Where the Heart Leads (3 page)

Aumaleigh opened her mouth to thank her, but Rose cut in.

“Too late. We’ve already got her, Daisy.” Rose said, wrapping an arm around Aumaleigh’s shoulders. “Unless you, Beckett and Hailie want to come over to have supper with us? It’s going to be fun. Gemma and Elise are coming. I think Penelope is going to try and make it.”

“I promised Hailie chicken and dumplings tonight.” Daisy shrugged apologetically and slipped on her coat. “Where did my husband go?”

“You mean that handsome guy over there?” Magnolia gestured in the direction of the dining room as she fussed an end table into place.

“Yes. My Beckett.” Daisy filled with light as she gazed upon her husband, radiant with a quiet but deep joy. “I need to say goodbye to him. Excuse me.”

It was hard not to sigh as Daisy slipped away, crossing the room. That’s how sweet they were, newly wed and so in love with one another. It heartened her to see. Some loves you just knew would stand the test of time.

“Aumaleigh, where do you want this?” Rose held up a precisely folded patchwork quilt.

“Oh! It’s gorgeous.” Iris breezed over, her coat in hand, to take a look. “Aumaleigh, did you make this?”

“Y-yes.” The word caught in her throat.

“It’s amazing.” Rose traced her fingertip over the pink calico ring of the double wedding ring pattern. “Pink and blue.”

“Oh, some of the squares are embroidered.” Magnolia tilted her head, unfolding more of the quilt.
“Love is patient, love is kind.”

“We loved with a love that was more than love,”
Rose read.

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”
Iris brushed her fingers against the quote embroidered in gold thread. “Aumaleigh, you made this for your wedding bed.”

“I did.” She cleared her throat, trying to keep the hurt buried. “It was a long time ago. Maybe one of you girls would like it? Rose? Iris? Magnolia?”

“No.” Rose shook her head.

“Not a chance,” Iris seconded.

“Not me.” Magnolia looked stubborn. “This is such beautiful workmanship. It’s a work of art.”

“And a work of your heart,” Iris said gently, taking the quilt from Magnolia and folding it with care. “Don’t worry. We understand. At the wedding, we are going to make sure your contact with him is non-existent.”

“That’s right,” Rose chimed in. “I am assigning Iris to be your lookout.”

“My lookout?” Aumaleigh gave a soft laugh. Leave it to the girls to dream up something like that. “I don’t need a guard, not from Gabriel. I’m perfectly capable of handling this on my own.”

“No one said you weren’t.” Daisy breezed by, on her way to the door. “Don’t forget I’m lookout number two!”

She slipped outside before Aumaleigh could argue, so she glanced at the remaining girls. “I don’t need two lookouts. I don’t need one. Iris, I want your word.”

Instead of promising, Iris set the quilt on the sofa. “I need to go. I have to be right there when school lets out, or who knows what trouble Sadie and Sally will get into.”

“Go get your girls.” Aumaleigh loved the joy and love that transformed Iris as she waved and hurried away. Love was the only thing that mattered. Gabriel had turned his back on her—he hadn’t wanted that with her.

She put away her sorrow with the quilt, folding it away inside the storage bench. Out of sight, out of mind. But deep within her was still that young girl so full of hope and belief in her wonderful Gabriel.

Well, she was no longer that young girl. Her life was full. She was mature and sensible enough to handle seeing her old flame for a day or two. He’d be leaving soon enough and she’d never need to think of him again.

“The wagons are empty. We’ve got everything moved in.” Burton shook off the raindrops from his hat and glanced around. “Hey, it already feels like a home.”

“It does,” she agreed. A fire crackled in the river-stone hearth. Lit lamps cast a cheerful, cozy glow. Magnolia and Rose laughed together, trying to unroll an area rug and dropping it.

Aumaleigh treasured the moment, savoring the feeling of being happy. Truly happy.

This new chapter in her life was going to be the best yet. She just had a feeling.

“Pa, are you all right?” His daughter, Leigh, turned from the sink in the kitchen. “You seem upset.”

“No, just got a lot on my mind.” That was no lie, but it wasn’t entirely the truth either. Gabriel propped one shoulder against the archway, studying his daughter with her bouncing dark brown curls and smudges of dust on her pretty pink dress. A father’s love filled him up, pushing out the disappointment that had been troubling him. “Don’t tell me you’ve got all those dishes washed.”

“I’m speedy. No grass grows under my feet.” She swiped her dishtowel down the handle of a fry pan. “I’m all set to fix supper here. We won’t have to have another meal out.”

“Your aunt Josslyn will be disappointed.”

“She can come here!” Leigh brightened, hanging the dishtowel to dry next to the stove. “What a brilliant idea. I should have thought of it earlier. We can invite Seth over and make it a celebration. After all, it’s his last night as a bachelor.”

“Something tells me he probably already has plans.”

“Oh, too bad. I should have thought of it earlier. I just didn’t know we could get everything delivered so fast.” Leigh threw open the pantry door and started pulling out ingredients. “We’ll have our own little celebration anyway. This is our first night in the new house. I still don’t know why you want to live so far away from me.”

“I know, it’s a dumb decision of mine.” Grinning, he pushed off the wall and ambled into the kitchen. “Is the tea water hot?”

“Yes. I was just waiting for you to come in to steep your tea. Honestly, I miss Eleanor. You need to hire a maid, Pa. I won’t go home until I know someone is taking good care of you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Foolish men. They always think that, but it’s never true. Admit it, Pa. You men need us.”

“I’ll always need you, Princess.” It was hard to believe his little girl was all grown up. It felt like yesterday when she was just a little thing, toddling around the parlor, tiny and precious, the owner of his entire heart. “You can always change your mind and stay here with me.”

“What about my fiancé? No, my life is back home. You’ll just have to find a way to survive without me.” She winked, smiling airily.

“Yes,” he agreed dryly. “Don’t know how I’ll manage.”

He saw the shadow at the window in the back door and whipped it open before she could knock. His sister looked up at him with surprise and delight.

“Gabriel. I can’t believe you, moving here.” Josslyn pushed past him, her red hair wet from the rain. She shook off her coat and sidled in at the stove. “Hi, Leigh, my love. Why did you let your father do this? He never should have bought this place.”

“I tried to stop him, but did he listen to me? No.” Leigh set down the tea kettle to embrace her aunt. “You know Pa. Mules look weak-willed by comparison. Let me pour you some tea.”

“Isn’t that tea for me?” Gabe spoke up, giving a soft bark of laughter when both his sister and daughter gave him a look. He held up his hands. “Fine, fine. You two have tea. I’ll go out and put up your horse, Josslyn.”

“Good, because I left him for you.” His sister winked, smiling her thanks before accepting a cup of tea—the one Leigh had brewed for him.

He grabbed his coat off the hook. “A man deserves better treatment.”

“Some men, maybe.” Josslyn took a sip of tea. Leigh nodded at him in agreement.

“I know when I’m outnumbered.” He donned his Stetson and closed the door behind him. The ring of female laughter was muffled, but he liked the sound.

Rain pounded down to bounce off the brim of his hat and ping in the mud puddles. He took Josslyn’s gelding by the reins and led the animal to the barn. The wind blew them in. He liked nothing better than a spring storm. They were quick, electrifying and they turned the whole world a little greener.

The team he’d bought from his nephew, Seth, looked over their stall gates, watching him with curious, bright eyes. Probably hoping for grain. Maybe he would spoil them with a treat. Buy their good regard. At the start of any relationship, it always worked out best for a man if he came bearing gifts.

Which brought his mind back around to Aumaleigh. He shook his head, gave the horses a little grain and started rubbing down Joss’s gelding. He hadn’t been able to get the woman out of his head since he’d seen her back in December—and earlier today.

She was still grace and loveliness. More than two decades hadn’t diminished her beauty one bit.

But it had diminished his bitterness.

He traded the towel for the curry comb, patiently grooming the gelding. The sounds of the storm echoed in the mostly empty barn. If he were honest, the reason his bitterness was fading was because he’d learned that she was a spinster. She’d never married. She had no children of her own.

All the dreams he’d had for her as his wife—her happiness, a baby in her arms, the joy of watching their children grow up, sweet days filled with love.

That had never happened for her.

Hadn’t that been the reason he’d stayed away? So that she could have those things with the right man, a moneyed man, one that her family was sure could provide a luxurious life for her?

Sorrow gripped him. He’d been wrong. He’d done the wrong thing, made the wrong decision, and they’d both paid for it. That dream of love and a happy life together never happened.

His throat felt tight as he untied Joss’s gelding and led him to a stall next to Barney. The black gelding gave the newcomer a sniff, as if to decide if he was friend of foe. With a nicker, he conveyed his opinion to his brother who gave a whinny of welcome.

Thunder crashed overhead, rattling the barn. Rain turned to hail, drumming on the roof. Since he had a little time yet before supper, Gabriel climbed the wooden ladder into the loft. The last dregs of daylight edged between the boards, guiding him toward the loft door. He unlatched one side and pulled open the door, leaning his shoulder against it as the countryside stretched out below him.

Wow. Ohio wasn’t anything like this. The mountains, close enough to touch, were shrouded in thick, black cotton clouds. Lightning undulating across the sky, grazing the underbellies of the clouds. Thunder cannoned, echoing across the fertile mountain valley. Sheets of hail turned the lush green meadows and foothills white. He breathed in the fresh, charged air and let the chilly wind blast his face.

And that’s when he noticed small flickers of light through the dancing boughs of the cottonwoods. There, across the rise and fall of the land, was a two-story log house. Lamplight shone like gold in the many windows, one of which framed Aumaleigh to perfection.

He was too far away to see more than the blue of her dress and the fall of her molasses hair. An impression, really, of the woman he’d once loved with every piece of his soul. She moved away and the lamplight went out, but the past had a hold of him. Memories reared up, vivid and so sweet they hurt.

The boom of thunder chased them across the field. Her laughter filled his ears, sweet and melodic, the most beautiful sound.

They weren’t going to make it to the shelter of the buckboard before the rain hit. Lightning blinded him, but he took her hand, so small and delicate against his big, rough one. The tenderness in his heart doubled from just touching her.

This second date of theirs was not going to plan, not at all, but it didn’t seem to matter to her. She tilted her head to look up at him while they ran, and the heart and life shining in her bluebonnet-blue eyes stymied him. Just made him melt.

He had nothing but tenderness for her, tenderness that was so, so sweet.

“Oh no!” Her hand slipped from his, trying to catch a pretty pink bonnet that was spiraling up with the wind. “My hat!”

“Wait, I’ll get it.” He bolted after it, cursed under his breath when the wind snatched it away at the last second and dashed it to the ground. Sully snatched it up, clutching it between his big horsy teeth. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

The gelding merely arched his neck, proud of himself.

“That’s no way to treat a lady.” Gabe made a grab for the hat. “Especially in the rain.”

Sully lifted his head high, keeping the hat out of reach. His brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

“It’s too late now.” Aumaleigh held up her hands in a helpless gesture. The skies opened up and rain hit the ground like bullets, drenching them both to the skin in seconds. As if they hadn’t been wet enough.

So much for a romantic second date.

“I knew I shouldn’t have worn the pink bonnet.” Aumaleigh sailed up to him, lovelier somehow with the rain in her hair. “You did warn me.”

“I tried to.” He rescued the dainty bonnet from Sully’s teeth. “Bad horse. I’ll beat you later.”

“Yeah, right.” Aumaleigh came in close to him, her slender fingers curling around the hat brim. The way her lips hitched in the corners made a man wonder what they would feel like pressed against his. Her chin went up. “Clearly your horses are terribly abused.”