The $10,000,000 Texas Wedding

by Judy Christenberry

  Edith led her to one of the tables and insisted she sit down.

  “You hadn’t heard that Gabe was staying?” Edith asked after Katherine’s two employees went back to work.

  Katherine considered playacting. She’d been in the drama club in high school. But that was ten years ago. She opted for the truth. “No, I hadn’t. It was a surprise.”

  “Well, it surprised us all, too,” Ruth said, nodding. “It surprised us his mother would allow such a thing.”

  “Gabe’s an adult,” Katherine said.

  Edith and Ruth rolled their eyes. “That hasn’t stopped his mother yet,” Edith pointed out. “I always felt sorry for Will.”

  “His father?” Katherine asked. “Why?”

  “That poor man had to jump through hoops for his wife. She threatened to take Gabe and leave when he was little. I don’t think she would have done it, but Will couldn’t bear the thought. I think he finally just gave up the fight.”

  “I didn’t know—we were so young, and didn’t see much beyond our noses, you know,” Katherine said, frowning as she thought back. Gabe’s father had been kind, but he hadn’t played much of a role in Katherine’s life. Gabe’s mother, on the other hand, had interfered at every turn.

  “Well, I’m sure his mother is having fits…if he’s told her. She hated it here in Cactus.” Ruth Langford sniffed, as if to say the woman was crazy.

  “And Gabe is going to actually become a partner with Mac and Alex?”

  “Yes, he is. Rick Astin is going to hire them to help with his work. You know, Gabe is a contracts specialist, and a lot of Rick’s business will involve contracts. They’re all excited about the change.”

  So she was going to have to face the fact that she could see Gabe every day for the rest of her life. Heaven and hell. He’d be just across the square. And a million miles away.

  “Well, isn’t that nice. I guess he’s going to live at Gran’s? I mean, he inherited—” Oh, no. He couldn’t remain at Gran’s unless she married someone else.

  And she’d vowed never to marry again unless she loved the man. And the only man she’d ever loved was Gabe Dawson. And Gabe Dawson thought the way to solve his problem was to marry her off to someone else.

  Katherine felt a headache coming on.

  OKAY, SO HE DIDN’T WANT steak for dinner again. But Gabe headed for The Last Roundup anyway. He heroically assured himself that he was only going to the restaurant in case Katie needed some help. After all, who knew this Jeff? He was a stranger.

  Of course, he finally had to admit to himself that he was jealous as hell.

  He got to the restaurant about seven, figuring that was before Katie would get there. Her shop didn’t close until six and she’d need time to change out of her white-and-yellow uniform.

  He’d hoped to already be seated when they arrived. Instead, they got to the door of the restaurant almost simultaneously.

  “Gabe!” Katherine gasped as he held the door open for her.

  “Hey, Katie, how are you?”

  “Fine. You remember Jeff Hausen from—from this morning?”

  He shook the man’s hand. “Hello, again. From Houston, right?”

  “Right.” The man smiled, but he shot Gabe a speculative look, too.

  Gabe couldn’t blame him. He supposed his appearance did look strange.

  He followed the couple, stopping as they told the hostess they were joining Samantha and Mac Gibbons. “You’re eating with Mac?” he asked, surprised.

  “And Samantha,” Katherine added. “Oh, there they are,” she exclaimed, waving to the couple in the back of the restaurant. She and Hausen started for their table.

  It was the first time Gabe was able to notice Katie’s outfit. He watched the seductive sway of her hips in a black knit skirt, topped by a short-sleeved, powder-blue sweater that clung in all the right places.

  He swallowed hard.

  Katie Peters had certainly grown up. She was all woman now, not the elfinlike fairy creature he’d fallen in love with. She’d definitely improved with age.

  But more than her looks, she’d grown stronger, more determined, more sure of herself through the years. But she remained honest, always. Well, except for that one time.

  “Hey, Gabe, who are you joining?” Cal asked, surprising him.

  “No one. I was just looking for some dinner,” he told his friend.

  “Jess and I are eating here tonight. Come join us.”

  “I don’t want to be a fifth wheel,” he said, very much aware of being alone.

  Cal slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s okay. I’ve already married my girl. You’re no threat to me.”

  Gabe laughed. “I don’t think I could be called a threat to anyone,” he assured his friend as he walked with him.

  “Don’t bet on it. You’ve got a few ladies in town swooning, from what I’ve heard.”

  “You shouldn’t talk to your mother so much,” Gabe teased. “Mabel is hell on wheels at complicating everyone’s lives.”

  “Yeah, I heard,” Cal said. But his attention was drawn to his beautiful wife, Jessica, as she met them at the back table always reserved for them and their friends.

  Once they’d all greeted each other, and Gabe noted they were only a couple of tables away from Katie and her companions, he returned to Cal’s comment. “You heard what?”

  Cal smiled. “Mom was telling Dad about your request for them to find a man for Katie.”

  “Why?” Jessica asked.

  “Didn’t I tell you about Mrs. Dawson’s will?” Cal asked his wife. At the shake of her head, he gave her the details.

  “That’s outrageous,” Jessica said.

  “It’s our parents’ fault. Once they succeeded, every woman in town decided she could pull off a wedding for someone,” Cal pointed out.

  “You could just marry Katie yourself,” Jessica suggested, staring at Gabe.

  He felt his cheeks redden. He swore he hadn’t blushed in ten years, but these days, especially when the subject of Katie came up, he did so. “I think you may have a point.”

  Both Cal and Jessica stared at him.

  “Are you serious?” Cal asked, his gaze shifting to Katie, two tables away with another man.

  “Yeah, but I haven’t said anything to her yet. I don’t think she’ll be very receptive to the idea.”

  “I thought the same thing about Jess once,” Cal confessed. “I give thanks every day I was wrong.” He took his wife’s hand in his.

  Envy shot through Gabe. He figured if he took Katie’s hand in his, she’d use her other hand to slap him silly. Of course, when he’d kissed her, she hadn’t slapped him, he remembered, reliving that glorious moment.

  “Hey, you still with us?” Cal asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “So when are you going to talk to Katie? And have you told her about joining Mac and Alex?”

  “What’s this?” Jessica asked. “Cal Baxter, you haven’t told me anything. You’re going to join Mac and Alex? That’s wonderful.”

  Gabe nodded, smiling. He liked the feeling joining the firm gave him. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.” Then he told them about the expansion plans for the office.

  “Who is Katie with tonight?” Jessica asked, her gaze following Gabe’s as he checked on Katie.

  “Jeff Hausen. A friend of Doc’s from Houston.” He suddenly remembered something else. “He’s a doctor. I guess he’s visiting Doc while on vacation.”

  When dinner was over, Gabe watched as Jeff put an arm at Katie’s trim waist to guide her outside. He clenched his fists to ward off the urge to grab that arm and shove it away from Katie. She’d chosen to go out with that man.

  Tomorrow, he’d talk to Katie. Find a way to convince her to marry him, he suddenly decided. Only because that would be the most efficient way to receive his inheritance.

  A temporary marriage. That was it. And it would put a stop to her seeing other men. He hadn’t asked her to marry him, so she had the right to go
out with another man. But once he convinced her to marry him, then she wouldn’t.

  Tomorrow.

  THE NEXT MORNING, Katherine felt she hadn’t gotten any sleep at all. After her dinner date, she’d arrived home just after her mother, Jack and Joe. They’d been joined by Susan and Paul. Conversation flew as the others caught up on Joe’s life. Finally, at eleven, Katherine had insisted she had to go to bed, and the impromptu party broke up.

  This morning she and her mother were in the kitchen making the carrot cakes. Mary had started the cinnamon rolls and sausage rolls as soon as she’d arrived, and now she worked the counter out front.

  “Florence gave me the name of a lady she thought might want to work the morning shift,” Katherine told her mother as they worked. “Ethel Moore.”

  “Oh, yes, I’ve met her. Her oldest child is in the Sunday school class I teach. Have you talked to her?”

  “I thought I’d call her this morning. I’m sorry you couldn’t be home to have breakfast with Joe.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If he gets the job, he’ll be around for a lot of breakfasts.”

  “Mom,” Katherine said after a minute. “Don’t be offended if Joe wants to get his own place.”

  Her mother looked up, staring at Katherine. “Of course not. I know money’s been tight around here, but I thought you should have gotten your own place when you married. It might have saved your marriage. I’ve felt bad about that.”

  Katherine slipped two cake tins into the oven, then hugged her mother. “No, Mom, that wouldn’t have made a difference. Darrell and I shouldn’t have gotten married. I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a wife.”

  Margaret touched her daughter’s cheek. “Dear, you’re perfect for marriage, as long as your husband realizes you’re independent.”

  Katherine laughed and moved back to pick up two more cake tins. “Does such a man exist?”

  “I hope so,” Margaret said with a smile.

  It was almost lunchtime when all the baking for the day was done. Margaret left for home with a promise to prepare a spectacular celebration dinner for Joe’s return, whether he got the job or not.

  Katherine had paused earlier to call Ethel Moore and asked her to come to the shop. She would be there in fifteen minutes. Katherine sent Mary on her lunch break and was tending the counter.

  The doorbell jangled and she looked up. Much to her surprise, not only was Claire Dawson, Gabe’s mother, standing in her shop, but she was also accompanied by a tall, modellike blonde. Katherine had seen the woman’s picture once. Gran had showed her a clipping from the Dallas society page. Gabe’s ex-fiancée, April.

  “Good morning, may I help you?”

  “Of course. We’d like two coffees,” Mrs. Dawson said, her nose in the air. “You work here, Katie? You do remember me, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Dawson. Do you take cream or sugar?” She looked at both of them for an answer, as if remembering Claire Dawson didn’t make a bit of difference in her day.

  After she served them, Claire spoke again. “Do you have a telephone I could use? I need to call Gabe.”

  Without comment, Katherine set the phone up on the counter.

  “Do you have his number?”

  “At Gran’s—I mean, Mrs. Dawson’s house? I know the old one, but—”

  “No, at the law firm.”

  Katherine turned to the Rolodex she kept on a shelf behind the counter and gave the woman the number.

  She couldn’t help but hear Claire’s end of the conversation. After asking for Gabe, she impatiently tapped one toe until he apparently answered.

  “Gabe, darling, I’m here in Cactus. We’re over at the cutest little shop, The Lemon Drop Shop. Katie works here. Can you join us?”

  Apparently there was no immediate capitulation.

  “But, darling, I’ve driven so long this morning just to visit with you.

  “No, your father didn’t come with me.

  “Please come over here. I don’t want to come there. I never cared for Mac Gibbons, or his aunt.

  “Of course, dear, I understand.”

  When she hung up the phone, she turned to stare at Katherine, who continued to reorganize the baked goods left in the glass cases, ignoring her.

  “We’ll need another coffee. I believe Gabe takes it black. Isn’t that right, April?” Claire cooed sweetly to the young woman.

  Katherine said nothing, but she set another cup of coffee on the counter and waited to be paid.

  “How long have you worked here, dear? Ever since you finished high school? Or were you working at the Dairy Queen then? It’s such a long time ago, I can hardly remember. I figured you’d be a waitress at that big restaurant across the square, The Last Roundup. I heard you were a very good waitress.”

  Katherine said nothing. She knew the woman wasn’t being friendly. She was getting in as many jabs as possible while smiling.

  The doorbell jangled again, and Gabe entered.

  “Darling,” Claire exclaimed, hugging him. “I’m so glad you could spare the time. I brought you a surprise!” she said with the flare of a magician’s assistant. “Your fiancée, April!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Gabe shot a quick glance at Katie, only to see her disappear through the kitchen door. He turned back to scowl at his mother. “We all know that April is no longer my fiancée, Mom.”

  “Nonsense, darling, she’s forgiven you. There’s no need to crawl back to Cactus to lick your wounds.” She took his arm and tried to tug him over to the table where the blonde waited.

  “Licking my wounds is a rather inappropriate expression. Had there been wounds that severe, I would have bled to death seven years ago. Fortunately, neither of us suffered from our breakup, right, April?”

  “I thought you’d change your mind again, Gabe. I understood you just needed a little space,” April assured him with a bland smile.

  “And you’ve been patient for seven years?” he returned, scorn in his voice. “What happened to the millionaire you had on a string? At least that’s what I heard.”

  April stirred in her chair and looked away. “He wasn’t right for me.”

  “Here’s your coffee, Gabe,” his mother interrupted, handing him a cup. “Little Katie Peters was serving us. Too bad she’s never accomplished anything with her life. But then, there aren’t many opportunities for the uneducated in a small town.”

  “Stop being rude, Mother,” he growled.

  “Why, darling, don’t be silly. I was feeling sorry for her, not criticizing her. It’s hard when you come from a big family. So—so bourgeois,” she finished with a delicate shudder.

  A cool voice announced Katherine’s return. “Isn’t it, though. Do you need refills?”

  “Why, no, dear, but thank you for asking. I’m afraid your coffee doesn’t quite compare to Starbucks. They make the most divine—”

  “Mother! I think you’d better leave.” Gabe had had enough of his mother’s condescending patter.

  “Of course, darling, as soon as you agree to come with us.” She leaned closer to Gabe. “You know, your father misses you desperately. I’m really getting worried about him.”

  Gabe had spoken to his father about an hour ago. Will had listed his condo with a Realtor and arranged for movers to pack and ship his belongings. He’d also been to Gabe’s office to make similar arrangements. And he’d sounded more cheerful than he had in years.

  “Then you should be home with him,” he returned calmly.

  “Well, really, dear, I lead a busy life. I can’t baby-sit a grown man.”

  “Without his money, I suspect your life would be a lot less busy. You’d have to get a job. Ever think of that, Mom?”

  “Darling Gabe, this town has affected your brain. Come along, and we’ll go pack your things.”

  Gabe looked at Katie, standing behind the counter, pretending not to listen to their conversation. “I’m staying right here, Mom. I’m going to work with Mac and Alex, I’m going to live in
Gran’s house—and I’m going to be happy.”

  He’d almost announced to his mother that he was going to marry Katie, but good sense had stopped him. She’d never forgive him—or marry him—for any reason if he’d made that mistake.

  Instead of getting upset, Claire looked at April. “I told you this might take some time. I suppose we’ll just have to dig in our heels.” Then she turned back to Gabe. “Which bedrooms shall we take? Or do you want April to share yours?”

  “Share?” Gabe bellowed.

  “Well, darling, I am a modern woman. I know you and April have been, shall we say, intimate? I understand a virile man’s needs.”

  He clenched his teeth. “If you and April insist on staying, I’ll make you a reservation at the bed-and-breakfast on the square.”

  “No, dear, I want to stay with you. There are three bedrooms,” she said with a sigh, “so until you get straightened out, I guess we can manage.” She stood and held out a hand. “The keys, please, dear.”

  Gabe closed his eyes. His immediate response was to tell her to sleep on the street. He was not going to be manipulated by his mother ever again. But she was his mother. He couldn’t humiliate her that way. And it wasn’t as if he couldn’t resist April.

  “The back door’s not locked.”

  Claire rolled her eyes, then nodded. “We’ll fix a lovely dinner and expect you home by six.” Then, with a condescending nod to Katie, she motioned for April to follow her and left the shop.

  Once the two women had departed, Gabe turned to face Katie, embarrassed by his mother’s behavior. “Katie—”

  “I’m back,” Mary sang out. “Ready for a break?” she asked as she came through the kitchen door.

  Gabe knew his face reflected his distaste for her interruption, but—

  The bell over the door jangled as someone entered. “Mrs. Hill?” a soft voice called.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Gabe?” Katie said, no emotion on her face.

  As if he had a choice. “We’ll talk later,” he growled and stalked out of the shop, too.

  ETHEL MOORE WAS PERFECT for the job. A quiet, pleasant woman, she loved to cook and got along well with both Evelyn and Mary. Katherine hired her on the spot, glad something was going well. She agreed to start the next morning.