Chapter 41
Charity
I Wouldn’t Mind – He is We
Brandon Rice
I blame Whitfield. He shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of Charity
Pru Livingstone
Two wrongs don’t make a right. He was our sponsor!
Marti Sanchez
I’d have put him through the window if it had been my girl
Roger (Hardware)
Does anyone want some spring bulbs? I have 30% off. Snow shovels are also 2 for 1
Pru Livingstone
Roger, what have I told you about using this message group for advertising? We don’t!
Denver Donkey
Roge I’ll take a couple of shovels. I tend to shit quite a lot
Pru Livingstone
Cole Brown stop using this message group to write stupid messages from your donkey
Denver Donkey
Cole write messages? Do me a favor. He couldn’t write a shopping list.
Nate Jenkins
Let’s be clear about this Dexter Whitfield is a shit head and Liam did the right thing. Pru if you don’t like it maybe we should discuss your choice of sponsors. Now it’s been two weeks so let’s just drop it!
Sighing, I turned my phone off, sick and tired of reading about Liam punching Dexter Whitfield at the dinner.
Nate was right, it had been two weeks so they should let it go.
We lived in a small town, though, so there was little chance of that happening for at least another five days.
Sometimes it felt like the whole town had its nose pressed up against the window of my life, breathing fog onto the glass.
It was annoying at times like this, when everyone felt the need to have an opinion that wasn’t theirs to give.
I looked over at Liam who was walking through my bedroom in just a towel.
He’d worried for a couple of days about what he’d done.
Concerned that Whitfield might make good on his promise to have him arrested.
Having checked in with Joe Harley almost every day, it was clear that Dexter Whitfield was just as worried that I would have him arrested too.
The sheriff had heard nothing. Seeing him now, though, barefoot and warm from the shower, felt like the universe was balancing out the chaos.
He was becoming my quiet place without either of us meaning to let it happen.
“Busy day?” Liam asked, rubbing a towel over his hair.
“I’m meeting your sister today,” I told him with a smile, genuinely looking forward to planning Tally’s wedding.
“Already?” He rolled his eyes. “We’re months away?”
“Time goes by quickly.”
“Hah, maybe,” he grumbled. “But who the hell chooses to get married on Christmas Eve?”
“I think it’s romantic.” Stretching my arms to the side, I yawned. “I should get a shower.”
Padding over to me, Liam buried his fists into the mattress and leaned in close, kissing me softly. “Should have said, we could have showered together.”
“Hmm, that would have been nice.” I closed my eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of his body wash, memorizing everything about the peace before the day got hectic. “You taste minty.”
When I opened my eyes, Liam was watching me carefully, breathing deeply. “You’re so fucking beautiful, you know?” Rough fingertips ran along the edge of my face. “I’ll miss you today.”
The last couple of weeks had continued the change that had started the night of the dinner. We’d barely spent a night apart and when we had, I think it was only because we felt we should.
Everything between us had started to feel like a speed race downhill, the momentum building every day.
Our feelings like a snowball that grew with every roll down the mountain.
While I wasn’t scared, I was kind of cautious.
Mainly what might people say about us going headlong into a relationship when it had only been a month.
But my biggest concern was whether Liam was ready for how intense this had become.
He seemed okay, though, and I had to trust that.
Trust his words and actions and lean into how natural it felt to be us.
Even if a small part of me braced for impact, the way you do when you’re afraid something good might slip through your fingers.
“Do you want some eggs for breakfast, Sunshine?” Liam dropped his towel, and the site of his hard, tight ass made me wonder if maybe we could both be late for work. “I know you’re staring,” he joked, his back to me.
“And I know you’ve got your back to me on purpose you little tease.”
“Yeah well,” he sighed, reaching for his boxer briefs, “if I show you the best of my goods, I just know you’ll pounce on me.”
The laughter in the bedroom was full and joyful, and I knew I wanted more of mornings like this. I knew I should have trust in what we were building.
It had been a full day, a couple of meetings with potential brides and then a lovely afternoon spent with Tally at The Last Creek Ranch. It felt a little weird chatting with her knowing I knew her brother intimately, but she didn’t seem to mind about it.
“I love the color scheme,” she gushed, flicking through the fabric swatches I’d brought over. “The rose gold is much prettier than the white I’d considered.”
Her excitement was infectious, warm and bright like the sunlight beaming in through the huge windows of their ranch house.
“I was thinking your bouquet could have some white in it, though,” I suggested. “Perhaps a small amount of baby’s breath and maybe some ivy trailing. In fact,” I swiped on my iPad to an image I’d found on a website, “something similar to this.”
Tally looked closely and beamed. “That’s gorgeous. You think you can get those roses.” She looked up at me, hopefully.
“Yes, the flower market I use is spectacular. We could go there one day, and you can see if there’s anything else you prefer.”
She shook her head. “No, I love that,” Looking over at Wilder, her fiancé, who was pouring us some coffee, she smiled. “Roses are kind of special to the family, and those would be a lovely new addition to our tradition.”
Wilder paused what he was doing and turned to us. He was tall, broad and handsome. A rugged cowboy who filled out a pair of Wranglers to perfection. In fact, all three Miller brothers were gorgeous. Personally, though, in my humble opinion, Liam beat them all hands down.
“That’s a brilliant idea, Brownie. We could buy some to plant in our rose garden, a beautiful reminder of what is going to be a beautiful day.” His gaze turned intense, and I was sure if I guessed there’d be some spice going down in the huge modern kitchen/diner that was the center of their house.
Hating to spoil their moment, but also feeling like I was intruding, I cleared my throat.
“So, bridesmaids? How many are you considering?”
“Bertie is definite, but I’m also thinking about Lily and Cassidy.” Frowning, she traced the edge of the oak table we were sitting at.
“Only thinking?” I asked.
Wilder approached with two mugs of coffee and placed them in front of us.
“She’s worried they’ll say no because they’ve only been friends a short time.
” He ran a hand down Tally’s dark-auburn braid, giving it a gentle tug.
The way he looked at her made my chest ache in the best possible way.
Seeing love like that really did exist, made me realize I could have it too. “I’ve told her she’s being silly.”
“I think you said I was being a dimwit.” Rolling her eyes she looked so much like her eldest brother it took my breath away. With the same color and shaped eyes, the same determined jut to her chin, although hers was more feminine—less square, she was so similar to Liam.
“I meant it with love, Brownie.” Wilder bent to kiss her temple and I watched as he breathed her in. “So much fucking love.”
“We can revisit that, we have plenty of time,” I said after giving them a moment. “Although we need to be mindful of the date and if you can decide within the next month that would be great. We only have seven months and that will fly by.”
“Seven months and two days,” Tally corrected, grinning.
“Shit,” Wilder groaned. “Does that mean it’s the 22nd today?” He moved over to the kitchen counter where he’d left his phone and picked it up. “Damn it, I’m supposed to be meeting a guy about a new bull this afternoon.”
“I don’t know why.” Tally huffed out a frustrated breath. “There’s nothing wrong with Petey.”
“Except he almost killed you,” he growled.
“What?” My heart jumped at the idea that Liam almost lost his sister. For a split second the room felt colder. I couldn’t imagine Liam surviving more of that kind of loss and grief. “Really?”
“It was last year, and it wasn’t his fault.” Tally pointed at Wilder. “But he’s been on constant alert ever since and now thinks we should get rid of him.”
At that moment the door burst open and in barreled a tiny tornado with dark hair in a braid, not unlike Tally’s.
I guessed it must have been the famous Bertie that I’d heard so much about that afternoon.
An eleven year old whirlwind with zero brake, now I understood why everyone talked about her like she was a force of nature.
“Tally Ho,” she cried, thrusting her hands onto her hips.
“Momma told me that your wedding planner was here, and you didn’t tell me.
” She turned to me and thrust out her hand.
“Hi, I’m Bertie, and I think I’m going to be the bridesmaid, although Tally Ho hasn’t asked me yet.
I’m Uncle Wilder’s niece, but I’m not talking to him because he’s going to get a new bull and make us sell Pete Perkins, our bull, although we all call him Petey.
” She narrowed her dark brown eyes on her uncle, pursing her lips like she was ready to put a curse on him.
“Bertie, we talked about this. You kno—”
She held up her palm, halting him. “I told you I’m not talking to you until you change your mind.” Pulling out a chair next to me, she hoisted herself up on it. “Right, fill me in on what I missed.”
And so, I did, realizing it was a first for me to arrange a wedding and be nervous that my choices didn’t meet the requirements of the young bridesmaid.
It was only when I got into my car to come home that something about the conversation hit me, and instantly I felt like the bottom might have just dropped from my world.
Today was the 22nd which meant that my period was over six days late.
A cold ripple rushed through me, tightening every muscle in my body.
For a moment I just gripped the steering wheel feeling the earth tilt.
That was why I ended the day in my bathroom with three pregnancy tests, in their boxes, my heartbeat thudding in my ears, drowning out every rational thought as I wondered whether I dare use them or bury my head in the sand.