“That’s a relief,” Wesley said. “Not just that your dad is warming to us but that both your parents seem to be having a good time.”
“It can be hard for the parents, coming here,” Lucas said.
“I guess over the years there have been issues?”
“Not so much in the last few years, but yeah.” Paul nodded. “Our mother and our paternal grandmother both had strained relationships with their own moms after marrying into the Jessop clan.”
“Your mother’s a very happy and very contented woman. I like her a lot,” Kat said.
“That’s a blessing all in itself,” Lucas said.
Adam and Jake Kendall arrived with Ginny and their children. After that first meeting and the subsequent arrest of Rick Wilde, Kat never would have thought that Adam Kendall would become a friend. But he had, and she was grateful for it. She also understood that his heavy-handedness right after that early incident had been his attempt to help his cousins in their “courting” of her.
“Boy, howdy, these parties keep getting bigger and bigger.” Ginny Kendall grinned. “It’s a good thing Nancy doesn’t mind folks mingling in her bookstore, too.”
“I didn’t know about this tradition until a few days ago,” Kat said. “I think it’s great!”
Ginny nodded. “One thing this family excels at is making a body feel welcome and wanted.” She had one hand on the head of her oldest son, Ben, while one of her twins sat on her hip. The other little one seemed happy to be in Adam’s arms, until he made a lunge for Jake.
Apparently it was a maneuver they were all used to, as Jake reached for the boy without missing a beat.
Adam laughed. “These guys keep us all busy.” Then he met Kat’s gaze. “I had a very interesting conversation today with a special agent from the FBI, a conversation that centered around you.”
“Me? Why?” Kat couldn’t think of a single reason the FBI would be interested in her.
“It was in conjunction with that fugitive that you helped send back to Colorado, the one who was murdered while in custody.”
“There’s been a development in the case?”
“You could call it that. Actually, there’s been another homicide—a double one. And the victims—a lawyer and a businessman—both are connected to Larry Borden. They were each killed by a single gunshot from what appears to be a goodly distance away.”
Kat felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle. “They were killed by a sniper? Do they think it was the same one who took a shot at me?”
“They know it was. The shooter left evidence his latest victims had conspired to kill Borden, and you, too. And he left a message for you.”
“What message?” Paul moved closer, as did Lucas and Wesley. In a heartbeat Kat felt herself surrounded and cosseted by her fiancés.
Adam didn’t even blink. “That he’s canceled the contract on you. The FBI figures you can trust that. They have an idea who the gunman is—well, who he is professionally, at any rate.”
“That’s just bizarre.” Who ever heard of a righteous sniper? In the next heartbeat Kat knew such people existed. She’d heard of one, once—one a fellow bounty hunter had encountered years before in Mississippi.
“Thanks, Adam, for letting us know.” Wesley laid his hands on Kat’s shoulders.
“Happy to.”
“I’m going to do a little digging,” Jake said. “Just to make certain that all is as the feds claim.”
Kat knew that Jake Kendall had sources most federal police agencies would covet. She’d be interested in learning what Jake uncovered.
More Benedicts arrived—six cousins who seemed more like brothers—and their wives. Anna had told her that the four Montana Benedicts had settled in as if Lusty had always been their home.
Alan Wilson and Duncan Moore and their wife, Holly, as well as the Benedicts’ ramrod, Ricoh Stone, joined the ranchers, and the conversation, filled with something called “cousin-speak,” was nearly impossible to follow.
What wasn’t impossible to get, however, was the genuine affection and respect these Benedict cousins had for Paul, Lucas, and Wesley.
Kat laid her head against Paul’s shoulder as she watched the ranchers move off, splintering so that they could join different groups of friends and family. She’d already noticed that people tended to mingle. She imagined that these gatherings were a nice way to catch up with loved ones not seen every day or to settle in for long conversations with busy siblings and kids.
“My, it’s just like Christmas, isn’t it? So many family members gathered together in one place!”
Kat recognized the voice of the head of the combined families, even though they’d had only a few conversations. Standing beside Kate was her friend, Angela Monroe.
Kat grinned, even as Wesley moved to scoop Grandma Kate into a hug. Of course, he lifted her off her feet, and she giggled like a schoolgirl.
Kat had never met anyone like the nonagenarian. The woman seemed to exude eternal youth and optimism and could light up a room just by entering it.
Lucas and Paul both took their turns giving Kate an exuberant hug. Then the woman was smiling up at Kat.
“I’m so pleased you’re going to be my granddaughter. I never thought to see my grandsons so happy. They always appeared to be looking for something that they just couldn’t find.”
“We found it when we met our Kat,” Paul said. “Even if we did have a rocky start.”
“Well now, you know I always say that things generally work out the way they’re meant to be. I believe that is true more often than not.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lucas said.
“And when you think of it, that of all the places Katrina could have come in search of a fugitive, that she’d come here, just when y’all were here? How can you not believe in fate?”
Kat noticed that Kate gave a sly sideways glance toward Angela.
That woman got a look on her face that clearly said she got the message but was going to ignore it.
“Congratulations on your engagement,” Angela said. She hugged Kat and shook the hands of her fiancés. Kat had the distinct impression that she was like that—reserved when it came to men. It didn’t surprise her that her men would pick up on that fact, either.
They were very perceptive.
“Thank you, Angela. How’s work on the roadhouse coming?”
“Jordan is nearly done, and what a wonderful job he’s made of it! It’s even more beautiful that I’d imagined it could be.”
“A lot of the cousins are really looking forward to having a new date-night venue,” Wesley said.
“I’ll begin interviewing for staff in the next couple of weeks. I’m aiming to open for the beginning of July.”
“Best of all, Jordan has time to build Angela’s house.” Kate beamed. “Though I’ll miss having you so close at hand, I know you want your own place.”
“I’ll still be just a call away,” Angela said. “I wouldn’t miss our lunches for anything.”
Angela scanned the room again. A look crossed her face that Kat couldn’t read. Following the woman’s gaze, she saw a man standing by a table for two—a table that he’d apparently reserved.
“You go on, now,” Kate said. “It’s past time the two of you had a conversation.”
“Talk can’t change the past.” Angela’s expression changed. Kat knew the older woman’s word were at odds with her emotions.
“No, it can’t. But it can build a bridge to the future.”
“I never believed in a future.”
“I know.” Kate placed her hand on Angela’s back, the gesture full of warmth and caring. “But you don’t have to stay tied to what was. And everything in life really is a decision, my friend. It looks like Ricoh’s made a decision. Maybe it’s time you did, too.”
When Angela looked at her, Kate nodded. “It’s only a conversation.”
Angela didn’t say anything to that. Instead of speaking, she began to walk, slowly, toward the man who w
aited for her.
“Matchmaking, Grandma Kate?” Lucas asked.
“No, I’m just giving fate a helping hand.” She nodded once. “Since others saw fit to interfere with it all those years ago. It’s only right someone got around to fixing things.”
People waved and called out to her, and Kate Benedict waved back. Then she winked at Kat. “We’ll have lunch in a few days, sweet girl. Just us girls. We’ll have a good time.”
Kat laughed because her men looked just a tad embarrassed, as if they already knew their grandmother was going to give her the inside scoop on all their most embarrassing moments.
“I just bet we will.”
“Well, that’s nice. I guess we’ll have no secrets left after that.” Wesley’s words were wrapped in laughter.
“That’s all right, darling. As long as the secrets are all kept in the family.”
“You see the size of our family, right? And this is only some of them. Just wait until the commitment ceremony. The community center will be full to bursting.”
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. In fact, I really like family, Lusty style.”
“That’s a good thing, almost wife,” Paul said. “Since you’re a part of that family now.”
She didn’t yet know what the future held career-wise. But that was only minutia. Most important, she had a place where she belonged—with three men named Jessop who’d somehow captured her heart.
Katrina Lawson, who’d never particularly believed in them, was on her way to her very own happy ever after.
THE END
WWW.MORGANASHBURY.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons, and write.
Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.
Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too.
Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full time.
Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.
Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.
Morgan lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a mysterious cat, a nine-pound Morkie dog who thinks he’s a German Shepherd, and her husband of forty-three years, David.
For all titles by Cara Covington, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/cara-covington
For titles by Cara Covington writing as
Morgan Ashbury, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Love Under Three Valentinos [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 23