Chapter 2
“G reat timing. We need to sort out this seating plan.” Mom catches me on my way out the front door. Taking my hand, she drags me into the dining room where there’s a huge table plan for the wedding laid out in front of me. She’s even made color-coded flags to represent each individual guest.
“Don’t you think this is a little over the top?” I stand and look at it all, feeling overwhelmed.
“Leia, the wedding is five weeks away, this can’t be avoided any longer.” Mother stares back at me in horror.
“What’s the system here, anyway?” I pick up one of the red flags and smile when I see Noah Wylde’s name written on it.
“I’ve colored in order of importance, so we know who to sit closer to the head table.” She snatches it back out of my hand.
“And you red-flagged the River Boys?” I laugh to myself as I watch her return it to one of the tables at the back of the room.
“I don’t know why you and your father were so insistent on inviting them in the first place.” She shakes her head. “Same with that Carson boy who tried to ruin your engagement party.”
“The Carsons and the River Boys get on well, you should sit them together,” Dad interrupts, stepping into the room and placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Morning, sweetheart.” Raising his eyebrows at me, as he pulls away, reminds me that he’s as fed up with hearing about this wedding as I am. Mom’s been going on at him about it even more than she has me.
“That’s a ridiculous idea, George, do you want to create chaos? We’re much better off spreading them out.” Mom turns her nose up at his idea.
“Well, you have a problem here, anyway, because Maisie is my maid of honor. She’ll be on the top table, and Garrett will be with her.” I find their flags and place them in the long rectangle on the opposite side of the plan, which I assume represents the top table.
“Absolutely not. We can’t have a Carson on the head table with the Masons. Tell her, George.” She looks to my father for support and he leans in closer to read the names on the flags.
“How about we let Leia figure it out, and I take you for lunch?” he suggests, winking at me when she’s not looking.
“Are you joking? She’s not taking this seriously enough. This is going to be the social event of the year. If we don’t do this right it could affect your campaign and we—”
“You don’t need to worry about the campaign,” Dad interrupts before she starts ranting again.
“I have to go, I have a meeting with Counselor Griffiths. How about we meet for that lunch at Seven Springs later? Twelve-thirty?” He places a tight kiss on Mom’s cheek and doesn’t wait for a reply before he heads back out.
“Please remind Edward that the deadline for the RSVPs was a month ago, I have no idea if he and Kathleen are having the venison or the duck,” she calls out after him.
“I’ll be sure to add that to the agenda.” He pops his head back around the door, throwing another amused look at me before he leaves.
“Come on, help me figure out where to sit the Ward sisters, Mariette’s had a fall out with Lucinda over—”
“I can’t, Mom, I promised Maisie I’d head over to the ranch and help with something.” I have to lie because spending the rest of my morning talking social politics is the last thing I want to do.
“I guess it could wait until tonight.” Mom makes that annoying sigh she does to try and make me feel bad. She doesn’t know it yet but she’s about to become even more disappointed.
“I’m not gonna be around tonight either. I’m meeting Wade for a drink.”
“Wade Carson?” She chokes on her words.
“Yes, Wade Carson.” My eyes roll at her dramatics.
“Does Caleb know?”
“No, I don’t have to tell him where I am every second of the day. He’s out of town right now, and I don’t know where he is.”
“Darling, you're about to become his wife, you can’t be meeting other men in bars. People around town will be talking.”
“Mom, it’s Wade, he’s my friend and it’s been that way since we came to town. I’m not about to let that change.” I mean every word I tell her. I don’t care how important this wedding is to my mom and dad, they can do it however they please, but my marriage will be conducted my way.
“The Carsons and the Masons hate each other, you can’t be in the middle of that anymore. You are about to become a Mason.” I get that same niggle of unease I feel every time I’m reminded of that fact.
“When you become a wife, sacrifices have to be made.” Mom tries getting all affectionate with me by taking my hand in hers and rubbing her thumb over the huge diamond on my engagement ring.
“Don’t you think I’ve sacrificed enough by agreeing to do this in the first place?” I snatch my hand out of hers and glare back at her coldly.
Dad, at least, shows some empathy for how things have turned out.
Mom… she acts as if I should be grateful.
Growing up, Father’s career always came first. We moved around from state to state following his promotions, and when we arrived here he promised us we never had to move again.
So I finally allowed myself to make some friends.
Wade was the first of them, he put a stink bug in my pencil case on my first day of high school, and when I found him during recess and pinned him up against the wall, he laughed in my face and called me a fire-cracker. We’ve been friends ever since.
I’ve spent my whole life behaving like the perfect daughter so Father could pursue his dreams and we could stick around in one place.
I’ve smiled through campaigns, made friends with the sons and daughters of the people he needed to help him climb the ladder, but marrying one, committing myself legally and physically to Caleb Mason, just about tests the limit.
Mom has nothing to say to that and quickly gets back to looking at the display in front of her.
“Wade Carson’s trouble, the way he behaved at the engagement party—”
“What he said was true. And you can all pretend that it ain’t, but deep down you know Caleb Mason was involved with that spiking incident. Daddy gets on well with the Carsons—”
“Because he has to,” Mom points out sternly. “That family think they run this town.”
“Mom, that family do run this town. D’ya ever wonder if maybe you chose the wrong family to marry me off to?” I shrug sarcastically as I head for the door.
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you start talking like one of them, you’ve been raised right.
And you can stop acting like you're the only person in this house who’s had to sacrifice.
We all fucking sacrifice!'' The harshness in her tone and the fact she just swore takes me by surprise. “You go for your drink with Wade Carson, and you tell him it will be your last because when you become Caleb Mason’s wife, you will be loyal. You will be compliant and you will be fucking perfect! That is what we do.” Mom drops her finger from where she’s pointing it at my face and neatens up her hair before she gets back to her table plan, while I rush out the door to get to my car before the tears, I’m holding, spill out.