A smile lit up Eleanor’s face. “Perhaps you could come by sometime soon and meet them? I’d like to book some times with you before you get too busy.”
“That would be great. I’ll check my calendar at home and let you know a day.”
Eleanor frowned. “Don’t you keep a calendar in your phone like all the young people these days?”
Inside Shelby cringed. But before she could answer, her grandmother cut in.
“Here’s your drink,” she said, placing it on the table. “For now, Shelby is keeping a paper calendar at my house,” Alice explained. “Just until we can get her new cell phone connected on my service.”
Eleanor took a few sips of her tea and then launched right into catching Alice up on the local gossip on health issues, relationships, and other various topics. She mentioned she’d driven her niece Emily and her friends to the mall too, but they had promptly taken off. Shelby tuned out from their conversation after a while. She didn’t know any of the people. She thought about walking down to the lake later today in her new bathing suit. Her thoughts floated to Logan and she sighed aloud.
“You must be tired after all this shopping,” Alice said to Eleanor.
Eleanor looked at her watch and then rose to leave. “Tired, but no time. I’d better get going now, too. The girls are all alone at home and need their walk. Now if I can just find my niece and her friends,” she sighed. Eleanor gathered her shopping bags, waved, and rushed off.
“That woman makes me tired just watching her,” Alice said. “I wish I had that kind of energy.”
“We had a great day out of the house, and that’s a good start,” Shelby said. “Let’s do something like this again soon.”
“Deal,” Alice said. “Now I need to get back and take a nap. Maybe tomorrow you can go to the lake.” She winked at Shelby. “Perhaps sit by the lifeguard station and then have a swim in one of those new bathing suits.”
Chapter 11
Shelby had waited a few days after the shopping trip before having the confidence to go back to the lake. She decided to be brave and picked a spot on the sand not far from the lifeguard station. She adjusted the backrest on her beach chair, leaned back, and pulled out a book. Today she was escaping into the world of fantasy in another time and place. She glanced down at her new bathing suit with the small ruffled top and smiled. If Madison and her posse showed up today, they’d have nothing to make fun of with Shelby. She’d been sure to cover herself in suntan lotion before leaving the house. Now she would work on that nice, even tan.
The sun beat down in its afternoon intensity, lulling her into wanting to swim or nap. After reading a few more pages, her eyes wandered along the shore. A ways down from her, she spotted Logan, red buoy in hand, scanning the water for swimmers in distress. If her mother hadn’t moved her from their last home, Shelby might be doing the same job herself right now.
Peeking over the top of her book, she surveyed his perfect V-shaped swimmer’s body. Tall, broad shoulders, his back tapering down to his narrow waist. And how good he looked in the red swim trunks, his body silhouetted against the turquoise lake. Luckily her sunglasses hid her admiring gaze. Suddenly he turned her way, as if he was aware of someone staring. She quickly focused into her book and froze. Her cheeks were aflame, and it was not from the sun. She let her eyes glance over the book and saw Logan turn back the other way and continue his walk down the shore until he was almost out of sight.
Shelby tried to go back to reading, but it was no use. She tossed it on her towel, with her sunglasses beside it, and walked to the edge of the lake. The cool, clear water rippled over her feet, tempting her to dive in, but the children splashing and yelling as they played made her seek a quieter spot. She strolled down the beach, confident in her new bathing suit. She noticed a few admiring gazes, so different than what she was used to. Leaving the noisy swimmers behind, she found a quiet spot and stared out over the horizon.
Shelby glanced back to make sure she hadn’t gone outside the designated swimming area marked