Huntington Family Series Read online

  She sighed and propelled herself off her plaid couch to the phone lying on the kitchen table. The number came to her without difficulty, though she hadn’t dialed it for months.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Savvy. It’s me, Amanda.” She returned to the couch and sat down.

  “Amanda! I just about thought you’d dropped off the face of the earth. Where’ve you been?”

  “I bought a house in Pleasant Grove. I decided it was time to put down some roots and quit waiting for Mr. Right to appear and sweep me off my feet.”

  Savvy gave a little groan. “Don’t I know it!”

  “Hey, you’re what—barely nineteen? You’re too young to think like that.”

  “I know, I know. It’s not like I want to get married—I’m really into my studies right now. But it would be nice to want to marry the guy who’s asking.”

  “Someone asked you to marry him?”

  Savvy giggled. “Actually three guys did—from my ward. It’s like it’s a contest or something to see who can get married first. They don’t seem to even care that I’m carrying an extra ten or fifteen pounds.”

  Amanda snorted. “That’s because it’s in all the right places!” Savvy had always been a little weight conscious, but her rounder curves went perfectly with her sunny disposition.

  “You always did know how to cheer me up.”

  “Well, I called to see if you want to go dancing. Tomorrow, maybe.” There. If Savvy said yes, she wouldn’t be able to go out with Blake even if he did call.

  “Tomorrow? Oh, I’d really love too, but I can’t. They’re having a family dinner at my uncle’s, and I’m invited. Apparently, there’s going to be a special announcement. You’d think they could wait until the end of the month when we’re all together for Thanksgiving, but no, it has to be now. I think it’s Tanner and Heather’s announcement, since he’s the one who made me promise to go. My guess is that Heather’s pregnant. They’ve been married almost a year now.”

  Tanner with a baby? Only last year had Amanda envisioned what their child might look like, hers and Tanner’s. Just as she’d dreamed of their wedding and becoming a part of his family. Now he and Heather were having a baby. She waited for the familiar sadness to envelope her, but she felt only happiness for her old boyfriend. “That’s really great,” she said. “I know Tanner’s been waiting a long time for this. I bet he’s in seventh heaven.”

  “You can say that again. That’s why it’s not really a secret. Those two are going around acting like crazy idiots, slinging names at each other out of the blue. Would you believe Tanner actually suggested Zebediah? Heather couldn’t stop laughing.” Savvy paused, abruptly more serious. “You’re okay with this, aren’t you, Amanda? I mean, with the way things worked out?”

  Amanda didn’t know how she couldn’t be okay with it. After all, the choice hadn’t really been hers. She had seen plainly that Tanner was in love with Heather, and she couldn’t bear to be second-best. “Yeah, it’s fine,” she said. “I’m really happy for them. Tanner’s a wonderful guy, and Heather’s perfect for him.”

  “I’m glad you think so, because I was beginning to worry that we wouldn’t be friends anymore because of him. You haven’t really responded to any of my invitations since you stopped dating Tanner, and then you moved, and I didn’t know how to reach you.”

  “I’ve been really swamped this past year,” Amanda said. “And I’ll be honest, it did take me some time to get on with my life, you know. I mean, Tanner wasn’t the right guy for me, but it’s still hard to be alone. I’m almost twenty-five and all my friends are married and having children.”

  “And that’s another strange thing. Tanner thinks you are married. I knew you wouldn’t get married without telling me, but he was so sure.”

  Amanda smiled. She hadn’t told Tanner she was getting married, just that dating him had made her understand her feelings for Gerry. And it had. She’d learned she couldn’t marry someone she didn’t love at least as much as she loved Tanner. “Well, I was dating someone, but that didn’t work out,” she said to Savvy. “I discovered I didn’t really love him. It wasn’t fair to him. I hear he’s engaged, though. Might even be married by now.”

  “See?” Savvy said. “Then you do know what I mean. It’d be nice to find the right guy so you could stop having to worry about ending up with the wrong one! Hmm, I’m not sure that’s right, exactly. I’m sure all those people who’re getting divorces didn’t all know they were marrying the wrong person.”

  Amanda started laughing. That was what was so great about being with Savvy. She was always amusing. “You think too much,” she told her. “So when are we going dancing? That is, if you can take time off from getting all those proposals.”

  “Oh, I can squeeze you in. How about next Saturday?”

  “Deal. But I’ll only pencil you in my planner—in case one of your home teachers decides he has to propose before the other one does. Just remember the answer is no. I’m saving you for Tyler, and he doesn’t get off his mission until January.”

  Savvy giggled. “Oh, I’ve missed you, Amanda.”

  “I’ve missed you, too.” Despite the nearly six-year gap in their ages, they were very much alike.

  “Well, I’d better get back to my books.”

  “What, studying on a Friday night?”

  “I know, it’s sad.” Savvy didn’t sound upset. “I just love school. Science is so interesting! And my astronomy classes—well, I’d rather go to those than do just about anything else.”

  “Your poor home teachers!”

  “Yep. I guess until I find a guy that’s more fascinating than black holes or fission, I’ll stay wild and single. Well, at least single. My books are too heavy to take on any wild adventures. I only wish my roommates could understand that.”

  Laughter bubbled up again in Amanda’s throat. She felt so much better now. “Well, don’t feel too bad. My excitement for the week was starting a fire in my oven and calling a repairman.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. And he just happens to be the most handsome guy on the face of the planet.”

  “No!”

  “Yes.” Amanda pulled her feet up on the couch as she warmed to her story. “Here I am in my old jeans and T-shirt, practically drooling over this guy. When we look at each other, there’s a connection, you know? Electricity. Then I spy his kid in his truck.”

  “Oh, no!”

  “Yes. And guess what? He asked me out. Not right then, but today.”

  “What? He’s got a nerve asking you out when he’s married!”

  “Well, he’s not. Wait till you hear the rest.” Amanda recounted the week’s adventures, including Kevin’s nightmares and Mara’s constantly exploding diapers. She dwelt only briefly on the reasons Blake had the children and told her nothing about his cousin. Time enough for that later. When she finished her tale, Savvy was giggling madly.

  “You actually asked him to sing?” Savvy managed through her giggles. “I’ve got to remember that one.”

  “I didn’t mean to, but he was just so cute when Kevin told us about the song. He turned bright red.”

  “So what are you doing on the phone with me? Huh?” Savvy asked. “I bet he’s trying to call you right now.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’m afraid.”

  “Of what? He sounds like a nice guy.”

  Amanda’s laughter was gone now. “Yeah. I just don’t think I can go through losing someone special again.”

  Savvy was silent for a long minute. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I know it wasn’t fun losing Tanner. Heck, he’s my cousin—by marriage at least—and I would have married him in a minute if there’d been an ounce of attraction between us. But what if for now you didn’t look at Blake as something permanent? Just go out, have fun. With his responsibilities, he probably needs some fun. There’s no reason you can’t be friends.”

  “You’re right.” Amanda nodded, though Savvy wasn’t there to see. “I guess I
’ve been thinking about this the wrong way. There really is no reason we can’t be friends. He could use some help with the children.”

  “Exactly. Once you know him better, you can decide what you want.”

  “Thanks, Savvy. It’s good to have someone to talk to. If I’d told Kerrianne or my mother, they’d already be planning my wedding.”

  “What about Mitch? I bet he’s taking some of the heat off you.”

  “Oh, yeah. You should hear them. ‘Mitch, darling, what about that Olsen girl? She just got home from her mission. Why don’t you ask her out?’ Or ‘Mitch, will you be having anyone special come for Christmas?’ It’s a living nightmare. Mitch is fit to be tied. Hey, maybe we should take him dancing with us.”

  “Okay,” Savvy agreed. “Just don’t tell your mother we’re all going together or it’ll be my wedding in the works. We’ve been down that road before—Mitch and I will never be more than friends. Still, he’s fun to go dancing with. Only tell him to leave his lizard home this time. It definitely didn’t help.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  A few minutes later, Amanda hung up the phone smiling to herself. Yes, she had neglected her relationship with Savvy way too long. Most of her older friends might be occupied with their new families, but Savvy was mature for her age. At least she had goals in mind that didn’t always involve settling down and raising half a dozen children. Not that Amanda was against the idea—she herself wanted more than anything to have a family—but it was hard to talk about it all the time when it didn’t look like a marriage was even in her future.

  Amanda changed into her pajamas and began considering popping corn and putting in the five-hour video version of Pride and Prejudice. It was her favorite of all time—a rich, haughty man falling in love with a poor, down-to-earth young woman. Perfect.

  The phone rang and she froze. No one called her anymore after nine unless something was wrong.

  Or it could be him.

  Amanda’s heart pounded. “Well, answer it,” she told herself. She dived for the portable phone where she had left it on the couch after her conversation with Savvy. “Hello?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Hi. It’s Blake.”

  He hadn’t needed to tell her. She recognized his deep voice the minute she heard his first word. Thank heaven she couldn’t see those eyes.

  “Hi, Blake. What’s up?”

  “I’m glad you’re home.”

  She remembered it was Friday night. Maybe she shouldn’t have answered the phone so that he might think she was out. Ridiculous, she thought, I’m finished playing games. Besides, she had to admit, she was glad he was home, too, instead of out with someone else.

  “I just got the kids to bed,” he said.

  She smiled to herself. A little hard to go out when you have two children. “That’s good. Any nightmares?”

  “Not so far. Kevin really likes the bracelet. Thank you.”

  “Just something I had in my purse, left over from school. I was glad to give it to him. He’s a cute kid.” She waited to see what he would come up with next. Surely he hadn’t called her to tell her he’d put them to bed.

  “I tried the magic bit with a light, and it worked a little. Maybe the light and the bracelet, along with holding the bugs today, will do the trick.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Me, too. Oh, and I bought some of that clear stuff,” he said. “Mara seemed to like it okay. The bottle said it might take a day or so.”

  “Then you should know soon enough if it works.”

  “I’ll be grateful if it does—I’ve changed more diapers this week than I can count.” He paused before adding, “That reminds me. What was the idea with the diapers in the closet? Did you rig them to fall on me?”

  She laughed. “No. I wouldn’t do that. Well, I might have, but not when the social worker was there! When you asked me to change Mara before she came, I couldn’t find your diaper bag, and then I remembered you stuffing the diapers in the closet. I tried to get one down, and suddenly it was raining diapers. I was lucky to get them all back in. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many diapers in my life!”

  “I’ve been desperate,” he admitted with a chuckle. “I thought if I found the right diaper, I wouldn’t have to do so much laundry.”

  “It was worth a try.”

  They both fell silent. Amanda hated the awkwardness that reared between them. It was almost enough to make her wonder if she really wanted to start dating again.

  “Uh,” he said.

  Could he be having a hard time himself? She considered the idea. He was very good-looking, but having Kevin to care for and a job that often demanded late hours might have put a damper on his dating prowess.

  “Yes?” she asked. “Was there a reason you called?” If she were a more modern girl, she’d just ask him out!

  When he spoke, his voice was tense. “It’s about what we discussed earlier.”

  “Diapers?” she asked with feigned innocence.

  “No, not diapers! About going out.”

  “Oh, you mean making it so I wasn’t lying. Okay, when?”

  “Just like that. You aren’t going to make me sing?”

  She laughed. “No. I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

  “That’s a relief.” The tenseness in his tone was gone.

  “So, is it tomorrow?” she asked. “Are we going dancing?”

  “Uh, I can’t tomorrow after all.”

  Amanda felt a sudden lump in her throat. Had she misunderstood him? Maybe he hadn’t really been asking her out at all. Maybe he’d been talking about confessing to the social worker. No, he’d mentioned the song. She tried to replay the conversation in her mind but couldn’t recall a single word.

  “Oh, some other time then.” She kept her voice light.

  “I’d like to go out tomorrow,” he said, “but I forgot that I promised Kevin’s grandmother I’d take the kids to see her. We’re leaving early, but it’s almost a four-hour drive to Cedar City, and I’m not sure we’ll be back even by six or seven. I was going to order a pizza when we got back. Plus, I promised Kevin we’d watch The Three Musketeers.”

  “The Three Musketeers?”

  “Yeah, he loves the old ones. I recorded them from the TV. Since he’ll probably sleep all the way home from Cedar City, he’ll be up past ten or more.”

  “Sounds like a long day.” Amanda was feeling better. At least she hadn’t misunderstood his intentions, and he did want to ask her out.

  Blake sighed. “Yeah. To tell you the truth, even if I hadn’t promised Kevin we’d watch the show, I’d probably be too exhausted to go anywhere.” He groaned. “Man, I’m getting old!”

  “I know what you’re talking about. Sometimes after a day with my fourth-graders, the only thing I want to do is curl up and sleep. That’s why I usually go out on Saturdays and not Fridays.”

  Another awkward pause grew between them. “Well, I guess you could call your girlfriend,” he said. “You know, go dancing.”

  “Actually, we’re going next week instead. She had a family dinner crop up. I think I’ll stay home and watch Pride and Prejudice. The nineties version.”

  “That’s five hours!”

  She was surprised he knew. “And every second is great. I’ve seen it six times.”

  “Well, if you thought you could tear yourself away, you could come over and hang out with us. The guy I rent from has this huge TV screen in his living room. He’s out of town, but he lets me use it whenever I want.” His voice was casual, too casual. Amanda knew the invitation hadn’t been easy for him to extend.

  Friendship, she reminded herself. If he were Savvy, I’d accept in a minute.

  “Hey, that might be fun,” she said. “I haven’t seen any bad sword fighting for a while.”

  He chuckled. “You’ve seen good sword fighting then?”

  “Guess not, but one can always hope. Oh, and I’ll bring the popcorn. Just give me a call when you get home.”r />
  “Okay. I’ll order pizza.”

  Another awkward pause. Boy, she hated this! “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. “Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  She hung up the phone. Why was her heart racing? Of all the foolish things for it to do. He needed a friend. She needed somewhere to go. That was all.

  Chapter Eleven

  Amanda tucked a small box of microwave popcorn bags into her purse before she went out to the car. Blake had just called and offered to pick her up, but she had reminded him that the children would likely be asleep before the movie was over and driving her home wouldn’t be convenient.

  She felt as nervous as the day she’d had her very first date. Where had all her confidence gone? In high school, she’d never worried this much. She’d even tried on three different outfits before deciding on a newer pair of jeans and a fitted blouse with ruffled ends on the long sleeves. The color was the sky at noon, a vibrant blue. She knew it didn’t match her eyes the way green did, but the soothing color normally had a calming effect.

  Not today. Her stomach was in knots.

  Blake answered the door with a pajama-clad Mara in his arms. She smiled and launched herself at Amanda. “Hey, she likes you!”

  Amanda hugged Mara, making kissing motions on her neck to make her giggle. “She’s so adorable.” Her smiled faltered.

  “What is it?” Blake asked.

  Amanda looked up at him. “I just thought . . . I mean . . . her mother . . .” She looked around but didn’t see Kevin. Lowering her voice, she said, “I just don’t know how her mother can bear to be away from her.”

  “I know.” Blake shook his head. “I think the same thing every day. I know it kills me when I can’t see Kevin, and I already feel the same way about Mara.”

  “Diapers and all?” Amanda tried to lighten the mood.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, diapers and all.”

  She took off her coat and handed it to him, along with the popcorn from her purse. While Blake was popping the corn, Kevin came from the bathroom. “Amanda!” he said, running to her. “It worked! It worked! The ants didn’t come in my bed last night.”