She began to methodically lop off the ends of the carrots. It took a lot of them to make fourteen carrot cakes. Just as she was bringing the knife down on the last of the carrots, Gabe burst into the kitchen.
“Katie!”
She jerked and came close to losing a finger. With a scream, she dropped the knife.
“You cut yourself?” Gabe asked, horror in his voice as he reached for her.
She slapped at his arm, moving back. “No, no thanks to you. How dare you come into my kitchen, scaring me like that!”
Both Evelyn and Mary appeared in the door. “Are you all right?” they both asked.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”
After staring at both Gabe and Katherine, the two women withdrew.
“Get out of my kitchen,” Katherine muttered without looking at him.
“I need to talk to you.”
“No, you don’t. You’ve done more than enough, especially when it comes to me and my family.”
“You aren’t happy about Jack and your mom?”
“Of course I’m happy about them. But I’m not happy that Susan now sees herself as a martyr.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Since she thinks I sacrificed myself for her, she feels she must suffer for me. Thanks to you.”
“It’s true.”
“How do you know it was a sacrifice? We might have been horrible together. Your mother hated me and you—”
Gabe looked shocked. “What?”
“Oh, please, Gabe, everyone in town knew your mother had no intention of letting you waste yourself on a country girl with no education.” Everyone but Gabe. She’d loved how he ignored his mother’s attitude.
“That’s not true. Mom may not have thought you were right for me, but she didn’t hate you.” He was frowning, as if remembering the past.
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Just go. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“Did you ever make it to college?”
She closed her eyes to hide her pain. Of all the things she’d given up when her father died, most important, second to Gabe, was her dream of going to college. That was why she was so determined that her brothers and sisters get their education.
Joe had graduated two years ago and was working for Texas Instruments in Dallas. But next weekend he was coming back to town to interview with Rick Astin, hoping to work in Cactus.
Diane was in her last year at Texas Tech’s law school. Raine would begin her senior year at Tech next fall. And then there was Paul and Susan.
“No, except for a couple of business classes.”
Once she’d started her shop, there hadn’t been time for classes. She’d been too busy trying to make a living for her family.
“If you married, your husband might be able to help with some of your responsibilities.”
She whirled around to glare at him. “You think I’d do that? Lure some unsuspecting man into paying my way? Thanks, Gabe. That tells me what you think of me!”
“No! But look, I heard your husband wasn’t much help, so I can—”
“Don’t say anything about Darrell! He may not have been the best husband in the world, but it wasn’t all his fault. He didn’t deserve—” she stopped, trying to hold back the tears.
“What?” Gabe asked fiercely. “He got to marry you! I think he was a pretty lucky guy who treated you shabbily.” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “Tell me why I should feel sorry for a drunk who killed himself.”
She hadn’t intended to say anything. Ever. “He loved me! He thought he could make me love him, but he couldn’t! So you see, he didn’t feel so lucky to be married to me!”
She slapped a hand over her mouth too late. She’d never told anyone why she felt so guilty about Darrell. Not that she hadn’t told him that she didn’t love him before she accepted his proposal. But he’d thought she’d change.
She’d tried. After hearing about Gabe’s engagement to a beautiful, sophisticated woman, she’d figured she’d be an old maid the rest of her life. But Darrell had offered her a chance to have a normal life. To end those lonely nights. To maybe even have babies of her own.
Instead, she’d been lonelier than ever.
“If you didn’t love him, why did you marry him?” Gabe asked roughly.
She didn’t want to answer that question. “That’s none of your business. I asked you to leave the kitchen.” She kept her gaze on his flat stomach, unable to look at him.
“When did you marry?”
Another question she didn’t want to answer.
“I was twenty-one. Old enough to know better.” She tugged against his hold, but he didn’t let her go.
“That’s the year I got engaged.”
No kidding.
“You haven’t asked why I broke my engagement.”
“That’s none of my business.”
“You sure like that expression,” he said.
She took a quick glance and was surprised to see him smiling. Some of the tension left her. She hated fighting with Gabe. “It can’t be because she was ugly. I heard she was an ex-model.”
“Yeah. A blonde, like you, but kind of plastic.”
“Then why did you get engaged?”
“That’s none of your business,” he said, his smile growing.
She acknowledged his teasing with a return smile. “True.”
“I think the main reason I broke it off is she couldn’t kiss as good as you.”
Her gaze snapped to his face, and her eyes widened in surprise. But she didn’t have long to look. His lips closed the distance and covered hers in a demonstration of the magic that happened when they kissed. It had always been that way. The small taste she’d gotten the other day had only been a brief reminder, nothing compared to this invasion.
She lost all awareness of time or place. Instead, she was in the timeless heaven of Gabe’s arms.
“Katherine?” Mary began, as she entered the kitchen. “Do you want—oh! Oh, excuse me! I thought—”
Gabe freed her and stepped back.
Katherine stared at him, having difficulty coming back to reality.
“I’ll go, like you asked.”
Sure. Now he agreed to go, after turning her world upside down. She stared as he turned and walked away.
“I’m sorry,” Mary began, but Katherine ignored her.
She couldn’t let him go. Not without asking him—not without at least saying something. He was already at the shop door when she came out of the kitchen. Instead of calling his name, she hurried after him.
Opening the shop door, she almost ran into his back. He’d stopped when Mabel Baxter called to him.
“Gabe! Come on over. I think we’ve figured out the perfect man for Katherine to marry so you’ll be off the hook.”
GABE HAD LOST his concentration about the time his lips covered Katie’s. All that talk about their kisses had made it impossible to resist the temptation. If Mary hadn’t interrupted them, he might not have been able to stop. That’s why he’d decided to get the hell out of there. He wasn’t ready to offer his heart up on a platter.
Not again.
But he wasn’t ready to think of Katie with another man, either. “What?”
“You know, dear, you asked us to find some man for Katie to marry so—oh, hi, Katie.” Mabel’s voice reflected her embarrassment.
Gabe whirled around to find Katie staring at him, her cheeks pale, desolation in her gaze.
“Katie,” he began, reaching for her, but she didn’t wait to hear what he had to say.
She whirled and ran back into the shop.
This time he didn’t dare follow her.
Mabel plucked at his sleeve. “I’m sorry, Gabe, but I didn’t see her behind you.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. He didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t say it was all right.
“Well, we did come up with someone. There’s a rancher east of town with four little children. He needs a mo
ther for them in the worst way. Katie—”
“No! She’s already had to raise her brothers and sisters. Don’t you think she should get a few years off for good behavior?” He remembered her face when he’d asked if she’d gone to college. His heart ached for her lost dreams. “No one with kids!” he snapped.
“Really, Gabe, we didn’t know you’d be so difficult,” Mabel protested.
“I think Gabe’s right,” Florence said, standing. She came over to pat his arm. “There’s the minister, a very nice man. Katie would make an excellent minister’s wife, she’s so patient and well liked.”
“No, I don’t want—” Gabe stopped, frustrated, and ran his hand through his hair. “Damn it! Isn’t there some man who would let Katie be Katie? Who would help her? She deserves—the best!”
“Well, of course she does,” Edith said. “I told them that, but they argued with me.”
He nodded eagerly at Edith. “Yeah. Who did you think would do for Katie?”
“Ruth and I are in agreement about the best man for Katie. But the other two said no.”
“Who?” Gabe asked again. He wasn’t going to marry Katie off to just anyone.
“Why, Gabe, dear, the perfect man is you.”
Chapter Nine
Gabe opened the oven door and stared at the steak sizzling there. Not that he wanted another steak. That’s what he’d eaten at lunch. But it was the easiest thing to cook.
His baked potato was in the microwave. He could cut up a salad, but it didn’t seem worth the effort.
Nothing seemed worth the effort tonight. After walking away from Katie, from the best kiss he’d had in ten years, he’d had to face what he’d done. He’d asked the matchmakers to find her another man.
Damn! That’s what he needed. Katie married to someone else. That way he’d inherit Gran’s estate and…and he wouldn’t have to be afraid he’d lose his heart to Katie again.
He was a coward.
Okay, so he knew that.
Cinnamon whined and Gabe absentmindedly bent to pet her even as he considered his situation.
Was it fair to force Katie into marriage with another man to save his own bacon? Not that he could really force her, but he could tempt her. He could let the ladies do what it appeared they did best.
The phone distracted him. With a frown, he turned off the broiler and crossed the room to the phone.
“Hello?”
“Darling, what have you done?”
“Hi, Mom. What have I done?”
“You’ve quit your job! I couldn’t believe it when Mr. Danforth called to tell us.”
“Why would he call to tell you?”
Silence. He waited, saying nothing.
“Well, actually I called his secretary to find out when you’d be back in the office,” she finally admitted. “I was worried about the way you sounded this morning. He called me back a few minutes ago.”
“And you called to congratulate me?” He knew better, but he wasn’t happy with his mother. He was tired of her attempts to manipulate him.
“Don’t be absurd. Why would I congratulate you on giving up an excellent position in Dallas to live in that little backwater town of Cactus? It took me twenty-two years to get your father out of there.”
“Is Dad there? I’d like to talk to him.” He figured his father might be happy for him. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t think his father had been happy since he left Cactus.
Another silence. Finally his mother said, “No, he’s not here. I sent him to the store for something.”
“Have him call me when he gets in.” Then he hung up the phone. He’d never acted so rudely to his mother. But he didn’t like her checking up on him. And he had been remembering all afternoon his mother’s behavior when he was dating Katie. Katie’s words about his mother had forced him to think about the past. Several conversations with the matchmakers confirmed his fears.
Fifteen minutes later, halfway through his steak, the phone rang again. This time when he answered, he heard his father’s voice.
“Dad, how are you?”
“Fine, son, as usual. And you?”
“I’m doing much better. I’m going to stay in Cactus, Dad, and live in Gran’s house. I’m committed to becoming a partner in Mac Gibbons’s law office.”
“Is that what you want?”
Gabe could hear some fierce whispering, knowing his mother was at his father’s elbow. “Yeah, Dad, it’s exactly what I want. I’d gotten tired of the rat race. I just hadn’t admitted it because I didn’t think I could practice law here. I would never compete with Mac.”
Another tussle distracted him. Then his mother’s voice intruded into their conversation.
“Gabe Dawson, you come home at once. I won’t let you make such a mistake. Why, you might as well tell me you’re marrying that little hick! I won’t stand for it.”
Gabe held the phone to his ear, but his mind was traveling back ten years. No wonder Katie hadn’t asked him to wait for her, or asked him to help her with her family. He could thank his mother for her giving up on him. And himself, too, for being so self-absorbed.
“I haven’t told you about Gran’s will, have I, Mom?”
“Didn’t she leave you everything?” she asked sharply.
His father had always been a good provider, but it never seemed to be enough. His grandmother had told her son years ago that she would leave everything to her grandson. Gabe’s mother had been furious.
“Sort of. There were conditions. And one of them concerned that little hick, as you called her.”
“No! Don’t get close to her. April and I will be out to visit with you. She’ll convince you to come back.”
“You’ve been in contact with April?”
“She’s never married, dear. She loves you. She’s been very patient, waiting for you to realize she’s the one.”
Which meant, of course, that no one else with any money had come along.
“Forget it, Mom. Put Dad back on the phone.”
“No! No, I won’t have you destroy my dreams!” she shrieked.
He hung up on his mother for the second time in his life.
He couldn’t destroy all her dreams? He realized how many decisions he’d made based on his mother’s opinion. And none of them had made him happy.
It was time to make some changes.
He shared the rest of his steak with Cinnamon. She wasn’t complaining about his behavior.
KATHERINE WAS MORE TIRED than she could remember being after a day at the shop. She hadn’t done that much more. No, her weariness stemmed from the emotional trauma of Gabe’s visit.
“It’s your own fault,” she muttered. After all, she’d let herself hope. A ridiculous thing to do. But when he’d taken her into his arms, of his own free will, and kissed her as he once had, as if she meant everything in the world to him, her heart had soared.
Only to crash.
She should have known better. Her hopes must have been plastered all over her face. And Gabe Dawson had always been a man with a healthy appetite.
Never again.
The issue between them was about money. She wouldn’t forget that. After all, she should have expected it. He was his mother’s son. And that woman had a calculator for a heart.
Jack was sitting in the kitchen when she got home, watching her mother work with a bemused smile on his face.
“Evening, Katherine. Your mom invited me to supper.”
“Of course she did, Jack. And I’m glad. We always eat better when you’re coming,” Katherine told him, grinning at her mother when she spun around to protest.
“Are the kids home?” she asked, before either of them could say anything.
“Yes,” Margaret said, frowning. “Susan didn’t even have to be reminded to collect the eggs.”
Katherine shook her head, chuckling. “Don’t worry about it. After a few days, we should have the old Susan back. Hopefully, a little nicer, but almost the same. I’m going to wash up.
Then I’ll come set the table.”
She entered her bedroom and looked around her. When Paul went away to college, she’d like to make his room her office. Now her room was cluttered with her paperwork. At least she had her own bedroom.
While all the kids had been at home, they’d shared rooms. When Diane and Raine occasionally came home, she and Susan again had roommates.
It suddenly occurred to her that if Jack moved into the house with her mother, and everyone got along, she might be able to get her own place. It was an added expense, an unnecessary expense, of course, but she wasn’t going to be a martyr.
For the first time since she’d realized today that Gabe really didn’t want her, her spirits brightened. Finding time alone was next to impossible right now. But if she had her own place, an apartment on the square—she warned herself not to get too caught up in the idea. A million things could make it impossible.
When she reached the kitchen again, she found the table already set.
“Susan came in and set the table?” she asked.
“No, Jack did,” Margaret announced, pride in her voice.
“She wouldn’t let me do anything else,” he said with a shrug. “But I do know how to set a table.”
“You did a great job, Jack. Thanks. Want to help me put ice in glasses for us?”
While they were doing so, Susan and Paul came in the back door.
“We’ve got a dozen more eggs than usual, Katie,” Susan announced, holding up the bucket she used to gather the eggs.
“Good. We’ll need them for the new orders. Did you and Mom and Paul work everything out for the morning? You can’t turn over and go back to sleep.”
“I know!” Susan said sharply.
Aha. Martyrdom was wearing thin. Katherine gave her sister a sympathetic pat, then handed her two glasses of iced tea to carry to the table.
“Oh, Katie,” Margaret suddenly said. “Joe called today. He’s flying in tomorrow night. Can we pick him up at the airport?”
“Of course, Mom. What time’s his flight?”
The $10,000,000 Texas Wedding Page 9
