Amy started to object, but closed her mouth. What choice did she have? She couldn’t exactly jump out of the car. She’d go see his aunt Lila and then she’d take a cab back to the convenience store to pick up her car and her meager possessions, which were stored in the trunk.
Glancing at Matt, she sensed an urgency behind his serious countenance. He was up to something, and she had an uneasy feeling his plans involved her.
Matt turned onto the long, winding drive, which was edged by a white wooden fence. Though he didn’t look at Amy, he felt a huge measure of satisfaction at her awe-inspired gasp. Even though he’d driven this quarter-mile drive thousands of times, he never took its beauty nor its history for granted.
When the main house and stables came into view, Matt couldn’t resist stealing a glance at Amy. With widened eyes, she didn’t miss a single detail of the two-story white antebellum home that had been in his family for five generations. Turning slightly, she shifted her gaze to Aunt Lila’s formal garden, then to the white barns and corrals, all of which were framed by low rolling hills and a lush meadow on the north and east. He purposely kept his back toward the west so the sprawling housing development wouldn’t intrude on the picture-perfect horse farm.
“It’s beautiful,” Amy said. Leaving the car, she completed a slow three-hundred-sixty-degree turn. “Do you live here?”
Matt shook his head. “It belongs to my aunt. However, I oversee the upkeep for her, so I spend a lot of time here. Plus, she boards my horses.”
“You have horses?” Amy asked.
Matt nodded. “Do you ride?”
“Oh, no,” Amy said, shaking her head for emphasis. “But I once had dreams of owning a horse until my father explained that a collie puppy would make me just as happy.”
“Well, if you’re going to live in Lexington, you’ll have to learn to ride.”
Amy shook her head again. “Maybe later. I’m going to be pretty busy for the next few weeks.”
Matt looked toward the grassy meadow while he silently debated whether it was wise to even consider his plan. After all, what did he really know about this woman? One quick glance at her intent eyes squelched his doubts. He’d held this woman in his arms for an hour, and while he might not know much about her life, he knew enough about her heart and spirit to believe he wasn’t making a mistake. And if Aunt Lila felt she could trust the woman, too, then that would confirm his instincts.
“You told the officer you were between jobs,” he said.
“Yeah,” she answered, obviously unwilling to volunteer any more information than necessary.
“What kind of work are you looking for?”
Amy looked at the ground, then let her gaze roam the green vista. In that moment, he wanted to view the Wynn land through her eyes. Did she see the same beauty he did, or did she just see another wide-open space ripe for development?
When Amy finally met his gaze, he sensed a hesitation that grew from embarrassment. “Actually, I’m looking to change fields and I’m not certain what I’m going to do. I’m thinking of going back to school. If I do, I’ll need something that will pay the rent, yet be flexible enough to accommodate my class schedule.”
Matt read more into the response than he believed Amy wanted him to. Guessing her age to be mid-twenties, he further assumed she’d never really decided what she wanted to do with her life. It was a feeling he understood too well. He had worked several dead-end jobs after college before settling down in a career as an accountant. But it was his hobbies—the horses and the Wynn family land—that truly satisfied his heart. He chose to work as an accountant in order to make a living for the family he one day hoped to support, but he was most content and fulfilled when he was riding or caring for his horses or walking on the land where his great-grandfather and grandfather had walked before him.
“So, you’d be open to a variety of positions,” Matt clarified. When Amy hesitated before answering, he knew it wouldn’t be easy to get her to go along with his idea. But then maybe he was pushing too hard to keep her in his life. Still, he was convinced Amy and his aunt Lila were a perfect match. While his plan served his desire to keep Amy in his life, it also greatly benefited his aunt. And Aunt Lila’s health and well-being were major concerns of his, as well as the rest of the Wynn family.
“At this point, I can’t be picky,” Amy finally admitted.
“Well, maybe I can help,” Matt said, deciding to leave it at that until Amy and Aunt Lila had had a chance to meet.
Silently, he sent a prayer heavenward. Dear Lord, if it’s Your will for Amy to stay here, let Aunt Lila and Amy both see how much they need each other. It was out of his hands for now. It was in the care of someone who saw the bigger picture.
The front door of the stately house flew open, and Aunt Lila stepped onto the wide veranda. A month ago, she would have run across the yard with both arms flung wide, eager to hug him and feel for herself that he was okay. But recent surgery had slowed the sixty-year-old woman down, and for the first time Matt was worried about the aunt he adored. Then he saw her bright, youthful smile, and fifteen years melted from her countenance.
Taking off at a jog, Matt rushed toward her. She hugged him tightly, then sandwiching his chin between her agile hands, she looked him over.
“I’ve been watching the live coverage on TV. You had me worried,” she said, a glimmer of tears in her eyes. Though she’d never had children of her own, it hadn’t stopped her from spoiling Matt as if he were hers. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you.”
“To tell the truth, I was a little worried, too,”
Peering around Matt, Aunt Lila said, “And you must be Amy Jenkins.”
The older woman extended her hand, and Amy gracefully accepted the warm welcome.
“I’m pleased to meet you. I owe your nephew my life.”
“I suspect you had to depend on each other in order to survive,” Aunt Lila said matter-of-factly. “And after such an ordeal, you must be starving. I set out an early lunch. You can tell me everything while we eat.” Pointing a finger at Matt, she said, “Don’t leave out a single detail.”
“Aunt Lila,” Matt protested. “You shouldn’t have. You know the doctor released you from the hospital on the promise you’d take it easy.”
Looking beyond Matt, Aunt Lila spoke to Amy. “You understand, dear. There’s nothing like puttering in the kitchen to soothe the nerves. Besides, my sister, Louise, brought a roast and deviled eggs yesterday. I just set them on the counter. You’ll have to help yourselves.”
Amy smiled with understanding, and Matt felt a glimmer of hope.
The lush pastures, the magnificent home and Aunt Lila’s feisty spirit were too much for Amy to take in at once. Several times she’d lost track of the conversation and hadn’t realized Aunt Lila had spoken to her as her gaze roamed the spacious kitchen, admiring the unique collection of antiques or enjoying the view through the large window. At first, she worried that she’d offended the woman with her wandering mind, but she soon realized Aunt Lila was pleased to find Amy entranced with the home she dearly loved.
To her surprise, she answered Aunt Lila’s questions when she’d been reluctant to share personal information with Matt. For some reason she couldn’t fully identify, Aunt Lila put her at ease. She felt comfortable in this house, and after the unsettling morning, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave the older woman’s nest.
“They said on the news you’d just moved here.” Aunt Lila pushed her food around her plate, then nibbled on an egg.
“I grew up in a small Ohio town,” Amy volunteered. “There wasn’t much opportunity there, and when I decided to leave, Lexington