Rocky Mountain Legacy

He heard her soft gasp.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.” Cade hated this part, wanted to get past it fast. “Marnie died of an aneurysm. It was totally unexpected.”

“And then your sister left.” Her face softened. “That was a hard time for you.”

“Yes.” He could see Sara didn’t understand. Yet. He’d have to give her more details. “Karen felt guilty for leaving right after I’d lost Marnie. She wanted to ask the Army for leave, but I persuaded her to go.”

“Because?” Sara’s brown velvet eyes missed nothing.

“Because she deserves to build her own life. There was nothing she could do for me. I’m older, I’m stronger. I could get through it on my own.”

“You wanted to protect her.”

Cade smiled at the accuracy of her assessment and the skill with which she cut through his prevarication.

“It’s what I do,” he admitted.

“You protect your sister—because you think Karen isn’t capable of looking after herself?” Disbelief emphasized the arch of one sculpted eyebrow. “At twenty-three?”

“You remind me of her.” Cade recalled the many times his sister had cut through his excuses and demanded the truth. “Karen doesn’t mince words, either.”

The petite blond wedding planner tightened her lips.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with how old she is, Sara.” Cade let the story pour out. “Our parents died when I was eighteen. Karen was ten. I raised her. I was her father, mother and her brother. She’s my only family. That’s why this wedding has to be special.”

“Even if she doesn’t want it?” Sara’s brows furrowed.

“She does! She just doesn’t want to let on she does because Karen thinks another wedding will bring back the pain of losing Marnie.”

“Will it?”

“Probably some,” he acknowledged. “But my experiencing a little pain isn’t a good enough reason not to have a wedding for Karen.”

“I see.”

She didn’t.

“My sister used to constantly talk about what she’d do for her own wedding. She had more bride dolls than any of her friends. In her room at home there’s a big fat album full of wedding pictures she’s been cutting out of magazines for as long as I can remember.” Cade met her stare. “Karen’s wedding has been a dream she’s had forever. I am not going to let her give it up because of me.”

“Generous of you. The album might come in handy.” Sara’s wise-owl eyes never left his face. “But surely you understand what’s involved? You were about to be married. You must have consulted with your fiancée, made joint decisions.”

That made him laugh.

“If you’d known Marnie, you wouldn’t have said that. She was the ultimate organizer and she did not like her plans interfered with. That was fine by me. Some stuff was going on at the ranch at the time and I was glad to let her handle all the details. I didn’t care how, as long as we got married.” He made a face. “I wish now I’d paid more attention.”

“You’ve known a lot of loss.”

“I’ve known a lot of happiness,” he corrected. “I thank God for that every day.”

Sara’s face closed up like a clam, her eyes dropped to her worksheet. Cade wondered what he’d said wrong.

“It isn’t possible to ask Karen’s preferences on anything?”

Cade shook his head.

“She and Trent were leaving base for a new mission the day she e-mailed me. I can leave messages, but I can’t contact her directly. Even if I could, there wouldn’t be any point.”

“Because?”

“Because all Karen and Trent care about is getting married as soon as they get home. That’s why I want everything in place.” He wouldn’t give up, not yet. “I don’t want my sister to elope because it’s easier. I want her to come home, to walk her down the aisle of the church we grew up in. I want to hand her care over to her husband.”

Not strictly accurate, but Cade pushed past the half truth to continue.

“I want her to have precious memories of her wedding day that she can take out and treasure when the tough patches come.”

At last Sara lifted her head and met his gaze.

“It’s going to be a lot of work.”

Cade’s heart bumped with relief. That meant she was going to help, didn’t it?

“Life is a lot of work. But family matters, and when you do something for them, the payoff on their faces makes the work seem like play.” He studied her. “You must know that yourself.”

“I must, mustn’t I?” Sara agreed dourly, her concentration on the scribbles she placed on her notepad.

The chagrin tingeing her voice surprised Cade. He studied her profile, followed one of her golden ringlets to its resting place on her narrow shoulder. Sara Woodward had the kind of soft, wistful beautiful many women tried to erase.

Perhaps she—

A movement outside caught Cade’s attention and he blinked at the man who peered through the glass.

“Isn’t that your brother, Reese, father of the infamous twins?”

Sara’s head jerked up. She twisted to get a better look. When she turned back, her almost-black eyes glittered with indignation.

“Yes, it’s Reese.” Sara squished her napkin into a ball. “Sometimes I wish I’d never left L.A.”

Her whisper shocked Cade. Fairly certain she hadn’t been talking to him, he didn’t press because her face looked as if she’d lost her best friend.

Sara’s narrow shoulders drooped. The soft cream silk blouse shifted, revealing her slim neck and the delicate silk scarf she’d tucked in there. Cade didn’t know much about fashion, but he was fairly certain that particular hue of Caribbean orange wasn’t in vogue at the moment. Yet on Sara it looked exactly right—vibrant, warm, full of potential.

He wondered why she’d chosen the shade. Actually he had a thousand questions about his wedding planner.

“What do you do when you’re in L.A., Sara?”

She blinked. Big innocent doe eyes, an unusual combination with that blond hair, widened.