saying you lost interest in me because of William? My little brother?”

He nodded with a look of contrition. “I know I was wrong. William is okay. It’s just that—”

“You absolutely were wrong.” Shelley knew for certain that there was no way she’d ever want to be with Peter now. William was a wonderful human being who would never do anything to hurt anyone. “My brother is the sweetest person I know, and he makes you look like—”

Peter’s attention suddenly shifted to something behind her. She spun around and saw Jeremiah behind the wheel of a bright-red sports car as he pulled to a stop in front of the restaurant.

“I thought he decided he didn’t need a car,” Peter said with a smirk. “Is that what he told you?”

Shelley nodded. She’d half expected him to give in to his desire for another automobile, but she didn’t think it would be one like he was now driving. It certainly hadn’t taken him long to fall back to his old ways.

She turned around and looked at Peter, who continued standing in front of her smiling. “I’ll give you some time to think about us, Shelley, and I’ll be back later.”

“No, Peter. I’ve done all the thinking I need to do about us.”

“Think some more.” With that, he didn’t waste another second before striding toward the door.

Without turning around she knew that as Peter left, Jeremiah came inside. His footsteps were soft, but she saw his shadow as he approached.

Jeremiah didn’t speak right away, so Shelley slowly turned to meet his silent gaze. “Hi, Jeremiah.”

He smiled at her, but she couldn’t hide her disappointment. His smile quickly faded. “I just wanted to find out what’s going on with us.”

Shelley’s breath caught in her throat, so she took a step away from Jeremiah to place some distance between them. “With us?”

Jeremiah nodded. “Yes. With us.” He shuffled his feet and glanced around the restaurant before settling his gaze back on her. “And between you and Peter.”

“I’ll answer your last question first. There is nothing going on between Peter and me.”

He visibly relaxed. “That’s not how it looked, but if you say nothing is going on, I believe you.”

“Do you really?” she asked.

“I’m trying.” He looked down at her with a closed-mouth grin.

“Now for your first question, that’s not quite so simple. I’m not even sure I understand the nature of it.”

“C’mon, Shelley, you know how I feel about you.”

She thought she knew, but after assuming Peter’s intentions, she wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. “I’m not positive how you feel, Jeremiah.”

“I feel … well, I feel like you and I get along really well, and I like being with you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. “No, I take that back. I
love
being with you. When I’m with you, I feel like I can do anything.”

Shelley had to try hard not to smile. She’d been hoping Jeremiah felt this way, but there was still the one issue of her parents not approving. She suspected if she could get her mother to come around, her father might follow.

“Well?” he asked. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

She lifted her hands to her sides. “I’m not sure what to say, Jeremiah. But honestly, this probably isn’t the best place to discuss it.”

“What time are you getting off today?”

“Soon. I’m waiting for Mrs. Penner to arrive.”

“I’ll wait.” He sank down in the chair directly behind him.

“But first,” she said slowly, “where did you get that car? Is it yours?”

He looked at her and then cast his gaze downward. “No … well, at least not yet. I’m thinking about getting a new set of wheels, and that car just happened to be sitting in the car lot, and I—”

At least he hadn’t yet bought the car. Relief flooded Shelley before she considered the fact that she didn’t have the right to approve or disapprove of what automobile Jeremiah drove. Or if he even drove one at all.

“What do you think?” he asked softly.

“Does it matter what I think?”

“Yes, of course it does.”

Shelley folded her arms and shook her head. “I didn’t think you’d be able to resist buying a car, but I have to admit I’m disappointed in the one you chose.”

“Too flashy, huh?” His expression was contrite and rather impish.

“Ya. It’s very flashy. But who am I to cast judgment?”

“I value your opinion, Shelley. If you think the red car is wrong for me, I won’t buy it. It’s really not that important.”

“Then why are you driving it?” She paused before adding, “How important is any car? I thought you were doing just fine without one.”

“I guess I have been. It’s just that …” He lifted his hands and let them slap his thighs. “I don’t know. I came in here and saw you and Peter, and it was frustrating.” He hung his head and looked back at her with soulful eyes. “I just reacted.”

“That is a concern, Jeremiah. Reactions from bad emotions often involve bad decisions. What happens when something really awful happens? What will your reaction be then?”

Jeremiah grew pensive and rubbed his chin. “That’s a good point, Shelley. I suppose I’ve been reacting all my life.”

Shelley knew that. Jeremiah had a tremendous number of good qualities, but the one bad thing about him negated much of the positive. “You need to practice self-restraint.”

“I’m working on it.”

“I’m sure it takes time.”

Jeremiah didn’t respond to her last comment. Instead, he gestured toward the door. “Okay, so I probably won’t buy the car, but would you like to go for a ride in it before I bring it back?”

She glanced outside at the shiny red car that held no appeal for her. “No, I’d better not.”

Jeremiah sensed that he’d taken a step back in his quest to pursue Shelley, simply by showing up in a sports car. He wanted to kick himself a thousand times for not thinking through his decision to stop by during his test-drive. He knew he needed to do something to salvage even a shred of hope to see her again.

“I’m returning the car now, and I’ll take the bus home.” He took a couple of steps toward the door, stopped, and turned back to face Shelley. “I’m fine without my own wheels. It’s just fun sometimes to drive a car like that.” Why did he have to keep talking? That last statement eliminated anything he’d done to improve his situation. “But it means absolutely nothing to me.”

Shelley grinned at him as though she understood. “I’m sure that’s not the case, or you wouldn’t be so excited about driving it.”

He figured he’d better quit before he dug any deeper. “I’m still returning it. Can we talk soon?”

“Yes, that would be good.” Shelley took a step back. “Come back tomorrow.” She spun around and was barely past the kitchen door when the bell on the door jingled.

“Jeremiah, what are you still doing here?” The sound of Peter’s voice grated Shelley.

“I was just leaving,” Jeremiah replied.

Shelley hovered behind the kitchen door, trying to decide what to do. Mr. Penner approached and startled her.

“What is going on, Shelley?” he asked. “You look pale.”

“N–nothing. I was just checking to see if Mrs. Penner was here yet.”

“She should be here any minute. If you need to leave now—”

“Neh!” Shelley swallowed hard after her sudden outburst. “Sorry, but I can wait for her to arrive.”

He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he regarded her. “Is there something I need to know about?” He leaned past her, opened the door to the dining room a couple of inches, and peeked. “Oh, I see the problem. You don’t want to leave with Peter, is that right?”

Shelley nodded. “I know I shouldn’t worry you with my personal concerns, but I had no idea he was coming back.”

“What happened to Clara?”

She explained what she knew. Mr. Penner made a face. “Sounds to me like he wants everything his way.”

“I don’t know the details about what happened between him and Clara, but I do know that I am no longer interested in him.”

“Then tell him you want to go home alone. I’ve found that it’s always best to be direct.”

“I already told him that, but it doesn’t seem to matter,” Shelley replied. “Would you like for me to talk to him?”

“Neh, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Mrs. Penner arrived from the back. “It doesn’t look terribly busy today,” she said. “Why don’t you go on home now, Shelley? I can take over from here.”

Shelley glanced back at Mr. Penner, who nodded. “Have one more talk with Peter, and let him know that in no uncertain terms you aren’t interested in a relationship with him anymore.”

Mrs. Penner planted her fists firmly on her hips and glared first at her husband then at Shelley. “What’s the matter with Peter? He’d make some girl a fine husband.” She frowned for a moment. “Wait a minute. I thought he was engaged to Clara.”

“Why don’t you run along, Shelley?” Mr. Penner said. “I’ll explain everything to my wife.”

Happy to be let off the hook, Shelley removed her apron, grabbed her tote, headed for the back door with only a brief hesitation, and left. She made it nearly a block before she heard Peter’s voice behind her.

“Wait up, Shelley. I’ll walk you home.”

“That won’t be necessary, Peter.” She quickened her pace, but he caught up with her.

Peter laughed. “You’re very independent, as always. I hope Jeremiah doesn’t hold on to this silly notion that you would ever be interested in him.”

“That’s not your concern, Peter.”

“Oh, but I think it is. I already told you I made a mistake, and I want to make it up to you. I feel terrible that I hurt you.”

“People get hurt all the time. I’m over it.”

“I stopped by and saw your mother this morning,” Peter said.

Shelley stopped and turned to face Peter. “Why did you do that, Peter?”

“Calm down, Shelley. I care about you and your family, and I thought it would be the right thing to do.”

“The right thing to do is leave me alone. You made your feelings for me and my family very clear when you became engaged to Clara. Now let things be.”

Peter looked down at the sidewalk and then lifted his gaze to hers. “I can’t, Shelley. I’m not getting any younger, and I need a wife.”

“Oh, so that’s it.” She tried to hold back the sarcasm, but it erupted anyway. “You think it’s time to get married, and you figured I’d be an easy catch.”

“No, that’s not it at all.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “You are the ideal woman for me, Shelley. You’re everything I want in a wife, and I plan to marry you.”

“You should have felt that way months ago. It’s too late now.”

“I don’t think so. Your mother told me she would welcome me into the family.”

Shelley felt fury well in her chest. “You told my mother you wanted to marry me?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Yes, I feel it’s important to make my intentions clear from the beginning—especially after what happened before. I don’t believe in hiding anything.”

“You should have asked me first.” She started walking again but not as quickly as before. “Now I think you should turn around and leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that, Shelley. I promised your mother I would join your family for dinner.”

“You what?” The shrieking sound of her own voice startled her, so she steadied herself before continuing. “You have no business doing that, Peter. I do not want to marry you.”