She was proud of Ben’s sons and their children, but never more at this moment, as she stood amongst them all, witnessing Isabelle and Link’s wedding vows. To her it seemed only fitting that the two should pledge their love to each other on the spot that legend told would sanctify their union with a love so pure as to last a lifetime.
And so what if Brad Rowan had died within the bowels of the cave? Kate asked herself with a sniff of disdain. Isabelle and Link had not caused the man’s death. The foolish and greedy man had brought his untimely and gruesome demise upon himself. And Kate stubbornly believed that it was Isabelle’s experience in the cave that fateful afternoon that had given her the courage to shrug off her family’s determination to protect her from life itself, and claim her rightful place as a strong, mature woman within the Fortune family, with a mind and heart of her own.
While the priest offered his blessings over the couple, Kate glanced around, her smile growing proud as her gaze settled on first Jason and his new bride, Adele, then moved on to Jason’s brother, Tyler, and his wife, Julie. With a sigh of the purest contentment, she swept her gaze to look with approval at Ben’s handsome twin grandsons—Riley, standing with his arm curved protectively around his wife Angelica’s waist, then Shane, standing proudly beside his wife, Cynthia, a wide hand braced on the shoulder of his young son, Bobbie. A son Shane was a little slow in claiming as his own, she thought, arching a disapproving brow.
She sighed heavily, turning her gaze back to the couple who stood at the entrance to the cave, heads bowed reverently, fingers locked in a symbol of their union as one. It would seem, she reflected sadly as she studied the two, that the Fortunes would be forever plagued with difficulties in finding, then finally joining with the proper mate.
She smiled as she watched Isabelle lift her face and Link lower his for the traditional kiss, sealing their union, a marriage of souls linked for eternity. Pleasure filled her heart, spilled over to soothe her soul as she nodded her approval.
But things usually worked out in the end, she told herself, then sniffed back tears as she slipped a paper from the sleeve of her dress. She approached the newlyweds, still locked in a tight embrace—a kiss that had stretched on a bit too long, in her estimation. “Enough of that mushy nonsense,” she grumped. “I have a wedding gift for the two of you.”
Isabelle laughed as a blush worked its way up Link’s neck, staining his cheeks, then wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him to her side as she turned to look at Kate. “But you’ve already given us a wedding gift,” she reminded gently. “Remember?”
Kate humphed and gave her chin an indignant lift. “I may be old, but I’m not senile. I know very well that I’ve already given you a wedding gift, and I’ll give you another, if I so choose. But this gift,” she added, holding up the piece of paper, “isn’t from me. It’s from the Rowans.”
The blood drained from Isabelle’s face and she took a step back. “From the Rowans?”
“Yes,” Kate acknowledged, and pushed the paper against Isabelle’s hand, forcing Isabelle to take it. “Though I was as hesitant as you when the Rowans first approached me with it. But after giving their gift some thought, I decided that it was appropriate, fitting, even. Open it,” she insisted, waving an impatient hand toward the document Isabelle held. “See for yourself.”
Her fingers shaking, Isabelle unfolded the document and quickly scanned it, her eyes widening. “But it’s the deed to Lightfoot’s Plateau,” she cried.
Kate nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, it is. The Rowans wanted to give the land back to the Fortunes, a way of making amends for all the pain and suffering their son inflicted upon this family. And who better to hold the deed than the couple whose happiness he most threatened.”
Tears filled Isabelle’s eyes and she dropped her gaze to stare at the deed again. “Lightfoot’s Plateau,” she whispered, then lifted her gaze to meet that of her husband’s. “It’s ours,” she said, linking her fingers with his.
“Yours,” he corrected her.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Kate groused. “When you marry, you become one. Hearts, souls and possessions,” she added with a decisive nod of her head.
“Yes, ma’am,” Link murmured dutifully, though he bit back a smile as he met the old woman’s gaze.
Kate gave a sniff. “That’s better. Just proves that you’re not too old to learn a few manners, young man. Respect for the elderly is a virtue,” she informed him primly. “One you’d be wise to practice.”
“Oh, I have the utmost respect for you, Mrs. Fortune,” Link assured her, then glanced down at Isabelle and shot her a wink. “In fact,” he said, stepping forward, “I might even be a bit in love with you.”
Kate’s eyes shot wide in dismay. “You what!”
Link tossed back his head and laughed, then scooped Kate up into his arms and twirled her around. After spinning a fast circle, he set her back down on her feet, then bussed her a quick kiss on the lips. “In a familial way, of course,” he assured her as he looped his arm through hers, then crooked his other in invitation to Isabelle. He escorted them toward the fleet of limousines that waited to deliver the wedding party to the Fortune estate and a reception already touted as surpassing in grandeur the previous reception her parents had planned. “I know how to keep the ladies in my life safe, don’t I, sweetheart?” he asked, glancing down at Isabelle for her confirmation.
Isabelle tilted up her face for his kiss. “Oh, yes,” she said, sighing. “You’ve done an excellent job of keeping me safe.” She shifted her face close to his ear and nipped at his earlobe before adding suggestively, “But there is one thing that you do much, much better….”
Link groaned as her tongue swept over the shell of his ear and quickened his pace toward the car, making both Isabelle and Kate laugh in delight as he swept them along with him.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given
to Peggy Moreland for her contribution
to the Fortune’s Children: The Grooms series.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1081-3
GROOM OF FORTUNE
Copyright © 2000 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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*Trouble in Texas
†Texas Brides
‡Texas Grooms
Groom 0f Fortune (Fortune's Children: The Grooms Book 5) Page 15
