Lead Me Home

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  He arrived at the cemetery in the middle of the afternoon. Parking the SUV, he walked between the rows of markers set flush with the grass until he found the two he was looking for. The grass was manicured and the headstones clear of debris, so apparently the management was living up to its promise of perpetual care.

  Matthew had thought of bringing flowers, but knew they’d die quickly in the heat. He stood silently gazing down at the two engraved markers. His memory of his mother was dim and consisted mostly of the pictures he still had of her. But his father’s image was clear.

  The guy had done his level best to carry on after Matthew’s mother died, but he’d struggled. Chain-smoking had been his crutch, and eventually it had killed him. Matthew had always wondered if his dad had secretly looked forward to the day he would end up here next to his wife.

  Eloisa Ann Tredway, beloved wife of John Matthew Tredway, was etched into the granite on Matthew’s left, and the reverse, John Matthew Tredway, beloved husband of Eloisa Ann Tredway, was on the right.

  Beloved. Matthew had never quite grasped the numbing heartache his father must have felt when his wife died. And although leaving Aurelia was not even close to the same kind of tragedy, he understood his dad’s grief a little better now.

  No wonder his father hadn’t been able to provide a sense of home and security. His wife’s death had ended any dreams he’d had of those things. Matthew had learned early that he could survive without a warm family life and had eventually replaced any lingering feelings of emptiness with work and travel.

  Until he’d met Aurelia, he’d never thought in terms of home and permanence for himself. Maybe a part of him had feared he’d end up blindsided like his father. He still couldn’t picture himself settling down in one spot, but he desperately wanted to settle down with one woman.

  He understood that happiness was never guaranteed, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t reach for it, which meant reaching for Aurelia. Being with her felt like coming home after years of restless wandering. Whether she wanted to or not, she’d become his beloved.

  His head snapped up as it suddenly occurred to him that he’d neglected to tell her that. It might not have made any difference, with her being so stubbornly set in her belief they couldn’t have a life together. But he should have told her he loved her. And he hadn’t.

  16

  THE DAY AUNT MARY LOU and her new husband Watkins were due back, Aurelia moved her things out of the bedroom and into a room upstairs. She’d sleep there tonight, and the next day someone would drive her to the airport, so she’d packed everything except a nightgown, her traveling clothes and her toiletries.

  The cards that Matthew had accidentally left behind were carefully tucked into a corner of her suitcase. Every night she’d played solitaire with them. Maybe that was pathetic, but handling the cards made her feel a little closer to him, and she missed him more than she ever would have thought she’d miss anyone.

  Getting back into her routine at home would help, but she didn’t kid herself that she’d be over him in no time. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be over Matthew, but being at the ranch with all its memories of him definitely made things worse for her.

  She washed the sheets and was planning to clean the bathroom and vacuum, but Pete Beckett had finally talked Sarah into hiring a housekeeper. Keri, a cheerful brunette about Aurelia’s age, insisted on handling the final cleanup of Mary Lou’s apartment.

  Aurelia was upstairs when she heard Sarah call out “They’re here!” Aurelia bounded down the stairs, eager to hear how her aunt had survived the trip. She expected woeful tales of the rigors of travel. Aurelia’s mother, Mary Lou’s sister, had asked for a full report on just how bad the experience had been.

  Mary Lou came through the door glowing with happiness. She’d acquired a tan, and she’d never looked better. Even her hair was styled differently. Watkins and Jack followed with the suitcases, and there were several of them.

  Watkins, a barrel-chested man with a handlebar mustache, beamed at everyone. “Great trip,” he said. “Outstanding.”

  Aurelia hugged her aunt and waited for the disclaimer.

  It never came. Mary Lou raved about the entire experience. At first Aurelia thought her aunt might just be saying she’d loved the honeymoon to spare her new husband’s feelings. But as the family gathered in the living room to hear the details of the trip, Aurelia finally realized that her aunt wasn’t faking. She’d had the time of her life.

  The homecoming celebration moved into the cocktail hour, which included substantial munchies that Sarah and Aurelia had made instead of a formal sit-down dinner. Soon the living room was packed with all ages, from the seven teenagers in residence to the members of the Chance family, including the two Chance grandchildren: Sarah Bianca, a toddler who was into everything, and Archie was still a baby who hadn’t yet begun to crawl.

  It was bedlam, but a happy kind of bedlam. For the first time since Aurelia had arrived, all members of the family were together, and the chaos helped her forget, for a little while, that she had a permanently broken heart. Much of the talk centered on Jack’s half brother Wyatt and the wedding coming up at the end of August.

  Wyatt’s father and twin brother, Rafe, had promised to come, but Diana, mother to Wyatt and Rafe as well as Jack, hadn’t committed. Aurelia hoped to get time off so she could help with the cooking. She was intensely curious about a woman who could run off to San Francisco and leave a toddler behind. Besides, thinking about Jack, Wyatt, Rafe and Diana distracted her from her own troubles.

  Then Mary Lou found a moment to draw her into a corner of the room, away from the chaos. “What’s this I hear about you and the horse trainer?”

  So much for forgetting about Matthew. Aurelia felt her cheeks grow warm. “It was nothing, Aunt Mary Lou. A temporary fling. I promise I didn’t let it interfere with my job. In fact, Matthew helped me improve my job performance.”

  “Heavens, Aurelia, I’m not worried about whether he kept you from doing your job. I know you better than that. But what happened? Everyone thought you two made the perfect couple, and then bam, it was over.”

  “We aren’t right for each other. He’s a world traveler, and I’m not into that. It would never have worked out with me wanting to stay home and him constantly on the go.”

  Mary Lou’s eyes narrowed. “You sound exactly like your mother.”

  Aurelia was taken aback by her aunt’s tone. “Not surprising, I suppose. She is the one who gave birth to me.”

  “And passed on the prejudices that we inherited from your grandparents. One bad train trip, and they refused to travel ever again.”

  “But then my parents ended up in a burning hotel room.”

  Mary Lou shrugged. “Stuff happens.”

  “And don’t forget my aunt and uncle’s horrible car trip to St. Louis.”

  “Those two.” Mary Lou rolled her eyes. “I swear they still subscribed to the flat-earth theory. They thought if they traveled too far in one direction, they’d fall right off. Plop. Done.”

  Aurelia glanced at her aunt’s empty wineglass and concluded that her aunt’s tongue might be a little looser than usual. “You don’t seem to subscribe to the flat-earth theory.”

  “Not anymore, but I was a card-carrying member until Watkins dragged me on to this cruise.” She wagged a finger at Aurelia. “You’ve been sold a bill of goods, niece of mine. Travel is great.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I can’t believe all the years I’ve wasted thinking there was nothing worth seeing that required a plane ride, or a train ride or a boat ride. It’s a smorgasbord out there, Aurelia, and if you have someone who’s offered you a seat at the table, you need to grab that chair.”

  “But…but, I’d have to quit my job, and get a passport and sublet my apartment, and—”

  “Details. Does he want to take you with him?”

  “Yes.” He’d begged her, in fact.

  “Then you would be a fool not to
accept, Aurelia Imogene. Can you still get ahold of him, or has he gone off on another trip?”

  “He said I could call his cell.” Aurelia’s heart kicked into high gear. “Sarah has the number.”

  “Then what the hell are we waiting for, girl?” Mary Lou raised her voice. “Sarah, can you get this horse-trainer fellow on the phone? My niece needs to talk to him.”

  Sarah looked startled, but she put down her wine immediately and headed down the hall toward her bedroom. “Come with me, Aurelia,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m sure you’d like a little privacy, so make the call from my room.”

  “He’s probably left the country by now,” Aurelia said as she caught up with Sarah. “I might wake him up if he’s in Europe somewhere.”

  Sarah walked into her bedroom and picked up the cell phone lying on her nightstand. “If he feels about you the way I think he does, he won’t mind if you wake him up.” She pushed a couple of buttons and handed the phone to Aurelia. “It’s ringing. Good luck.” Then she walked out of the room.

  Aurelia barely had time to take stock of her surroundings, an elegant room furnished in greens and browns, before Matthew answered.

  “Sarah?” he said. “Is there a problem with Houdini?”

  “It’s not Sarah.” Aurelia’s heart beat so loudly she hoped she’d be able to hear him over it. “It’s me.”

  “Aurelia?”

  “Did I wake you? I have no idea where you are, and I—”

  “I’m in Jackson.”

  “Jackson, Wyoming?”

  “Yeah.” His voice was soft and very warm. “I knew you were leaving tomorrow, and I hoped…” He took a deep breath. “I hoped to hear from you before you left.”

  “You’re in Jackson?” She still couldn’t quite comprehend that. She’d been so certain he’d be out of the country by now.

  “I’m sitting in a restaurant eating a meal that doesn’t hold a candle to anything you’ve fixed.”

  “Did you want to finish it, or…would you consider…”

  “I’m on my way.” The line went dead.

  Aurelia’s hands shook so much she was afraid she’d drop Sarah’s phone. She laid it on the polished dark wood of the nightstand and wrapped her arms around her body to try and stop the trembling. He was coming back. She had another chance.

  Knowing he’d hung around waiting in case she changed her mind loomed huge. He hadn’t written her off and gone about his life. He’d stayed in hopes that she’d reconsider.

  She’d read his book and knew he was tenacious when it came to working with horses. Apparently he was tenacious when it came to wooing her. And that’s what he was doing, wooing her. She was being pursued by a man who could have any number of women simply by snapping his fingers. But he wanted her.

  Head spinning, she walked back down the hall. At the curved staircase she paused, longing to go upstairs, away from the crowd of people, while she waited for Matthew.

  Sarah must have been watching for her, because she excused herself from the group and hurried over. “Did you get him?”

  Aurelia nodded.

  “And?”

  “He’s in Jackson. He’s driving back here.”

  Sarah’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful. I’m so glad you called him.” She paused, as if considering. “Go wait for him on the porch. You’ll have more privacy there.”

  Aurelia sighed with relief. “Thank you, Sarah.”

  “What’s going on?” Mary Lou walked up next to Sarah. “Did you get in touch with that horse trainer?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “He was in Jackson,” Sarah added. “He’ll be here soon.”

  “That’s great.” Mary Lou lifted her wineglass. “Well done, niece of mine. Well done.”

  “Aurelia’s going to wait for him out on the porch.”

  “Good idea,” Mary Lou said. “I’ll sit with her, keep her company.”

  “Oh, that’s okay, Aunt Mary Lou,” Aurelia said quickly. “I’ll be fine out there on my own.”

  “No, you won’t,” Mary Lou said. “You’ll be jittery as a June bug. I’ll refill my wine and bring you one. You go ahead. I’ll be right there.” She took off.

  Aurelia glanced at Sarah.

  “She’s a force of nature.” Sarah gazed after Mary Lou. “I’ve known her for almost thirty years, and I’ve never felt as if I had the upper hand. You might as well go along with her plan.”

  “All right, but when Matthew gets here, she’ll need to make herself scarce.”

  Sarah laughed. “When Matthew gets here, you won’t even notice that Mary Lou’s around.”

  Moments later, Aurelia sat in one of the porch rockers with a glass of wine and her aunt beside her giving advice about men.

  “Don’t go along with whatever they dream up,” Mary Lou said, “but keep in mind that sometimes they actually might have a good idea. I would never have taken a cruise because our family’s been conditioned not to travel, but am I glad Watkins insisted. We’re already making plans for the next one.”

  “But what if I’m not like you? What if I hate traveling?”

  Mary Lou patted her arm. “Honey, men who like to travel make great lovers. You won’t hate traveling if you’re getting some every night.”

  “Aunt Mary Lou!”

  “I’m just sayin’.”

  “So what are you girls doing out here?” Watkins came through the door with a beer bottle in his hand.

  “Girl talk,” Mary Lou said.

  “Nice out here.” Watkins sat down in the rocker next to Mary Lou’s. “No wonder you wanted to sit outside.”

  “Hey, where’s the bridegroom?” Jack Chance appeared on the porch. “Oh, there you are. What’re you doing out here?”

  “It’s a nice night,” Watkins said.

  “It is,” Jack said. “Think I’ll sit a spell, too.” He took the rocker next to Watkins.

  When Jack’s wife, Josie, came out holding little Archie and looking for Jack, Aurelia had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. The parade continued like that, until the porch rockers were full and the buzz of conversation melded with the chirp of crickets.

  “This is nice,” Mary Lou said.

  “Yes, it is,” Aurelia agreed. She wasn’t sure how Matthew would react to the welcoming committee, but knowing him, he’d roll with it.

  Eventually headlights appeared on the road leading to the ranch.

  “I think that’s him!” Jack called out. “He made damned good time, too. He might’ve beat my record.”

  “Maybe he’s better at spotting the cops than you are,” said his youngest brother, Gabe, the father of little Sarah Bianca.

  “I’ve framed all my speeding tickets,” Jack said. “I consider them a badge of honor, a testament to my manhood.”

  “I consider them a testament to your inability to locate the fuzz before they locate you,” Gabe said.

  The teasing grew more raucous about the time that Matthew pulled into the parking area to the far left of the house. Aurelia wasn’t sure whether to stay where she was or go meet him in the parking area. She started to get out of her rocker.

  Mary Lou put a hand on her arm. “Let him come to you, sweetie,” she murmured.

  “But everybody’s sitting on the porch like some kind of reception line. He has to run the gauntlet.”

  “From the way everyone’s talked about him, he can handle it.”

  “You’re probably right.” She remained seated.

  Matthew approached the house. She could see the moment he noticed that the porch was filled with people, because he hesitated for a split second. Then he straightened his shoulders and continued toward her.

  At the bottom of the steps, he stopped and took off his hat. “Good people of the Last Chance,” he said, as if beginning a speech.

  “That’s us!” Jack called out. He’d obviously been enjoying his beer. “How’re you doing, Matthew?”

  “Not so good,” Matthew said. “It seems that I’ve lost my
heart to a certain Aurelia Imogene Smith.”

  Aurelia gasped. She would never have guessed he’d make a public declaration like that.

  “Does that mean you’ve come for her?” Jack asked.

  “Yes,” Matthew said. “If she’ll have me.”

  Jack rocked forward and leaned over to peer down the line of chairs. “You want this son-of-a-gun, Aurelia? Because if you don’t, we can run him off. We have the manpower to do it.”

  “Or the womanpower,” Mary Lou said.

  “I want him.” She stood on shaky legs, put her wineglass on the porch floor, and walked down the steps toward Matthew. She looked into his eyes. “I’d follow this man anywhere.”

  Amidst cheers and wolf whistles, Matthew smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I’m really glad about that, because I love you, Aurelia. I should have told you so before.”

  “I wouldn’t have believed you before.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But I do now.”

  “So is it mutual?”

  “Extremely mutual. I think I’ve loved you from the minute I saw you.”

  “And I’ve loved you all my life.” He held her close. “It just took me forever to find you.” He kissed her then, amid cheers and catcalls from the porch sitters. But as Sarah had predicted, Aurelia forgot that anyone else was even there.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Blazing Midsummer Nights by Leslie Kelly!

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