Page 13 of An Unexpected Match

He looked away, his voice softening when he spoke again.

“Lannie loved being a wife and then a mother. She fixed up our house to suit her, and it was always immaculate. Her meals were creative and elegant. Once Hailey was born, she sewed little dresses for her, made the curtains in the nursery. We each had our roles in the marriage and she enjoyed being a homemaker. I guess I still expect the same thing, which is unfair to you.”

Arden stared at him. It was the most she’d ever heard him say. And so eloquently. His love for his dead wife shone in every word. She needed to cut him some slack. His entire world changed with the death of his wife.

What would it be like to be loved like that? To know she was the bright spot in someone’s life? To know that even years later, her loss would be catastrophic.

“But that role is not necessarily the right one for everyone. Wouldn’t you want your daughters to grow up knowing they have a choice for what they want or don’t want to do?” she said quietly, trying to keep her mind focused on the present, and not off dreaming about what couldn’t be.

“Of course I want that for them. But setting or not setting the table won’t warp them for life.”

“No, but hearing a man say it’s woman’s work might. While I’m here, I plan to teach them how to clean and put things away. Everyone needs to know basic housekeeping to keep their own place neat, not just girls.”

“Your point is made. And taken. I’ll refrain from chauvinistic Neanderthal comments in the future, if you’ll refrain from making my daughters ardent feminists.”

Arden smiled, happy to discover Brendan Ferguson had a sense of humor.

“Deal. Besides, when they’re older, you might be glad they can mow the lawn or change the oil in your car.”

“And you can teach them that?”

“Not at this young age. But yeah, pretty much anything.”

“Undoubtedly the result of your aunts’ teaching.”

“That’s right. We did everything around that old house and cared for the cars to save a few dollars,” Arden said in fond remembrance.

“The same aunts who now live at Ocean View?”

She nodded. “I really miss them.”

“Then why are you here and they there?”

“It’s a long story.”

Brendan felt a sense of anticipation. She couldn’t possibly explain what happened in just a few words, he thought. He settled back against the cushions to listen to her. He liked her voice, low and tinged with a hint of a Virginia accent.

“I’ve got a few minutes,” he murmured.

“Then I’d rather talk about the girls and give you my life’s history another time,” she said with some asperity.

He looked over at her lazily.

“It’s eight forty-five at night. You don’t look old enough to have a long history behind you. Tell me more about yourself and then we’ll discuss the girls.”

Arden sighed theatrically and shrugged. “My folks died when I was seven and I went to live with Aunt Eugenia and Aunt Love.”

“Love?”

“Her name is really Pearl Lovell Glover, but her parents called her Love as a child and it just stuck. Do you want Aunt Eugenia’s full name, too?”

He shook his head, feeling a hint of amusement.

“Anyway, they’re my dad’s aunts actually, so are my great-aunts. They were in their early sixties when I went to live with them.”

“They seem old to have the care of a seven-year-old,” Brendan murmured.

“It didn’t seem so. They have more energy than most people half their age. Anyway, there wasn’t anyone else. So, for better or worse, we were stuck with each other, although I realized later they could have refused to have me and sent me to foster care. Not that they’d ever do such a thing. They loved me right from the first. I was slower to fall for them, because I really missed my parents. But at least Aunt Eugenia and Aunt Love knew enough to give me time. Now, of course, I’m crazy about them, as is everyone else who knows them.”

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