Almost Home (44 page)
Katherine whirled around in surprise to see another
man standing behind them. He stepped out of the shadows.
"You are so beautiful, and I can see your mother
in
your eyes."
"You?" she breathed.
"I think you have my cuff link."
Chapter
23
S
ix days later, Katherine
slid a satin blue garter
halfway up her thigh and
let her wedding gown fall to the ground. "I can't believe I'm getting
married at the Kentucky Derby." She smiled at her grandmother, who had
spent the past week arranging the most spontaneous, spectacular wedding of the
season to take place in the infield at Churchill Downs at
in the morning, just a few hours
before Rogue would participate in the race of his life.
"Luckily, the racing officials saw your wedding
as another opportunity for press coverage," Claire replied.
"That and the fact that Harry pulled some
strings."
"A lot of them. But the
wedding to go with all the madness? Besides, Zach always thought he'd get
everything he wanted this
"If Rogue loses, I might have the most depressing
night of my life, and it will be my wedding night."
"Even if Rogue loses, you and Zach will be happy.
I know it," Claire said. She took a step back and sighed. "You look
beautiful, Katherine. Thank you for letting me share this day with you."
"Thank you for agreeing to be my matron of honor
as well as my grandmother." Katherine gave her a quick, loving hug.
"I'm sorry your stepfather didn't want to make
the trip. It seems a shame not to have any of your family from
"I would have loved to include Mitchell and
Cecily, but they have their own life, they always have. I'm sure you'll meet
them sometime."
Claire sent her a thoughtful look. "You're very
much like your mother, Katherine. Strong enough to stand on your own when you
need to and smart enough to follow your heart."
"Thank you. But it takes courage to stay as well
as courage to go, and some of that strength I get from you and no doubt from
Harry."
"Speaking of Harry. He has a cart outside waiting
to take you to the infield." Claire checked her watch. "We should go.
It's eight o'clock."
"I'm ready."
"I wish you'd let Harry give you away,"
Claire said. "I hate to see you walk down that aisle alone."
"I won't be alone."
"What does that mean?" Claire asked.
Katherine smiled to herself. "Come on, it's time
to go."
They rushed out of the small dressing room they'd
taken over and saw Harry sitting in a four-seater cart with a driver waiting.
Katherine held the edges of her wedding dress up from the dirt, then changed
her mind and let the material touch the ground. She and Zach were both earthy
people. He loved his horses and she loved her garden; a little dirt wouldn't
hurt. That was who they were, where they belonged.
Katherine looked out toward the infield where Zach
waited for her. She suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Wait," she said abruptly.
Claire sent her a worried look. "What's wrong?"
"I can't. I have to
…"
"Katherine, where are you going?" Claire
called after her.
* * *
Zach
stood by
the makeshift altar and adjusted his tuxedo. He didn't
know if he was more nervous about Rogue winning the
for the wedding.
She loves you,
he told
himself firmly.
She isn't going to stand you up. She's seen you naked, warts
and all.
The mental pep talk did little to ease his nerves. They were
strung so tight, he thought they'd snap at any second.
"Easy now," Sam said in his ear. "She's
coming."
"She better."
"You love her. She loves you. I knew it from the
first day."
"When she almost killed us?"
Sam grinned. "Yep."
Zach sighed. "A lot has happened since then. I
don't want Katherine to think I rushed her into this."
"But you did."
"Well, I didn't want her to change her mind."
"I doubt she'd do that."
"She's coming, right, Sam?"
Sam nodded, not a doubt in his eyes. "She's
coming. I'd stake my life on it."
The minister they'd hired came over to join them. He
held up his watch. "We're running a little late. Do you know where your
bride is?"
"She'll be here," Zach said, feeling a
terrible sense of déjà vu. He'd said the same words to the minister right
before
wouldn't show up. Now it was all he could think about. There were the same
people sitting in the chairs, all the
invitation so they could witness another humiliation.
Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Zach."
"I'm trying. We should have eloped, then I would
have known for sure we'd be together at this moment."
"Why didn't you?"
Zach thought about the question. "I guess I
wanted to prove to her that she was worth the risk."
"You and Katherine have what it takes," Sam
said quietly. "Most folks don't have what you have. Or if they do, they
don't know it."
"Then where the hell is she?"
* * *
Katherine made it
back
to the cart, breathless but now ready to get married. "Let's go," she
said, hopping into her seat.
"What was that all about?" Claire asked. "For
a moment you had me worried."
"I forgot something."
"Another secret? You've been acting mysterious
since you and Zach announced your engagement."
Katherine smiled to herself but didn't reply, and Claire
let it
go because
the
cart had stopped at the back of the
roped-off area where several tree and flower planters surrounded rows of
folding chairs and a white runner leading up to a makeshift altar where Zach
was standing.
Katherine waved to him and he waved back, a wide smile
spreading across his face. Her gaze drifted across the crowd gathered to
witness their wedding, Leeanne and Jimmy, Mary Jo and J.T., Justin and his
wife, Louise Peabody from the craft store, Maggie Harper from the hotel, and
dozens more for whom she had yet to put names with faces.
Claire handed her a bouquet of flowers laced with
lavender. "It's only appropriate, don't you think?"
Katherine took a whiff and knew that somehow her
mother had brought her here, to this day, to her grandparents and to Zach and
even to her father.
She looked at Claire. "I'm ready to get married."
"I'll go first. Are you sure you don't want
Harry—"
"I'm sure." Katherine took in a breath of
sweet, fresh
"Your father?" Claire asked in shock. "You
know who he is? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to have him all to myself for a few
days, to find out what happened between him and my mother. I know that this may
be painful for you, but he's my father, and he never knew Margaret had a baby
until I came to
And just as she deprived you of a grandchild, she deprived my father of a
daughter. Whether or not you'll hate him for what happened all those years ago
is up to you. But I intend to have him walk me down the aisle."
"Well, I don't know what to say." Claire
looked over at Harry, who had gone still as a statue. "What should we do?"
"Who—who is your father?" Harry asked,
squeezing out each word with fearful deliberation.
Katherine took a deep breath and turned to the man who
had come up behind her. She slipped her hand into his, knowing they would both
need courage.
Claire and Harry looked at their joined hands in
disbelief.
"Oh, my God!" Claire breathed, putting a
hand to her mouth. "I never would have guessed."
"I loved your daughter," her father said
slowly. "We knew that it wasn't right, us being together. You wanted more
for her, and at the time I wanted more for myself. But when she left, I had no
idea she was pregnant." He took a deep breath, then went on. "If I'd
known, I would have stopped her, I would have stood by her. I would have
married her. But Margaret didn't give me a chance to help her. She told me she
was leaving because she was tired of
because the last thing in the world she wanted to do was take over the horse
farm, and most of all because she didn't love me. I'm sorry to say I was hurt
enough to believe every word." He took a deep breath, then went on.
"I told myself I was glad she was gone. But I
didn't mean it. And when I had chances to move on, to leave
I didn't take them. There was a part of me that kept hoping she'd come back.
When she came back in a coffin, I still couldn't tear myself away." He
glared at Harry. "That was cruel."
Harry looked down at the ground. Claire shook her
head. "I don't know what to say. There are so many things we need to talk
about, but where do we start?"
"We start today," Katherine said simply. "Start
by mending our fences. There sure are a lot of 'em here in
all try. Everyone here shares responsibility for what happened. But we can't
change the past, only our future, and I want all of you in my life. So what do
you say?"
Claire nodded. "We can try. Can't we, Harry?"
Her grandfather looked at her and at her father. "You're
a son of a bitch. You betrayed me."
"I fell in love with your daughter. It had
nothing to do with you."
Katherine grabbed her father's arm as the argument
between them began to escalate. "Don't, please, not now."
Her father let out a breath. "I don't really care
what you think, Harry. I loved Margaret. And I intend to love my daughter."
"We'll talk later," Claire slipped her hand
through Harry's arm. "We've all made terrible mistakes, but right now we're
dealing with the present. Today Katherine is going to marry the man she loves,
and I'm going to watch every second of it, and so are you, Harry Stanton. So
are you."
Katherine gave Claire an impulsive kiss on the cheek. "Thank
you." She turned to her father. "Ready?"
"Are you sure you want me to do this with you? I
haven't been much of a father."
"You haven't had a chance."
"First
…"
He
turned to a woman who was standing behind them holding a wreath of tiny pink
roses. "These are for you—princess."
Katherine's eyes filled with tears. "Zach told
you," she accused.
He set the flowers on her head, smiling, the deep
lines accentuating the sentimental mist in his eyes. "You are a princess,
Katherine. You came here and made my boy as happy as I've ever seen him. And
Claire, you've given her back her sparkle. And I'm sure, given enough time, you'll
even work your magic on Harry." He paused. "Zach told me how you'd
never let yourself think that your father was anything less than a good person.
I've never known such faith. I only wish Margaret would have had as much faith
in me as you do."
"Me, too," she said, kissing him on the
cheek. "I better go get married before Zach gives up on me."
"He'll never do that."