Amanda stood and smiled. “Nice to meet you both,” she said.
“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Lillian exclaimed and took Amanda’s hand in hers. “It will be so nice to have woman conversation again.” She released Amanda’s hand and went directly to Melanie. “And there’s my girl,” she said, and pulled Melanie into a tight embrace. Melanie returned the embrace, then stepped back.
“Dinner is ready, so we can go on into the dining room,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer sat at the head of the table with Melanie on his right and Amanda on his left. Lillian sat next to Amanda and James sat at the opposite end of the table.
An elderly woman Sawyer introduced to Amanda as Helen served them. Her sharp gaze perused Amanda as if taking stock of her character. Once the meal was served she silently disappeared back into the kitchen.
It would have been easy for Amanda to feel out of place. Melanie remained silent as did Sawyer, but the blond, vivacious Lillian engaged Amanda in conversation immediately.
“So, where are you from?” Lillian asked Amanda as Lillian buttered a biscuit the size of her fist.
“Kansas City,” Amanda replied.
Lillian looked at Sawyer in surprise. “How on earth did you find her?”
“Amanda’s brother and I went to college together,” Sawyer said. “I mentioned to him that I was in the market for a nanny, and it just so happened that Amanda was in the market for a job.”
“You know I was perfectly happy taking care of Melanie,” Lillian exclaimed. “We had lots of fun, didn’t we, sweetheart?” She smiled at Melanie, who replied with a quick nod of her head.
“I couldn’t allow you to continue to ignore your own work,” Sawyer said smoothly. He looked at Amanda, those dark green eyes of his enigmatic. “Lillian is an artist who has neglected her work for the past couple of months to help me out with Melanie.”
“An artist? What kind of art?” Amanda asked.
“I dabble in a little bit of everything,” she replied.
“She’s being modest.” James looked at his wife affectionately. “One of the things she ‘dabbles’ in is making Mardi Gras masks that are unbelievable. People come from all over the country to buy a Lillian mask for the celebration.”
It didn’t take long for Melanie to finish eating and look at her father with pleading eyes. He told her she was dismissed from the table, and it seemed she couldn’t escape the room of grown-ups fast enough.
“Poor little thing,” Lillian said when she was gone. “My heart just aches for her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Sawyer replied. “With Amanda here we can establish a routine and before long she’ll be back to her old self.” He said it forcefully, as if by sheer willpower alone he could make it so.
Once again Amanda wondered under what circumstances Melanie had stopped speaking. Was it grief over her mother’s death that had stolen her desire to talk? She couldn’t wait until dinner was over and the Cordells had gone home so she and Sawyer could have a conversation about the daily work schedule and Melanie.
“You must let me show you around Conja Creek,” Lillian said to Amanda. “I can show you the best place to have your hair done, what shop carries the best clothes in town and where all the ladies have lunch.”
“I don’t know how much time I’ll have to shop or do lunch,” Amanda replied. “My number-one priority is, of course, Melanie.”
“As it should be,” Lillian replied. “But surely you’ll have some time off.” She turned her attention to Sawyer. “You mustn’t be a slave driver, Sawyer.”
“I have no intention of that,” he replied. “Amanda and I will work out an agreeable schedule that I’m sure will allow her to do whatever it is you ladies like to do in your spare time.”
“Shop,” James said, once again casting an affectionate gaze at his wife. “That’s what my Lilly likes to do.”
“And you wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied with a laugh.
As Amanda watched the loving interplay between James and Lillian, she felt a pang of wistfulness. She’d thought she’d had that kind of relationship with Scott, but when her life had fallen apart he’d run as fast as he could from her.
“Conja Creek. It’s an interesting name,” Amanda said.
“Conja is Cajun and it means to put a spell on,” Sawyer replied.
“Legend has it that the creek bewitches people, puts a spell on them and they never want to leave,” Lillian said. “Personally, the creek hasn’t gotten to me. I could move out of here tomorrow if my dear husband would. I’d love the hustle and bustle of Shreveport.”
“Ah, but remember, here you’re a big fish in a little pond and in Shreveport you’d be a little fish in a big pond,” James teased.
Dinner might have been pleasant if Amanda hadn’t been so aware of the simmering tension that seemed to be in the air around Sawyer. More than once throughout the meal she felt his gaze lingering on her, making her incredibly self-conscious and ill at ease.
It was after eight when the Cordells finally left and Sawyer led Amanda into his study. “I’ll be right back. I need to check on Melanie,” he said, and left her alone in the room.
A large desk dominated the space with what appeared to be a state-of-the-art computer on top. Several overstuffed chairs sat in front of the desk. Amanda sank into one of them, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm her.
As she waited for Sawyer she looked around the room. One of the walls was decorated with framed photographs of buildings and homes. She assumed he’d been the architect on the projects.
Another wall held personal pictures, and she stood and moved closer to get a better view of these. There were several of Melanie. They looked to be school portraits, each one showing her a little older.
Then there were a couple of photographs of Sawyer, the woman who must have been his wife and Melanie. The woman was beautiful, a brunette with exotic dark eyes and lush lips. On the surface the photos depicted a happy family, but as Amanda studied the subtle body language, she saw a distance between husband and wife.
A distance that had resulted in murder?
There was one other picture that Amanda instantly recognized. Her brother had one just like it hanging on the wall in his office. The photo was of six young men, their arms slung around each other in easy friendship.
Amanda knew it had been taken in college. “The Brotherhood,” Johnny had told her when she’d asked about it. He’d explained that the Brotherhood had been a group of young, wealthy men all from Conja Creek.
Johnny, who hadn’t been from Conja Creek and had been at the college on a scholarship had been welcomed into the fold when he’d been assigned a room with Jackson Burdeaux, one of the men in the photo.
She sat in the chair again once more wondering if she had done the right thing in coming here. Certainly Lillian and James Cordell had seemed like respectable, decent people. Surely if they thought Sawyer Bennett had killed his wife they wouldn’t be coming over for dinner.
She straightened in the chair, tension coiling in her stomach as Sawyer returned to the room. Each time she saw him she was struck again by the attractiveness of his bold features, his chiseled jaw and thick black hair.
“I think it would be easiest if I tell you my expectations. Then if you have a problem we can discuss it.” His firm tone made her suspect he was not a man who was accustomed to having his authority questioned.
She nodded and waited for him to continue. He moved behind the desk and sat, his gaze direct and