Jeremiah (Stud Ranch 5)

“My husband,” Charlie corrected. “After tomorrow, he’ll be my husband.”

I didn’t miss the distasteful look that crossed Mrs. Winston’s face at the word. It was almost enough to have me pushing back from the table and slamming my napkin down.

It was so clear that these people thought they were better than us, my brother and me. They might as well just come out and say that they thought we were poor white trash. What galled me is that they weren’t even wrong. What else could you call yourself when your own mother didn’t want you? When I’d done plenty I wasn’t proud of over the years to get by?

But to sit here and have this sanctimonious woman look down her nose and sneer at my brother as not good enough—

I shoved another big bite of pancakes in my mouth to keep from saying anything. Apparently, that was an uncouth way of eating, though, because Mrs. Winston’s eyes came my way and then quickly averted away, the corners of her mouth twitching down again in disgust. I smiled, dug another big bite around in what syrup was left on my plate, and then shoved an even bigger bite in my mouth. My lips barely closed around it, and my cheeks were stuffed with pancakes as I chewed.

“Yes, well. You know your father could find a temporary position for him at his corporation while he attended night classes to get some sort of degree. Then I’m sure we could help him move up the ladder in no time.”

“But he works here,” I said, mouth still stuffed with pancake.

Charlie looked distressed as her eyes ping-ponged between us and Reece held his hands up. “Charlie—”

“Charlotte,” her mother cut in, eyes cold. “Her name is Charlotte.”

“Charlotte and I,” Reece acquiesced, far more patient than I woulda been with this lady, “are happy where we are. We’ll be glad to visit but we’re making a good home here.”

Charlie smiled at him and looked grateful, but his answer certainly wasn’t winning him any points with his mother-in-law to be.

“Well,” she said tightly, clutching her coffee cup with a white-knuckled grip. “I’m sure we can talk more and settle things after the wedding. You’re right, we should just focus on one thing at a time. And tomorrow is your special day.” She reached out a hand and caressed Charlie’s cheek. “My baby, getting married.”

It might have even been a sweet moment, if her mom hadn’t proceeded to sigh and drop her hand while murmuring under her breath, “again.”

Reece wrapped up breakfast pretty quickly after that and trundled Charlie off to go pick up Ruth. He really was a good partner, buffering Charlie like that and getting her away from her terrible mother as quickly as possible.

I watched with arms crossed from outside the house, near what would eventually be a wraparound porch, as my brother helped Charlie in the car and gave her a kiss before sending her off.

Xavier and his family were gone for the day to see Pedernales Falls—one of the many great natural water features in the area from the spring-fed rivers in Central Texas. There were lots of rocks for the boys to jump into the river from and even the younger ones could have fun splashing in the water on the beachy shore.

The rains had moved on and it would get into the high nineties by the afternoon. Ruth would be happy—the forecast called for the sunny weather to continue on for the rest of the week, so the outside ceremony tomorrow should be able to go off without a hitch.

We were having the ceremony back behind the rebuilt house underneath a big oak tree that survived last year’s storm. The twister just barely bypassed the huge tree, even though ten feet to the left, it had carved up the earth, including the Harshbarger family ranch house that had stood there for a hundred years.

I walked over to my brother after he sent his bride-to-be off to pick up Ruth and clapped a hand on his back. “Come on, little brother, let’s go for a ride.”

Reece looked at me, eyebrows up in surprise. “Where? I thought we had to—”

I dragged him forward a few steps, my arm firm around his shoulders until he jerked away from my rough grip.

“Hey, asshole, you can’t kidnap me the day before my wedding. Where you taking me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic, prima donna.” I held up my hands. “By all means, go ahead back inside and do some more bonding with the in-laws.”

That had him freezing in his tracks. He only had to take one quick glance back at the house before he was in-step beside me. “What’d you have in mind, big brother?”

I laughed and clapped him on the back again, so hard he stumbled a step. Hey, I didn’t make the rules—brotherly love had never been the gentle or ooey-gooey kind between us. We’d been kicked out of plenty of foster homes for rough housing, which could get so intense occasionally one or the other of us would come away with a bloody nose. Turned out it was good practice for when we ended up on the streets and learned to fight back-to-back, fists out, to the world that always seemed to have it out for us.