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“True,” Cal began, but he didn’t continue because Tuck and Spence arrived. There were several minutes of greeting each other and exchanging comments about their lives. Then the beers arrived and the newcomers stopped talking to take a drink.
Cal leaned forward. “Ask me your question. I’m not a lawyer.”
“Cal—” Mac began, but Gabe ignored his friend.
“I want to know who’s the man in Katherine’s life.”
Cal sat back in his chair and stared at Gabe.
“Which Katherine?” Spence asked, frowning.
Tuck stuck his elbow in Spence’s ribs. “Don’t you remember? Gabe and Katie were—friends,” he hurriedly said after receiving a glare from Gabe.
Cal took his time. He leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table. With a sideways look at Mac, he said, “The only man I’ve heard about is Jack Ledbetter.”
“Who’s that?” Gabe demanded, a sick feeling filling his stomach at hearing a name, forcing him to realize the man was real.
Spence stared. “You’re kidding. He’s too old for Katie.”
Those words got Gabe’s attention. “Too old? How old is he? Who is he?”
“You remember Jack Ledbetter,” Tuck insisted. “He and his wife lived about ten miles out of town. She raised German shepherds. Didn’t your dad buy you one?”
“That’s right,” Gabe said with a frown, recalling old memories. The dog, Jericho, died while he was away at college. “Are they divorced?”
“No. His wife died of cancer a couple of years ago,” Cal explained, but he didn’t answer Gabe’s other question.
“Spence is right. He’s our fathers’ age. What is she doing dating someone that old? What’s the matter with her? Is she looking for someone to—” He broke off abruptly, unwilling to say that he suspected Katie was looking for a meal ticket.
“Yeah, I heard about Jack,” Tuck said, “but I heard it was her mother he was interested in.”
Gabe didn’t want to admit the hope that leaped in his throat at those words. “Her mother?”
“Yeah, you remember her father died her senior year in high school,” Tuck said. “Katie’s mother pretty much fell apart. Katie’s the one who pulled the family together. She’s worked like a dog ever since then to take care of all of them.”
Other comments were made, but Gabe didn’t hear them. He’d forgotten about Katie’s father’s death. He’d tried to comfort her, of course, and she’d assured him everything was fine. He’d been coming home on weekends to see her, but he was finishing his senior year at Texas Tech and had a lot going on.
“What do you mean, she took care of all of them?” Gabe asked abruptly, interrupting Spence, who had made a flattering comment about Katie’s shop.
Tuck raised one eyebrow. “Don’t you remember?”
“We moved to Dallas that summer so I could start law school in the fall.” After he’d proposed to Katie and been rejected, he’d wanted out of town. His parents had decided to move to Dallas, too. His mother had never been happy in the small town.
“And you didn’t keep in touch?” Spence asked, a puzzled frown on his face.
“No.” Nothing more. He wasn’t going to remind his friends that the woman he’d loved had stomped all over him and walked away.
Tuck explained, “Katie took a day job at the grocery store and worked nights as a waitress.”
“Was she saving for college?” She’d talked about going to Tech.
“No,” Cal said. “She was paying the bills. Her dad never was much of a provider, but with him gone, they had a lot of bills. With five more kids and a mother who didn’t know how to earn money, Katie became the breadwinner for everyone.”
A sick feeling was building in Gabe’s stomach. “But she married. I mean, her husband must’ve helped out, brought in money.”
Mac snorted in derision. “Yeah, right. Darrell Hill came to town after you left. He worked at the gas station. After they married, he started showing up for work less and less, until he got fired.”
“Doesn’t seem like he was much help,” Gabe muttered. The protective feelings that surged through him were ridiculous. She hadn’t wanted him, or his help. He’d promised to help her get her college degree, too. But she’d said no.
No one said anything.
“How did he die?” Gabe finally asked.
Without any expression, Cal said, “He hit a tree going eighty miles an hour.”
“Drunk?” Gabe asked, determined to know the worst.
“Oh, yeah. We’re lucky he didn’t take anyone with him.” Cal shook his head. “Drinking and driving is about the stupidest thing I know.”
They all nodded in solemn agreement. Then Tuck asked a question about Gabe’s life in Dallas and the conversation lightened.
Gabe, however, couldn’t get the earlier tale out of his head. He still had questions. But only Katie could answer them. And if he asked, if he dug into the past, she’d know that—she’d think that he was even more stupid than her dead husband.
She’d believe he still cared for a woman who’d rejected him ten long years ago.
Chapter Three
The Lemon Drop Shop closed its doors at six o’clock.
For the first time since she’d opened her shop, Katherine was counting the minutes.
“Are my pies ready?” Mabel Baxter asked.
“Yes, they are, Mrs. Baxter. Let me get them,” Katherine replied with a smile. Mabel Baxter had been one of her early supporters and, as a town social lion, where she had gone, others had followed. Katherine owed her a lot.
She brought the two boxed pies from the storeroom and handed them over the counter.
As Mabel counted out the payment, she said, “I heard Gabe Dawson is back in town.”
“Yes, I believe he is,” Katherine said, hoping no one noticed the tremor in her voice.
“His grandmother was so proud of him. She wanted him to return to Cactus to settle down.”
Katherine took the money and thanked Mabel, praying the conversation would end.
“You were high school sweethearts, weren’t you?” Mabel continued.
“We dated my senior year, but Gabe was a senior at Tech. Too many years between us.” A simple explanation. That was the best.
“I guess so. I wonder if he’s married. Well, see you later,” Mabel said, giving her a cheerful smile after delivering the dreadful thought.
Of course he wasn’t married. If he had been, then Gran wouldn’t have written that horrible will. Katherine breathed deeply, calming her rocketing nerves. Until another thought hit her.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have a “significant other.” Maybe that explained his anger. He loved someone and hadn’t told Gran about it.
Poor Gabe.
Ten years ago, when she’d refused his marriage proposal, she’d been proud of her selflessness. Until he left town and the pain set in. But she’d had little choice. She couldn’t have walked away from her mother and brothers and sisters.
“I’ve cleaned the kitchen,” Evelyn reported, disrupting Katherine’s thoughts.
“Thanks, Evelyn. Do we need any supplies?”
“Just eggs. Mr. Stottlemyer brought a delivery of carrots, sugar and flour this afternoon while you were out.”
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Katherine said, checking her watch. Six o’clock had finally arrived. She walked around the counter and flipped the sign on the door to indicate the bakery was closed, then locked it.
“Mary didn’t sound like she felt good when she left,” Evelyn added with a frown. “If she can’t come in the morning, you call me, okay?”
“Thanks, Evelyn, I will.”
She wouldn’t have any choice. She arrived at six each morning to start the baking for the day. The Last Roundup bought four carrot cakes each morning, freshly baked. Since this restaurant had been franchised in Lubbock, she was in negotiations to provide cakes for all of their locations. Then there were the other baked goods, including cinnamon rolls, for the early arrivals.
After mopping the restaurant area, Katherine turned out the lights and headed for her truck. Actually, it was an old Chevy Blazer. In the back, Katherine’s two brothers had removed the second seat and replaced it with racks so she could deliver large orders. Lately, she’d even baked some wedding cakes.
She pulled up beside the house she’d lived in since she was a little girl. It wasn’t an elegant home, but it had housed her and her family for a quarter of a century. They’d even managed to paint it a couple of years ago, the entire family pitching in.
Katherine smiled. She had a wonderful family. All the kids worked hard, never complained. Except for Susan, she thought with a sigh.
Her youngest sister appeared at her car door, as if she’d conjured her up with that thought. “Are you going to get out, or sit there all night?”
Katherine smiled and opened her car door. “I was just resting a minute. How was school today?”
Susan rolled her eyes and started walking toward the house.
Obviously the wrong question.
Her mother had dinner on the table. Katherine gave a grateful sniff, before she crossed the kitchen to kiss her mother’s cheek. “Everything smells delicious, Mom.”
“That’s because Jack’s joining us,” Susan snapped, glaring at her mother.
“I—I didn’t think you’d mind,” Margaret Peters said, her anxious gaze on Katherine.
Katherine ignored her sister’s reaction and hugged her mother. “Of course I don’t mind. We need to thank him for the work he did on the chicken coop, anyway. I think the chickens have been laying more eggs now that the roof doesn’t leak.”
Susan gave a sound of disgust and left the kitchen.
“Katie, I don’t think—”
Margaret’s timorous tones ate away at Katherine’s stomach. “Don’t worry, Mom. Suse will get over it.”
She hoped her sister would mature enough to stop interfering in her mother’s chance at happiness. Margaret had wilted when her beloved husband had died. She’d had no idea how to go on. In the passing years, she’d grown stronger, helping Katherine with her business, taking care of the younger children. Katherine had encouraged her to make decisions, a new experience for Margaret.
Just a few months ago, Jack Ledbetter had asked about leasing some of their acreage. Because of Katherine’s hours, he’d come over after dinner one evening.
Katherine recognized the attraction that sparked between the two older people. With Margaret’s shyness, the interest needed some careful nurturing. But Katherine had enthusiastically supported Jack’s efforts.
Susan was the only one objecting.
The sound of a car engine signaled Jack’s arrival and Margaret’s cheeks turned bright red. “I—I think Jack’s here.”
“Yeah. I’ll call the kids.” Only Paul and Susan remained at home.
Once they were all seated around the table, passing bowls of delicious food, the subject Katherine had hoped to avoid came up.
“I hear Gabe Dawson is back in town. Didn’t think he’d come back after burying his grandmother,” Jack said, smiling at Margaret.
The sudden silence made Jack stare at the others.
“What did I say?” he asked, frowning.
“Nothing at all, Jack,” Katherine assured him, but she kept her gaze fixed on her dinner plate.
“He came to the shop,” Paul muttered.
“What did he say? Is he moving back to town?” Susan asked, excitement in her voice for the first time. Like Paul, she’d adored Gabe.
“No!” Katherine snapped, and then moderated her voice. “He’s just here to settle Mrs. Dawson’s estate. I’m sure he’ll only be here a day or two.”
“You talked to him?” Margaret asked.
“Um, yes, I did.” Katherine didn’t add any details. She certainly wasn’t going to reveal Gran’s ridiculous will.
She knew her mother wouldn’t pry, and fortunately Jack asked a question about Paul’s school activities that distracted him. But she could feel Susan’s stare, even though she never looked at her baby sister.
When the meal ended, she sent Jack and Margaret into the living room. Then she turned to Susan. “Which job do you want? Gathering the eggs or cleaning the dishes?”
“Neither one,” Susan protested, her bottom lip protruding.
“I’ll get the eggs, Katie,” Paul hurriedly said. “I have to milk Betsy anyway.”
“And that’s why Susan will gather the eggs,” Katherine said firmly. “We all have to do our share.”
“Raine and Diane aren’t doing anything, and you send them money all the time.”
Katherine pressed her lips together. Then she relaxed them into a smile. “And hopefully I’ll be able to do the same for you. They worked hard while they were growing up. And they both work now, after class every day.”
Susan opened her mouth to protest, but Katherine had had a long day. She wasn’t willing to argue with her sister tonight. “Go get the eggs,” she ordered in a no-nonsense voice and began gathering the dishes.
