Lilac Wedding in Dry Creek. Janet Tronstad

sure he would come to all of your birthday parties if he knew where you lived.” Jake’s voice was pinched and maybe a little angry.

      She couldn’t blame him, but she didn’t want him to go further so she shook her head at him. The effort cost her as a burst of tiny pains radiated from her neck.

      She noticed Jake’s eyes deepen again.

      “Problem?” he asked quietly, his eyes measuring her.

      “Nothing to worry about.”

      She hoped that was true. She looked down. Jake saw too much when he wanted to. He’d always known when she was hiding something. Except for those first two months when she was pregnant with Lara. She knew he hadn’t known anything about the baby they had created back then. They were too young to get married, and she knew he’d insist on that.

      She forced herself to focus on the food that had been placed on platters or in bowls. Everyone was silent for a good ten minutes while they ate.

      “Maybe your brother should spring for crab cakes at his wedding,” Max said with a sigh as he ate the last one on his plate. “That should fit in his budget, even if he and your mother are fixing up the ranch.”

      “I doubt anyone makes crab cakes in Dry Creek,” Jake said.

      “They might if they tasted these.” Cat lifted the last bite to her mouth. “They’re delicious.”

      “I don’t suppose there’s time to get any crab cakes made up before Saturday night, anyway,” Max said.

      Cat stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth. “The wedding’s this Saturday?”

      Her timing always had been bad. It was Wednesday. That must have been where Jake had been going when she stepped inside the lobby here.

      Jake nodded. “When you said you could stay through the weekend, I called my brother and told him that I can’t make it. He threatened to disown me, or at least have our mother call me back, but he knows he needs to get someone else to stand with him.”

      Cat had never considered that she would come all this way and Jake might not be here. She had thought about calling, but she didn’t have a phone number and figured she’d have a better chance of convincing him to spend some time with Lara if he could actually see her.

      “You have to still go,” Cat said, trying to keep the despair out of her voice. She didn’t want him to resent her and Lara. “You’re the best man.”

      “Thank you,” Jake said with a grin.

      He looked like a carefree rogue and her heart almost stopped. He was the Jake she remembered.

      She forced herself to focus. They weren’t teenagers anymore. “No, seriously. You have to go. Maybe I could get a room until you get back. I have the whole week off and I can ask for some more days if I need to—that is, if you’re coming back soon.”

      Dear Lord, I need help, she prayed in panic.

      “You’re welcome to stay here if you want,” Max offered immediately. “We don’t have a pool, but there’d be no charge for the room. And there’s a vending machine on the—”

      “Don’t get her started on vending machines,” Jake interrupted. “She should come with me. I’ve got lots of room in my pickup.”

      She thought he looked a little startled at his invitation, as though he hadn’t planned it before he offered. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to worry about them, but pride was a luxury she couldn’t afford any longer. “Lara and I would be happy to go with you.”

      Max pushed his chair back from the table. “Well, as sorry as I am not to have you both staying here with me, that’s the perfect solution. I’m going to get some matches so we can light the candles on the cake.”

      Fortunately, Jake didn’t ask any more questions. She half expected him to withdraw his suggestion, but he didn’t.

      Thank You, Lord. Cat almost said the words aloud, she was so relieved. There would be time for Jake to get to know their daughter. Please, help him love her like I do.