Free Cattleman's Courtship by Carolyne Aarsen Page B

was asking him about his offhand treatment of this wedding.
    Because the frown on Trista’s face ignited Cara’s concern.
    “Is everything okay?” Cara gently asked.
    Trista tugged her gaze away from the men and gave Cara a quick smile. “Yeah. Just feeling a bit confused.”

    “Over the wedding?”
    Trista turned off the taps and dropped the mugs into the soapy water. “A bit.”
    “And how about Lorne. How does he feel about it all?”
    “He’s just…well…he doesn’t like all this planning stuff.”
    “Does he like all this marrying stuff?” Cara slowly wiped a mug, wishing she knew how to proceed.
    “Of course he does. Lorne loves me.”
    Cara didn’t imagine the tone of indignation in Trista’s voice, but behind that she also heard a hint of fear.
    “I’m sure he does.” Cara fought her own urge to caution her friend. But she knew she had to talk to Nicholas later. Find out if he knew what was going on with Lorne.
    “And if you’re insinuating he’s only marrying me because I’m pregnant—”
    “No. I’m not.” Cara caught Trista by the shoulder, concerned by the sparkle of tears in Trista’s eyes. “I just…I just want to make sure everything is okay with you two.”
    Trista swiped her eyes and gave Cara a trembling smile. “This pregnancy is making me really weepy and emotional and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel overwhelmed.”
    “Let me take care of some of this,” Cara urged.
    Trista sniffed. “I can’t do that. You’ve got enough going on—”
    “Tell me what still needs to be done,” Cara urged. “I want to help.”
    Trista sighed. “The cake needs to be done. Mom’s sister was going to bake it, but she’s not feeling well and begged off. I loved your idea about the buckets of flowers, and the nursery is clearing out their stock this week but I don’t have time to go get the plants and take care of them. And I need to figure out if I want to put something on the tables.” Then she sniffed again. “I just feel like it’s all getting to be too big and too much.”
    Cara thought of her own busy schedule, but then looked at Trista’s face and made a quick decision. “Tell you what. Aunt Lori and I will take care of the cake. I’ll go to the nursery this week and pick up the plants.”
    “That’s too much—”
    “No. It isn’t. Things are getting a bit quieter at the clinic and I know Aunt Lori would love to help out.” Cara gave her friend a quick smile. “And if we get Uncle Alan to water the flowers every day he’ll have something to do, as well.”
    Trista looked down at the soap bubbles clinging to her hands. “That would be great.”
    Cara wiped the last mug and set it on the counter. “We’re done here, so let’s go outside and enjoy this beautiful day,” Cara said, hanging the dish towel on the bar of the oven, glancing around the tidy kitchen with the smallest flicker of envy. This place seemed more like a home in some ways than her own uncle and aunt’s place.
    By the time Cara and Trista joined the men, the horses were saddled and ready.
    The sun’s warmth surrounded them, the air held a soft breeze and as Cara looked up, a flock of sparrows swooped and played on the wind. A perfect day for a ride.
    “You should shoot those things,” Lorne was saying, looking up at the sparrows. “You’ve got tons of them.”
    “They don’t bother me, I don’t bother them.” Nicholas laughed.

    Lorne saw the girls and grinned. “Let’s get going,” Lorne said, looking and sounding a lot more cheerful than he had inside the house.
    He helped Trista into the saddle and as he adjusted her stirrups, he was laughing up at her and smiling as if everything were fine.
    And maybe it was, Cara thought.
    Nicholas stood holding Two Bits, another horse tied up to the fence behind him.
    “So you ready to go?” he asked, leading Two Bits toward her.
    Cara looked at the huge chestnut with some trepidation. The one time she had gone riding with Nicholas,