Love Under Two Cowboys - By Cara Covington Page 0,2
can offer and then change with the calendar. It was her idea, and it's a good one!"
That had been her idea, and it gratified her to know that her input was not only encouraged and appreciated, but acknowledged, too.
"I look forward to trying them." Kate checked her watch. "Well, it's almost time. Carrie, now you make sure you get a good spot, right up close, to watch the ceremony from."
"She's going to stand with Matt, Steven, and me."
"Perfect!" Kate sighed. "These occasions are always special to me, but this one is even more so."
Carrie watched the energetic nonagenarian move off, greeting folks as they made their way toward the front of the great room of the community center.
"I don't know where she gets her energy," Kelsey said.
Carrie had to agree. "I've never met anyone like her." Then she tilted her head to the side. "I thought that Matt was Adam and Jake's best man? How can I sit with the three of you?"
"Yes, he was their best man, at the actual marriage ceremony last night." Kelsey must have seen the total confusion on Carrie's face. She came over and slipped her arm through Carrie's and began to walk her over to the front of the hall, where a pretty bower had been decorated with flowers and silk.
"I guess none of us ever gave you a crash course in the way these things are done here. I should have seen to that, because not that long ago I was a newcomer, myself."
Carrie thought Kelsey was sweet to say so, but she'd been on the outside looking in since she was eleven. She shook her head and said, "I'm new in town. I wouldn't have expected to learn every secret overnight." What Carrie didn't say was that keeping the walls high around herself and her past made her less eager to pry into other peoples' lives.
"Granted. But you've been here for a while and you fit in just fine. You're not in the least judgmental of others."
Carrie frowned. "Of course I'm not. My experience is that old saying rings true. 'Point your finger at someone else and at least three more are pointing back at you.'"
Kelsey laughed. They came to stand in the second row very close to the bower. A line of Kendalls stood in front of them. When Henry turned to see who was behind him, he grinned, and motioned them up to join the family.
Carrie couldn't see how she could refuse when her pregnant boss had such a firm grip of her arm, and was effectively dragging her along.
"The oldest man becomes the legal husband." Kelsey edged closer and spoke more quietly. "So last night, at a private ceremony with just the immediate family - and attendants - Ginny Rose married Adam Kendall. Today, here in front of the whole of Lusty, the three of them will pledge themselves to each other. For us, this is the most important ceremony."
"Why?"
Kelsey tilted her head to the side, and Carrie had the sense she was weighing her words. Finally, she said, "It's complicated, and the guests of honor will be arriving soon. Have you visited the museum yet?"
"No, I'm sorry. I haven't had time." Which was probably a lie, because Carrie knew a person could always find time to do the things they really wanted to do, if they really wanted to do them.
"You really should make the time. And don't feel bad, I was here more than six months before Matt and Steven finally succeeded in dragging me to the place." Her cheeks turned a light pink, and Carrie wondered what private reminiscence had emerged from her memory.
Of course, Carrie would never ask. To ask another about their secrets was to invite inquiry in turn.
So she simply said, "All right, I will."
"Oh, good, we're not late."
Carrie turned and smiled at the woman who'd said that.
Holding the hands of Richard and Trevor Benedict, with Kevin following close behind, Maggie Morrison huffed out a breath and nodded to her and Kelsey. "One of my guests cornered me in the kitchen and seemed to want to chat the day away. Thank God Kevin rescued me."
"That's what I'm here for, baby." Kevin Benedict grinned, the kind of grin that Carrie had learned to recognize in life as trouble of the fun kind.
"You should be up here, since you're Ginny's aunt," Carrie said. She was quite prepared to step back, but she was overruled before she could make the offer.