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She’d come to Dallas occasionally. He’d bought her a plane ticket every time he could convince her to leave Cactus. The last couple of years, that hadn’t been often.
Katie had visited her.
That information had slipped out in her protestations of innocence. Which only made her seem more guilty. She’d brought Gran cookies and videos to watch.
He should have known. Even if she did have evil intentions, Katie wouldn’t forget Gran. When the two of them had been dating, they’d spent a lot of time at Gran’s house. His mother hadn’t seemed too welcoming to Katie. She’d wanted her son to date someone at Texas Tech. His own kind, she’d said.
Even though she’d never been rude to Katie, as far as he knew, Katie had sensed his mother’s disapproval. Katie had been reluctant to go to his home. Her home had been a three-ring circus, with her five younger brothers and sisters and her parents present. So they’d come to Gran’s.
Every room in the house held memories.
Some he’d like to forget.
Which explained why he was still sitting on the porch. Not that he’d been here that long. Dinner with his friends had dragged out, as they’d talked about old times.
They were good friends. He’d made other friends in Dallas, while attending law school, but the friendships weren’t as deep, as satisfying, as those he’d made as a child.
But even with them, his best friends, he couldn’t discuss his difficulties.
He stood up, ignoring the creak of the rocker, and strode to the back door. It was locked, which took him by surprise. Gran had never locked her doors, but Mac had had the place locked up, of course. He dug out the keys Mac had given him and unlocked the door.
The house smelled fresh, witnessing Mac’s remark that he’d had someone come in on a regular basis. Gabe reached out and clicked on the overhead light.
The big kitchen was neat and tidy. Too neat. It looked barren, compared to the clutter Gran had always had. Gabe tossed the keys on top of the pine table and went back out to his Mercedes. He’d picked up a few necessities at the grocery.
Waking up in the morning with no coffee in the house wasn’t something he was interested in doing. He could go without food for a while, but not without coffee.
He pulled out Gran’s percolator, a fancy one with a timing device. He’d given it to her last Christmas. Sighing, he realized she’d never used it. The tags were still on it.
Preparing the pot and setting the timer for eight in the morning, figuring he’d sleep in after his long day, he considered going to bed.
But he didn’t think he could go to sleep until he made a plan of action. He’d carried in his suitcase and briefcase along with the groceries. He put his briefcase on the table and pulled out a chair.
With a clean legal pad and pen, he felt more confident that he could find a way out of this mess. The tools of his trade. He began listing the problems. Then he looked for solutions.
Finally he accepted what Mac had told him. The will was unbreakable. He had one option, other than the impossible one of marrying Katie. He had to get her married to someone else. That shouldn’t be too hard, he decided, anger surging up in him again. She’d already married once.
He remembered the care he’d taken with the inexperienced Katie. His father had warned him about unprotected sex. He’d taken that warning to heart, always carrying condoms. But Katie had never been intimate with anyone. He’d wanted her first time to be special. With him.
His grandmother had taken a cruise with some of the other ladies from Cactus. She’d asked Gabe to stay at her place over the weekend. He’d brought Katie there and made love to her, in his bed.
He’d protected her, loved her. Adored her.
The next weekend, he’d intended to propose to her. But her father died in the middle of the week. He’d come back for the funeral. Katie had scarcely had time for him, except to fall into his arms for one brief hug.
Now, looking back, he realized how selfish he’d been. Shame filled him at his egocentric response to Katie’s earth-shattering experience. All he’d been able to think of were his plans for the future. For the two of them.
But she hadn’t made any effort to explain. To ask him to wait. In fact, when he’d returned a couple of weeks later after his college graduation to finally bare his heart to her, she’d told him she’d met someone else.
The pain had been so intense, so shattering, he’d been unable to even ask questions. To wonder at the sudden turn in their relationship.
Unable to face those memories, Gabe ripped the top sheet from the legal pad. Immediately he began a list of all the single men he knew in Cactus. There weren’t all that many, he realized. Most of the young people had left. These days they were attracting more industry to Cactus.
The guys were telling him about a billionaire who had settled in Cactus and was building a factory outside town. But the young people who were staying were years younger than Katie. She was twenty-eight now.
He’d have to ask the matchmakers. Mabel Baxter and her cronies. They’d know who was available.
He headed a column Things To Do.
1. Visit with the matchmakers.
2. Talk to Jack Ledbetter.
Reluctantly he added a third.
3. Make a decision about my job.
He’d taken a week’s vacation to settle Gran’s estate, but it appeared it was going to take a lot longer. Once he took possession of the house, as he had tonight, he had to remain living there for a year.
He could hardly commute to Dallas.
Tucking the legal pad and pen back into his briefcase, he shut it and stood. It was too late to make any decisions tonight. Tomorrow, he’d get a fresh start.
He picked up his suitcase and headed down the hall to the bedroom that had always been his. The bedroom where he’d first made love to Katie.
No. He’d use the guest room. It held no memories for him. Neither of Gran nor Katie. It had always been kept in pristine condition, in case a visitor had dropped in. Gran was a proud housekeeper. Toward the end, he’d hired a neighbor to come in twice a week and clean for her. She’d hated that.
He opened the door to the guest room, finding it ready for a last-minute guest, as he’d known it would be. The decor was a little too feminine for his taste, but he’d suffer the flowered comforter and drapes tonight. After all, if he wasn’t staying, it wouldn’t matter. And if he was—
Nope. He couldn’t think about that tonight. He wanted to sleep, to forget the past, to deny the future. He was back in Cactus. That was enough for now.
OLD HABITS WERE HARD to break.
Gabe was awake at seven. In Dallas, he normally hit the shower at six-thirty, so he supposed he’d actually, technically, broken his early-morning habit, but there was no reason to roll out of bed this morning.
And, damn it, the coffee wouldn’t be ready until eight.
With a groan, he padded into the kitchen and adjusted the timer until he heard it turn on. Then he headed for the shower. By the time he finished, the coffee would be ready.
He was leaning against the counter, downing his first cup of coffee, when he heard a car in the driveway. A smile settled in place when he saw the sheriff’s official car. Cal had come to see him.
Then it occurred to him that maybe there was a problem. The phone wasn’t connected, but he had a cell phone. His parents would have called if—
He hurried to the back door. “Come in, Cal. Is anything wrong?”
“Not a thing. Thought you might like a little breakfast,” he said, holding up a white paper bag.
A cinnamon aroma filled the air and caused Gabe’s stomach to growl. “How’d you guess?” he asked with a grin.
“Not hard to do. Any more coffee?”
“You bet. Have a seat while I pour you a cup.”
Soon the two men were seated, munching on sausage rolls, with two fat cinnamon rolls waiting.
“These are great,” Gabe said. “You must be the luckiest man in the world.”
“How’s that?” Cal asked, his eyes closed as he savored another bite.
“To have a wife like Jessica.”
Cal grinned. “You won’t hear me complaining. Wait until you meet my son. Then you’ll really know how lucky I am.”
“How old is he?”
“Almost a year old. He’s starting to learn to walk. Which is a good thing, because Tuck’s been bragging about his little girl for a month now. Did you know that girls learn to walk before boys? Can you believe that?”
The disgust in Cal’s voice tickled Gabe. He chuckled and it felt good. He hadn’t been that happy when he’d awakened, but a good friend could cheer up a guy.
“I think that’s so girls can get a head start running away from boys.”
“Yeah,” Cal replied, his face suddenly serious. “I’ve sure had some cases where I’ve wished the woman would run. Domestic violence is ugly.”
An alarming thought filled Gabe. “Katie never—I mean, her husband didn’t—”
“Not that I know of. But he didn’t appreciate her. That’s for sure.”
“Maybe she was a lousy wife,” Gabe muttered, picking up the cinnamon roll and sniffing it.
“I doubt it. Even if she was, she’d make up for a lot of sins, being able to make these.”
Gabe had just taken a big bite. He almost choked on it before he could speak. “You mean Katie made these?”
“Well, of course. I stopped by The Lemon Drop Shop on my way over here.”
Chapter Four
Gabe swallowed the bite of cinnamon roll and cleared his throat. “I, uh, assumed Jessica made these.”
“Nope. She was sleeping in this morning since Rick has a cold. He wakes up a lot at night. She didn’t get much sleep.”
Gabe frowned. “What does Doc say?”
“It’s a cold,” Cal said with a shrug. “I’ve adjusted to the problems with children. You should have seen me the first month after we brought him home. Jessica called me an alarmist.”
Gabe’s brows soared. “You? You’re always the calm one.”
“Not when it comes to my kid. You’ll see when you have your own,” Cal assured him.
Gabe sipped his coffee, unable to agree. He figured he’d never have children because he never intended to marry. His romantic experience hadn’t led to much optimism in that area. But the look of bliss on Cal’s face made him want to have children.
When he’d thought he and Katie would share a future, he’d pictured their children, a little girl with Katie’s long blond hair, a pink bow in it, a rough-and-tumble boy, playing with a dog like Jericho. Life had looked perfect until Katie’s bomb exploded.
“Who did Katie date after me?”
His abrupt question got Cal’s attention. He frowned. “You mean ten years ago? When you moved to Dallas?”
“Yeah. Ten years ago.”
Cal stared at the opposite wall, thinking, and Gabe held his breath. He prayed it wasn’t one of his friends. He’d hate to try to beat up Spence or Tuck or Mac.
“No one.”
Gabe stared at Cal. “What do you mean, no one? There was someone. You must not remember.”
Cal laughed. “Right. A beautiful lady like Katie, staying in town, staying at home on Saturday night, and you think we didn’t notice? For a while, we figured you two had an understanding. That things had to be postponed because of her dad’s death. Everyone kind of left her alone.”
Frowning, Gabe thought back to what Katie had told him. “Maybe it was someone from out of town.”
“Oh, yeah. We never notice strangers in Cactus.”
“You’re being sarcastic,” Gabe protested.
“Why are you asking? Did you two have an understanding? I mean, it seemed kind of harsh to think you’d abandoned her when things got bad.”
Gabe heard the note of censure in his friend’s voice and it hurt. He said, “I didn’t abandon her. I asked her to marry me, move to Dallas with me.” Cal just stared at him, and he added, “I was focused on—on myself. I didn’t realize how hard things were for her.”
“We can all be selfish bastards at times. But that’s better than walking away from her, leaving her hoping.”
Gabe wasn’t sure about that. He was beginning to feel guilty about his behavior ten years ago. And it made him mad. She could have said something!
“So, when you asked her to marry you, she said…” Cal waited for him to fill in the blank.
“She said she’d fallen for someone else.” After a glimpse of the sympathy in Cal’s gaze, Gabe looked away. “I guess she lied.”
“Probably. It was a bad time for all of them. Maybe she couldn’t think about leaving her family.”
“I would have waited!” Gabe muttered. She hadn’t even given him a chance.
“For ten years?”
“Hell! They could have moved with us. We would’ve worked something out.”
Both men sat in silence, thinking about the events ten years ago. Finally Gabe acknowledged, “Okay, maybe that’s not realistic, but—”
“Maybe you should be having this conversation with Katie. You might be able to work something out that would take care of that pesky will.”
“No!” Gabe yelled, overreacting, he knew. “No,” he repeated more calmly. “Too much water under the bridge.” He thought about the husband she’d had, the years, the…hurt. Nope, he wasn’t willing to offer his heart again, to be carved up at will.
Cal shoved his chair back from the table. “So, what have you got planned for the day?”
“I’ve made a list of things I need to do. I suppose I’ll see how many I can accomplish.”
“Are you planning on staying?”
Gabe looked at Cal, a question in his gaze, as he said, “I’m thinking about it. If I have any chance of inheriting Gran’s estate, I have to live here a year.”
“We’d like having you around,” Cal said warmly, answering Gabe’s unasked question. “We sometimes rodeo on Saturdays. Think you can still ride?”
Gabe grinned. “Better than you, cowboy. If I’m going to stay, I might buy a couple of horses. Would Spence or Tuck have any to sell?”
“I reckon. They usually do. In fact, the last time I was over at Spence’s, he had a fine-looking gelding. I was thinking about him myself, but I’ve already got more than I can ride.”
“I’ll check with him,” Gabe said, reaching for his briefcase and his list.
“You and your lists,” Cal teased, rising to his feet.
“Hey, it’s the only way to stay organized.” Gabe stood and extended his hand. “Thanks for the breakfast…and the friendship, Cal.”
“No thanks needed. I enjoyed the breakfast…and you already had the friendship.”
THE THREE GENTLEMEN in suits were not dressed like the normal customers of The Lemon Drop Shop. In spite of the distraction Katherine felt, scanning the town square for any sign of Gabe, she went on red alert when the men entered the shop.
“Is Mrs. Hill here?” one of them asked as he stepped forward.
“I’m Katherine Hill. How may I help you?”
“We’re from the TGM Corporation, owner of The Last Roundup franchises in Lubbock.”
“Are you Mr. Frizzell?” When the man nodded, she added, “I believe I spoke to you on the phone.”
“That’s correct. We thought it would be a good idea to taste your product.”
When she made the four carrot cakes for The Last Roundup each day, she also made one for her shop, which she sold by the slice. Since the gentlemen had arrived before lunch, she still had some available.
“Of course. If you’ll be seated, I’ll bring you each a sample.”
Evelyn and Mary were working in the kitchen. Katherine stepped through the doors. “Can one of you watch the counter for a few minutes? I’ve got a business meeting.”
Though their eyes were filled with questions, the two ladies didn’t ask anything. Katherine figured they’d seen her tension. There would be a lot of profit in selling twelve to fifteen carrot cakes every morning. She charged twenty-five dollars a cake, which still left a large profit margin for the restaurants.
She prepared a tray with pieces of cake and cups of coffee and carried it through to the table the men had chosen. Just as she finished serving them and sat down to discuss their interest, the door was shoved open, the bell over it ringing mightily.
“Katie, I want to talk to you,” Gabe Dawson announced, as if his needs had to be met at once.
“Excuse me,” Katherine murmured to the men, and crossed over to Gabe’s side. “I can’t talk right now. I have a business meeting. I should be free in half an hour.”
Gabe glowered at first her and then the men. “I won’t take long,” he insisted.
Katherine gritted her teeth. “Not now, Gabe.” Then she turned around and hurried to the other table. She didn’t know what Gabe would do, but she prayed he wouldn’t mess things up.
“Gabe Dawson!” Mary called out. “It’s good to see you, boy. Why don’t you sit down and let me pour you a cup of coffee. And we’ve got a couple of sausage rolls left over from this morning. If you don’t eat them, we’ll just have to throw them out.”
Katherine vowed to give Mary a bonus if she improved Gabe’s mood, as well as kept him occupied until she could finish with the businessmen.
They had already begun eating their cake. Katherine could tell by the expressions on their faces and the quickly disappearing cake that half the battle was won.
Mr. Frizzell daintily wiped his mouth with the lemon-yellow paper napkin after scarfing down his piece. He cleared his throat. “Yes, um, well, very tasty cake, Mrs. Hill.”
“Thank you.”
“This was baked this morning?” the second man asked.
“Yes, it was. I bake four cakes every morning for The Last Roundup and simply make an extra for the shop.”
“I guess you don’t have much left over,” the third man, a little more rotund than the other two, asked, beaming at her.
“No, I don’t,” she agreed with a smile.
“May we see your baking facilities?” Mr. Frizzell asked, and Katherine proudly led the way to her kitchen. She’d been in business for five years. Each year she’d plowed as much money as she could into updating her facilities. Now the large room was state-of-the-art, with four large professional ovens on one wall.
“Could you produce, say, three cakes each for our three locations in Lubbock each day, in addition to Jessica’s order?” Mr. Frizzell asked.
“Yes, of course. But I can’t deliver to Lubbock. I don’t have the personnel for that.” She held her breath. With Paul ready for college in the fall and Susan right behind him the next year, the extra profit would come in handy.
“No, we understand. We can take care of delivery, but the cakes would need to be picked up by nine-thirty each morning.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem.”
“And, since we’re ordering in quantity, I suppose you could give us a discount?”
Katherine paused, tempted to cut her profit to insure she got their business, but she knew how much profit Jessica made on her cakes. And she knew she made a good product. Taking a deep breath and praying they wouldn’t walk out, she smiled and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Frizzell. While I’d like your business, I use the best ingredients in my product and I can’t lower my price.”
All three men frowned.
“Very well. We’ll let you know our decision,” the head man said, and they shook hands with her and left.
Katherine remained in the kitchen, standing there with her face buried in her hands, sure she’d just made a huge mistake.
“Katie!” Gabe snapped from the kitchen door.
She lowered her hands and turned around. As usual, she had no time for privacy.
“Yes, Gabe?”
“Do you have time to work me into your schedule?” he drawled, implying she’d put him off just to be difficult.
With a sigh, she picked up the decorating tube Mary had abandoned to work the counter and finished decorating the cake her assistant had been working on. “If you can talk while I work.”
She hadn’t looked at him after that first brief glance. When he said nothing, she finally looked up.
He was staring at Evelyn, who was pouring batter into several cupcake pans.
Evelyn, seeming to feel his stare, looked up. “Oh! Oh, do you want me to go to the counter?” she asked, looking at Katherine.
“No,” Katherine replied.
“Yes,” Gabe ordered.
Katherine’s gaze told Evelyn to go back to work. Then she said calmly, “The last I checked, this was my shop and Evelyn worked for me. Right?”
“I need to talk to you alone.”
His husky voice sent shivers down her spine, but she stood her ground.
“Then come back after the school rush, around four-thirty or five. Maybe I can spare you five minutes then.”
“Damn it, Katie, this is—”
“I told you to call me Katherine.”
“Fine, Katherine! I want information now. I can’t waste my entire day waiting for you to deign to give me five minutes.”
“Take it or leave it,” she replied, stubbornly continuing with her work.
“Is Jack Ledbetter the one you said—is he the one?”
Katherine knew at once what he meant. And she didn’t want any more questions in front of Evelyn, who was a dear soul but loved gossip more than anyone in Cactus. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Yes, he is.”
His voice sounding like a growl, he muttered, “I should have known.” Then he stomped out of the kitchen.
Katherine sagged against the counter and closed her eyes. First she’d lost the cake order. Then she’d had to deal with an angry Gabe.
“What about Jack?” Evelyn asked.
“I think Gabe has heard that Jack is sweet on Mom. I guess he doesn’t approve.”
“Oh, I think it’s wonderful. I’m happy for your mom,” Evelyn enthused. “Why, I remember…”
Katherine nodded at the appropriate moments as Evelyn recounted ancient history, letting her mind drift to the handsome man who was driving her crazy.
KATIE’S CALM WORDS kept playing over and over in his mind. “Yes, he is.”
She didn’t even appear to be ashamed to be dating a man old enough to be her father. Maybe even her grandfather! Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration. But you’d think she’d be embarrassed to be thought a gold digger.
He gripped the wheel more tightly, wishing he could squeeze some sense into Katie. If she was that desperate for money— He broke off that dangerous thought. After all, he hadn’t offered to marry her.
She didn’t need to marry him to get money.
She could inherit Gran’s estate by not marrying anyone. Not even Jack Ledbetter.
“And that’s why I’m going to up the ante,” he muttered to himself. He turned the steering wheel so the car pulled off the main road onto Jack Ledbetter’s gravel driveway, parked and got out.
The man stepped out of the barn, several dogs at his heels. The dogs distracted Gabe since they closely resembled his dog, Jericho. His stomach didn’t feel good, either.
But he was going to take care of things…today.
“Well, I heard you were back in town, Gabe. Welcome. How are you?”
Hell, he didn’t want the man to be friendly. He crossed the distance between them and took the hand Jack extended. The dogs sniffed at his boots.
“These two look a lot like Jericho,” he muttered.
“They’re his kinfolk. Well, at least she is. I got the boy from a man in Lubbock. Didn’t want too much inbreeding,” Jack said, smiling easily. “You looking for a dog? I’ve got four pups to sell.”
That thought distracted Gabe. A dog? In Dallas, there’d been no point to having a dog. He was never home enough to spend any time with a pet. But a sudden yearning in his heart told him how much he’d missed having a dog.
“I might.” He cleared his throat. “But I have something else to talk about first.”
Jack’s eyebrows, black mixed with gray, rose up. “Well, sure thing. Want to come in? I can put on a pot of coffee.”
Gabe didn’t want any more coffee. What he had to say wouldn’t take long. If he could only figure out how to say it when the man was being so damn nice. “A glass of ice water would be better,” he said.
“Yeah, you’re right. The days are warming up, aren’t they? Come on.” Jack led the way to his back porch and into the kitchen.