Will arched a brow at Laurel, glad that they were sitting a distance from Amy, who was still engrossed in her conversation with Violet. “Love?”
“Yeah. Perhaps I should try introducing her to some of the nice men at church. Maybe if she fell in love with someone she’d consider moving to Collingsworth.”
Will frowned at her suggestion, trying to figure out why he really didn’t like it. “But then she’dprobably spend most her time with the guy, and Isabella would be left out in the cold. I really don’t think her moving here is the best idea. I guess Isabella is just going to learn at a young age that even when you love someone desperately they can be taken from you.”
“Ugh, Will.” Laurel scowled and smacked his arm. “Don’t put it that way. Fine, I’ll skip the matchmaking. Sometimes you can be so dense.”
Before Will could respond, Laurel stood up and left him staring after her, not sure what had just happened. She made her way over to where Amy and Violet were sitting and joined them. Will looked from Laurel to Amy, wondering if there might indeed be a way to keep her in Collingsworth. He could afford to hire her in some capacity, but as what? Plus, she did have a job waiting for her in Texas. There was no doubt that no matter what he did to change things between him and Isabella over the next few weeks, she was still goingto be devastated at Amy’s departure.
~*~*~
“So, Amy, would you ever consider moving here to Collingsworth?”
Laurel’s question took her off-guard. “Um. I haven’t really thought too much about it, to be honest.”
“But youhavethought about it?”
“The summer is definitely more tolerable than Dallas, but I’m not sure it would make up for the cold winters you guys have up here. AndI doubt teaching jobs are any easier to come by in Collingsworth than they are in Dallas.”
Laurel settled back in her chair. “What if you fell in love with someone here?”
It took all her might to not look in Will’s direction. Was that what she and Will had been talking about? “I guess it would depend on if the guy were really tied here or if he’d consider moving to Dallas. My family is there, after all.”
Laurel nodded. “But sometimes love will make you consider crazy things.”
“Tell me about it,” Amy muttered. “I don’t really foresee that being an issue though.”
“You don’t think we have any guys worth considering here?” Violet asked, getting in on the discussion.
“Well, no, it’s not that,” Amy said, a little confused by thedirection of the conversation. “It’s just complicated.”
Laurel’s eyes widened. “Are you already involved with someone? I thought Cami said you weren’t dating anyone.”
They’d been discussing her love life with Cami? “I’m not. Like I said, it’s complicated.”
“Ah...that’s never fun,” Violet said.
Amy gave her a weak smile. “The heart works in mysterious ways. For now, I’m just praying about thesituation.”
If these two women hadn’t been Will’s sisters, she might have been willing to divulge more, but she had no idea what they would think of the situation. She had trusted Cami not to say anything in the past, but still hadn’t told her about the latest turn of events. For now, Sammi was the only one she would confide in.
“If you need us to put in a good word with someone, just let us know,” Violet said with a grin. “We’d be happy to talk you up.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think that will be necessary,” Amy assured her. “I’m just in a holding pattern right now and that’s fine. I’m in no rush since I’m not really sure how I feel.”
Laurel stared at her. “You seem rather pragmatic about it. This is love we’re talking about, you know.”
Amy sighed. “Well, I’ve just been down this road before. Last time I ended up with a badly broken heart. I’m not hoping for anything really. And there are lots of other issues to be considered as well. So for now...just praying about it.”
“I guess that is the best thing to do,” Violet agreed. “Even though I’d really like to meet this guy and help you out.”
“Yeah, me,too,” Laurel said.
Ah, if they only knew. She smiled but didn’t say anything more. As it was, she’d probably said too much.
Amy wrapped the last of the leftover pizza in plastic wrap then opened the door of the fridge to find a spot for it.
“So when are we doing this piñata thing?”
