I don’t know where they’d been planning to sneak off to, but the mother-in-law had definitely put the kibosh on those plans.
Probably for the best, considering that had been about four hours ago and now it was time to be up and at ’em.
I walked over to my brother and yanked the pillow out from under his head. “Five minutes are up.”
He groaned. “Noooooooo.”
“Yes,” I said. “Now get your ass outta bed. It might be the day before your wedding, but you live on a ranch and there’s shit to do. Come on, we gotta get the feed out.”
Reece gave one more groan of protestation but, unlike when he was younger, he didn’t keep on whining and complaining. He got up and, still only half awake, climbed into his jeans and shrugged on a shirt and boots.
We went about our morning chores feeding the cattle and horses, then headed in for breakfast.
Charlie looked frazzled as she cooked scrambled eggs in the bunkhouse kitchen while pancakes sizzled on a side griddle. Her eyes shot immediately to Reece as we came in. “Thank God, you’re back. I think I might just strangle my mom if I’m left alone with her any longer.”
Reece immediately went over and took over cooking the eggs. “Sit, sit,” he said, gently kissing the side of her head. “I got this.”
I paused in the doorway, watching the two of them. I had to admit, he was good with her. It was like meeting her had been the last kick in the pants to grow up. After years begrudging my troublemaker brother, maybe he really had finally settled down and become the man I always hoped he could be.
And if he was a grown man and not my immature little kid brother who needed watching after anymore…
All I’d ever known was the two of us, scraping and fighting against the world.
But watching Reece and Charlie, I could see what they were building, their own little unit, the two of them against the world.
It was a good thing. And if I was feeling a little displaced… I took a step back from the doorway, but Reece turned to me.
“Jer, can you get the big tray? We’ll need to carry all this up to the big house so we can have breakfast with the in-laws. You gotta come too, ’cause the more people, the more buffer we can give Char from her mom.”
“Sure thing,” I said, but even as I went forward, I couldn’t help thinking, whoa, whoa, whoa, since when was my little brother the one giving orders around here?
But I just loaded up a tray with the large stack of pancakes and bottle of syrup. Reece covered the pan of eggs and Charlie carried plates as we all trekked back over to the big house.
Charlie’s mother was not impressed by the fair provided, naturally.
“Well, I usually prefer crêpes but I suppose I can make an exception.” She looked sharply up at Charlie. “Is it vegan? You know I’m strictly eating vegan lately.”
“Absolutely,” Charlie said straight-faced, even though I’d seen the mix she’d used and doubted it was.
I also doubted that her mother understood what “vegan” meant since she spooned some of the fluffy eggs onto her plate.
The silence around the breakfast table was painful. Her father read the Austin American Statesman; he must have picked up a copy yesterday in town? I just chowed down and watched my brother and Charlie occasionally attempt awkward conversation that was quickly shot down by the Dragoness-in-Chief.
“After breakfast I’m going to go pick up Ruth so we can finish getting everything ready for the rehearsal dinner tonight,” Charlie said.
Her mother made a disgruntled face as she looked toward her daughter. “I thought the point of hiring a wedding planner was so that you didn’t have to think of any last-minute plans. It’s supposed to be your day.”
I knew Charlie well enough to know she was barely holding back an eye roll. Instead, she forced a smile through her teeth. “Yes, but I want to be involved, and Ruth is one of my best friends. I think it’s fun to be involved.”
Her mother wiped daintily at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “Well, one might think you’d want to spend what little time you have with your mother since we so rarely get to see one another anymore. I mean, my God, you move out here in the middle of nowhere. You don’t call, you don’t write, you just disappear, and I have no idea where my own flesh and blood is—”
“Well, now you do, Mom,” Charlie said, the edge on her voice starting to show. “So now we can visit each other whenever we want. Reece and I can come visit you and Dad in California—”
“Oh, do you mean it?” Her mom’s hands shot across the table as she grasped Charlie’s hands. “Because we’d love to have you back in our time zone. This whole adventure out west has been… a lark. But it’s time for you to come home now. I’m sure all your friends would welcome”—her eyes flitted to my brother—“your new man.”