“Eight o’clock,” her mother said as she carried a platter of chicken-fried steak to the table.
Katherine would barely finish work before she had to come home, pick up her mother and make the hour drive into Lubbock. Then, after the drive home, she’d fall into bed to start her day only a few hours later.
“Say, why don’t I take you to dinner in Lubbock, pick up Joe and bring him back home?” Jack asked. Then he turned a bright red. “Unless—that is, I don’t want to horn in on anyone’s—I mean, I guess it’s a family thing.”
Katherine spoke before anyone else could. “I think that’s a lovely idea. Mom has to eat her own cooking all the time. It will be a treat for her and save me some time and energy.”
Susan opened her mouth, but Katherine stared at her, daring her to complain. She looked away and said nothing.
“Then, when you get back, with Joe, we can all visit.”
“Yeah,” Paul chimed in. “That will give us time to get our chores done before Joe gets here. Good idea, huh, Susan?”
He seemed surprised when his sister glared at him. He was such an innocent. Katherine worried about him going off to college on his own.
“Well, let’s eat,” she said, filling the awkward silence that followed. “Did Joe say anything about his interview?”
“Just that he’d be talking with Mr. Astin himself. I wish I had the nerve to call him,” Margaret said.
“Call Joe?” Paul asked.
“No, Mr. Astin. To try to persuade him to hire Joe.”
“Don’t worry, Mom,” Katherine assured her. “Joe’s credentials will get him the job. He’s good.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Margaret agreed with a sigh.
They all sat down to eat.
BY THE NEXT MORNING, Gabe had decided to call his father at work. He was going into town to look at the space available in Mac and Alex’s offices, try to organize an area for his work space. He’d need to go back to Dallas to pack his things. Unless his father would do it for him.
“Dad? Sorry to bother you at work.”
“No problem. I’m sorry for your mother’s behavior last evening.”
Gabe heard a sad acceptance in his father’s voice. It occurred to him that he’d be sounding the same way had he married April. Because they would now have one child, as his mother had, and he’d never abandon his son or daughter. As his dad had refused to do.
Suddenly a lot of things were clear.
“Dad, you don’t have to stay with her for me anymore.”
A long silence followed his words.
Then his father sighed. “Strangely enough, at one time I loved her.”
“I’m staying in Cactus. You’re welcome to join me.”
“And do what? Twiddle my thumbs? I’m almost sixty. It’s too late to start a new career.”
Gabe’s heart ached at the weary resignation in his father’s voice.
“It’s because of her that Gran left everything to me, isn’t it?”
“We both agreed it would be for the best.”
“Dad, I’ve made a lot of money. We’ll have enough. And we can buy a herd of cows. You can operate the place again. And the beauty of it is, Mom won’t come near Cactus, much less a cow.”
Another silence.
“I’ll think about it,” his father finally said.
“While you’re thinking, would you be willing to find someone to pack up my office and my condo? List the condo for sale and ship everything here? I really don’t want to come back to Dallas.”
“Your mother’s not that scary,” his father said with a wry chuckle.
Gabe laughed, feeling better than he had in a while. Just as he was about to hang up, he thought of one more question. “Dad, do you have anything against Katie?”
“Katie Peters? Not at all. But your grandmother said she got married.”
“Yeah, but she’s widowed now. Gran left her estate to me on the condition that I marry Katie.”
“What?” his father demanded, sounding stunned. “But how could she do that to you?”
“She left me an out. If Katie marries someone else before a year is up, I get the estate anyway.”
“And if that doesn’t happen?”
“Half of it goes to Katie, and the other half to charity.”
“I can’t believe my mother did that.”
Gabe gave a quiet chuckle. “I couldn’t, either. But I’m beginning to think she wasn’t crazy after all.”
KATHERINE BREATHED a sigh of relief. The final six cakes were in the oven, almost done. And it was only eight o’clock. They’d have time to cool and be iced before the delivery man arrived at nine-thirty.
“Are there any more sausage rolls?” Mary called from the kitchen door. “We’re having a run on them this morning.”
Margaret turned around. “I’m taking out the last two pans now. I’ll bring them out.”
Katherine stepped over and hugged her mother. “You’ve been such a help, Mom. I promise I’m going to look for someone else to work mornings right away.”
“No need for that. I can do it.”
Katherine shook her head. “Nope. You’re going to be busy planning a wedding.”
Her mother’s cheeks flushed and her gaze grew dreamy again. Katherine grabbed the oven mitt and removed the pans of sausage rolls from the oven. “I’ll take these out to Mary. You watch those cakes. We can’t afford to let them overcook.”
When she entered the shop, she realized Mary hadn’t been kidding. They were crowded. She placed the rolls on the shelf behind the counter and began waiting on customers. Evelyn didn’t come in until nine, so she and Mary were on their own for a while.
“Good morning, Rev. Brewster,” she said, greeting the next in line. “You’re not a frequent customer. What brings you in today?”
“There’s a ladies’ auxiliary meeting at the church, and Mabel Baxter asked me to pick up some of your cinnamon rolls. I think it’s called bribery,” he said, lowering his voice and grinning.
“Whatever works,” she responded with a smile. “How many do you need?”
“A dozen?”
Katherine got a box and filled it with warm cinnamon rolls. “Anything else?”
“No, I think that will bankrupt our expense account for the week,” he told her, still smiling.
“Then why don’t I make a donation? They’re on the house.”
“No, no, I couldn’t do that.”
“Please, Rev. Brewster, I’m delighted.”
“All right…if you’ll promise to call me Tony.” The customer behind the reverend cleared his throat and Katherine realized it was Gabe. “Anything else, Tony?” she asked pleasantly, ignoring Gabe’s glare.
“No, thanks, Katie,” the reverend said, moving away, leaving her to face Gabe.
She’d planned to avoid Gabe. She’d determined last night that thinking about him would be a foolish thing to do.
“May I help you with anything?” she asked him, keeping her voice emotionless.
“You shouldn’t be so friendly with the reverend,” he said in a low voice. She blinked at him in surprise, anger building in her. Then, she looked over his shoulder. “Good morning, Mrs. Hambrill. What can I get for you?”
“I’m next,” Gabe protested.
“What did you want?”
“A couple of sausage rolls and a cup of coffee.”
Briskly she served him and took his money. When she turned to ring him up, he muttered, “Keep the change.”
“No! Here it is, sir.”
He glared at her. “Why so formal?”
“Now, Mrs. Hambrill, did you want your usual?” she asked, ignoring Gabe.
After glaring at her again, he moved over to a small vacant table.
“Oh, yes, please. I’m going to start my diet tomorrow, so I thought I’d have a cinnamon roll and orange juice today.”
Doc and Florence Greenfield were her next customers. They were accompanied by a stranger.
“Morning, Katie,” Doc said cheerfully. “We’ve got a visitor and want him to taste the best cinnamon rolls in Texas. And the sausage rolls, too.”
“You’re just in time, Doc. We’re about to run out. How many?”
After she’d filled their order, they grabbed the last table inside, right next to the small one Gabe occupied.
After the line disappeared, Katherine picked up a carafe of coffee and toured the room, filling cups. Their regular customers usually got up and filled their own, but Katherine would do so when she could.
Gabe held out his cup. “Why don’t you join me?” he suggested.
“No, thanks.” After filling his cup, she moved on, but she could feel him staring at her.
Doc asked her the same question. But instead of refusing, she pulled up another chair. “I just have a minute. I’ve got Mom in the kitchen helping out.”
“Really? Is she going to work here now?” Doc asked. Since he and Florence had lived here as long as her mother, they were all friends.
“No, not when I find someone else. Do you know of anyone who would like an early-morning shift, Florence?” Both as the doctor’s wife and a long-time member of the community, Florence would have the answer to her need.
“Hmm, I might. There’s a lady whose husband works a night shift in Lubbock. He gets in about five. If he’d be willing to get the kids off to school, I think she could use the money. Ethel Moore,” she added, naming the woman, and Katherine remembered meeting her.
“If I can interrupt you two women discussing business,” Doc said, smiling, “I’d like to introduce our friend.” He motioned to the man beside him.
“A very happy friend, I might say,” the man said with a nod toward Katherine. “Doc was right about the cinnamon rolls.”
“Thank you.”
“Katie, this is Jeff Hausen, a doctor from Houston. Katherine Hill.”
“Known as Katie?” the man asked.
Katherine could feel Gabe’s glare on her, but she smiled. “Not really. Just to people who knew me when I was a child. They don’t like to let you grow up.”
“Then I’m delighted to call you Katherine, because I like you all grown-up,” the man said, smiling in a very friendly way.
Katherine could feel her cheeks heat up. No one had flirted with her in a long time. Except for Gabe yesterday.
“Are you on vacation?” Gabe asked suddenly, scooting his chair over by Florence. He stuck out his hand to the stranger. “Gabe Dawson.”
“Sort of,” Jeff said, looking askance at Doc.
“Gabe’s just come back to town himself,” Doc explained. “He grew up here.”
“Nice town,” Jeff said.
“Do you think your wife will like it?” Gabe asked, a stubborn look on his face.
Jeff looked at Katherine. “My wife is dead. So you see, Katherine, we have something in common. Doc and Florence told me about your husband. I’m sorry.”
Katherine nodded slightly. The man was a little too friendly for her this morning. After all, she was—she was free, she assured herself staunchly. Absolutely free.
“How long will you be in town? Just passing through?” Gabe asked. He shot a warning look at Katherine, but she had no idea what he was trying to convey.
Florence looked at Katherine and raised her eyebrows, but Katherine shook her head. She had no idea what had gotten into Gabe, unless he was trying to determine whether the man would be here long enough to marry her. Which inspired Katherine to smile even more at the stranger.
“I haven’t decided. But I’m sure I’ll be here long enough to take you to dinner, Katherine. Would you come with me?”
“Katie’s not interested in having dinner with you!” Gabe insisted.
Chapter Ten
Gabe couldn’t believe he was acting like such a fool. He felt as awkward and unsure of himself today as he had when he was a teenager, first learning about men-women stuff.
Katie shot him a cold look before she smiled at the other man. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“How about tonight? We could go to—” Jeff Hausen broke off and looked at Doc. “What restaurant should we go to?”
“The Last Roundup,” Doc said at once. “Best place in town.”
“Great. We’ll go there. Is that okay with you, Katherine?”
“That would be lovely. What time?”
“What time do you finish here? I guess you’ll want to go home first. I’ll need to know where to pick you up.”
Gabe didn’t want the man going to Katie’s home. He didn’t want the stranger to have anything to do with Katie. But he figured he could blame himself for the turn of events more than anyone.
They were doing what he’d asked them to do.
He thought he’d made it clear yesterday, but things had gotten confused. He’d panicked when Edith had said he was the perfect one for Katie.
Overnight he’d changed his mind.
And he’d be encouraged if Katie had gotten mad at him for interfering in her private life. She’d always been independent. But her calm coldness was another matter.
Clearly she’d lost all interest in him.
Before Katie answered the man’s question, Gabe stood. “I’ve got to go. Um, Florence, could I speak to you a moment?”
Katie ignored him, but Florence joined him out on the sidewalk.
“Look, yesterday, I asked you to fix Katie up, but I’ve changed my mind. I mean, I think she and I—I’m a little confused right now, but there’s no need for you and your friends to sic half the bachelors in town on her. Or any from out of town.”
Florence raised her eyebrows. Then she patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it, Gabe. Things will work out.” She turned to go back into the shop.
“You will call them off, won’t you?” he asked, not satisfied with her answer.
Rather than tell him yes, she only smiled and went back inside. Gabe stood there, his hands on his hips, frustrated as hell.
His life was spinning out of control. In four days he’d changed his job, his home and now he was thinking about—about marrying Katie. How much change could a man deal with in such a short period of time?
Several people walked past him, staring at him as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk. Embarrassed, he spun on his heel and crossed the town square to Mac’s law offices. Mac’s and Alex’s. And his.
The pleasure that filled him at that thought eased some of the unsettled feelings his situation with Katie caused. He hadn’t been eager to go to work the past year. But now he couldn’t wait to dig in.
Where to dig was the problem, he decided a few minutes later. He stood with Mac and Alex, staring at the large storage closet. “I know I’m spoiled, but I don’t think I can handle this as my office,” he said, looking at the other two.
“I sure couldn’t,” Alex agreed.
“I know, I know,” Mac said. “But we’ve run out of space. And the beauty shop next door is wanting more space, too, so they won’t be willing to give up any. What are we going to do?”
Gabe pictured in his head the square, thinking maybe they could completely move the office. Then something struck him.
“Upstairs!”
The other two stared at him. Then Mac slowly nodded. “You’re right. That space has been sitting empty for almost a year. We’d have to have a stairway built, but I bet old man Hutchins would even pay for it, since it would mean more rent. I’ll go call him.”
“We could have a real law library,” Alex added, excitement in her voice. “And maybe even a break room, where the kids could play when I drop in for a few minutes. And—”
“Now, wait a minute. Let’s take it one step at a time,” Mac warned. “Let me call him.”
While Mac was on the phone, Alex and Gabe walked back into her office. “When you start shopping for office furniture, you might try Melanie’s consignment shop,” Alex said. “Just about everything in here came from
there.”
“Sounds good. I like the look of it. But I’ll probably need some help putting things together. I think I’m decor-challenged.”
“I’ll be glad to help, unless you have someone, um, special who offers.”
Immediately Katie came to mind, but Gabe shook his head no. He wasn’t sure she’d even speak to him again after his obnoxious behavior this morning. He’d better heed Mac’s advice, taking things one step at a time.
An hour later, he was going through the rooms above the law office. Immediately, he selected the one he wanted for his office. It was a large, square corner office with big windows that looked out on the town square…and The Lemon Drop Shop.
KATIE WAS RELIEVED when Gabe disappeared. And annoyed. She’d worked hard to keep her cool when he’d behaved so badly this morning, but she wasn’t sure she’d succeeded. Jeff hadn’t seemed to think anything was wrong.
He was picking her up at the shop at seven. After the lunchtime crowd had faded, she’d run home and packed up her cosmetics and an outfit, then returned to work and sent her mother home to prepare for her date. My, the Peters women were becoming real social butterflies.
Maybe she should check on Susan’s social life.
Edith Hauk and Ruth Langford came into the shop, smiles on their faces. She greeted them, hoping to hide her embarrassment. The last time they’d been in, they’d discussed her and Gabe…with Gabe.
“How are you today, dear?” Edith asked after requesting a piece of carrot cake.
“Just fine. It’s a lovely day.”
“Yes, it is,” Ruth agreed, requesting her own piece of cake and a glass of lemonade. “And it’s a good thing we’re looking forward to more good weather, with all the work they’ll be doing to Mac’s offices.”
Katherine’s attention was caught. “What are they doing to the law offices?”
“Well, since Gabe is joining the firm—dear, are you all right? You look like you’re about to faint.”
Edith chimed in, “I think you should come sit down. Mary, can you spare Katie? She’s not feeling well.”
Total embarrassment again, Katherine decided, as all four women, including Evelyn, hovered around her. “Please, I’m fine.”
The $10,000,000 Texas Wedding Page 10
