Sarah smiled. "You stand up to him."
Was that what Sarah had found so amusing the first day - the fact that she hadn't melted under Yancey's stern gaze? "He does have a formidable temper, you know." She offered tentatively.
Sarah's smile broadened until it crinkled her eyes. "Of course I know, and so does he. With Yancey's kind, there's no such thing as a mild emotion, neither in anger nor in love." She hesitated, gazing down the hallway, and her expression grew solemn. "Since his wife left, he's avoided relationships because he's afraid of giving his heart again only to drive another love away. He's trying to change, but it isn't easy." She glanced back at Lisa and smiled mischievously. "Every time he lashes out at you and gets his nails clipped in the process, it erases a little more of that fear. You're the kind of woman he needs - someone who will stand up to him and yet understand his moods."
Lisa caught her breath. Was Sarah encouraging a relationship between them? The idea gave her a cold chill. Why? If Sarah thought she understood Yancey's moods, she was mistaken. She had no idea what made him angry one minute and jovial the next. Determination was her motivation to stand up to Yancey. If he thought he could terrorize her, he had another think coming. In any case, Yancey didn't seem to be all that determined to avoid a relationship.
There could be a number of reasons that Sarah would welcome her as a daughter-in-law, not the least of which was the goings-on down that path. If Sarah suspected that she already knew what was going on and looked the other way, why not welcome her into the family? What was going on? She sighed. Probably nothing like what was on her imaginative mind. Still, if she could get into that building and find out, it might ease her mind. Sarah was right about one thing. She was romantically involved with Yancey.
Lisa retrieved the book from her room and decided to go read out on the patio. As she passed his office, she glanced through the open door. Yancey was working over some papers. So he hadn't been in Tammy's room all this time. Had he heard her conversation with Sarah? Not that it mattered. They didn't say anything he didn't already know. She tried to slip by quietly, but he glanced up as she passed. He studied her over the rim of his reading glasses, and his eyes warmed with a smile.
"Come in and sit down. I'll be done in just a few minutes."