When the front door opened, he glanced around, expecting to see Trey, but it was Chase who emerged from The Homestead, his cane thumping on the veranda’s wooden deck. As usual, Cat was not far behind him, carrying a tray with two mugs and an insulated coffeepot on it.
Chase halted at the sight of Laredo. “What are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for Trey.” Another stroke of the knife blade sent a sliver of bark and wood arcing to the ground.
“Where is he?” Chase directed the demand at Cat.
“In the den, talking to Sloan.” She carried the tray to the wooden table that sat between the pair of tall ladder-backed rocking chairs.
“He’s still on the phone with her?” Chase frowned. “It’s been a good hour since she called. Don’t those two know it’s long-distance.”
“They have a lot to talk about, Dad.”
Chase harrumphed at that statement. “They should talk faster, then.” He shuffled over to the nearest rocker, the cane striking the floor slightly ahead of him with each swing. The moment he settled himself into the rocker, Cat moved toward the door. “Where are you going? You said you were going to sit and have a cup of coffee with me.”
“I’m coming back,” she assured him. “I’m just going to get an extra cup for Laredo and get that list I was working on.”
?
?What list?”
“The invitation list for Trey’s wedding,” Cat answered patiently. “He asked me to make one for him.”
“Invitations? What do you need those for?” Chase demanded. “I thought they were having a small wedding, just family and some of her friends.”
“The actual ceremony itself will be small, but there will be a reception afterwards. Everyone on the ranch will expect to come. And there’s all our friends and neighbors,” she reasoned. “Wedding announcements have to be sent, or people will feel slighted.”
“I’ll tell you one thing, we never went to all this fuss and bother back in my day,” Chase declared with a decisive nod of his head. “People got married and that was the end of it.”
“That’s not true, and you know it,” Cat corrected him. “Weddings have always been social occasions—a time when family and friends gather to wish the new couple well. Heaven knows, we have few enough reasons for everyone to get together out here. And I can’t think of a better excuse for a party than your grandson’s wedding.”
“She’s got you there, Chase.” Laredo grinned, then flicked a glance at the front door when it opened and Trey walked out. “You can forget about bringing me that cup, Cat. Looks like I won’t be needing it.” He snapped the jackknife closed and rolled to his feet.
“It’s about time you got off the phone.” Chase ran a critical eye over his tall grandson, quick to note the hint of gravity in his expression. “I’ll never understand what you young people find to talk about. Or is she getting cold feet about the wedding?”
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Trey easily dismissed the suggestion, a quick smile lifting the corners of his mouth, but that sober light never left his eyes. “We just had some things to discuss, that’s all.”
“How much longer is she going to be over there, anyway?” Chase wanted to know, sensing something was amiss. “I thought she wasn’t going to stay much more than a week.”
“It’s going to take her a couple more days to wrap up her work. She had planned to stay another week to pack up all her stuff and arrange to have it shipped here, but I talked her into leaving it for now. We can go there on our honeymoon and take care of it all then.”
“That’s a great idea,” Cat declared with enthusiasm. “One that’s both romantic and practical.”
“I thought so,” Trey said with a curt nod and turned away, cutting a look at Laredo. “You ready to shove off?”
“I’ve been ready for the last twenty minutes or more.” But there was an indulgent amusement in the light gibe rather than the sting of reproof.
“Sorry.” Trey headed for the steps and the ranch pickup parked a short distance away.
Only Laredo offered any parting words to Chase and Cat, flicking a hand in their direction. “See you later tonight.”
That fact was not lost on Chase as his gaze tracked the two men all the way to the pickup, with most of his attention centering on Trey. “That boy has something heavy on his mind.” Not until he heard the rumble of his own voice did he realize he had spoken the thought. He jerked a quick glance at Cat. She stood motionless, but her expression was alive with the beginnings of some new, exciting idea. “I thought you were going to fetch that list from the house,” he prodded.
“What?” There was a vagueness in the look she gave. “I’m afraid I didn’t hear what you said. I was thinking about something else.”
“That was obvious,” he countered dryly.
Laredo had also noticed the far-off look in Trey’s eyes that indicated his thoughts were elsewhere. And the ridged set of his jaw suggested they weren’t exactly pleasing ones. Withholding comment, Laredo climbed into the cab’s passenger side.