Chapter 3 #3
Matt sat back and released a defeated sigh. She might look like sex in high heels, but her prying was still a giant pain in his ass.
He held his palms up in a you-win gesture.
“I don’t know much about the Gauthier family’s history, but I know the basics,” he said.
“Uncle Micah, who was part white, by the way, apparently won a bunch of land in a card game. I guess he was pretty self-important, because he decided there should be a town named after him. Thus, the town of Gauthier was born.”
“From what I’ve read, Micah Gauthier was very generous. Calling him self-important doesn’t seem fair.”
Matt shrugged. “Never met him, so I can’t be sure.”
“You are absolutely no help at all.”
“I told you I wouldn’t be.” He chuckled as he squeezed lemon juice into the iced tea the waiter had just refilled.
He set the long teaspoon on the linen tablecloth and returned his attention to Tamryn.
“Look, the history of this town is pretty much like the other towns in this area. I’ll bet if folks look hard enough, they’ll find other rooms like the one that was found in the law practice. ”
“Oh, I have no doubt,” Tamryn said. “There are likely hundreds of secret hideaways that were used as part of the Underground Railroad that haven’t been discovered throughout the South. It’s always exciting when one is, which is why being here in Gauthier—”
The waiter returned to their table. “I’m sorry to interrupt again, but will you be enjoying dessert this afternoon? We have white chocolate bread pudding and buttermilk pie.”
“That sounds so good,” Tamryn said. “But I can’t.”
“Oh, come on,” Matt urged. “Dessert isn’t just for special occasions around here. It’s a part of every meal.”
“Even breakfast?” she asked with a teasing smile.
“Damn right. Just wait until you have some beignets and café au lait.”
She groaned. “If I’m not careful I will have to buy an entirely new wardrobe before the start of fall semester.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” Matt said. He looked up at the waiter. “Paul, can you box up a serving of bread pudding for me to take back to Carmen?”
“No problem, Matt. Oh, and I’m going to email you some artwork for the 5K T-shirts later tonight.”
“Good. I need to get that to Mike’s Printing over in Maplesville. He said the sooner we have the artwork, the sooner he can start making the T-shirts and yard signs.”
When Paul left the table, Matt turned his attention back to Tamryn. “Sorry about that.”
“A 5K?” she asked.
Matt nodded, taking another sip of tea. “I—well, the Gauthier Law Firm—sponsors a yearly 5K to benefit the Gauthier Boys and Girls Summer Camp. It’s turned into a pretty big event, much bigger than we ever expected it to become.”
“Who’s ‘we’?”
“Carmen and I. She’s the one who puts it together.”
“But you foot the bill?”
He shrugged. “It’s not much.”
Tamryn folded her arms on the table and, with her head cocked to the side, studied him. He wasn’t a fan of scrutiny, even when it involved a beautiful woman.
“What?” Matt asked.
“It wasn’t just the talk of obviously smitten women at the beauty parlor. You really are a saint.”
“Smitten? Do people really use that word?”
“There is no other way to describe them. All I had to do was bring up your name and off they went, talking about the food drive you sponsor for the elderly at Thanksgiving, and the Easter egg hunt for the children at the elementary school. And did I hear something about a new tutor and mentorship program you’ve proposed for Gauthier High? ”
He nodded.
“I can only assume that underneath that suit you’re hiding a giant S on your chest.”
Matt couldn’t help the eye roll this time.
If she only knew. If any of them knew. He was far from a saint, or Superman, or any other hero this town deserved.
He had his mother to thank for instilling in him a strong sense of compassion for his fellow man at an early age, but benevolence had very little to do with any of the things he did.
Much of what he did for the people of Gauthier had to do with assuaging his own guilt.
“It’s not as if I do any of it alone,” he said. “It’s a community effort. This is a small town. We take care of our own.”
“I find that utterly charming,” she said. “Everything about this town is charming. I’ll have to sign up for the 5K you’re sponsoring.”
“You’re a runner?” That explained the killer legs.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a runner,” she said with a laugh. “A moderately competent jogger is probably a better label. It’s a great way to clear the mind. It also allows me to indulge in food I shouldn’t eat.”
“We’ll have to go running sometime,” Matt said.
“You run?”
“I do now.”
That instant crimson stained her cheeks again, and the effect it had on him was downright frightening.
She was the last woman he wanted to affect him in any way whatsoever. She posed a direct threat to his future plans. If she succeeded in her mission of uncovering his family’s past, he could kiss that state senate seat goodbye.
Yet affect him she did. He was stunned and just a bit disturbed at the potency of his feelings. He’d been completely enraptured from the moment he spotted her walking along that dirt road.
Matt had already decided to keep an eye on her during her stay in Gauthier, but as he peered at her across the table, he acknowledged that keeping an eye on her wouldn’t be the hardship he’d initially anticipated. In fact, he had the appealing suspicion that he would enjoy every minute of it.
As her pen traveled swiftly across the small memo pad she’d found in the bottom of her purse, Tamryn cursed herself for forgetting to bring her iPad.
Of course, when she’d left the B&B this morning, she had not anticipated finally getting the chance to interview Matthew Gauthier one on one.
During the course of an hour-long lunch, she’d managed to get more information out of him than from dozens of emails and phone calls over the past six months.
“What kind of special privileges come with being a member of the town’s founding family?” she asked him.
“What makes you think I have special privileges just because I’m a Gauthier?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe being a Gauthier comes with lofty obligations. So, which is it? Do people expect more of you because of your family lineage? Is that why you’re so involved with the community, because you have no other choice?”
He trained those hazel-green eyes on her and an easy smile drew up the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t you think we’ve talked enough about me for today? Why don’t you answer a few questions?”
“Because I’m the interviewer, not the interviewee.”
“I’m turning the tables on you.”
Tamryn set her pen on top of the memo pad and settled back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “And just what could you possibly want to know about me?”
“Oh, there is so much I’d like to know about you, Professor West.”
Seductive tremors traveled up and down her spine at the alluring lilt to his voice. That penetrating stare that seemed to look right through her only added to the trembles.
“However,” he said, “you can start by telling me how you became interested in this subject.”
The waiter came to their table and offered them coffee. Tamryn was grateful for the interruption. She needed the few moments to clear her head.
She also decided that, after occupying their table for so long, it was only fair to Emile’s Restaurant that she order dessert to go. It was the easiest decision she’d made in at least a decade.
“So?” Matt asked as he added a teaspoon of sugar to his coffee. “What sparked your interest in this subject? Is it for one of the classes you’re teaching, or just because you’re a history buff?”
She nodded as she sipped her coffee. “I’ll definitely incorporate my findings into my classes,” she said. “However, my interest in Gauthier is related to another project, something much more personal.”
One brow hitched in inquiry. “Too personal to share?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Not anymore. A number of people know about the book I’m writing.”
His eyes widened. “You’re an author, too?”
“Nonfiction,” she clarified. “Much of the research I’m conducting in Gauthier will go into a book I’m writing about my great-great-great-grandmother, Adeline West. Several years ago, my father’s side of the family had a reunion in Oxford, Mississippi, where he grew up.
While we were there, I stumbled upon several documents in my grandfather’s home office—he was a history professor. ”
“Runs in the family,” Matt commented.
“It’s not on the scale of the Gauthiers’ attorney lineage.
My grandfather and I are the only professors.
Anyway, many of the documents I found appeared to be written in code, but as I delved deeper into her past, I discovered that Adeline was not the typical former slave turned housewife. She was also a schoolteacher.”
“So it does run in the family.”
Tamryn smiled. “I guess you’re right. But Adeline West was much more than just a schoolteacher. I believe my great-great-great-grandmother, with the help of your ancestor, Nicolette Gauthier, opened the first school for Black children in the United States.”
Matt didn’t have the kind of reaction Tamryn was hoping for. His eyes were expressionless, his countenance completely neutral.
The tiny part of her that had hoped he would confirm her suspicions the minute she mentioned Nicolette died a swift death.
“From your lack of response, I assume there were no stories of sweet Aunt Nicolette’s school for slave children told around the Thanksgiving table back at the Gauthier house.”
He shook his head. “Sorry.” After a moment, he cleared his throat and continued. “The only thing I’ve heard about Nicolette Gauthier is that she was a bit of a society woman. Loved to throw parties.”