Longing for Home (6 page)

Abby’s initial astonishment faded to caution. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. She mentioned that she had a few loose ends to tie up before she could leave.”

That’s why it was a good idea. Alex didn’t like loose ends. From what he knew about Kate, she probably viewed them as decorations.

Kate was officially late.

Clutching a handful of skirt with one hand, she tried to wrestle her bicycle out of the shed with the other. One of the tires had tangled with a metal rake and neither was cooperating with her efforts to set them free.

But then, not a whole lot of things had been cooperating.

Amber Jensen had called with an update around lunchtime. Another restaurant farther up the Chain of Lakes that had also placed an order for free-range chicken agreed to sell it to Kate. All she needed was someone to pick it up.

Unfortunately, Thor, her beloved but temperamental Thunderbird, was holding court in Happy’s Garage until Monday, leaving Kate with no choice but to punch in Doug’s number and offer a bribe. Retrieve the chicken and he had access to all the pie he could eat. For an entire month. Kate only hoped she wouldn’t live to regret the offer.

Doug had come through. He’d dropped off the order only minutes before, giving Kate enough time to speed shower and change into a dress for the rehearsal dinner.

Abby had granted her full access to the inn’s gourmet kitchen the next morning. With the ceremony taking place midafternoon, Kate would have plenty of time to prepare the meal and still be on hand to help Emma and Zoey with any last-minute details.

So, take that, Alex Porter
…

“Acckk!”

The bike and the rake suddenly parted company and Kate stumbled backward, tripping over the friendly garden gnome one of her teenage waitresses had made in senior pottery class. She landed on her backside in the alley. Hard.

“Are you and Penelope having a disagreement?”

A tall, Alex Porter-shaped shadow momentarily blotted out the sun.

And just when her day had been looking a little brighter, too.

Kate winced. “How did you know her name?”

“Like someone once told me, it’s a very small town.”

“You did a background check, didn’t you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. No one does a background check on a bicycle.” Alex reached out a hand.

Choosing practicality over pride, Kate grabbed hold of it and let Alex draw her to her feet.

“Thanks.” Even to her own ears, she sounded a little breathless. That had to have something to do with the fall and not because even the briefest touch of Alex’s hand sent her pulse skipping like a rock over the surface of the water.

Kate shook the gravel off her skirt and spun around several times, peering over her shoulder in a vain attempt to assess the damage. A bit dusty, but it could have been much worse…

“You look like a kitten chasing its tail.”

Kate stopped midtwirl and parked her hands on her hips. “Why aren’t you at the rehearsal dinner?” The question came out a little less grateful than it probably should have, given the fact that Alex
had
offered his assistance.

“I had to make a stop first. Abby mentioned you had a transportation problem.”

It took Kate a moment to connect the dots.

She
was the stop.

The gesture would have been sweet…if it had been from anyone but Alex. He was a spy, not a knight in shining armor coming to her rescue.

Alex bent down to pick up her bicycle. The wicker basket attached to the front handlebars was askew and one of the plastic daisies had fallen off. Without asking permission, he wheeled the bicycle back into the storage shed behind the café and closed the door.

“Ready?”

To get into a car—alone—with Alex Porter? Not in this lifetime. But unless she wanted to hold up the rehearsal dinner any longer than she already had, Kate didn’t see she had much choice in the matter.

“I parked in front,” Alex said.

As Kate took a step forward, the heel of her shoe twisted and sank into the loose gravel.

Ordinarily she avoided wearing heels, but certain situations—like rehearsal dinners or times when she needed the advantage gained by adding a few inches to her diminutive height—called for them.

Glancing down, she saw that one of the straps had broken.

Drat. She’d have to switch them out for another pair.

“I’ll be right back.” Kate changed directions and began to hobble toward the café.

“What’s wrong now?”

Kate didn’t miss the emphasis on the last word. “My shoe broke.”

“Does catastrophe follow you wherever you go?”

Kate whirled around and went up on her tiptoes, which put the top of her head level with Alex’s chin. She looked him straight in the eye.

“Apparently so.”

A split second of silence followed her statement.

Oh, no. Now she’d done it. Kate was never rude to people.
Never.
But Alex Porter brought out a snarky side that lay dormant most of the time.

She braced herself, not sure whether the comment warranted a lift of the eyebrow or a blistering set down or a…
smile
.

A real smile. A smile that stripped the breath from Kate’s lungs and sent her heart flopping around in her chest like a freshly caught trout.

A smile that suddenly had Kate wondering if it wasn’t just her sanity that was at risk for the next two weeks.

If she were smart, she’d better keep a close eye on her heart, as well.

Chapter Six

“Y
ou can’t go in there. It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.”

Alex scowled at the woman blocking his path. “I thought that was for the groom.”

“It’s whoever I say it is.” Faye McAllister crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t budge from her post in front of the bedroom door.

Alex struggled to keep a tight rein on his patience. When he’d climbed the stairs to Abby’s third floor suite of rooms, he hadn’t expected to find Quinn’s receptionist standing guard like a Doberman in raspberry satin.

“I’m her brother.”

“And I’m her bridesmaid,” Faye retorted.

“I have to talk to her—” Alex bit off the rest of the sentence as the door opened and a familiar face, dominated by a pair of shamrock-green eyes, peeked out.

“I should have known.”

Kate slipped into the hallway and pulled the door shut firmly behind her. Unless she planned to wear jean shorts and a bright yellow tank top for the ceremony, she hadn’t taken time to change for the wedding yet.

“What’s going on?”

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but Faye cut him off.

“He wants to talk to Abby.”

Alex decided the woman might have been a little more intimidating had she not been wearing sequined tennis shoes.

Kate gave Faye’s arm a reassuring pat. “It’s all right. I can handle this one.”

“All right, but holler if you need me.” Faye swept past them, leaving a trail of Chanel Nº 5 in her wake as she marched down the stairs.

Kate moved into position.

“You’re replacing her as the bouncer?” Alex asked. “If this is what O’Halloran considers security, his business is in more trouble than I thought.”

His gaze lingered for a moment on the tiny, heart-shaped charm dangling from the gold chain around Kate’s ankle.

Her bare toes curled into the plush carpet and her cheeks turned the same shade of pearl pink as the nail polish she wore. “Faye is one of the reasons Quinn’s business is successful.”

“I’m surprised she doesn’t scare away the customers,” Alex muttered. “I couldn’t sweet-talk my way past her.”

“Is that what you were trying to do.” Kate tipped her head. “On the other side of the door, it sounded like you were trying to pull rank.”

“I need to talk to Abby.”

“That’s why Faye wouldn’t let you in.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

Kate simply looked at him until it did.

Alex blew out a sigh. “I wasn’t going to talk Abby out of getting married.”

“Really.” Kate didn’t sound too convinced, either.

“No.” Alex wasn’t used to having to explain himself but it was clear that Kate wasn’t going to let him pass until he did. “I have…something for Abby. Something I need to give her before the ceremony.”

“A prenup?”

“You are so…” Alex struggled to find the right word, something that he never struggled with.

“Insightful?” Kate supplied. “Wise beyond my years?”

Alex felt a smile coming on. And it was about as welcome as a case of the flu. Kate Nichols didn’t seem to be the least bit intimidated by him. It left Alex feeling a little off balance.

Maybe he
was
coming down with the flu.

“It’s not a prenup. It’s a gift.” Alex thrust his hand in the pocket of his tux and produced a small velvet jeweler’s box as evidence. “You know that old poem.”

“Poem?”

She was going to make him say it.

“Something old, something new…” Alex couldn’t remember the rest so he opened the box. A delicate gold bracelet, adorned with a single pearl, lay across a pillow of pink satin. “This is the something old. Dad gave it to our Mom and I thought Abby might want to wear it today.”

Kate was staring. Not at the bracelet. At
him
.

“What?” Alex had opened the safe and looked through their mother’s jewelry before he’d left for Mirror Lake. Every year on their anniversary, his father had bought their mother a piece of jewelry. There were more expensive pieces, but for some reason, Alex had kept coming back to this one. Now he wondered if he shouldn’t have given Abby the diamond tennis bracelet instead.

When Kate didn’t respond, he closed the box with a snap. “It’s too plain.”

A small freckled hand, unadorned with any jewelry at all, closed over the box before he could put it away.

“No! It’s beautiful,” Kate contradicted. “Abby will love it.”

There was a slight catch in her voice. And to Alex’s absolute amazement, her eyes had misted over.

“Are you
crying?
”

Kate’s chin lifted in a gesture he was beginning to recognize. “I always cry at weddings.”

Alex didn’t point out the obvious. That the wedding hadn’t even started yet.

“That’s very sentimental.” He couldn’t quite prevent the urge to point
that
out.

“It’s also perfectly acceptable,” Kate shot back. “As long as they’re happy tears.”

Happy tears?

“Isn’t that a contradiction?”

“Only if you’ve never experienced it.” Kate rapped on the door and opened it a crack. “Abby? There’s someone here to see you.”

It took Alex a moment to realize that she’d stepped to the side.

“Tell Abby I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Kate ducked past him.

“Kate?”

She paused at the top of the stairs and looked back, a question in her eyes.

Alex unleashed a slow smile. “The prenup is in my other pocket.”

As soon as the door closed behind him, Kate collapsed against the stair rail and closed her eyes.

What was more disturbing than Alex Porter in a tuxedo?

A crack in Alex Porter’s Armani armor, revealing a side to the man that Kate wouldn’t have thought existed, that’s what.

Kate would have guessed that Alex would follow tradition by giving Abby something over the top. Say, a tiara. Or a diamond bracelet from Tiffany’s. He had accused her of being overly sentimental and yet he’d chosen a modest piece of jewelry for Abby because it had a special connection to their mother.

And the glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes when he’d asked if the bracelet was too plain made him seem more…human.

Kate didn’t want him to be human.

It was much easier to keep her distance when he played the part of the stuffy, condescending executive, not the
caring
older brother who wanted to give Abby a reminder of the parents who couldn’t be there on her wedding day.

“There you are, Kate!” Esther Redstone spotted her at the top of the stairs. “How is our bride-to-be?”

“Beautiful,” Kate said promptly.

No wedding-day jitters for Abby. Her friend was practically glowing with anticipation.

There was no doubt in Kate’s mind that God had brought the couple together. She was thrilled for her friend, but she couldn’t but feel a tiny—very tiny—pinch of envy.

In high school, Kate had promised God that she would wait for the right man—the one that
He
had chosen for her. She just hadn’t expected it to take so long.

Anytime, Lord. Really.

“I peeked in the kitchen a few minutes ago. Everything looks wonderful. And the cake!” Esther chuckled. “Very creative.”

“Abby didn’t want a traditional wedding cake. She told me to use my imagination.” The result being four dozen miniature cakes with chocolate mousse centers and slathered in butter-cream frosting, decorated to look like campfire s’mores. Abby’s favorite dessert.

“I better check to make sure Cody is ready.” Esther’s blue eyes twinkled. “Not that I don’t trust my husband to get the boy ready, but I’ve been straightening that man’s tie for over forty years.”

“I appreciate that. Cody looked a little nervous during the rehearsal.”

Although that could have been Alex’s fault.

Kate had seen his surprise when Abby introduced him to Cody Lang and Daniel Redstone the night before. Alex hadn’t said anything, but it was clear he hadn’t expected Quinn to choose the adolescent boy he mentored and a semi-retired carpenter as his groomsmen.

Esther cleared her throat. “I can’t wait to see your dress, my dear. Faye said it’s lovely.”

“Dress?” Kate blinked, feigning ignorance. “No one said anything about a dress.”

But maybe that explained why Alex had been staring at her bare feet. Maybe he assumed she would show up at the wedding in cut-off shorts and a tank top.

But Esther, who had known Kate since she was a baby, simply laughed as she bustled away. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.”

The main lodge was bustling with activity when Kate made her way downstairs. Although the wedding wasn’t until three o’clock, some of the guests, like Esther, had arrived early to help with preparations.

Through the glass doors leading to the deck, Kate spotted her two friends, Emma Sutton and Zoey Decker, sitting at a wicker table, putting together the bridal bouquet from the wildflowers she’d picked on her way to the inn that morning.

As temperamental as northern Wisconsin weather could be—even in early August—it was a perfect day. Both the lake and the sky had dressed in blue for the occasion and sunlight beaded the water, matching Abby’s dress sparkle for sparkle.

“How is Abby holding up?” Emma wrapped an ivory velvet ribbon around a sprig of pink heirloom rosebuds.

“Great.” Kate picked up a daisy and rolled the stem between her fingers. “I left her with Alex a few minutes ago.”

Emma’s smoke-blue eyes widened. “On purpose?”

“He promised he wasn’t going to talk her out of getting married.”

The doubtful look Emma and Zoey exchanged made Kate glad she hadn’t mentioned Alex’s teasing comment about the prenup.

Because he
had
been teasing. Hadn’t he?

“I heard that you and Alex are going to be running the inn while Abby and Quinn are on their honeymoon,” Emma ventured.

“I’m only going to be here a few hours a day. Our paths shouldn’t cross that often. Alex will be working in the office. I’ll be in the kitchen—”

“Like Cinderella,” Zoey interrupted with a grin.

Kate made a face. Until Zoey had made Mirror Lake her permanent home recently, she’d played the lead in a modern version of the popular fairy tale at a dinner theatre in the Wisconsin Dells. Zoey might have found her “happily ever after” with Matthew Wilde, one of Kate’s close friends and the pastor of the church she attended; but there was no way she would let
her
friend cast her in that role.

Especially with Alex Porter.

Even if he looked spectacular in a tuxedo. And had a smile that appeared out of nowhere and streaked through her like summer lightning.

Kate was still experiencing the aftershock of that smile.

She hadn’t expected to discover a razor-sharp sense of humor lurking below his implacable surface.

She hadn’t expected him to make her laugh. Or to laugh at himself.

Two qualities Kate had always dreamed of in a man.

She shoved the thought aside.

Sense of humor or not, a man like Alex Porter didn’t belong in Mirror Lake.

And he sure didn’t belong in her dreams.

“So?” Abby took a slow spin in front of the full-length mirror and sent yards of ivory satin belling out from her trim waist. “What do you think?”

Alex’s throat tightened. “I think that Mom and Dad would be very proud of you.”

Abby’s smile faded. She launched herself into his arms and Alex rocked her back and forth, the same way he had the night they’d received the news about their parents.

“I wish they were here,” she whispered against his shoulder.

“So do I.” Because then he would be the doting older brother, watching from the sidelines, not the one walking Abby down the aisle. Giving her away. “I brought you something.”

“Alex.” Abby’s eyes rounded when she saw the jewelry box. “I wasn’t expecting a gift.”

“Just following tradition.”

“Tradition?”

“Don’t make me say it again.” Alex closed his eyes, as if in pain. “Although some people might argue that I qualify as the ‘something old.’”

“Oh,
that
tradition.” Abby’s laughter died as she opened the lid. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the pearl. “This was Mom’s favorite piece of jewelry.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Abby nodded. “It was the first gift he bought for her. She told me that Dad had to wash dishes every night for a month in order to pay for it.”

Alex had never heard the story, but he didn’t doubt it was true. At sixteen, their parents had met while working at a resort in Lake Geneva for the summer. By the end of August, they had set two goals. To marry after they graduated from high school and to eventually own their own hotel.