Today, nothing was making her feel better. She slid her gaze across the six-foot patch of grass that separated her toes from Rob's black leather shoes. The cuffs of his charcoal trousers broke over the laces, and razor-sharp creases ran up each leg to the bottom of his suit jacket. In one hand at his side, he held his mother's small bouquet of white roses pointed at the ground. Kate didn't allow her gaze to roam any further, but she didn't have to to know exactly how good he looked.
Rob and Grace had arrived at the park shortly after Kate and Stanley. Watching him walk his mother up the aisle, Kate's chest had gotten tight and her breathing a little shallow. He'd cut his hair short, shaved off his soul patch, and trimmed the Fu Manchu framing his lips. In his gray suit and short hair, he was GQ handsome, but you would still never mistake him for a male model. He had too much testosterone just beneath the surface to allow anyone to gel his hair or spritz him down with water.
She hadn't spoken to Rob since the day he'd barged into the M&S, raging about his granola. That had been a week ago, and her heart had yet to begin healing. In fact, it seemed to break just a little more every time she saw him. In the past, with each heartache, she'd been able to tell herself that she was fine. She was okay. This time she wasn't so fine. She was definitely not okay.
Stanley finished his poem, then Kate handed him the simple gold wedding band from the purse hanging on her shoulder. She smiled at her grandfather and Grace as they promised to love each other until their deaths. She felt the pull of Rob's gaze on her face, and she looked at him. She couldn't seem to help it.
His green eyes looked back at her from across the short distance, and she was reminded of the day she'd first seen him standing in the M&S, his face void of expression. He was a lot better at pretending he didn't care than she was. Or maybe he wasn't pretending at all.
The sound of the preacher pronouncing Stanley and Grace husband and wife pulled Kate's attention back to the ceremony. She pushed up the corners of her mouth a little more and looked out at the guests seated on chairs borrowed from the grange. Her mother and father sat in the front row beside her brother Ted and her great-aunt Edna. Kate's other two brothers were stationed overseas and hadn't been able to make it.
Applause broke out when Stanley and Grace Caldwell kissed, then the guests stood and moved toward the couple. Kate took a step back, and her heels sunk into the grass. The town's widow posse was the first to step up and congratulate Grace. Some of them even managed to look sincere.
Kate's mother and father hugged Grace and welcomed her and Rob to the family. Kate was pretty sure they meant it, too. Anyone just looking at Stanley could tell that Grace made his life better.
Rob was Stanley's stepson now. Even if Kate managed to avoid him all year, she'd have to see him at Thanksgiving and Christmas. How was she ever going to get over her feelings if she had to see him across the parking lot all the time or talk to him over a turkey and ham dinner?
She needed a vacation. Some distance. Perhaps when her grandfather and Grace got back from their honeymoon, Kate would drive to Vegas and catch up with her friends.
Maybe she should move. Her grandfather was happy now. He didn't need her, and there was a whole big world outside of Gospel city limits. A world without Rob Sutter—except on holidays.
From a few feet away, Kate recognized Rob's deep laughter, and she looked over at him. Rose Lake had her hand on his shoulder and had raised on her toes to say something into his ear. Kate turned her attention to the preacher and thanked him. She chatted with the Aberdeens, and all the while she managed to keep her smile in place and pretend she wasn't dying inside.
Yeah, she should move, she decided. But she really didn't want to. Not right now. She'd just started to fit in. She'd joined the Mountain Momma Grafters and would attend her first meeting the following night. She'd volunteered to bring refreshments and planned to introduce them to the wonders of gourmet food and jalapeno jelly. Gospel was just starting to feel like home, which was scary if she thought about it too hard.
Kate excused herself and wandered over to the covered pavilion, where the caterers Grace had hired from Sun Valley were setting up. She helped them set out mints and nuts and looked up as she heard the unmistakable sound of Iona Osborn's quad cane.
Iona wore a red dress with so much blue rickrack on the ruffles that she looked like she was about to break into a square dance. "Hi, Iona."
"Hello, Kate." She stopped and looked over the three-tier white-and-blue wedding cake. "Did you make the cake?"
"No. I haven't graduated past cupcakes."
"You did a good job with those." Kate was about to thank her when she asked, "When is it your turn to get married?"
Kate thought the obvious answer to the question was, When I get asked. She didn't bother stating the obvious, though. "I just haven't found the right person yet," she answered. But she had. Or at least she thought she had. She glanced over Iona's ten-gallon pile of hair at Rob. He stood talking to her brother, pointing out at the lake toward town. The two shook hands, then Ted made his way toward Kate beneath the pavilion.
"How many times have you been asked when you're getting married?" he asked as he reached for a glass of punch.
"About ten. How about you?"
"Five." He drained the small glass. "You win."
This was one competition she didn't want to win. She was feeling a little testy, and her face hurt from smiling. Her head was pounding, too.
Great-aunt Edna grabbed a piece of cake and moved to stand by Kate and Ted. Edna's skin looked as tough as an old army boot, and Kate wasn't sure if that was due to her pack-a-day habit or the toxic effects of her bologna pie. "Are you next?" Edna asked as she reached for a little cup of nuts.
Kate didn't have to ask her what she meant. "No."
"Well dear, if your grandfather can find someone at his age, there's hope for you."
Kate tilted her head to the side. "Did you know that Harvard researchers have concluded that Coca-Cola is not an effective spermicide?"
"Huh?" Edna stared, her mouth slightly agape.
Kate patted her great-aunt on her bony shoulder. "That's good info to know if you ever find yourself without a condom."
Ted laughed and put his arm around Kate. "What do you say we cut out of here and find a bar?"
It was early enough that the Buckhorn wouldn't be filled up with knuckleheads. "Wanna play a game of pool?"
He smiled. "I'm not going to let you win."
They moved from beneath the pavilion. "You never let me win."
"Kate." She didn't have to turn to know who'd called her name. Even after everything, the sound of his voice still poured over her like warm rum. She took a deep breath and turned to watch Rob walk toward her.
He stopped a few feet from her and looked into her eyes. "Do you mind if I steal your sister for a few minutes, Ted?"
"No, I don't mind. Kate?"
She handed her keys to her brother. "Wait for me at my car."
Rob waited until Ted had walked away before he said, "Why are you leaving so soon?" Because you don't love me and it's too bard to stay. "Ted and I are going to go play pool and catch up on what's been happening since Christmas."
He'd unbuttoned his jacket, and he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his pants. "Are you planning to tell him about us?"
She shook her head. "There's nothing to tell."
"There could be."
It was so tempting, even now, to believe that. But it was an illusion. A fantasy. "I knew when I got involved with you that I would end up hurt. I should never have told myself that I could handle it. I couldn't and I can't. It's over, Rob."