One Sure Thing (Mamma Lou Matchmaker Series) (38 page)

Hope turned off the air conditioner and rolled down the front windows. A soft breeze blew through the window. It smelled of pine trees, jasmine, and freshly cut grass. The immaculately cut lawn caught her attention immediately. Beautifully rolling meadows extended down the path on either side. The scenery was breathtaking.

Assuming the large white building was a bed and breakfast or small hotel, she continued up the road. As she approached, she realized that it was actually an enormous private home.

Oak and pine trees, with perfectly sculpted hedges and colorful seasonal flowers, surrounded the building. Bleached white siding covered the entire house except at the bottom, which was buttressed with layers of Pennsylvania bluestone. Clad with dark shutters that matched the roof shingles, the house was surrounded by a wraparound porch that extended around both sides of the house.

Hope slowly steered her car around the circular drive. She watched as a beautiful young woman came down the front steps to greet her. She instantly regretted her decision to drive up to Raymond’s house unannounced. The last time she went to Raymond’s apartment she received her own surprise, him walking out of the building with another woman.

What was she doing? What was she thinking? That was just it, she wasn’t thinking. She’d let her desire to be with Raymond cloud her judgment. It didn’t occur to her that maybe he had moved on and was with another woman. After all, it was her idea to slow things between them.

Hope looked at the woman as she approached. There was something vaguely familiar about her. She shifted the car to park, turned off the ignition, took a deep breath, and opened the car door.

“Hi, can I help you?” the woman said pleasantly, as she came around to the driver’s side of the car.

“Hi. Yes. I hope you can help me. I’m not sure if I have the right address,” Hope replied as she got out and closed the door behind her. “I’m looking for Dr. Raymond Gates,” she said realizing that she had definitely seen this woman before.

“Oh right,” Madison said with surprise. “You must be from the foundation. You’re in the right place. Raymond said that someone might be driving up early, but I presumed he meant tomorrow. He’ll be back shortly.”

Hope looked up at the massive home. “Is this his house?”

“Yes. Why don’t you come on in and wait inside. He shouldn’t be much longer.”

Hope grabbed her purse from the front seat of the car and followed. Madison climbed the stairs and led Hope along the porch around to the front door. She opened the door and invited Hope inside. Hope’s breath instantly caught in her throat. They stepped into the foyer. Madison stopped and turned around. “I’m sorry,” Madison began smiling pleasantly. “I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Madison Evans-Gates. I’ll be helping out tomorrow evening.”

“Nice to meet you Madison, I’m…” The telephone rang as she said her name. Madison quickly shook Hope’s hand then excused herself and hurried to the phone.

Hope looked around the spacious room awestruck. This definitely wasn’t the unfurnished apartment Raymond used in town. She was stunned by the sheer magnificence of the home. Outside, the place looked like a palace inside was like a country estate. Hope looked around shaking her head. The only thing missing was a gift shop and bellman’s stand. She had no idea Raymond was this wealthy.

Hope continued walking into the next room. She peeked inside. Furnished with rustic oversized furniture, antique rugs, chandeliers and dark-wood paneling, the inside was just as impressive as the outside.

Every piece of furniture was perfectly placed. From the beautifully polished hardwood floors covered with antique Persian rugs, to the gilded ornate chandelier with sparkling teardrop crystals hanging from the vaulted ceiling, everything was magnificent. The crown moldings, trey ceiling and chair rail details were most likely original to the colonial mansion. Lavish draperies framed windows and offered a view that could have easily been a Monet landscape.

Hope walked around the room touching everything in sight, from the textured damask of the sofa and settee, the highly polished mahogany antique coffee and side tables. She eventually stood and looked up at the exquisite Moorish tapestry. She reached to touch it, but thought better of it. Obviously an antique, it looked priceless.

She stood at the large bay window just beyond the alcove and looked out at the landscape. Haven House was just as beautiful as Gates Manor on Crescent Island. Her mind raced with thoughts and images of Raymond. She silently prayed that he would still want her.

Raymond and Kennedy were laughing hysterically as they entered the rear of the house. Raymond stayed in the kitchen while Kennedy continued on into the living room. She passed Madison, still on the phone, and found Hope staring out of the front window.

Hope turned around upon hearing someone behind her. She gasped. This was the woman she saw on Raymond’s arm the night she stopped by his apartment.

“Hi, I’m Kennedy Evans.”

Hope took a second to calm her raging nerves. “Hi,” she finally fumbled awkwardly. “I think have to go.”

“Wait,” Kennedy said. “Didn’t you just get here?” Hope nodded, not trusting her voice, “…from New York?” Hope nodded again. Kennedy began to look at Hope oddly. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

Hope shook her head. “I have to go now.” She turned to leave.

“Wait a minute,” Kennedy began. “Don’t you need to speak to Raymond?”

Hope was just about to turn and reply when she heard Raymond and Madison talking as they approached. She froze.

“Hope?” Raymond said.

Hope swallowed hard. Her heart pounded like a stampeding herd. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak.

“Hope?” Raymond repeated his voice closer. He stepped in front of her blocking her escape. “Hope?”

Hope turned around. “Hello, Raymond.”

Madison looked at Kennedy as an uncomfortable awkwardness hung in the air. Both Madison and Kennedy spoke at the same time. They offered to retrieve their luggage from their car. They quickly dashed past Raymond and Hope and went outside.

“Hope.” Raymond came closer and reached for her hand but stopped himself. “Are you okay?”

“I have to go.”

“No.” Raymond stepped in front of her. “Hope. You came here for a reason. You came here to see me, why?”

Hope shook her head. “I have to go.”

“Hope, don’t do this. Don’t run and push me away again.”

She nodded as a slow tear crept down her face. Raymond instantly gathered her up in his arms. Hope melted readily. She didn’t care about Kennedy or Madison or anything else. All she cared about was that moment and Raymond’s arms holding and protecting her.

“Why are you here?”

“I, I, I,” she began several times, her head bowed low avoiding his questioning gaze. “I don’t know.”

“I think you do,” Raymond tilted her chin upward. “I’m glad you came.”

Hope looked up into his hazel eyes. His smile was all she needed. If she was going to make a fool of herself, it might as well be here and now. She reached up and pulled his neck towards her. She kissed him with all her might.

Madison and Kennedy returned from the car with their luggage. They sat the bags down in the foyer. They looked at Raymond and Hope standing in a solid embrace. Hope tried to step away but was firmly held in place by Raymond’s side.

“Hope, this is Madison, my cousin’s wife and Kennedy, her sister. Madison, Kennedy, this is Dr. Hope Adams,” he stated proudly. Madison and Kennedy smiled and greeted her warmly in turn.

Hope’s emotions clashed as she sighed with relief.
Raymond’s cousin. Raymond’s cousin’s sister
reverberated over and over again in her mind. The connection was still circling in her head when the door opened and two men and a woman walked in.

All heads turned as Tony, Dennis and Faith entered noisily and dropped their overnight bags down on the floor. Madison instantly went to Tony’s side. They kissed lovingly.

“Faith?”

“Hope?”

The sisters embrace in a loving reunion.

Dennis shook Raymond’s hand, grabbed Kennedy and kissed her brotherly. He grabbed Hope and embraced her warmly.

Raymond introduced and reintroduced everyone then excused Hope and himself. Once outside Raymond took Hope hands and walked around to the side of the house. A dim light case deep shadows across the wooden floor. He guided Hope to the porch swing.

They sat in silence.

Hope looked around. She’d never seen so much beauty in one place. “This place is incredible. Why do you ever leave?”

“Believe it or not, I have to go to work from time to time.”

“Still, it’s magnificent here.” Hope shook her head. “I’d never set foot in the city again.”

“You’d miss it.”

“No way. If I lived here, I’d never go back to Manhattan.”

“I’m delighted to hear that. Come on, I’ll show you around.” Raymond grabbed a couple of flashlights as they walked the path together.

“I had no idea you were a Nutmegger.”

Raymond nodded his head. “I moved to Connecticut several years ago. I was drawn by the proximity to New York and its quiet, country style.”

“I can see that.” She continued to look across the meadow. “I passed a sign earlier stating that there was an Underground Railroad stop near here.”

Raymond pointed in the direction of the old shacks. “It’s over there beyond those trees.”

“Is this property connected to the museum?”

“Yes.”

“You own a museum too?”

“I’m more like a distant caretaker who happens to own the property where the historical landmark is located. Are we going to dance around this all night?” he asked.

“Dance around what?” she asked.

“The reason you came all the way here to see me.”

There were a million things she could say, but she chose just one – the truth. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I try, but…” she hesitated. He nodded and smiled. It was obvious that this was exactly what he wanted to hear. “You make me feel like…”

Raymond stepped in closed. “Feel like what doctor?” he whispered. “Because I feel like every fiber of my being dissolves the moment I see you. I feel like my body is on fire the moment I touch you.” He touched her face with his finger and continued. “I feel like there’s no one else on the planet but you and me.”

Her breathing quickened as she was hypnotized by his words. She nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling, I know because I feel the exact same way,” she said.

“Good.” He kissed her with all the repressed yearning inside of him.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Hope refused to open her eyes for fear that the magic would somehow suddenly vanish into thin air. She lay there alone in Raymond’s bed with a smile plastered on her face. She had had the most wonderful evening getting to know Raymond’s family and friends. She smiled at the absurdity of her earlier apprehension.

Although shy at first, she and Faith easily assimilated into the group of friends and were immediately accepted. With their upbringing so widely different, the four women marveled at their similarities. It was a good feeling.

Madison and Kennedy, who along with their brother J.T. were triplets, were extremely close like Hope and Faith. Together, they talked for hours.

The conversation changed many times before finally settling on Kennedy’s recent trip to central Africa. As curator of the Smithsonian’s African Arts Museum, she told the rest about her quest to secure a particular collection for an upcoming exhibit.