by Jillian Hart
“Aumaleigh!” Nora Montgomery waltzed over with the importance of a woman who was sure of her position in life. Her gown was the latest design and her jewelry ostentatious. “Goodness, you are always the little worker bee, aren’t you? Then again, some women are simply made for work. I hear you bought yourself the darling little place on River Road.”
Aumaleigh decided to let the insult slide by. “Yes, I moved in yesterday.”
“How charming for you. Of course, with the income your ranch must make, you should have gotten something much more in line with your stature. I suppose your mother was right. You were always best suited for small things.” Nora swiped a ham and cheese biscuit off the tray. “We’ll be family soon. I suppose Tyler’s will be the next wedding. If only your niece wasn’t so pedestrian. Perhaps you could talk some sense into her. She insists on getting married in town, and as nice as this house is, it’s hardly the Deer Springs Hotel.”
“Nora, I’m not going to try to manipulate Magnolia for you. It’s not going to happen. I’m sorry.”
“You’re not sorry!” Nora pushed a lock of carefully coiffed hair out of her face. Diamonds glittered as she whirled around. “I don’t know what that girl did to get her hooks into my son, but I’m going to do my best to get her to let go —”
“Nora.” Aumaleigh lowered her voice, surprised to hear the threat ringing there. But she wasn’t sorry for it. “You have given my sweet niece a lot of grief, and if you do anything to stand in the way of Magnolia and Tyler’s happiness, I will make you regret it.”
“Your mother was always right about you.” Nora’s lovely face pruned with an ugly emotion. “No wonder you’re alone at your age. You get what you deserve.”
“Be careful, Nora. You just might wind up with what you deserve.”
With a disdainful noise, the elite woman stalked off, perhaps in search of more upper-class and sophisticated folks to speak with.
“Don’t listen to her.” A familiar smoky baritone seemed to rumble through her. “She’s wrong.”
“I know.” It took all her strength to turn around and face the one man she’d vowed to avoid. “Gabriel. Are you enjoying the party?”
“The food is tasty, and dinner hasn’t even been served yet. The kids look happy, don’t they?” He took a biscuit off the tray.
She wanted to fall through a hole in the floor and disappear. Where was a rotten floorboard when you needed one? “I think Rose and Seth are going to be very happy together. After all, he is the kind of good and gentle man who would never break Rose’s heart.”
“I agree. And Rose seems like the kind of young lady who would never hurt Seth.” Gabriel’s gaze pinned hers. His eyes were the same stormy gray. “I get the feeling that we aren’t talking about the kids anymore.”
“Of course we are,” she denied. “What else would we be talking about?”
“How about the reason you seem so angry with me?”
Ooh! The calm and sincere way he spoke riled her up again. Anger welled up until she could barely breathe. The nerve of him! “I’m hardly angry with you. After all these years, why would I be?”
Any moment now a bolt of lightning was going to strike her dead. Horribly, utterly dead.
“My mistake.” He took a bite of the biscuit. “Hmm, you made this, didn’t you? I’d know your cooking anywhere.”
He probably meant that as a compliment, so why did she have to fight off the overwhelming urge to beat him with the serving tray? A few sharp whaps upside his head would make her feel a whole lot better.
“That’s my daughter.” He gave a chin-jut in the direction of the parlor, where a charming young lady with ringlet curls and a stunning blue gown chatted with Rose and Verbena. “I wish my sons could have made it, but both of them are away at school. I’m a widower, you know.”
“Josslyn mentioned it.” Her anger wasn’t really anger at all. “I’m sorry. I hope you and your wife had many happy years together.”
“We did.” Sorrow passed over his features, and the grief in his gray eyes reminded her of the young man she’d known, so sincere at heart.
Her eyes burned and she turned around before he could notice. “I’ve got to go circulate. Good seeing you again.”
“You, too. Hey, Aumaleigh?”
She kept going, plowing into the parlor and knocking into someone’s arm with the corner of the tray. “Excuse me.”
“Aumaleigh! We’ve been looking for you.” Rose stole the tray and set it aside. “You’ve got to meet my new cousin! Well, cousin by marriage. This is Gabriel’s daughter.”
“Yes, I know. Your father pointed you out to me.” The instant she looked Gabriel’s daughter in the face, emotions gripped her tight again. “You have your father’s eyes.”
“Yes, I do. And his chin, although the dimple in it isn’t as deep, thank goodness!” Gabriel’s daughter flashed a charming grin. “I’ve heard so much about you. Not so much before my mother passed away, but afterwards I’ve gotten a few stories out of Seth about you. You were his first love.”
“Indeed.” The anger that wasn’t anger gathered in her chest, balling up into a hard fist. The pain of all she’d failed to have in her life—all that she’d failed to have with Gabriel. That loss hurt like a mortal wound. “It’s lovely to meet you—”
“Leigh,” the charming young lady said. “Everybody calls me Leigh, but my full name is Aumaleigh.”
Aumaleigh? Shock bolted through her, wedging hard beneath her ribs. She couldn’t breathe. The emotion wadding up in her chest exploded, leaving nothing but pain and shock. Gabriel had named his only daughter Aumaleigh?
“I see you two have met.” He moved in from behind her to stand next to Rose and Leigh. Those deep, manly crinkles in the corners of his eyes dug deep into his tanned skin. Quite attractively. “Leigh is only staying here to help me get settled in. I was hoping that you McPhee girls could help her change her mind.”
“I wouldn’t even try,” Rose sparkled. The wedding dress fit her to perfection, hugging her slender shape and complimenting her creamy complexion and blond locks perfectly. Her eyes shone as she winked at Leigh. “Do you have a beau back home?”
“Yes. And he’s quite wonderful.” Leigh blushed prettily. The girl was charming and likable and Aumaleigh could feel her heart opening, softening toward Gabriel’s daughter.
Her hand shook as she picked up the tray. “Look at the time. Dinner is almost ready. I’d better go check on how the cooks are doing in the kitchen. Excuse me.”
“Nice to meet you, Aumaleigh!” Gabriel’s daughter called out sweetly.
If anyone else called out after her, she couldn’t hear it. It took all her strength to walk away and stop the stinging behind her eyes.
Why had he named his daughter after her? It wasn’t as if Aumaleigh was a common name. Had it been out of guilt? Out of nostalgia?
Or had it been out of love?
Chapter Five
Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off Aumaleigh. He sat next to his daughter at a large oak table among many tucked into the large and luxurious dining room. He hardly tasted the seasoned beef and scalloped potatoes on the plate in front of him. The rise and fall of conversations, the clink and clang of silverware and china, it was all background.
Aumaleigh sat at the table closest to the kitchen. The lamplight brought out copper highlights in her hair and caressed the side of her sweet face the way he once had.
Maybe the old love he’d held for her had never fully died, but he was no longer that young man so earnestly in love. Neither was she that gentle, sheltered girl. Life and time had changed them. They were strangers now.
How did he cross that divide between them? Could love, once lost, be captured again?
“Pa?” Leigh tugged on his sleeve. “Oh, I see what’s got your attention.”
“You do?” He blinked, whipping his gaze away from the molasses-haired beauty across the room. “I’m contemplating that cake over there. It looks tasty.”
“Meeting who?” It was best to play innocent.
“Aumaleigh.” She waggled her eyebrows. “My namesake.”
“I suppose you had to meet her sometime. Later would have been better.”
“Seth says she was your first love. It’s hard to imagine you were sweet on anyone besides Ma.” Leigh took a casual sip from her water glass.
But he wasn’t fooled. She was digging for as much information as she could get her hands on. “You’re wrong. I didn’t have a life before your mother. I just came into existence out of thin air one minute before we met.”
“Okay, you don’t want to tell me. I understand. Don’t worry. I can get more details out of Seth.” She winked, sweet as pie. As sweet as her namesake.
And his traitorous gaze zipped straight back to her. Aumaleigh rose from her chair, as tall and slim as ever, and twice as elegant. It was strange how deeply you could know another human being. So much of her had stayed the same—her smile, the way she moved, the gentle way she treated those around her.
And yet, there was so much about this Aumaleigh he didn’t know. How did she spend her time? What had happened to her over the years? What did she want out of life now? She didn’t seem to be aware of several older bachelors keeping an eye on her or moving in to ask her a question, just for the chance to speak with her.
“I hear from Rose and her sisters that their aunt never married. Imagine that.” Leigh bit the corners of her mouth to hide her mischievous smile. “After you, she never married. Ever. If you ask me, that’s romantic.”
“I don’t think I was the reason.” That sadness haunted him. He watched as she bent to the task of clearing plates, and the humility she showed, a woman of means serving others, made his breath hitch. That was the Aumaleigh he’d once loved with all his soul.
“I hope you all enjoyed the meal.” Rose McPhee Daniels stood up at the head of the largest table, and the crowd silenced.
“It was tasty, Rose!” a chubby, amiable man in the back called out.
“Thanks, Fred. I’ll give your compliment to the cooks.”
“Oh, I’ll be happy to do that myself.” Fred lifted his wine goblet in a toast and took a sip.
Smiling, Seth rose to his feet and took his wife’s hand. Happiness radiated from them. You could see that they were a good match. That they were going to figure out marriage and wind up one of the very happy ones.
“Rose and I want to thank you all for being here to help us celebrate. If you’d like to head into the sunroom, there will be drinks and music for dancing. I have two left feet, but I promised Rose I’d give it a try.”
Folks were laughing as they stood and moseyed from the dining room. Already several ladies and the McPhee girls were at work clearing the tables.
“Aumaleigh used to live here.” Leigh stayed back with him, waiting for the crowd to thin. “I know because I asked. This is a beautiful manor, isn’t it? It had to have been expensive to build. We’ve never lived in anything like this.”
“That was Aumaleigh’s mother. Her parents had money.” He glanced around at the expensive things in the room, the quality construction—all that used to intimidate him.
“Ah! So you did tell me something about her. How did you meet her? Did Aunt Josslyn introduce you? Did you fall in love with her at first sight? Oh, maybe she was wise to your type and refused to talk to you. That’s what I’d do.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “It was exactly like that. She sent me packing.”
“I knew it. Any smart woman would. Why Ma married you, I’ll never know.”
“It was a moment of weakness on her part. Or maybe just plain bad judgment.”
“Everyone makes mistakes in life.” Leigh sparkled up at him, far too young and perfect to ever have made a real mistake.
He draped an arm around her, full of pure, one-hundred-percent love for his little girl. “Why don’t you go make more friends? And promise me you won’t go digging for any old stories about me.”
“Why make a promise I can’t keep? That would just be wrong.” Leigh bobbed away, leaving him standing in the emptying dining room.
Music started up, echoing through the house. Clearly Aumaleigh was doing her best to avoid him. She’d retreated to the kitchen where, judging by the number of voices and clanking of dishes, she was surrounded by a half dozen women. Way too many to try and talk to her. And she wasn’t stepping foot back into the dining room. Other ladies were clearing the rest of the tables.
He was a patient man. He could wait.
“I bet you’ve never been so glad to have so many dishes to wash.” Josslyn hustled over and stole the dishtowel right out of Aumaleigh’s hands. “Am I right?”
“More than you know.” She couldn’t deny it, so she didn’t even try. “Thanks for letting me hide here.”
“It was tempting to toss you out, but I can’t imagine what you’re going through. He didn’t even tell me that he was coming until he was here.”
“You seem a little mad about that.”
“I don’t think he should move here, acting like everything is fine.” Josslyn twisted the dishtowel in her hands, hopefully not as if it were Gabriel’s neck. “He acts as if you were to blame, as if everything was your fault.”
“I can’t say he’s entirely wrong.” That truth cost her. It was hard to admit aloud, turning around to catch a glimpse of him down the length of the hallway, talking seriously with the apparently newly arriving sheriff. She closed her eyes for a moment, fighting resentment and that pesky anger. “I did refuse to marry him.”
“He should have forgiven you.” Josslyn threw the dishtowel onto the counter. “He and I get along so long as we don’t talk about you.”
“Then don’t talk about me.” Aumaleigh thought of her parents, dead. Her brothers, dead. “You never know how long you have with someone. Don’t throw away another second with him. Promise me.”
“Okay, but I know why you’re saying that. You don’t think you’re worth it, but you are. I’m always on your side, Aumaleigh.”
“And I’m always on yours. That’s why I’m going to finish up here. You need to go and spend time with your family.” Aumaleigh gave her lifelong friend a hug. “Go on. This is your son’s wedding day. You’ve put enough time in the kitchen.”
“It’s my job and my pleasure.” Josslyn glanced toward the archway, clearly looking past the crowd where her brother stood, still talking to Milo. “I hope you plan on sharing Rose, because I’ve always wanted a daughter. My son couldn’t have found a better wife. I already love her so much.”
“Lucky Rose.” Aumaleigh shooed Josslyn out of the kitchen, but not before she caught Gabriel watching her. Fortunately she turned her back on him, blotted any thought of him right out of her mind. “Dottie, why are you still in here?”
“I want to help.” The young woman was just the sweetest. She’d been as quiet as a mouse industriously lending a hand behind the scenes. “The sisters have been so good to me, offering me a job and taking me in. I want to treat them right. Let me finish setting up for dessert. I don’t mind.”
“Okay, I’d like the company.” She shot a glance past dear Dottie to the far end of the hall, but Gabriel was no longer there.
Why did her heart give a pang of disappointment? She was angry at the man. She didn’t want to see him.
“There you are!” Rose rustled in, resplendent in her wedding gown. “Dottie, I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“For me?”
“There’s someone I’ve been wanting you to meet. Come with me.” Rose grabbed Dottie’s hand. “Aumaleigh, is it okay if I steal her?”
“Only if you make sure she has some fun.”
“I promise. C’mon, Dottie. You haven’t met one of our neighbors yet. Lawrence Latimer has a sheep farm—” Rose’s words were drown o
ut by the crowd as she darted between people in the hallway, dragging Dottie in her wake.
Lawrence Latimer, huh? This she had to see. Aumaleigh went up on tiptoe, spying as Rose pulled Dottie to a stop in front of the odd little fellow who’d moved to town a few years ago.
Poor Lawrence. He looked terribly nervous, rubbing a hand over the balding spot in the middle of his head. His second-hand suit was carefully pressed and patched, and his handlebar mustaches bobbed as he took Dottie’s hand in his and theatrically lifted it to his lips in what he likely thought was a gentlemanly kiss of greeting.
“He’s not nearly as suave as he thinks he is, poor fellow,” a familiar baritone rumbled behind her. Gabriel. “Is that the little man I’ve seen driving around with an old donkey and a homemade cart?”
“Yes. The cart is a little rickety.”
“I’ll say. The two of them seem to be getting along well.”
“Dottie looks charmed.” Aumaleigh’s heart tugged, watching the shy young lady nervously push a lock of dark hair out of her eyes. She blushed strawberry red and stared at the floor, looking terribly awkward. The poor girl. “That’s exactly how I felt on our first date.”
Realizing what she’d said, she gasped. The confession had rolled off her tongue without thought. She’d brought up the one thing she could not stand to talk about with Gabriel—the past. Not ever.
“I felt as out of place as that Lawrence fellow looks, too.” Gabriel’s deep voice warmed. “I didn’t see what a beautiful lady like you wanted with a farmhand like me.”
“I thought it was rather obvious.” She could have lied, she could have said something glib or breezy, but she didn’t. If Gabriel could be honest, then she could be too. “I counted myself lucky that you wanted to beau me.”
“Which is proof that even the finest of ladies can have a flaw.” His words dipped low, full of an old affection that was gone now, and it ached to remember.
Did he feel that way too?
“Dance with me.” His hand caught hers. His touch was as familiar as dream, as real as a wish, and moved through her like a much-loved song. She was turning toward him before his arm came around her, anchoring her to him. His boot nudged her shoe in the first step of a waltz.