Where the Heart Leads (7 page)

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?

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.”

“Don’t even try and fool me.” She lifted her chin defiantly, eyes twinkling, sure she had him all figured out. “I really liked meeting her, you know.”

“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?”