Message Received (23 page)

He certainly hadn’t wanted to upset them.  How
had he upset them? 

He ventured a glance at Amanda.  And what the
heck was the matter with her?  Maybe she wasn’t feeling very well still.  The
more he thought about it, the more he realized that was probably it.

He continued driving, stopped to pay a toll, and
resumed heading toward Orlando.  It didn’t take long to get there on the
straight, flat roadway.  As they followed the signs to the airport, they veered
left and followed a road directly into the airport.  “Do you see any signs indicating
where we can park?” he asked.

Without speaking, she pointed at a sign marked
‘parking’.

He gave her a bewildered glance, but followed
the sign’s pointed arrows.  He pulled into a parking structure, took a ticket
from a dispenser, and soon found an open parking spot.  After parking, he
hurried out of the car and ran to Amanda’s door.  He tugged it open, and helped
her out.  “We have to hurry,” he urged.

He took her hand and they practically ran to the
airport, dodging people and cars as they reached the main terminal.  Inside,
Brady came to a stop and glanced around.  He didn’t spot the grandparents
immediately, but when a crowd of people dispersed nearby, he saw them standing
side-by-side, their heads together, as they apparently waited in line to purchase
airline tickets.

“I hope we’ve reached them in time,” he said,
giving Amanda a hopeful look.

She gave him a dirty look in return.  “You
should be ashamed of yourself,” she scolded.

He appeared taken aback.  What the heck was she
so angry about?

They jogged to their grandparents.  “Why’d you
take off like that?” Brady demanded.

They looked up, surprised to see him.  “You’re
not going to talk us out of it, Brady,” Ike said stiffly, reaching for Liz’s
hand. 

Brady gave him a bewildered glance.  “Talk you
out of what?”

“Getting married,” Ike said.

“Why would I do that?” Brady asked, thoroughly
confused.

“When I told you we were going to fly to Vegas
to get married, you said, and I quote, “You are
not
going to Vegas.” 
 

“Right,” he said.  “Please don’t go to Vegas.  I
want to see you get married.  I know Amanda does too, and Granddad, I know my
folks would be hurt if they couldn’t attend the wedding.”  He turned to Liz. 
“You deserve a beautiful wedding—everything you’ve always dreamed of, Liz.”

She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.  “Oh,
Brady, thank you so much for saying so.  But I don’t need anything but Ike.”

Ike turned to her.  “Honey, I’m happy to marry
you in a big ceremony, or a little one.  Please tell me.  What do you want?”

She seemed hesitant, but finally admitted, “I’d
love a wedding with our families present.”

“Then that’s what you’ll have,” he said, and
then turned to Brady.  “I’m sorry, son.  I misunderstood you.  I thought you
were objecting to our getting married.”

“Granddad, you should know better than that.” 
He embraced him, and then opened his arms to Liz.  “Welcome to the family. 
Hey, if you ever decide to go skydiving, call me.  I can’t get anyone else in
the family to go with me, but if anybody is daring enough, it’s you.”

“Oh, Brady,” she giggled, waving off his words,
as she stepped into his embrace.  “I don’t want to skydive.  I want to go
bungee jumping.”

Amanda hugged her next, and then turned to Ike. 
“I’ve always wanted a granddad,” she told him, smiling.  “I’ve never had one. 
Welcome to the family, Granddad,” she said warmly.

“Thank you, Granddaughter,” he said, forcing
back a tear.  He’d always wanted a granddaughter. 

“Well, what’s the immediate plan?” Brady asked,
moving to stand beside Amanda.

Liz glanced at Ike.  “Well, Ike’s already given
me the honeymoon of my dreams,” she said, “so I guess we’ll head home and plan
a wedding.”

“Hey,” Ike protested, “that wasn’t our
honeymoon!  I’m going to give you a honeymoon fit for a queen.”  He smiled into
her eyes.  “It’s going to be a dream come true.”

“Oh, Ike, my dreams have already come true.”

***

“Okay, so you both have your tickets,” Brady
said, visually checking to see that both grandparents had their luggage and
were ready to go through security, and then on to their departure gate.  “You
have everything, right?”

“We’re all set,” Ike told him.  “What about you
two?  What are your plans then?”

Brady glanced at Amanda, who still seemed
uncharacteristically grumpy.  “Well, until Amanda is well, we’re staying here. 
Hopefully, the doctor will clear her to fly, but…”

“Brady is flying home,” Amanda cut in.  “In
fact, I’m going to buy him a ticket right now.”

She started off, toward the ticket counter, but
he hurried after her and took her arm.  “What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Buying you a ticket,” she said.  “You paid my
way here, I’m paying your way back.  It’s only fair.”

“I’m not going back.  Not yet, anyway.”

“That’s ridiculous.  You don’t need to stay here
to babysit me,” she snapped.

He stared into her face, trying to read her. 
Wow, she was cranky.

She started off again, but he took a hold of her
hand and practically tugged her back to the grandparents.  Ike eyed them
curiously.

“So, you’re both staying here then?” he asked.

Brady nodded.  “Until she can get on a plane…”

“Or…”  Ike pulled out his wallet and opened it. 
He took out a credit card and passed it to Brady.  “You could always drive
home.”

“That’s all right, Granddad,” he said.  “I’m
sure it won’t be too long before Amanda can travel.”

“It might be,” Liz said with a wince.  “You know
what?  Why don’t I stay with her until she’s well?”  She turned to Ike. 
“Sweetie, I won’t be long.  Do you mind?”

He attempted to put on a brave face, but
everyone could see he was disappointed she wouldn’t be flying home with him. 
“If you think you should, then of course you should stay with Amanda.”

“I don’t need anyone to stay with me!” she
cried.  “I’m a grown woman.”

“I’m staying,” Brady said firmly.

“Oh, you are not.  I know you’re unhappy being
‘stuck’ here with me,” she charged.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, seeming
genuinely perplexed.

“I heard you, that’s what.  I heard you tell
your business partner you were ‘stuck’ here.  Don’t try to deny it.”

Brady searched her face.  He could see she was
hurt.  His heart tugged, which prompted him to tug her into his arms.  “Amanda,
I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said, struggling to step
out of his embrace.  Good grief.  He refused to let go.  “Would you let go of
me?”

“Never,” he said, chuckling. 

“Brady!  You know you said it,” she said,
finally managing to escape his hold.

“Well, yeah,” he said.  “I couldn’t very well
tell him…”

“Tell him what?” she demanded, folding her arms
over her chest.

He bit back a smile.  “I couldn’t tell him I’ve
fallen for my future grandmother’s granddaughter, and that while he’s back
home, struggling to deal with a difficult client, I’m hanging out in Cocoa
Beach with the girl of my dreams.”

Amanda’s jaw dropped.  Had he said he’d fallen
for her?  Had he called her ‘the girl of his dreams’?

“Wow, this is a first,” he said, smiling
broadly.  “Amanda is at a loss for words.”

Ike grinned and thumped him on his back.  “I
knew there was some chemistry between the two of you.”

“I thought so too,” Liz said, grinning.

“So, anyway, we’re staying here until it’s safe
for Amanda to travel in a plane.”

“Brady,” Ike said, “Liz told me how much Amanda
hates flying.  Just go pick out a nice, reasonably priced car—something that
gets good gas mileage.  You can start back when Amanda feels up to it.  That
way you won’t have to worry about the cabin pressure in the plane hurting her
ears.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, accepting the credit
card.

“Absolutely.  Amanda can have the car when you
back.  A gift from me to her—my one and only granddaughter.”

Amanda lost the power of speech.  Her mind was
spinning.  Was Ike really giving her a car?  Something told her she was going
to like having a granddad.

Liz looked on, smiling with pleasure, but
abruptly frowned and began rummaging through her purse.  She pulled out a
keychain she’d purchased from a store in Cocoa Beach.  She passed to Brady. 
“This is for you.  It’s not a car, but…”

He threw his head back and laughed.  “Thank you,
Liz, er … Grandma.”  He tucked it into his shirt pocket, patted it, and still
chuckling, turned to Amanda.  He noted she was in a state of shock.

“So, Granddad,” Brady said, “if you marry Liz,
that makes her my grandma, and makes you Amanda’s granddad, but if I marry
Amanda, that would make… “

“…Us very happy!” Ike and Liz cried in unison.  

“Well, what do you say?” he said, turning his
attention to Amanda once again.  “Will you marry me?”  Before she had time to
respond, he added, “Of course, we have Liz and Granddad’s wedding to plan
first, but once they’re happily wed, we can always follow their example…”  He
watched her with earnest eyes.  “What do you think?”

She tried to appear stern when she responded. 
“We haven’t known one another long enough to…”

“Hey, we’ve been through a lot together,” he protested. 
“We’ve seen one another at our best and worst.  Besides, we don’t have to rush
into anything.  Like I said, we have another wedding first, and then we can
think about our own…”

Amanda glanced over at her grandmother.  She was
clutching her chest, her eyes brimming hopefully.  Ike was watching them too,
his eyes pinned on Amanda like guided missiles.  It was evident he was hoping
she would say yes to his grandson.

“Do you love me, Amanda?  Even a little bit?”
Brady asked, bracing for her answer. 

She threw her hands in the air.  “Maybe even a
lot!” she cried, and took her voice down to a whisper.  “Did you have to
propose to me in an airport?  Of all places?  You know I hate airplanes.”

He laughed and pulled her into a hug.  “I’ll ask
you again, later, in a more romantic setting,” he promised.

She chuckled.  “Okay.”

He kissed her then, a sweet, lovely kiss, full
of promise.  She knew he loved her.

Message received.