Sarasota Dreams by Debby Mayne Page B

patch of grass in the center of a circle of palmettos. “Let’s get some shade.”
    Mary pivoted and headed straight for the tree without a single word. Abe was right behind her. They passed a trash receptacle, and she tossed her dripping ice-cream cone. “I can’t eat any more.”
    Abe leaned against the tree and extended his arms. “Come here, Mary,” he said softly.
    She took a step toward him then stopped. “Oh, so now you want to kiss me?”
    He closed his eyes, retracted his outstretched arms, and silently chuckled. When he opened his eyes again, she was so close, all he had to do was open his arms and she was in them. “May I kiss you now, Mary Penner?”
    She turned her face up to his with her lips puckered and her eyes closed. This time he leaned down and touched her lips with his for a couple of seconds. When he pulled away, she slowly opened her eyes and smiled up at him.
    “So that’s what a kiss feels like,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. A quick flash of her mother being kissed and groped darted through her mind. A few times men had attempted to touch her, but her quick reflexes and whatever lies she could make up saved her. Mary shuddered as she forced herself to stay in the moment. Abe was nothing like those men, and she knew this was different.
    Abe couldn’t help but laugh. “Disappointed?”
    “Nope. I liked it. Let’s do it again.” She puckered her lips and closed her eyes.
    He dropped a brief kiss on her lips then the tip of her nose. “I think I better get you back before this gets out of control.”
    “Well,” she began slowly as she looked at him coyly. “I have plenty of self-control. It’s you I’m worried about.”
    He chuckled. “I’ll be fine.”
    “Good. Now that we’ve got that settled, when are we going out again?”
    “Now look at you. When I first wanted to get to know you better, you acted like I was the enemy, and now you want to rush things. Why don’t we take things nice and slow?”
    She shrugged. “What’s the point? You like me, and I’m pretty sure I like you.”
    “You don’t mince words, do you, Mary?”
    “Why would I do that?”
    Her abrupt turnaround both delighted and startled Abe. Something had happened since the last time he’d seen her. “You’re acting different now.”
    “Maybe I am different.”
    Abe shook his head. “People don’t change that quickly. What’s going on, Mary?”
    “Don’t be so skeptical. Nothing’s going on, except I’ve had time to think about us.”
    “Oh yeah?” He glanced down at her as they walked side by side on the narrow sidewalk. “What were your thoughts?”
    “To start with, I know that you’re a very nice man, and you seem honest.”
    “Ya, I like to be nice to people, and honesty comes natural. But plenty of people are nice and honest.”
    “Oh but not like you, Abe.”
    He knew some people were puzzled by Mary, and even after all this time, some of them may still have held her past against her. But he hadn’t seen anyone being intentionally mean except Jeremiah—even Mrs. Troyer, whose mind seemed to be elsewhere.
    “Has anyone said or done anything to hurt you?” he asked. “Besides Jeremiah, that is.”
    “Not really. I’ve gotten used to being ignored. But you’ve never ignored me. You’ve always acted like I was any other Mennonite girl.”
    “Trust me,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re not like any other Mennonite girl.”
    She gave him a look of pretend hurt then grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    “Good. You should.” They continued another half block toward her grandparents’ house. “It’s still not enough to explain why you’re suddenly demanding kisses. Why did you ask me for a kiss today?”
    Mary contorted her mouth and pondered the thought. Finally she shrugged. “Why not?”
    “There you go again, answering my question with a question.”
    She shrugged. “I wanted a kiss, so I asked for it.”
    He studied her.