“What do you mean ‘owe her’?” Maggie asked weakly, taking a sip of water. She actually only wished for Aaron to continue talking because she couldn’t seem to find the breath to say much on her own at the moment.
“Well, it’s kind of an odd story, of how I ended up here. I still really don’t understand it myself. But I’ve been grateful for every moment since I arrived, despite the warm welcome from the townsfolk.” Aaron rolled his eyes and nodded toward the room. Maggie again realized that she’d forgotten all about the other people in the restaurant. Being with Aaron had a way of making her forget everything else.
“Everything about this place has been like a dream come true. Especially meeting you,” Aaron emphasized as he reached across the table to take Maggie’s hand. “For that alone I could never thank Ms. Devereaux enough, but now this too.”
“I don’t understand. What does Ms. Devereaux have to do with this new job?” Maggie asked.
“Well, at first I thought Mr. Branson had seen the ad I ran in the paper, but it turns out that he hadn’t even really decided for sure that he wanted to hire on anyone. He’s been keeping up the properties himself, but he just bought a few more houses that need renovating so he’s really got his hands full right now and was thinking of hiring someone to help. He’d only mentioned it to a few close friends and then out of nowhere he received a letter in the mail from Ms. Devereaux recommending me for the job.”
“Is she a friend of his?” Maggie asked, although a part of her already knew the answer.
“He doesn’t even know her, or how she came to know that he was interested in hiring any help,” Aaron told her with a tone of disbelief. Again Maggie wondered who was this Ms. Devereaux and why was she taking such interest in their lives?
“He said he almost didn’t call me, but then decided it was at least worth meeting me. We met here in town for lunch yesterday. That meeting went so well that he wanted me to come take a look at the properties today. I didn’t mention any of this before because I wasn’t really sure if it was going to pan out, but today he offered me the job!” Aaron finished his story with a wide smile. Maggie could see the pride in his eyes and she couldn’t help returning his smile.
“Ms. Devereaux must really be fond of you,” Maggie answered, still unsure of what any of this meant for them.
“That’s the strangest part, Maggie. I’ve never met her.”
“What do you mean you’ve never met her?” Maggie practically shouted in surprise “How is that possible?” she asked, lowering her voice again.
“Have you met her?” Aaron asked.
“No, but… I just assumed,” Maggie said.
“I haven’t been here that much longer than you. When I arrived the house was empty, or at least has always appeared that way. I’d never seen anyone coming or going until you arrived. When I got here the only thing waiting for me was a letter and a key. My paycheck is directly deposited into an account that was set up for me when I took the job. I’ve never met her,” Aaron said again, shrugging to show his own bewilderment.
“So how did you end up here?” Maggie asked, feeling as if she was on the verge of discovering a piece of this very confusing puzzle.
“She brought me here,” Aaron answered quietly.
Before he could elaborate, the waiter appeared to clear their empty dishes and deliver the bill. Aaron looked a bit relieved. Maggie sat back, realizing that she’d quite literally forgotten everyone else in the room.
As they exited the restaurant Maggie paid no heed to the prying eyes of the other patrons. Her mind was racing, trying to connect all the pieces and make sense of it. Maggie felt like if she could just understand why Aaron was here then maybe she could figure out why she had been brought here as well. The longer she stayed the less she believed that the flyer placed in front of her dorm room had been put there at random. She felt like she’d been chosen by Ms. Devereaux, brought here for a reason, but she still didn’t understand what or why. She was hoping that maybe Aaron could help her find the answer.
As they drove down the road Maggie waited for him to continue his story, but he remained silent seemingly lost in thought. Rather than pushing him, she decided it was time to open up to Aaron about her past. She hadn’t even told him about medical school or why she’d left. He’d already trusted her with so much of his own past and she owed him the same kind of honesty.
“Do you remember how I said I’d moved to Boston for school?” Maggie began, but before she could continue they came around a bend on the dark country road and saw a car pulled off into the ditch with the hazard lights on.
“I wonder if they need help,” Aaron said as he pulled up behind the car. “Stay here,” he told Maggie before he climbed out of the truck and walked to the car to investigate. Maggie saw him open the door to the vehicle and duck down to look inside. He immediately straightened and rushed back to the truck throwing his door open wide.
“Call 911!” he said. “It’s Lacey Buchannan and I think she’s gone into labor.”
15