Where the Heart Leads (17 page)

“No, but the cold water did when you rolled into the pond.”

“That was a shock,” he agreed, and then they were laughing, and his hand found hers and he helped her up into the buckboard as naturally as if he’d been doing it for the last twenty years.

She gazed down at him from the seat, laughing, before she realized what they’d done. The humor died from her lips and the amusement faded from his eyes and in the faint light from the house’s window, they let the silence—and the distance—settle back between them.

Gabriel strode away, circling around the vehicle. He stopped to talk with someone (Walt the deputy who’d come to check on his boss). By the time he joined her on the front seat, things were back to normal. Or, at least, they could pretend they were.

“Do you like running a ranch?” he asked when they were on the road.

“It’s in my blood.” That was all she said. Did she want to share the truth with him? Not exactly. That would make Gabriel her confidante and honestly, she would rather pick someone else for that. “How about you?”

“Oh, I’m done with all that. I’m retired. I bought this acreage to raise horses and a few cattle. I figure I’ll raise and train horses to fill my time.”

“You love animals so much.” She ignored the image of him in the corral with his horses, and the memories from the past of him with his animals. “You’ve always had a gift with them.”

“A gift I’ve been grateful for.” He reined his team through the twilight. “I remember you had a way with them too.”

“It’s been a while. Mostly I spend my time with Buttons. She’s my only animal contact these days.” The cool air breezed across her face, tangling her hair, and she remembered the days before Mother began to keep her assigned to work in the kitchen. As a young girl, she’d been her happiest—running around the barn, tending the animals, sneaking in a few snuggles and kisses. She shrugged, coming back to the present. “There’s so much kitchen work to do.”

“How long have you been stuck in the kitchen?” He arched a brow, watching her intently, almost eerily, as if he could look too deep into her.

And see too much. See more than she was willing to share. She pushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes. “All of my adult life, that’s for sure. Mother banished me to the kitchen when I was fourteen and the neighbors criticized her for letting a girl do a boy’s work in the barn and fields.”

“Frankly, the neighbors should have criticized her before that.” A harsh tone rumbled in Gabriel’s words, and as they slid past a thick copse of trees and fell into full shadow, she lost sight of him.

But she felt his disapproval and contempt of her mother. A feeling she knew all too well. “I’ve left that behind me. Mother’s dead. Whatever she’s done, I’ve just had to let go.”

“It’s that easy?”

“N-no.” She stared down at her hands. They’d rounded a corner and the weak daylight was waning, slipping behind the high, close peaks of the Rockies, painting the world in a faint dusty-rose light. “There’s simply no way to fix it. I’m not going to carry it around anymore.”

“That’s why you said no to me, wasn’t it? Why you gave me back my ring? Because she was pressuring you so hard not to leave her.” Understanding, no accusation lined his face, gave life and heart to his words.

That was worse. His anger or disapproval would be much easier to face. Instead, she felt his spirit tugging at her, his empathy drawing her closer. Miserably, she stared out at the thickening shadows in the road ahead. “No. I mean, yes, Mother and Father were pressuring me. You weren’t the right man, you didn’t make enough, what would people think if I married beneath my means. They needed me, I was wrong to leave them.”

“I should have been there for you, understanding they might be doing that. I should have helped you, Aumaleigh, even if you hadn’t said a word.”

Oh, he was killing her, breaking her apart into tiny, inconsolable pieces. Why did Gabriel have to be such a good man? A man of her wildest dreams—still? “There was nothing you could have done or said. It was the other things that got to me.”

“Like what?”

“Hearing over and over again from them that you were too handsome for me. That I was too homely to hold you. That I wasn’t good enough inside, that I wasn’t lovable. That I would run off and hurt the family who did love me only to find out that you didn’t love me at all. That you were just u-using me, trying to get to their money.” She bit her lip, mad at herself. She’d said too much.

The problem was that she’d gotten confused in space and time. This wasn’t Ohio. And Gabriel wasn’t her intended.

“There’s Buttons, poor girl.” She hopped down before the buckboard stopped rolling, rushing toward her woebegone old mare who looked confused, not understanding what she’d done to be left beside the road in the dark.

In truth, she just needed to escape Gabriel. To stay far, far away from him. After how honest she’d been, how could she ever look him in the eyes again?

She fumbled with the reins, breaking a bunch of needles off the cedar bough in her haste. Once she had the leather straps free, she darted around into the buggy, pushed back the rain curtains and the aroma of chicken and dumpling hit her. Gabriel’s supper! How was she going to find the courage to go back and give this to him?

His boots splashed on the road behind her. “I’ll take Milo’s horse back to his place and tuck him in for the night.”

She wasn’t surprised by that. Not at all. That was Gabriel, doing what he could for others. That had never changed. The backs of her eyes burned as she scooped the baking dish off the floor of her buggy. It was carefully wrapped in towels to keep the heat in, and the lid clanked as she handed it over to him.

“That smells good.” His fingers brushed hers as he took the dish.

She closed her eyes at the snap that zapped through her system—both physical and emotional. Longing filled her with a bitter sweetness she did not examine. She took a step back, climbing into the buggy. “It’s your favorite.”

“It’s nice you remembered after all this time.” That was all he said—but in his tone, in the layers of warmth in his words, she heard something else.

That he knew she’d told him the ranch cooks would make the dish, but she’d been the one to do it. That she’d made this with her own hands for him, the way she used to. The way a part of her wished she could again.

She hated that about herself, that she was that weak. And it wasn’t easy knowing he understood.

“Good night, Gabriel.” She lifted the reins and snapped them, sending Buttons on her way.

“Good night, Aumaleigh,” his voice called after her, carried by a temperate wind.

“It’s Aumaleigh!” Verbena opened the door. “You’re late. We were just starting to worry, after what happened to Milo.”

“I know. I’m grateful he’s going to be fine.” Aumaleigh crossed the threshold, her arms full of gifts. “Once he heals up, that is.”

“Fred told us all he knew, but he didn’t know much.” Daisy rose from a chair by the fire and waved Aumaleigh over. “Does Milo know who shot him?”

“He didn’t say.” Aumaleigh shrugged off her coat. Magnolia bounced up to grab it and hang it up. Verbena took her gifts to the pile next to Maebry, and a couple dozen people tucked in the cozy and comfortable parlor smiled and called out welcomes as she made her way to the chair by the fire.

Oh, the heat felt good. Real good. Aumaleigh held her hands to the leaping flames, but the radiant warmth couldn’t begin to touch the cold places inside her.

“Miss Aumaleigh?” Little Sally Gray, Milo’s youngest girl, sidled up to her. What a cutie with her light blond hair and button face, not to mention that touch of mischief sparkling in her eyes. “Is it true you’re gonna be my new grandma when Iris marries Pa? Is it? Cuz I like grandmas.”

“Well, I can be exactly like a grandma.” She knelt down, unable to resist brushing a loving hand against that sweet, sweet face. “Would that make you happy?”

“Oh, yes! Mitsy too. We especially love frosting on our cookies. Oh, and we love presents.” Sally held up her hands, which sported a fetching pair of colorful knit gloves.

“I like how the fingers are bright pink and the rest is purple.” Aumaleigh took note of the yarn, remembering seeing the exact skeins in the mercantile. “Do you know what you need? A hat to go with those gloves.”

“I do!” Sally agreed, eyes bright as she gave a little hop. “That’s what I need, Grandma Aumaleigh!”

Laughter rang out. Several of the party guests had been watching. Annie rose from her seat, made her way around the coffee table. “I’m watching the girls tonight while Hazel is with Milo. Sally, how did you get so cute?”

“I was made this way.” Her hands shot in the air. “Oh no! Mitsy’s stuck on the ceiling again. She’s just a baby, you know. She needs help.”

And off Sally went, dashing around the room and disappearing into the kitchen. Judging by the ruckus in there, she wasn’t alone with her Mitsy problem. Daisy’s stepdaughter Hailie, and Rhoda’s youngest, Ida, could be spotted through the doorway, pointing dramatically to the ceiling. Apparently there was a lot of imaginary baby dragon trouble tonight.

“Are you all settled into your house?” Annie asked. “I’ve been meaning to come over and pay you a visit, maybe lend a hand, but I’ve been babysitting Sally and Sadie. Just until the wedding. But are they going to have to postpone?”

Worry for Milo dug into Annie’s pretty face. She was such a dear thing, and Aumaleigh couldn’t help giving her a little hug. Love for her niece warmed her right up. “Something tells me Milo is so determined to marry Iris, nothing will stop him.”

“Good. We just don’t know a lot about what happened, so it’s easy to fear the worst.” Annie shrugged, looking relieved. “There is a good side to living in a small town. If Fred had been on the ball, we wouldn’t all have been worrying.”

“Yes, good old Fred.” Aumaleigh laughed, just so glad to see Annie relaxed and at peace, being loved the way she deserved to be by her good, wonderful Adam. “Bea must be here. Is she in the kitchen?”

“She’s somewhere. Her friend Clarissa is here too.”

“Everyone
is here.” And it made Aumaleigh’s heart full. After what had happened to Milo, both the fear and the relief, it felt important to be reminded of the good things in life, of what mattered most.

You could have had this too,
a small, forgotten voice whispered deep inside her, but she shut it down, not wanting to hear more.

“Annie! Aumaleigh!” Penelope Shalvis Denby swept up, looking radiant with happiness. “Aumaleigh, so glad you made it. You should have seen the surprise on Maebry’s face when Gil brought her back from shopping. He gave us the key, you know and we had everything all set up and were waiting. Oh, it’s good to see that kind of happiness.”

“We’re all guessing the baby will be a boy,” Annie confided. “It’s a big baby. She’s huge.”

“And waddling like a duck.” Maebry came over with a smile that could light up the sky. “I’ll be glad to have this wee one in my arms instead of my stomach. Sure, I can’t wait to hold him, but I’d also like to get out of a chair under my own steam.”

“That’s why Gil has the next three weeks off,” Aumaleigh told her. “It’s part of my gift to you.”

“Oh.” Happy tears flooded Maebry’s eyes. “That’s good of you, Aumaleigh. I love you, you know. Gil will be delighted. He keeps saying he doesn’t know how he’ll leave me when the baby is so new.”

“Why haven’t you started opening the gifts? Look at that great pile. It’s a mountain.”

“I didn’t want to suggest we rip right into the presents. The party has barely started.” Maebry’s laugh was a happy trill. It was good to see her like this, her life full of promise and brimming with love.

Aumaleigh remembered the young, shy, frightened girl who’d come to work as an indentured servant for Maureen. It was like watching a rose bloom, seeing the beauty and the magic of a life fully lived and a true love realized.

Her throat ached, but not with an old pain. She thought of Gabriel and his confession today, of how much he’d loved his wife.

“Presents!” Magnolia started the chant. “Presents! Presents!”

A chant that made Maebry laugh harder. “All right. Your wish is my command.”

“Really? Then how about cake?” Elise Hutchinson called out. “I wish for cake.”

“And a good man,” Gemma Gunderson added.

More laughter rang through the room.

“That’s what we’re wishing for you, Gemma,” Rose called out from the sofa next to Maebry. “I’m certain the right man will come along. Now that Dottie has snatched up Lawrence—”

“I haven’t snatched him up!” Dottie protested, blushing where she stood at the back of the room. “But he is taking me driving on Sunday.”

“Ooh!” several women in the crowd hooted.

“It must be love,” Elise called out.

“It’s going to go great for you two,” Magnolia added.

“You two are the perfect match,” Penelope chimed in.

Dottie turned redder, but she looked as happy as could be.

“Now that Lawrence is off the market,” Rose spoke up. “Maybe some other gentleman will start making frequent visits to the mercantile. What do you think, Gemma?”