Chapter Eight
Relieved to be home, Kate was happy everything had worked out as planned. Drew and Carl woke up in their bedrooms right where they’d left their books—Drew in the guest bedroom and Carl at Maya’s house. Although she was back, Kate still had an eerie feeling. She reached for her phone to call Anna. There was so much to talk about. They used to talk daily. Now that Drew was there, so much of Kate’s time was spent with him. Anna understood, but sometimes Kate felt guilty neglecting her.
“Hi, Anna, I knew you’d be awake already.” She tried to sound upbeat.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just haven’t talked to you in awhile.”
“You never call this early so I know it has to be something. Start talking.”
And talk she did. Kate told Anna all about her dad’s family and evil Uncle Albert. Because of that, she informed Anna, she wouldn’t get married in September as previously planned. Kate wanted her grandmother to attend the wedding and didn’t want to miss out on Anna’s one hundred-and-first birthday. Kate decided to pick a date after those events.
“You don’t have to put off your plans for me. I think a summer wedding would be so beautiful.”
“It’s already decided.” Kate laughed and then grew somber. “Now I have something else to tell you.” She went on to tell her about Carl’s visit to 1927 and that he fell in love with Rachel.
“Rachel marries Thomas. He can’t interfere with that.” Kate could tell Anna was upset. “Wait a minute...now that you mention Joseph, I seem to remember him. He was looking for Maya, if I remember correctly. I thought he resembled Mr. Johansson instead. Oh, now I know why.”
“Anna, is this the first time you had a memory of Carl, er, Joseph?”
“Why yes, it is. I can’t say I ever thought of him till now. That’s strange.” Anna grew quiet. “No, it’s not, is it? That’s because Carl just went to the canyon and I have a new memory.”
“You’re getting good at this. I’m still trying to figure it out myself. So let me ask you, do you have a memory of Drew and me getting married?”
“No and I would have told you if I did. So make a new memory for me, Kathryn, make some beautiful memories.”
“That sounds so profound. I think I’ll make a lovely memory for all of us.” Kate smiled into the phone. “I’ll call you later with more news. Right now, I’m going to wake up my 1927 fiancée. Love you!”
Kate went into her bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. She closed her eyes and let the hot shower beat down on her. The steam rose up and suddenly she felt Drew’s hands slip around her waist as he joined her in the shower. This was too good to be true. She slowly turned around to give him a good morning kiss.
“Kate, are you in there?” There was a knock at the bathroom door.
Kate’s eyes popped open to an empty shower. “Drew, yes, I’m here.”
“We knocked for twenty minutes and were getting a little worried.”
“I’ll be out in a minute!” Kate shut off the shower, grabbed her bathrobe and towel for her hair and ran out to her bedroom. “Sorry, I was daydreaming, I guess.”
Drew kissed her and then told her some exciting news. “We’re all going back to shop for the wedding, even your mother. Come on down for breakfast and we’ll fill you in.”
He left her to get ready. She was sorry she didn’t get to finish her fantasy but this was good news. Hurrying to dress, Kate ran downstairs to find her mother in the kitchen.
“Mom, I’m so happy you’re going with us. I know Lucinda would do everything she could to help us, but it’s too early to tell her. I’d love to include her, but in her world I’ve just met Drew. It wouldn’t make sense for me to say we’re getting married. What am I saying?” Kate hit her forehead. “Lucinda just met Henry and will marry him soon.” She recalled what happened last year. Lucinda married Henry within two months of meeting him. “Mom, I guess it will be just the four of us. Where can we shop in Arizona?”
“Drew arranged for us to go to New York City for a day to pick everything out. He’ll have it shipped to Arizona. It takes a few days to travel to New York and back to the canyon so we thought we better go now.” Her mom seemed excited about the trip.
Kate was glad everyone had something positive to focus on. The family would be together to plan a happy occasion. She hoped it would distract her father. “Mom, do you think Dad has hurt feelings because he can’t walk me down the aisle?”
“He knows he can’t. So regardless of how he feels, that’s how it has to be.”
“I wonder if there’s a way we can. Couldn’t I say, because my parents can’t make it, I’ve asked him to do double duty?”
“You know... that could work. You’re the best, sweetest daughter there ever was.” She kissed Kate on the cheek. “...oh, and don’t forget thoughtful!”
Kate hugged her tightly. She only hoped her mother felt that way after she learned Carl went to the canyon and it was all her fault.
* * * *
It was a busy two months. The family trip to New York City went well. Kate picked out a simple wedding dress and found the perfect lavender color for the girls in the wedding party. Drew and her dad were fitted for tuxes at Martin’s Menswear. Drew made plans to have a tailor come to the ranch to measure Daniel and Thomas. It was such a quick trip Kate never got to meet Drew’s parents or her grandmother and regretted it happened so fast. Staying in 1927 New York and seeing the sights were on her wish list for the next time they visited.
The rest of the summer went by pretty much as the summer before at the canyon. The only difference was Carl kept popping up. He wouldn’t give up on Rachel and continued seeing her, acting very secretive about their relationship. Every time Kate reminded him Rachel would marry Thomas, Carl shut down and wouldn’t talk anymore. She tried not to antagonize him any further because she wanted to keep tabs on him.
When Maya returned from her cruise, Kate even threatened to tell her but that didn’t stop him from returning to the canyon. Since Maya always informed Carl of her trips back to the past, he was able to talk her out of going until Lucinda’s wedding. He used the excuse he was home for the summer and wanted her full attention. His only hope was no one would mention him to his mother at the wedding.
Kate was asked to be in Lucinda’s wedding just like before. Lucinda discovered Anna and Daniel secretly loved each other. They kept it from everyone because they didn’t want to hurt Lucinda. Of course, Kate already knew but acted surprised. They finally came to the wedding as a couple, which upset Lucinda.
The Hasting wedding took place the first weekend of September. Kate knew the marriage was going to happen no matter what she said, even though she still had the talk with Lucinda about finding true love. She decided to add one more thing to their conversation. She told Lucinda Drew asked her to marry him. Lucinda immediately wanted to take over the whole affair and Kate had to rein her in. Of course, Lucinda wanted them to get married at the Circle H but Kate promised Anna she would have the nuptials at the Circle J ranch. She was pretty sure Daniel would make the offer to Drew, too. He told Daniel during the Hasting wedding reception and Daniel did not hesitate, insisting they get married at his ranch.
After Kate returned to Ohio from the wedding weekend, she got a call from Anna. Her voice sounded excited. “I have a great idea and hopefully it will solve the Carl problem at the canyon. Bring him to Arizona for my birthday. He can meet Thomas III and his family. That might make him think about what he’s doing.”
“If he sees Thomas with his own two eyes, he’ll realize it’s wrong. A whole generation won’t be born if he continues with his plan. Good thinking, Anna.” Kate paused for a moment. “There’s something I want to confide in you. Jordyn lost the baby.”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry to hear. When did it happen?”
“A few weeks ago, mid-August. Matt planned to move into the Taylor-White house around that time. He never got the chance to tell his parents about their situation. He kept putting it off and now they’re glad he did. Jordyn seemed truly upset she lost the baby. Being the planner, she charted out the school year with her moms and Matt. She was determined to make things work. In the end, she decided she was happy about having the baby.”
“Are they still together? That can put a strain on a couple.”
“They say they’re fine but I have my doubts. I feel Jordyn’s staying with Matt more out of loyalty than love. She’s confused right now.”
“You and Lindsey need to be there for her. Give her extra attention.”
“Good advice as always, Anna. Linds and I always felt she was the lucky one. She was the one having the great high school experience. Obviously, we were wrong.” Kate felt sorry for Jordyn but knew she was capable of bouncing back. “You know what? When school starts, I’m going to nominate her for Homecoming Queen. Last year, she joked all three of us could be in the Homecoming parade.”
“What a wonderful idea. You’re a good friend, Kathryn.”
“I try. I’ll see what I can do and keep you informed.” She said her good-byes and hung up the phone. Staring out her bedroom window, Kate thought how much her friends had helped through the past year. It was time to return the favor. If Jordyn wanted to be Homecoming Queen, maybe Kate could make it happen.