“This is our new place.” Daniel threw the door open to their cabin, ushering their motley group inside. Kate stepped in first, followed by her parents, with his mother and Grant taking up the rear. The enthusiasm they’d had just an hour ago noticeably absent from them all.
The tour of the grounds had been filled with complaints and backhanded compliments, and he could feel all their patience running thin. His definitely was. He only hoped the rest of the tour went a little easier. At least they were inside now, so Margo couldn’t complain about the smell or the bugs.
“The foreman’s cabin was built at the same time as the farmhouse,” Daniel explained, stepping farther into the empty room that would very soon be their living room. “But since my parents took over the ranch, the cabin hasn’t been used, since we didn’t employ a foreman. My father preferred to be in control of his own ranch. He believed no one could do the job better than he could.” Certainly no one cared about the ranch as much as his father had.
“And he was right.” His mother smiled back at him.
“So it was a little out-of-date and run down. But between the three of us, we fixed the place up.”
“It will be a nice little place for us.” Kate downplayed their home, but the smile on her face showed she loved their house. Daniel’s chest expanded at the sight. That’s what made working on this place so rewarding, not that he’d done as much as Grant had. His brother was much handier than he was. But Daniel had made a point of doing as much as he could, from balancing the budget to negotiating with the local businesses for the supplies they needed. He wanted Kate to know this wasn’t just her place—or Grant’s—but all three of theirs.
“It looks fantastic.” His mother smiled.
“It’s really coming along.” Kate grinned over at Grant, who stood just in the doorway. “I really love the kitchen.”
Daniel noticed the smile Grant returned to her, the two of them sharing a look. Without him. Again.
If his mother noticed the exchange, she didn’t mention it. “The cabinets are beautiful. Grant. You did such amazing work.”
His mother and Kate’s father inspected the cabinets lining the kitchen walls, refinished and hand carved by Grant. “You did this, son?”
Grant nodded. “It’s just an update of the previous cabinets. I created some new doors with glass inlays and some custom carving, then re-stained everything to the color Kate choose. It really wasn’t much.”
Daniel clenched his jaw. Grant always made everything sounds so damn easy. Like everyone did that. It probably was easy for him.
“It’s great work.” Her father praised, and Daniel noticed the smile that came to Kate’s lips with the compliment. “I don’t know that I’ve seen custom work like this, even in Dallas. You’re talented, son.”
“Daniel did all the accounts and made sure we stayed under budget.” Kate squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him, but instead she made him feel three inches tall.
And just like that, he was the scrawny kid in high school again, following after his older brother like a lost puppy. Hell, even as an adult he was still doing that. He’d been the second one to fall in love with Kate. The last one to join into this relationship. He was always runner up, second choice. Grant would always be quarterback, while Daniel was always class treasurer. To the world—and even to Kate.
“You did a great job too, sweetheart.”
His mother smiled at him and Daniel shrank another inch. The only thing worse than being placated by his future wife was being placated by his mother.
“The only thing left to do is paint and move in the furniture.” Kate pointed to the sample taped to the wall, giving them an idea how the living space would look completed.
“Hector and some of the hands are going to paint the whole house. As a wedding present,” Grant called from the back of the room. “They just wanted to wait so you could see the place, before it got too messy.”
His smarter brother had been staying to the back of the group since the moment they’d picked up Kate’s parents at the airport. With each stop on the ranch tour, Daniel had grown more and more jealous of him.
Sometimes being the one to marry their girl sucked. Having to deal with Kate’s parents definitely ranked high on the list.
“Isn’t that nice of them,” Gale added, trying to stay as upbeat and cheery as possible.
“They’re really great guys,” Kate added on, almost as sweet and fake.
Her mother nodded, walking around the room, inspecting every surface. She strode toward the bedroom door, and Daniel sucked in a breath. He might not be Margo Baker’s biggest fan, but no mother should have to see what they’d installed in her daughter’s bedroom.
Thankfully, she moved on without opening the door, stepping back into the kitchen instead. Daniel pulled in a grateful breath. He looked up at his brother, and Grant—though he didn’t show it as much—appeared just as relieved.
“It’s not as nice as your townhouse in Dallas.” Kate’s mother turned up her nose at the Formica countertop, scuffling her feet along the beige tile floors as if testing to see if they’d withhold her steps.
True, Kate’s townhouse in Dallas—the home her parents had bought her—was nicer than this place. But he hoped this house meant more to her than her place in Dallas ever could. This home was theirs together. They’d all cleaned and repaired and designed it together. That meant more to her, right?
“It’s a great place to start. Once we get the ranch running a little smoother, we might think about building a bigger house on a parcel of land by the road. But right now, this is all we need.” Kate smiled over at her mother, trying to look happy, even as her shoulders slumped and the sad glaze covered her eyes.
He hated when she looked like that. He tightened his hands into fists, fighting back the urge to slam one into something. And he had a few ideas what he wanted to start with, if he could.
“At least it will all be ready when you get home from your honeymoon.” Margo’s eyes continued to survey the place, as if she hoped by looking more she’d see something different—something more to her liking. But they didn’t have any magical rotating walls, so she was out of luck. “It’s awful having your home in disrepair. Do you remember when we had to stay at the Four Seasons for two weeks while the floors were being refinished? It was horrible.”
Kate nodded. “The house should be ready before the wedding’s over.”
Kate swallowed, her shoulders dropping another inch, and Daniel’s gut sank.
“But we’re not going on a honeymoon,” she continued. “We put all our money into fixing up this place.”
Kate smiled over at him, then looked to Grant. She didn’t look embarrassed or ashamed that they didn’t have enough money to offer her everything she dreamed of.
Her mother, on the other hand, didn’t look so impressed. In fact, she looked appalled, like they’d committed some terrible wedding taboo by not heading out to the Caribbean right after the ceremony.
“If you’d let us help out, dear, you could have gone anywhere you wanted.”
And there it was, the offer of money that always came with way more strings than either he or Grant were comfortable with. He’d known it would be coming eventually.
Kate wrung her hands together, shifting nervously. “I know. And that’s a very generous offer. But we wanted to do this ourselves.” In other words, without their judgment or ability to enforce their decisions on them.
“Whatever you want, honey.” Her mother’s words were cold and a bit cutting. As if to say, it’s your decision if you want to live in filth.
Nervous shakes radiated across Kate’s body. Daniel’s eyes slid to Grant. His brother stood tensely at the back of the room, but he couldn’t move forward. He couldn’t comfort Kate. Not in front of all her family. Not if they wanted to keep their relationship a secret. For the first time in a long time, Grant couldn’t fulfill her need. Only Daniel could. And he wouldn’t let her down.
Before Mar
go could say one more backhanded comment, Daniel stepped forward. He grabbed Kate’s hand, giving her all the strength he could. “It’s also the start of harvest season. We need every hand we can to get the full potential out of this year’s crop.”
Margo smiled at him, the look of disgrace erased from her features. “That’s very responsible, Daniel. I knew you were a good boy the day my daughter brought you home.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder, confident and calm. Not that he needed or wanted her praise. At least he’d discovered something Kate needed from him. Something Grant couldn’t give her. Her parents liked him. With her parents here, he had her all to himself.
But besides that, what else did he have to offer? Balancing budgets. Working with vendors. Keeping her bed warm anytime Grant left town or was otherwise unavailable. That was all Kate needed from him. But was that enough? Daniel wished he knew.
* * * *
Kate threw a dollop of sweet mashed potatoes on her plate with a little more force than usual. Gale had gone all out, cooking all the country specialties Kate requested—mac and cheese, fried chicken, a fresh greens salad from the garden. She’d even made apple pie for dessert, Daniel’s favorite. This was nothing compared to the brisket, potatoes au gratin and asparagus she had planned for tomorrow, also some of Daniel’s favorites. But just like with everything else on the ranch, the second they’d sat down, her mother’s face had been covered with a sour puss expression, and it had only been getting worse as they passed the food around.
Kate forked a bit of chicken into her mouth. Her temper was at its limits, pushed beyond her usual extremes, and given how this dinner was going, she didn’t know how she would survive it without killing one or both of her parents. Beside her, Daniel appeared glum and quiet too, reserved in a way she’d rarely seen him. She couldn’t wait for this wedding to be over.
No wonder Grant had skipped dinner. Right now she wished she’d done the same. Though she doubted even the most impossible-to-deal-with bridezilla got to skip the rehearsal dinner.
“This is quite a lovely spread.” Her mother smiled over at Gale as she pushed the little bit of food on her plate around in a circle. The comment was intended to be complimentary, but Kate knew her mother better than that. She never said spread. A subtle dig at Gale’s cooking and, in her mother’s opinion, backwoods upbringing.
Gale smiled back, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thank you, Margo.”
“It is very nice, Gale. It must have been a lot of work.” Kate grinned at her future mother-in-law.
“It’s no trouble at all. You know I’d do anything for you two.”
Kate glanced back across the table to her mother. Why couldn’t her own mother have that opinion? Why couldn’t she want to do whatever was necessary to make Kate happy the night before her wedding, like Gale?
“I don’t know where you got a taste for this kind of food, Katherine.” Her mother used her formal name, as she always did when she was angry but didn’t want to show it. “We never ate like this at home when you were growing up. I made a point of providing a healthy diet for our whole family.”
Her mother glared over at Gale, as if Gale had set out to corrupt her daughter with fat and sugar. If that were possible, Kate would probably be marrying Ronald McDonald.
Heat billowed up into Kate’s chest. What did her mother know about what she’d eaten as a kid? Most of Kate’s meals had been catered by nannies or babysitters while her mother was out at some banquet for any charity that would get her name in the society pages. Kate clenched her jaw, locking down the words she desperately wanted to say. Thankfully, Gale butted in before she had a chance.
“Well, you know how kids are. They always want what they didn’t have.” Gale laughed. “My boys always wanted fancy meals, but you give kids exotic foods and all they want is good home cooking. You can never win.” She winked at Kate. It was always much easier to laugh when you were the one who’d won the battle.
“True.” Her mother humphed in their direction, stirring her mac and cheese like it was about to explode.
“How is the job search going, Kate?” Her father tried to divert the conversation, the tension from the two matriarchs’ silent battle vibrating through the air. Though, of topics to choose, her lack of vocation wasn’t the best one to pick.
“All right.” Kate shook her head, shifting two slices of tomato across her plate, her appetite decidedly absent. “The new school year is starting in a few weeks, and I got a position as teacher’s aide in the town over. It’s only part time, but it’s a start.”
Her mother looked up at her in shock, almost as if she couldn’t believe these hicks wouldn’t see the potential in her daughter, the experience she brought to the table. Not that Kate hadn’t thought the same thing at one time. She’d believed her experience would go farther in Colorado than it had. But she was confident it would work out, one way or another.
“But you were a full-time teacher in Dallas. You had your own classroom for three years.”
“Margo.” Her father growled a warning, but true to form, her mother didn’t take the hint.
“I’m starting over here, Mom. There aren’t any permanent positions open. This job gives me a good opportunity to prove myself to the school board for when another position becomes available.”
“What are you doing for money?”
“Margo.” Her father tried again—to no better success.
Daniel grabbed Kate’s hand beneath the table, giving her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him, and her heart warmed by the love in his eyes. Even if she didn’t have a job, she had him—and Grant. They were more important than any career. “We do just fine on the farm. We can take care of ourselves.”
At her other side, Gale nodded, a big grin on her face. Gale took such pride in living on what they had. A notion Kate’s mother would never appreciate.
“I definitely understand why you moved out here.” Her mother rolled her eyes, shifting a few more bites around her plate but not eating one.
Her sarcasm set Kate’s teeth on edge. “Stop it, Mom,” Kate snapped back.
“What? I just want to understand. Tell me why you gave up your good job at a great school in the city.”
“I moved here to be with Daniel—and Grant and Gale. To be with this family that has welcomed me with open arms.”
“I’m sure they did, after your father’s promotion.”
Kate sucked in a breath like she’d been punched in the gut. There it was. It all came back to her father’s promotion, her family’s money, their status. That was all her mother ever cared about.
“Margo.” Her father growled, his tone stern, but her mother was on a roll, and she didn’t appear to be stopping. “Leave it alone.”
But her mother only leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest.
“Margo, I can assure you, we’re not interested in your money,” Gale responded, pain tinting her words.
The look on Gale’s face nearly did Kate in. She hadn’t been anything but wonderful to Kate. She didn’t deserve this accusation.
“Mom, that’s ridiculous. Not everyone is after money. Some people might actually want me here. They might love me.”
Daniel opened his mouth to interject, but before he could, her mother fired back. “I’m sure that’s how they make you feel. It’s only a matter of time before they want more from us.”
“Not everyone cares about money as much as you do, Mom,” Kate screamed, standing up from the table.
“Maybe they should. If you cared a little bit more about money, you wouldn’t have made the stupid decision to move out here to the country in the first place.”
Kate pulled back, glaring at her mother. Red filled her vision. Her fingers dug into the tablecloth. Her teeth ground together. How dare she call moving to Colorado a stupid decision? How dare she criticize her for following her heart and finally finding a place where she belonged, instead of spending her whole life waiting for the scraps of
affection her mother deigned to send her way?
“You think my marriage is a stupid decision?”
“I’m sure your mother didn’t mean that.” Her father immediately interceded, staring at his wife with a hard look.
But her mother was not deterred. “Don’t speak for me, Robert.” She glared at her husband. “I meant what I said. I think moving out here was a mistake. How could leaving the place where your family is—where your job was—to live in the country with a bunch of horses be a good idea?”
She turned to Kate, her eyes wide and imploring, though Kate forced herself to appear unaffected. If she knew how her words upset her, her mother would never stop.
“You gave up your teaching job at a great school to come out here and play farmer’s wife. You gave up your future for some man you’ve only known for a year. How could that not be a stupid decision?” Her mother dropped her fork next to her plate, the clang of the metal against the porcelain ringing through the air.
“Margo, I don’t think that’s fair,” Daniel interjected, standing up beside her.
“What do you know?” her mother almost spit at him. “Robert offered you a great job if you came back to Dallas. He was willing to bring you into the business, set you up to make president in the next five years. And you wouldn’t even consider it. And you think you know enough to tell me what’s fair?”
Kate gasped at the revelation, and both Daniel and her father’s shoulders slumped and the two men studied the floor. It was bad enough they’d offered Daniel a job if he moved them back to Dallas, like some old fashioned dowry, but to do so behind her back? What kind of parent did that?
“Daniel can’t leave, Mother. He needs to stay here for his family.”
Her mother waved off her words, as if they didn’t matter. As if her desires and needs didn’t matter either. They never had to her before. “I don’t care about Daniel and his family. I care about you.” If there hadn’t been so much venom in her voice, Kate might have taken her mother’s words as parental affection.
“What happens when you don’t want to keep lying in the dirt and straw? What happens when you get sick of spending every night watching the cows come home? What will you do then? Once you’ve given everything up for this man—for this family—and you don’t have anything left?”
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