Country Bride: Country Bride / Woodrose Mountain. RaeAnne Thayne

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СКАЧАТЬ He nodded in Luke’s direction and touched the rim of his hat in greeting. “I’ve been hearing things about the two of you,” Fred said, grinning broadly.

      Kate concentrated on her sandwich, refusing to look up from her plate.

      Luke made some vague reply that had to do with the ranch and not Kate, and she was grateful.

      “Be seeing you,” Fred said as he headed toward the door. As he opened it, Harry’s latest love ballad, sung off-key, could be heard with ear-piercing clarity.

      Fred left and soon Harry Ackerman came inside. He stared longingly at Nellie, placed his hand over his heart and started singing again at the top of his lungs.

      “You get out of my restaurant,” Nellie cried, reaching for the broom. “I don’t want you in here bothering my customers.” She wielded the broom like a shotgun, and before she could say another word Harry stumbled outside. He pressed his forlorn face to the glass, content to wait until his one true love returned to his waiting arms.

      “Sorry, folks,” Nellie muttered, replacing the broom.

      “No problem,” Luke answered, and she threw him a grateful smile, then hurried over to refill their coffee cups.

      The disturbance died down when Harry wandered down the street to find a more appreciative audience. Luke sighed as he stirred his coffee. “I don’t think your father has any intention of showing up tonight,” he began. “In fact—”

      “That’s ridiculous,” Kate said, cutting him off. “Dad wouldn’t do that.”

      “He’s trying to tell you something,” Luke insisted.

      “I can’t imagine what.” She could, but decided to pretend otherwise.

      For a long moment, Luke said nothing. “You’re smart enough to figure it out, Kate.” He finished off the last bite of his pie and pushed the plate aside. “I’ve got some things to attend to, so I’d best be leaving.” The corners of his eyes crinkled with amusement as he glanced out the café window. “Who knows, you might be singing me love songs in a couple of years if you don’t come to your senses soon.”

      Kate ignored the comment. “My father will be here any minute.”

      “No, Princess,” Luke said, and the smile left his eyes. He leaned across the table to brush his hand gently against her cheek. “But his message is coming across loud and clear.”

      Kate stayed at the café another half-hour after Luke had gone and it took her that long to admit he was right. Her father had been giving her a message, this one no more subtle than the rest. Expelling her breath in disgust, Kate dredged up a smile and said goodbye to Nellie.

      * * *

      Kate didn’t see Luke again until Friday evening, when they met at the Wilkins home for her father’s wedding. Kate arrived with Devin, and Luke followed a few minutes later. Kate was busy arranging freshly baked cookies on a tray for the small reception to be held after the ceremony, when Luke walked into the dining room. Dorothea was with Minnie Wilkins in the back bedroom, and her father and Pastor Wilkins were talking in the office.

      “Hello, Kate,” Luke said from behind her.

      “Hi,” she responded, turning to give him a polite smile. Her breath caught in her throat at the elegant yet virile sight he made. He was dressed in a dark, three-piece suit that did nothing to disguise his strong, well-formed body, and his light blue silk tie enhanced the richness of his tan. Kate suspected that Luke was basking in the wonder she was unable to conceal, and yet she couldn’t stop staring at him.

      Her heart skipped a beat, then leaped wildly as his penetrating brown eyes looked straight into hers. She felt the tears well up, knowing that only Luke truly understood how difficult this evening was for her.

      Many of her emotions tonight were identical to the ones she’d experienced at Clay and Rorie’s wedding. All day, she’d worried her stomach into a knot of apprehension. The acceptance and strength of purpose she’d so recently been feeling had fled. Tonight, she was reminded again that everything she loved, everything familiar, had been taken from her life. First the man she’d planned to marry, now her father, and soon, so very soon, her childhood home. It was too much change, too quickly.

      Just as she had at Clay’s wedding, Kate forced herself to show pleasure, to behave appropriately. She was happy for her father and Dorothea—just as she’d been for Clay and Rorie. But why did everyone else’s happiness need to cost Kate so much?

      Luke must have read the distress in her eyes, because he hurried to her side. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he told her quietly. He’d said the same thing at Clay’s wedding.

      “Of course it is,” she agreed, braving a smile. She turned back to the flowers, although her fingers were trembling. “I couldn’t have chosen a better wife for Dad myself. Dorothea’s wonderful.”

      Luke’s hands rested on her shoulders and began to caress them gently. “So are you, Princess.”

      It demanded every ounce of fortitude Kate possessed not to whirl around and bury her face in Luke’s chest, to absorb his strength. But this was exactly how she’d lost control before; she had to remember that.

      A sound came from behind them, and Luke released her with a reluctance that echoed her own. She needed Luke now, just as she’d needed him a few weeks before. But this time, she was determined to be stronger.

      The ceremony itself was brief. Kate felt almost wooden as she stood next to the woman her father had chosen to replace her mother. Memories of the lovely, soft-spoken Nora, and of their happy, close-knit family, almost overwhelmed Kate. Twice she felt tears threaten, but managed to hold them back. Both times she found Luke’s eyes on her, his gaze warm with empathy.

      When Pastor Wilkins closed his Bible and announced that Devin and Dorothea were now husband and wife, Devin took his bride in his arms and kissed her. Minnie Wilkins dabbed at her eyes with a lace hankie.

      “You look so lovely,” the woman murmured, hugging her friend.

      Soon they were all hugging each other. When Kate’s arms slipped around Luke it felt...comfortable. In fact, it felt too comfortable, too familiar, and that frightened her. She stiffened and let her arms drop. Luke would have none of that, however. Locking his hands on her upper arms, he drew her back to him.

      “What I wouldn’t give for a full moon and some champagne,” he whispered in her ear.

      Kate could have done without his teasing, but she refused to satisfy him with a response.

      The small reception began immediately afterward, and Kate was busy for the next hour, dishing up pieces of wedding cake, passing trays of sugar cookies and pouring coffee.

      Her father came to see her in the kitchen, his eyes bright with happiness. “You’re going to be fine, aren’t you, Princess?”

      “You know I am,” she said, flashing him a brilliant smile.

      “Dorothea and I will be leaving soon.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “Don’t forget I love you. You’ll always be my little girl.”

      “You’ll always be my hero.”

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