Nathaniel #4
“To be insulting? But you were. Which is wild since I’m hosting you. One word from me to get your ass off my land and there ain’t a sheriff here who would keep you on it.”
“I’m a guest!” He looked to Charisma’s parents like they were about to step in but they stayed quiet.
“You were uninvited.” I spoke up then so that he could remember he was on shaky ground when it came to everyone here. Charmy hadn’t paid him any attention and even now was standing closer to Yzzy and me.
“I don’t remember your name being amongst those that my brother gave me to be prepared for. So not only are you an uninvited guest that we’ve just made room for, you’re a rude son of a bitch too.”
“We don’t do well with rude around these parts. Never know how much it’ll irk the savage in us and have it rise up. You get my meaning?” I pinned him with a look that screamed he needed to shut the fuck up and thankfully he complied.
He swallowed and gave a quick nod finally realizing he wasn’t about to beat anyone’s ass out here. “Point taken.”
“Good. Make sure that we don’t need to revisit it later. Now, as my daddy said before he was so rudely interrupted. Are y’all watching or participating?”
“Well, go on out there, Darius and show them what you got.” Charmy’s mama was gassing up her daddy and I knew exactly how that man felt.
I could tell she was the one who’d keep them feeling alive all these years.
I could see Charisma now, in about forty years daring me to climb on back of a bull and I’d amble my ass up there and do it just so I could feel like her hero.
Damn, that love shit hits real deep.
“Sharon, I’m damn near sixty years old.”
“So is Mr. Chisholm-Love.” My mama was laughing cause she knew if she asked, Noah’s ass would hop up and make her smile.
“Mr. Chisholm-Love has been doing shit like this his whole life.”
“Hmph, guess I’ll just be watching him then.”
“Careful now, Mama. Mrs. Chisholm-Love looks like she’ll beat a woman’s ass for staring too long.”
Her mama’s mouth dropped open and she looked around like someone was going to kick them out for Charmy cussin’“Charisma!”
“Mama, I’m grown!” Charmy was laughing but I knew she was asserting herself because they had a tendency to baby her.
“Doesn’t mean you have to talk like that in my presence, gracious.”
Trent cleared his throat and brought the attention back to himself. “What is it we’re out here for, anyway?”
“A gender reveal. We’re going to see who gets the honor of announcing the birth of the next generation of Chisholm-Loves.” My daddy was grinning and Sampson stood with a look of pride I knew I would feel one day.
“And what’s the prize?”
This muthafucka really thought we were gonna drop some money in his hands after he was eating our food, washing his ass and laying his head down on our dime.
“The honor is the prize, did you miss that part?” I couldn’t keep the aggravation out of my voice. He was intruding on what was supposed to be a family event and was bringing a dark cloud over it. Charisma and her folks were family but his ass was an interloper.
“Billion dollar business and all, I thought it wouldn’t be too much of an issue to drop a couple bands.” And there was his sarcasm again. Trying to prove a point no one else cared about him making.
“You want my brother to spend his bread on you like a bitch? Is that what you’re used to? Getting tricked on?”
His jaw clenched and the way he looked at Charisma wasn’t nothing nice. If he so much as breathed wrong at her I was going to take his ass out. I was the one who’d been talking shit so he could direct all that aggression to me. As soon as he tried it, it was over for him.
“I’m not saying—”
“Much of anything. We know. I think you’ve done enough talking for right now.
This is about my brother and his wife. You messing up the flow of the celebration.
You can go somewhere and eat your food or go back to your room.
But ain’t no more poutin’ and bitchin’ when nobody invited your ass here to begin with. ”
Lou and Samp were laughing and our cousins who ran the hogs and the slaughterhouse were now taking a vested interest in the conversation when they’d been laughing and enjoying themselves.
It seemed like everything had gone quiet and all eyes were on Trent. He’d been trying so hard to get his way and now he had all the attention he could handle.
Sensing that this wasn’t going to end up well for Trent’s stuck up ass, Mr. Reed spoke up. “Let’s go for a walk and leave the roping and riding to the professionals, Trent.”
I was grateful for Mr. Reed because I was itching to have my hand wrapped around that nigga’s neck. Like he knew I was getting annoyed, I heard Pistol’s ass grunt and neigh from the pasture he’d been standing in. Knowing his ass, he’d hop that fucking fence and see what’s up.
“Chill, Pistol!” My eyes stayed trained on Trent as I gave Pistol the command.
He snickered and rolled his eyes like something was funny.
“You should listen to Mr. Reed’s advice.
Be careful where you’re walking, lots of holes to fall in that you can’t escape out of.
Mind your step while you’re on our land. ”