looked perplexed but shrugged. “I guess I will add that to his account.”
Kate waited while Mr. Johansen totaled her order, then applied the credit for the eggs. She paid him for the rest and was finally ready to go. Once Nathan had her purchases settled into the back of the wagon he turned to meet her gaze seriously. “Do you want to tell me what just happened in there?”
“I’d rather hear what happened at the courthouse.”
He nodded. “That’s fair enough. You can tell me about that fellow and I’ll tell you about the judge while we eat lunch at the café.”
“I’m not paying for lunch at the café when I have food at home.” She covered her stomach as it growled in protest. It would take at least another half hour to get home and it was already long past one.
Nathan grinned. “It’s my treat. I may not be a cattle baron but I can afford to pay for one meal in the café while I’m here.”
She didn’t like the idea of him paying for her but perhaps this was his farewell lunch. He’d order the food, tell her what he’d learned, they’d sign the paper he must have folded away somewhere and finish the meal. He’d make a quick exit. It would be amiable and painless. They’d go their separate ways, which was exactly what she needed.
At first Nathan did exactly as she’d planned. He ordered. After that he didn’t seem inclined to talk about his meeting right away. Instead, he asked about the man in the store. Kate sent him a quelling look. “First tell me what happened at the courthouse.”
He shook his head. “I’d rather wait until we get our food so we won’t be overheard.”
“Oh,” she breathed, then took a sip of her water. She didn’t need privacy for her explanation. The whole town knew the story he wanted to hear. “That was Andrew Stolvins. He courted me for a while two years ago, after my parents died.”
Nathan’s brows rose with interest. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of man you’d want as a suitor.”
“He was new in town. I was young and vulnerable. Andrew seemed like a nice, stable young man, so when he asked to court me I said yes.” She shrugged. “Like you, I was convinced I was following God’s will. For the first time in the six months since my parents’ deaths, I was hopeful. I thought my life was finally turning around.”
Nathan’s gaze filled with concern. “That isn’t what happened, is it?”
She shook her head. “I found out that Andrew wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or, rather, Sean and Ellie spied on him enough to find out the truth. Andrew didn’t want me. He wanted my inheritance.”
She paused as their food arrived and waited until the waiter left, to continue. “When I found out, I broke off our relationship. It’s lucky for him that I did, since my inheritance was hardly anything more than an expensive mortgage on the farm.”
Nathan pulled the napkin away from his cutlery. “Why is he bothering you if you didn’t have what he was really after?”
“My siblings weren’t shy in telling the town what type of man Andrew really was. It hurt his reputation but it hurt his pride more. He’s gone out of his way to make my life difficult since then.”
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