“Yes, Rollie’s older brother. Evidently he’s in some sort of trouble. The sheriff and some government agent were at the farm a couple days ago to see if they knew where Lath is.”
“They both belong behind bars for the rest of their lives.” Her voice thickened with the pain and anger that had woven itself through every tissue in her body. “Repp is dead because of the Andersons. And I hate them for it.”
“Cat, don’t. Hate won’t bring Repp back. And revenge won’t make the pain any easier to bear.” Chase spoke from personal knowledge.
Recognizing that, she turned to him, her green eyes stark with grief. “How did you do it, Daddy? How were you able to go on living after Mother died?”
“It wasn’t easy.” He had to be truthful. “Many times it still isn’t,” he admitted, seeing again his daughter’s strong resemblance to Maggie. Sometimes that helped. But sometimes it hurt.
Ty and Jessy walked up, accompanied by the portly, cherub-faced Reverend Pattersby. Chase felt his daughter stiffen at the sight of the minister, and knew she was bracing herself for more murmured words of sympathy. Deciding she had heard enough, Chase spoke first, complimenting the man on his service.
“Thank you,” Reverend Pattersby replied with a faintly pleased look. “In times of such tragedy, one can only try to offer some small comfort and leave it in the hands of the Almighty to do the rest. I regret that I can’t stay longer for the sake of the Taylors. But I’m afraid I have a long drive ahead of me.”
“I’m sure the Taylors understand,” Chase returned smoothly.
“I hope so,” the minister said, then turned to Ty and Jessy. “I must be off now. I’ll see the two of you next week.”
“Next week?” Cat echoed in surprise, then directed a questioning look at Ty and Jessy. “But the wedding is this Saturday.”
“We postponed it a week,” Jessy explained calmly.
“When did you decide this?” Frowning now, Cat glanced from one to the other.
“The other day,” Ty answered. “We thought it would be best.”
“Best for whom?” Cat demanded, anger flickering again in her green eyes.
Ty knew the quickness of his sister’s temper and sought to placate her. “Cat, we have plenty of time.”
“Do you?” she shot back. “I can’t tell you how many times I heard that—from Repp, from you, from everyone. Wait until you’re older, you all said. Wait until you finish school. Wait until you graduate from college. There’s plenty of time to get married. But there wasn’t, was there?” she challenged. Without giving them a chance to respond, Cat swung back to the wide-eyed minister. “The wedding will be on Saturday—as scheduled.”
She walked off. Reverend Pattersby cleared his throat and opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, Ty spoke up, “She’s right. We’ll be married Saturday afternoon as planned.”
THREE
Cat shifted the gift-wrapped present in her arms and knocked lightly at the door to her brother’s bedroom, the one he would be sharing with his new bride after today.
“Come in,” Jessy called.
Right on the heels of that came her mother’s voice. “Ty Calder, if that’s you, you can’t come in. You know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding.”
Fixing a smile on her lips, Cat pushed the door open. “Not to worry. It’s only me.”
Three steps into the room, she stopped to stare at the tall, slender woman standing in front of the room’s full-length mirror. Jessy wore a ivory suit with a collarless jacket cut in a classically simple design. Her long taffy-colored hair was pulled back from her face and plaited in a sleek French braid. The style accented the strong bone structure of her face, giving her a look of elegance and grace.
Suddenly Cat didn’t have to fake anything, not happiness for the bride or admiration. “Jessy, you look positively stunning.”
“She looks like one of those high-fashion models, doesn’t she?” Judy Niles declared with undisguised pride.
“She certainly does.” Cat walked into the room, marveling at the transformation that had occurred. “Ty won’t know what hit him.”
“This isn’t the real me.” Jessy attempted to take a long stride away from the mirror, but the slim-fitting skirt brought her up short. “The real me goes around in Levi’s and denim shirts.”
“But not on your wedding day,” Judy Niles chided gently.
Jessy paused an instant, then smiled warmly and easily, losing the look of nervous tension. “No, definitely not on my wedding day,” she agreed, then glanced at Cat, one sandy eyebrow arching slightly. “Although I wish someone would tell me what a bride does when she’s ready thirty minutes early?”
“Why don’t I bring up some coffee from the kitchen?” her mother suggested.