Longing for Home by Kathryn Springer Read Free Book Online Page B

on the truck, but she found out the supplier wrote down the wrong date. The chicken will arrive on time—a week from now.”
    “I hope that doesn’t mean you want to postpone the wedding?” Quinn wrapped an arm around Abby’s slender waist.
    She smiled up at him. “Not a chance. It’ll work out. Kate just wanted to let me know that she’ll be a few minutes late for the rehearsal dinner. Thor is giving her grief again so she’ll meet up with us at the restaurant.”
    “Her boyfriend’s name is Thor?” Alex said before he could stop himself.
    Abby grinned. “No. Her car’s name is Thor. Kate’s grandfather left her a Thunderbird when she was in high school, but the last few months it’s been in the shop more than it’s been on the road.”
    “That’s because it attracts more attention than Charlie Pendleton’s ice-cream truck,” Quinn said. “Thor practically has his own following in this town. I think Happy takes his time fixing the car because people hang around the garage to admire it.”
    A car with a fan club and a mechanic named Happy. Eccentric didn’t begin to describe this town, Alex thought.
    “What about the reception dinner?” He pushed the conversation back on track.
    “What about it?” Abby looked a little confused. Alex knew that too much stress could have that effect on a person.
    “Is there going to be one?”
    “Oh, if Kate says it’s under control, believe me, it’s under control.”
    Alex didn’t believe it. Not for a minute. Kate was juggling too many plates. A crash was inevitable but he didn’t want it to be on Abby’s wedding day.
    “It isn’t like she has superpowers,” he muttered.
    Quinn and Abby glanced at each other.
    “Well…” Abby drew out the word. “She and God make a pretty good team. If you ask Kate where she gets her energy, she’ll tell you to look up Isaiah, chapter forty.”
    “I don’t have time to look it up.” Alex checked his watch. “We have to leave for the rehearsal dinner soon.”
    “Does Kate need a ride?” Quinn asked.
    Abby shook her head. “No, she’s got Penelope.”
    “Let me guess.” Alex couldn’t keep the sarcasm from leaking into his voice. “Penelope is a hot-air balloon.”
    “Now you’re starting to get it,” Quinn murmured.
    “Penelope—” Abby shot her fiancé a quelling look “—is a bicycle.”
    “She’s riding a bicycle. To the rehearsal dinner.” Alex wanted to make sure he understood. Because of the size of the wedding, Abby and Quinn had opted for a small, informal gathering at a nearby supper club.
    Alex had stopped in the day before and talked with the manager. With only a little persuasion and his signature on a check, the man had not only agreed to close the entire dining room while they were there, he’d promised to hire a local pianist to provide music during the meal.
    But if Alex’s memory served him correctly, The Cedars had to be a good three or four miles west of town. For some reason, the thought of Kate pedaling that distance set his teeth on edge.
    “I’ll swing by the café and pick up Kate.”
    Abby’s initial astonishment faded to caution. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. She mentioned that she had a few loose ends to tie up before she could leave.”
    That’s why it was a good idea. Alex didn’t like loose ends. From what he knew about Kate, she probably viewed them as decorations.
    Kate was officially late.
    Clutching a handful of skirt with one hand, she tried to wrestle her bicycle out of the shed with the other. One of the tires had tangled with a metal rake and neither was cooperating with her efforts to set them free.
    But then, not a whole lot of things had been cooperating.
    Amber Jensen had called with an update around lunchtime. Another restaurant farther up the Chain of Lakes that had also placed an order for free-range chicken agreed to sell it to Kate. All she needed was someone to pick it up.
    Unfortunately, Thor, her beloved but temperamental