Where the Heart Leads Read Free Page B

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