Yours Forever

“How do you know how much help you’ll be? I haven’t asked any questions yet.”

He choked out a shocked laugh. “You haven’t asked any questions? What about those many, many emails?”

She waved him off. “That was just a little harmless digging.”

His eyes brightened with amusement. “Harmless, huh? Does that mean what you have next up your sleeve is going to cause me some real pain?”

There was a single knock at the door before it opened. The office manager poked her head in. “Excuse me,” she said.

Tamryn looked over at Matt just in time to see him subtly shake his head.

A knowing grin flashed across her face as she turned to the office manager. “Let me guess, he told you to come in and rescue him in ten minutes?”

“Actually, it was five,” the woman answered.

Matt shot her a bland look. “Thanks a lot, Carmen.”

“And I’m not rescuing you,” she said. “I wanted to make sure you have everything you need for the conference call on Mrs. Black’s case.”

“I do. Thanks.” He rose from behind his desk, buttoning his jacket. It fit his frame to perfection, molding to those muscular shoulders that had been displayed underneath his T-shirt yesterday. He rounded the desk and gestured with his head for Tamryn to follow. “I’m going to take Professor West on a short tour of the building so she can see the room that was unearthed last summer. If the attorney representing the school board’s health insurance calls early, please come get me. It took weeks just to set up this call.”

He held the door open. “After you,” he said to Tamryn.

She slipped past him, then waited for him to lead her down a somewhat narrow, paneled hallway. It was obvious that the building was old, but it was also well preserved.

“The room is still the equivalent of an archaeological dig site,” Matt called over his shoulder. “It’s been roped off since it was confirmed that it was an actual stop on the Underground Railroad. I doubt I’ll ever get my entire building back.”

“It’s not yours anymore,” Tamryn said.

He stopped and turned. “Whose is it?”

“This type of history belongs to everyone. You can’t claim ownership anymore.”

“But I can pay the property tax on it?”

“Consider it your small part in preserving the past,” she said.

He shook his head, his soft chuckle reverberating in the air around her. “You sure you chose the right field of study, Professor West? Maybe you should have been an attorney.”

“Never once considered law,” she answered. “History is my...passion.” Tamryn’s voice trailed off as she stepped into the darkened room, her eyes trained on the far wall, where another door was open, but cordoned off by several strips of yellow caution tape.

She walked slowly up to the entrance, her lungs constricting as she came upon the tiny room. Tamryn brought trembling fingers to her lips, willing herself to keep it together. She’d vowed she was not going to cry.

But how could she not be overrun with emotion? Her great-great-great-grandmother had likely been in this very room—not as a slave fleeing to the freedom that awaited in the North, but as a conductor, assisting others on the Underground Railroad. Everything she’d uncovered over the years that she’d spent researching Adeline West indicated that she had ushered hundreds of slaves out of this area.

“Are you okay?”

Tamryn jumped at Matthew’s softly struck question. She hastily wiped at the moisture dampening her cheeks as she turned and smiled up at him.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I guess I wasn’t prepared for how this would affect me.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and hunched her shoulders. “I’ve seen dozens of sites like this, and I’m always overwhelmed.”

The sound of footsteps tapping on the hardwood could be heard for a few seconds before Carmen appeared. “Matt, the school board’s attorney is on the line.”

He held his hand up. “I’ll be there in a minute, Carmen.”

“No, go ahead,” Tamryn said. “I appreciate the quick tour. I’ve spoken to Dr. Lawrence, and he’s invited me to join him when he returns.” She swiped at her cheeks again. “However, I would like to set up an interview with you.”

“Me?” His eyes widened. “Why me?”

“Well, you’re a Gauthier, for one thing. Your family founded this town.”

“The Gauthiers who founded this town died a long time ago, and unfortunately, I’m not what you would call a history buff. I won’t be able to tell you anything that you can’t find out on your own.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Tamryn said. “It all depends on the questions I ask. I’ll bet you know more than you think you do.”

He buried his hands in his pockets and sucked in an uneasy breath.

“Look, there was a pamphlet created for Gauthier’s anniversary celebration this past summer. Ask Carmen to put you in touch with Mya Dubois-Anderson. She’ll be able to tell you everything you need to know.”

“But—”

Carmen came to the door again. “Matt, do you want me to have the attorney call back in a half hour?”

“No,” he said. “I’m coming.” He turned back to Tamryn. “Sorry, but this is the end of the tour. Carmen will see you out.”

And with that he took off, leaving Tamryn with even more questions than she’d had when she first walked through the door.

Chapter 3

Matt ended the call with the school board’s attorney with a promise to see the man in court if he could not come up with a better settlement for Mrs. Black’s case. He could tell by the stunned silence on the other end of the line that the man had not expected a small-town lawyer to take such a hard line. Matt had encountered such attitudes more times than he could count over the years.

He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. As he listened to the faint gurgle of Heritage Park’s landmark wooden waterwheel churning a few yards outside his open window, one question continued to swirl around in his head.

Why?

Why had the woman he’d gone to bed dreaming about last night showed up in his office this morning looking like everything he could ever want...and everything he had been trying to avoid? This had to go down as the most ironic twist of fate in the history of all mankind.

He’d spent an unhealthy portion of last night coming up with various scenarios that would have him coincidentally showing up at Belle Maison. After a while, he’d decided that he didn’t have the time or patience for devising fake, coincidental meetings. The chemistry that had sparked between him and Tamryn yesterday made scheming unnecessary. He’d already made the decision to drive over to the B and B after work and extend another dinner invitation to its newest guest.

As of this morning, everything had changed.

Discovering that the beauty he’d rescued yesterday was the same woman who posed a significant threat to everything he held dear rewrote all the plans his overactive imagination had concocted. The moment he learned she was the same Tamryn West who had been digging into his family’s history, Matt knew any plans to pursue her were null and void.

Well, his brain knew it. He needed other parts of his body to get the memo.

Running a frustrated hand down his face, he checked the time on his computer just as his stomach let out a loud growl. Maybe if he’d fed it more than an energy drink this morning it wouldn’t be so angry with him.

Matt slipped his cell phone into his pocket and strode out of his office.