Charisma #2
“I don’t think it’s right for some man to give your woman a nickname, Trent.
You don’t have anything to say to that?” My daddy must’ve seen the protectiveness all over Nate and was trying to start shit.
Unfortunately, he didn’t understand the man he was picking a fight with or the one he was throwing into battle.
“I’m sure they’re nothing but friends, Mr. Reed, no harm no foul. He looks like too much of a southern gentleman to do something as uncouth as moving in on another man’s lady. Why he’s got the cowboy hat and everything so I’m sure there’s some type of code of honor that comes with it.”
Trent smiled deviously and I knew he was attempting to send a message but Nate was going to return to sender it with his fist or his gun if Trent kept picking.
“You’re right, I would never poach on another man’s land.
But also, I’m the gentleman who wouldn’t allow my lady to be in a position to depend on another man for anything.
Not a dime nor a dollar and definitely not a roof over her damn head.
” We’d walked through the doors of the airport and were now at the back of the SUV where Nate used his fob to open the door.
Trent’s eyes bugged out seeing his SUV and my mother smiled at his words.
“Well, Nate, I think I like you already.” She’d had her hair freshly cut into her signature jet black pixie and was wearing a cute two-piece travel set. My dad was dressed similarly to Trent, and his bald head gleamed in the Texas sun.
“I appreciate that, Mrs. Reed. Let’s get y’all settled. We can talk more when we get to the house.”
“The house? Are you living with him, Charisma?”
“No, Daddy. It’s a huge compound and I have my own little place.”
“And even if she did have quarters on my spread the home there is over twelve thousand square feet, she’d have more than enough privacy.” Nate loaded the last of my parents’ luggage and then went to open my mama’s door leaving Trent to put up his own luggage.
“Not trying to offend. We don’t want our daughter living somewhere that makes her uncomfortable.” I could tell my father was grappling with what he wanted to say and was struggling to understand what was so obviously in his face.
“His family’s property is hundreds of acres and they have multiple guest properties on it.”
“The number is more in the thousands, baby. Can’t have you disrespecting my ancestors’ hard work by having you claim they only kept a few hundred acres.
That’s insulting.” That charm was being poured on and my mama was grinning from ear to ear.
My daddy seemed less uptight the more Nate talked and I couldn’t help but tease him.
“Forgive me, Mr. Chisholm-Love.”
“Speaking of, I heard that your people are fairly famous. A long family history here of ranching in Texas and your brother is a restauranteur. And you’ve got your little rodeo stuff or whatever.
” Trent was talking again and I could damn near see Nate’s eye twitching.
I knew his hand was itching to rub his emotional support .
45 that was tucked beneath his shirt but he stayed calm.
Trent pressed his luck by walking closer to me and opening the back door.
“Sit in the back with me and your mama and let’s catch up. ”
I wasn’t going for that shit and neither was Nate because I could feel the real quick hell no he was about to let come out of his mouth.
“Trent, you were a surprise and I’m sure that Charisma doesn’t want to be squeezed in the back seat. We’ll drop you off at your hotel and you all can catch up later.”
“I didn’t book a hotel.”
It was like the entirety of the airport descended into silence. Nate’s head turned slowly toward Trent and I knew he was thinking of where he was going to bury this man’s body.
“What do you mean?” I was glaring a hole in the side of his head and when he finally stopped looking at Nate, he smiled arrogantly at me.
“I assumed I’d stay with you.”
The insinuation was clear and I wondered where the fuck he got that idea from. Trying to impress my parents by invading my space was not the move. I had plenty of places I could go and he was crazy to trust me in a house with knives and pans while he slept.
“Why would you assume that without checking with me first? Especially since things aren’t—”
“Don’t worry about it. I can reach out to the folks who own the property next door to ours.
It’s my sister-in-law’s sister’s place. I’m sure their staff won’t mind opening the house up for you, Trevor.
” Nate’s smile was genial like he’d just given us the solution to world hunger.
Knowing him the way I did I could tell that he was again battling to keep his feelings for me at the forefront so his mouth didn’t get him in trouble.
He would absolutely snap and leave Trent’s ass stranded at this airport if he kept on.
I was sure that Nate had volunteered the Grayson’s place because he didn’t want Trent sleeping on family property.
“My name is Trent.”
Nate grinned harder and patted his chest apologetically.
“Right. That’s my fault. Crazy that you came all this way making assumptions.
You see what happens when you assume? Good thing is, folks around here are real hospitable unless you cross them.
Just make sure you’re on your best behavior in their home. ”
“That’s awfully nice of you, Nate.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reed.” Nate tipped his hat to my mama and grinned and I finally stopped holding my breath. Nate was playing the long game. With every word he spoke, he was making Trent look like the asshole he was.
“I have more than enough manners. I don’t know why you would think otherwise?”
“Because you showed up unannounced and instead of saying the right thing like you’d book a room once you found out you couldn’t stay with Charisma, you’re more than happy to allow others to go out of their way to make you comfortable. Doesn’t seem real mannerly.”
Nate opened the front door for me and held out his hand so that he could help me inside. He kept the door open and waited on Trent’s response but all he could do was grit his teeth at being called out.
“Let’s get moving. We’ve got a decent drive ahead of us.” I had my hand on Nate’s arm trying to keep everything as calm as possible. When my parents were settled somewhere I had more than enough to say to Trent for the both of us.
“You’re right. I need to prepare everyone for an unexpected addition to dinner.
Thankfully, I’m sure my mother prepared more than enough.
” He shut my car door and walked around the front while my father and Trent slid inside next to my mother.
The car was a good size but Trent and my father weren’t small men.
Luckily, my mother was on the shorter side; so they weren’t crammed in the back.
“Your mother cooks that much for everyone? Poor dear must be exhausted.”
Nate navigated out of the valet offloading area before maneuvering into airport traffic before he answered my mother.
“My mother is far too busy to cook every meal. We have two chefs who run the meal times for our staff. She makes sure she contributes something to each meal from her kitchen. It’s her way of saying thank you to the guys who work alongside us for helping keep our family legacy alive.”
“That’s nice. Things must be lucrative for you to have so many people around.” Trent was fishing and still trying to do this financial measuring contest.
Nate glanced back at Trent through the rearview but kept calm.
“Things are what they are. My brother makes sure that every facet of the ranch runs the way it needs to. He does the financials and the investing to ensure that we never go hungry. He’s an amazing man and he continues to make our place somewhere our ancestors can be proud of.
That’s why we don’t take it for granted. ”
I knew that answer was more diplomatic than he wanted it to be for my sake. I could only imagine the workout my jaw was going to get because the way he was being grown as fuck about this situation had me wanting to genuflect on both knees to show my appreciation.
“Or shortchange it by calling it only a few hundred acres.”
Nate’s grin spread across his entire face as he tipped his hat in the mirror to my mother. “Now you’re understanding what I’m putting down, Mrs. Reed.”
“Well, I see why my Charisma came to work for you. You could charm a tick off a dog.”
Everyone but Trent was laughing; his energy a cloud of frustration and loathing.
“I’m not too sure about that. Out of the two of us, Charmy is the one that’s earned her name. But y’all catch up. I need to make arrangements and we’ve got about an hour’s drive to the Valley.”