Ray of Light (4 page)

Chapter Five

“I'm sorry about that,” Roman said as he strode back to Amanda and Regina. “I didn't want the guys to think I abandoned them.”

Amanda coolly looked at the men who were standing like a klatch of housewives, watching their departure with unabashedly amused expressions. “Is everything all right?” she asked. “They looked a little worried.”

No, they'd looked amused, Roman mentally corrected. “Everything couldn't be better. They were just giving me grief,” he said lightly. “You know how that is.”

The look she gave him showed that she knew anything but how that was. “Are they all members of your family?”

“Yeah.” Remembering how she'd seemed to like for him to talk a lot, he forced himself to keep talking. “Actually, they're my cousins. They live in Indiana. I'm vacationing with their family. Oh, and one of the men is Beth's husband. Beth's my cousin, too.”

She peered at them again, then nodded. “Ah, now I remember Beth talking about them all.”

“They're great, the whole family is. I am really having a good time with them. They make me laugh.”

Amanda looked at him again, her blue eyes studying him seriously. But this time, he noticed that she was looking at him a little differently, as if she'd suddenly found something new about him that took her by surprise.

He was finding that this new, chatty, gregarious side of him was taking him by surprise, too. Usually, his sisters would have to prod and badger him to chat longer than five minutes.

Now, however, he couldn't seem to stop the words from coming. He seemed to be keeping her interest, though, so that was something, he supposed.

Leaning over to catch Regina's eye, who was walking on the other side of her mother, he said, “So, I can't believe you two are lucky enough to live here in Florida. You're certainly blessed to get to spend all your days in this sunshine.”

Regina smiled up at him, looking happy to be included in the conversation. But she didn't say a word.

He tried again. “I love going to the beach. Do you?” When she nodded, he felt like he'd won a prize. “What do you like to do best at the beach?”

After a second's silence, Amanda started to speak. “She likes—”

“Sand castles,” Regina whispered.

“I like making those, too,” he said gently. “And digging for shells.”

Her eyes widened. And then, she did the most amazing thing. She circled around her mother so she was now walking between the two of them. After clasping Amanda's hand, Regina said, “I like digging for crabs.”

Roman glanced at Amanda. She looked stunned. It was obvious that this wasn't Regina's usual habit.

Roman was thrilled by the little girl's acceptance but didn't want to make a big deal about it. So he continued to chat. “You like digging for crabs, do ya? Aren't you scared that one is going to snap at your fingers?”

“One did! I got a Band-Aid then, too. But it wasn't a unicorn one. It was plain old brown.”

He was charmed. “I like the unicorns better.”

“Me, too.”

While Roman laughed, Amanda felt herself smiling, almost against her will. It was rare that people thought to include her little girl in their conversation. It was rarer still for Regina to respond like she was with Roman.

Ever since Wesley got sick, Regina had become withdrawn. More of a worrier and far less outgoing.

But now Amanda was seeing glimpses of her daughter that she'd feared would be gone forever. It was amazing, really, and made her feel flustered.

Roman, on the other hand, looked anything but flustered. Actually, he looked as if he was determined to make sure Regina didn't feel left out in the slightest.

As she watched Regina blossom under Roman's gentle, teasing banter, Amanda felt herself warming toward him. Slowly, her first impression of him was transforming. Truth be told, she was appreciating Roman's efforts to be more open about his life, too.

Instinctively, she knew he was working hard to make himself agreeable to her. He wanted her to like him. That was flattering, indeed. When was the last time someone had made her feel like an attractive woman, not only Wesley's widow?

Gosh, when was the last time she'd even felt attractive? She could barely remember such feelings.

When Wesley was battling cancer, she'd forgotten to eat, neglected to take care of herself. After he passed away, she'd had a series of illnesses—the result of being so rundown and unhealthy.

Then, of course, it had been a struggle to get through every day. She'd worn somber dresses and only focused on Regina. Only over the last eight months had her attitude shifted. She'd started to notice the blue skies again, and the kindness of other people. She'd started to find peace within herself and enjoyment from small things.

And now it looked like she'd almost come full circle. She'd attracted a handsome man's regard . . . and she didn't hate it.

These realizations made her want to try harder, too. “So, Roman, where is your favorite place to go get ice cream?”

“I don't have a place in mind.” With a wink in Regina's direction, he said, “I simply thought it sounded like a good idea.”

“I love ice cream,” Regina quipped.

Raising his head, he met Amanda's gaze. “Is there somewhere you two like to go? Wherever you have in mind is fine with me.”

“I don't have a favorite spot.”

“I do! I like the Swirl,” Regina exclaimed. “They have orange swirls.”

“That sounds great.” He looked around. “And where is that shop?”

“Here!” Regina said, pointing to the charming whitewashed building one block away that had silly swirling ice cream pictures on the windows. It also boasted a line of at least twenty people.

“And just in time, too. I was tired of walking,” Roman said with a smile. As they got in the back of the line, he looked down at Regina. “What do you think I should get?”

“Orange swirls, just like me.”

“What do you usually get, Amanda?”

His voice, warm and kind, melted her more than the sun ever had. “Oh, any kind,” she said, because, suddenly, for the life of her, she couldn't remember what she usually ate. Was it vanilla?

“Mamm likes vanilla swirls with rainbow sprinkles,” Regina supplied.

Roman looked intrigued. “Rainbow sprinkles, hmm?”

“Ah, only on special occasions.”

They continued to stand in line, slowly edging forward as person after person walked away with napkin-wrapped cones.

Amanda had stood in this line dozens of times, but it had been quite some time since she'd felt so happy or relaxed.

What was it about him that intrigued her so much?

Was it the way he was revealing himself to them bit by bit, as if he were peeling back layers of an onion?

Was it his handsome good looks, the way his dark hair, brown eyes, and muscular build looked like it could handle anything? His physique was so different from Wesley's. Wes had been slimmer, shorter. And at the end, of course, far weaker. She'd had to be strong for him.

Roman, on the other hand, looked like he could shoulder any burden easily.

All she knew was that she was terribly eager to learn more about him.

“Tell me about your family,” she blurted when he and Regina had a break in their conversation. “I mean, do you have any sisters or brothers?”

“I have two younger sisters. They're twins.”

“Twins?” Regina wrinkled her nose. “What does that mean?”

“He means that his sisters are like Jana and Jacob,” Amanda said. “They were born at the same time.”

“Except my sisters look almost exactly alike,” he teased. “Somehow I don't think Jana and Jacob do.”

“They don't. One's a boy and the other is a girl.”

“It's good they look different then,
jah
?”

“Are you close to them?” Amanda asked.

He grinned. “If you knew them, you'd know that I had no choice but to be close to them.” His expression softened. “But seriously, they're great. They're only one year younger than me, so we grew up together. My
mamm
used to say she felt like she had triplets, not twins. One of them, Viola, just got engaged to a missionary.”

“And the other? Is she married yet?”

He shook his head. “
Nee
. I don't know if Elsie will ever marry.”

Amanda was waiting for him to tell her more when Regina tugged on her apron.

“Mamm?” she whispered, with a pleading look in her eyes.

Offering an apologetic look Roman's way, she bent down. “What is it, dear?”

“Do they like
eis rawm
, too?”

With a soft chuckle, Amanda turned to Roman. “I'm sorry. My Regina has something of a one-track mind.”

“Regina, you didn't want to ask me about that yourself?”

“As I said, sometimes she can be a little shy.”

“Oh. Well,
jah
, Regina. My sisters do like ice cream, very much,” he said seriously. Just as if Regina's question meant the world to him.

Once again, Amanda felt that little, unexpected pull toward him that caught her off guard. What was it about him that made her feel so comfortable with him? That made her trust even Regina to be around him?

Luckily, she didn't have to ponder that because they had just arrived at the counter. “Ah. Here we are.”

“Are you going to get vanilla with sprinkles as usual?” Roman asked with wink.

“Probably . . . ”

“You're not feeling adventurous?”

“Not in my ice cream,” she replied. Then realized that that had become the case with a lot of things lately. It used to be that she had loved to try new things and meet new people. But after Wesley, even deviating from her regular routine had felt daring.

As Roman leaned down to talk to Regina, Amanda realized that he wasn't merely pretending to be interested in her daughter. He actually was at ease with her. She also couldn't help noticing that Regina didn't seem to be displaying any of the typical reticence she usually did when she was around men.

Did Regina sense in Roman the same thing that she did? That there was something about him that was safe . . . and terribly attractive?

And if she
was
attracted to him, what did that say about her? She knew better than to ever put her heart in danger again. Especially not with someone with whom there was no hope of a future.

“Amanda, do you want your usual small cup of vanilla?” Cheryl, the chatty red-haired
Englischer
who owned the Swirl asked.

With a start, Amanda realized that they were holding up the line. “Sorry,” she said with a blush. “I guess my mind wandered.”

Cheryl's smiled broadened. “The heat must be getting to you today.” Picking up a small dish, she raised her pencil-thin brows. “So, the usual?”

“You know what, I think I'm going to get a medium chocolate-and-vanilla swirl in a cone today.” She paused, then added, “And I'll have it dipped in chocolate, too.”

Cheryl's brows went even higher. “Well, I'll be. Wonders never cease. I'll get that for you in a jiffy.”

As Regina gaped, Roman grinned widely. “Care to tell me why your order is such a big deal?”

“I've been coming here for years. Every single time, I've always gotten the same thing. A habit, I guess you might call it.”

“But today it was time for a change?”

“
Jah
. Today, it was time for a change.” Of course, the ice cream was the least of it—not that he needed to know that. She shook her head in embarrassment. “That doesn't say much about me, does it? I mean a change in an ice cream order shouldn't be such a big deal.”

“I disagree,” he murmured. “I think it says a whole lot about you. And I think it's all good, Amanda.”

After handing Amanda her chocolate-covered cone, Cheryl turned to him. “And for you?”

“It's time for me to live dangerously, too. I'll have the same,” he said.

“And me, three?” Regina asked.

“
Nee
,” Amanda said with a shiver. “That is far too much for you. You may have your usual.”

“Oh, all right.”

When Cheryl handed out Regina's cone, Roman pulled out his wallet. “I've got this.”

“Roman—”

“It's my idea, my treat.”

“But—”

“It's ice cream. Let me.”

“
Danke
,” she said, deciding to give in gracefully.

After they were all armed with more napkins, Regina having her favorite—the small orange swirl—they walked to a bench and sat down together in a row, each of them enjoying the treat and seeming to enjoy the company and the sunny day just as much.

Amanda kicked her feet out a bit, liking the way the sun heated her ankles. Liking all of it.

Until she spied her mother-in-law looking at her across the way. “Uh-oh,” she murmured before realizing that she had spoken out loud.

Roman turned to her in concern. “What's wrong?”

“It's nothing wrong, but things might be a little uncomfortable,” she whispered. “That's my mother-in-law, and I'm afraid she's going to be mighty surprised to see me with you.”

“Just tell me what you want me to say.”

“You can say whatever you want . . . just don't be surprised if she peppers you with questions.”

The moment Regina spied her grandmother, she stood up and ran to her, chattering all about the beach and Pop-Tarts and Roman and the ice cream.

As Marlene listened to her, her expression became more and more concerned.

With a sinking feeling, Amanda stayed where she was. If she was going to have to explain herself in front of all of Pinecraft, she preferred to do it from where she was. She was determined to stand her ground, even if she was, well, sitting.