Savannah snorted. “Yes, they did! Apparently, I’m the weak little fool who married a man who destroyed my career and stopped me from rising to the top of my profession. And what if they’re right? What if I could have been the best?” Savannah blinked back tears, shifting Jacob again. “Was I stupid to throw my chance away?”
Avery ached for her friend. She knew what a hard decision it had been for Savannah to walk away from her career, just when she was ready to work to resume it.
“What did make you decide against it?” she asked. Savannah had tried out to be mentored by a famous pianist she’d always admired but had decided it wasn’t the path she wanted to take.
“I didn’t want to be playing for people, I wanted to be playing with people, like I do here,” Savannah said without hesitation. “I didn’t want to perform. I wanted to be part of what was going on, like when I play and you all dance or when we have singalongs. I wanted that immediate connection, not to be on some pedestal. But…”
“But what?”
“Sometimes I wish I was challenged more. I play fun, pretty pieces for you all, but I don’t play sonatas, you know?”
“Sounds to me like that’s a goal to keep in mind going forward. The reality show is almost over, Savannah.” She gestured at the crew filming them as they walked. “A month from now we’re all going to have more time to do what we love. Remember what Boone said—we should be taking more time for what we love now. Jacob looks sleepy. Could you put him down for a nap at the manor and practice a little?”
“Can I hold him?” Gabe asked.
Savannah seemed as startled as Avery was by his question. He’d been so quiet walking behind them she’d almost forgotten he was there. Angus and Byron were several paces behind them, having a conversation of their own.
“Uh… okay. I guess.” Savannah didn’t immediately hand over Jacob, though.
“I won’t drop him,” Gabe assured her. “I’ve got five nieces and nephews, and I babysit all the time.”
“Where are you from, anyway?” Savannah transferred her son to Gabe’s arms but hovered nearby just in case.
“I’m based in Washington, DC. Work for the government. Do a lot of traveling.” Gabe cradled Jacob carefully. “Look at you,” he murmured to the sleepy baby, “so brand new to the world. Makes it all worth fighting for, doesn’t it?”
Savannah exchanged a look with Avery and raised an eyebrow.
Avery bit back a sigh. Sure, Gabe was a nice guy. He was enthusiastic. Good with kids.
But he wasn’t Walker.
“I guess I could practice for a while if I can get Jacob down for a nap,” Savannah said. “But don’t forget we’re going to Maud and James’s house for a party tonight.”
Avery had forgotten about it.
“Party?” Gabe perked up.
She was glad someone was looking forward to it. Normally she loved Maud and James’s get-togethers. The food was always wonderful, the dancing fun.
Tonight she figured it would be interminable.
“This is all your fault, you know,” Clay said when he cornered Walker by the window overlooking the Russells’ expansive front yard later that evening.
Walker didn’t answer him, knowing Clay wouldn’t need any encouragement to go right ahead. He wasn’t the first one who’d felt the need to put a word in his ear since Gabe arrived.
“You should have proposed to Avery the minute you drew the short straw. Everyone knows she’s the one you want. Why are you hurting her—and yourself—by dragging all this out? Tell Elizabeth you’re over her and move on.”
Elizabeth was talking to Maud Russell, who was giving her advice about finding a good tailor so she could “outfit herself according to the customs of the region,” as Maud put it, gesturing to the Regency-era gowns she and all the other women present wore. Elizabeth, wearing a perfectly nice modern skirt and blouse, was having trouble keeping her disdain out of her responses.
“You were taking a chance before, but now Avery’s got a backup husband. Are you really going to let him steal her away?”
Walker didn’t need anyone to remind him about Gabe. Even now Avery was chatting away happily with him. He’d heard about Gabe’s run-in with Elizabeth when he first arrived, but he and Avery already seemed thick as thieves.
He wondered what Gabe had said that had made Elizabeth so mad. He hadn’t asked her, and she hadn’t said a word to him about any of it, remaining stiff and silent the rest of the day until it was time to go to the Russells’ house. Then, even though she’d told Maud she wasn’t coming, she’d made a big deal of claiming her seat next to him in one of the carriages the Russells had sent around to pick them up. Walker wasn’t sure who that performance was aimed at. If it was Avery, she was far too busy hanging on Gabe’s every word to notice.
What did she and Gabe have in common?
He didn’t realize he’d asked the question out loud until he caught Clay shrugging.
“I don’t know. She showed him all over Base Camp this afternoon. Answered every question he asked. The crew loved every minute of it. I think she even took him wading in Pittance Creek.”
“Had to be cold” was all Walker could say.
“Made great footage, according to Byron,” Clay said. “I haven’t seen Avery this happy in ages,” he added thoughtfully, then seemed to remember who he was talking to. “Sorry. I think Nora wants me.” He hurried off.
“Lord, that woman can talk.” Elizabeth rejoined him as Maud bustled away to the kitchen. Tracing his gaze, she groaned. “Guess Avery’s not so devoted to you after all, huh? She sure took to Gabe in a hurry.”
“Sounds like you and he had a bit of a scrap this afternoon.”
Elizabeth frowned. “He showed up unannounced. I was taking care of it until Boone interfered.”
“You thought it was your place to take
