Page 57 of Forever His Brat

“Yeah, yeah. This is easier for me.” He waved her comment off with one hand, sounding distracted. “Okay so, baby season should be over by mid-June if all goes well. First hay cutting will be around May twenty-fifth as usual. We can’t plan on getting anything done in May. The days are long enough as it is.”

“May and June are exhausting.” Not her favorite time of the year, and it was an all-hands-on deck season, which meant both of them would be out working most days too.

“Mhm. Second cutting probably around—” He squinted and was obviously doing the math in his head. “—July twentieth. We’ll probably be able to get some work done on the pavilion before then, but the rest will have to wait until after the hay is cut and baled.”

Charlie leaned in and looked at the schedule. She frowned. “So, the building won’t really get started until the beginning of August.”

“Right. But it won’t take long. I’ve got three guys I’ll be pulling to work with me on it. With a crew of four… with weather delays…” He closed his eyes, and she could tell he was running the calculations through his head. “I think we can be absolutely sure it will be up and ready by September first.”

She struggled with disappointment. That seemed so far away. She’d been hoping for sooner, maybe even early summer. When she looked at the schedule, she could see it that was impossible though.

After a long hesitation, “Is there any chance we could get the gazebo done sooner?”

Sam shook his head. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m going to break ground on it as soon as the weather allows, and we’ll put whatever time into it we can because I’d love to get it done early—but we have to set a firm date for the wedding. We can’t base it on maybe.”

She let out a long sigh and then nodded. “Okay early September then. The weather should still be warm enough.” They checked dates and finally settled on the first Saturday of September.

Charlie had pulled a wedding to-do list from some bride website. It had helped her to understand all the work involved, which was handy since she’d never taken part in a wedding before, let alone been the star. Now she tapped the next item: guest list.

“Well, this is easy enough I mean we know most of the same people,” Sam pointed out. “Give me some paper and I’ll start writing a list of the hands.

Of course, all of the ranch staff would be invited. She handed a notebook to Sam. She had a second one for her own list, but she didn’t have many names to add.

She pursed her lips, thinking about it. “I doubt any of my school friends would come all the way out here, but there are probably a couple I should invite anyway. Um, and should I send Marilee an invitation?”

Sam looked up. “Your therapist? I guess. I mean, if you want her here it’s fine with me.”

Charlie thought it over and then wrote Marilee’s name down. She added a couple others she’d been friends with during grad school and then she stopped. “About my mother…”

Ever since her mother, Vicky, had swept back into her life, out of the blue, and caused a whirlwind of trouble, she’d kept the woman at a distance. It wasn’t until after her father’s death that she learned the truth about everything. Her father had paid the woman a comfortable allowance to stay far away.

Now that Charlie knew why, she didn’t blame him. But reconnecting with the woman had still done a lot to resolve some issues she’d had since childhood. Despite all the problems, she also felt like Vicky did have a good heart—buriedwaydown deep under her desire for money.

When she’d realized that Vicky was causing problems on purpose, she’d sent her away. It hadn’t been easy. Charlie didn’t want to slam the door on having a relationship with her mother, so she’d made some accommodations.

For her peace of mind, Charlie had agreed to continue sending her a monthly allowance on condition that Vicky didn’t return until she was invited. Sam was still pissed at Vicky. Charlie was too for that matter—which meant she hadn’t been invited back yet.

The look Sam was giving her said he wasn’t eager to change that. “Charlie…”

“I know, I know. It’s just… it would be nice to have a parent at my wedding. I think.” Charlie could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.

“You’ll be lucky if she doesn’t find a way to upstage us right in the middle of the vows,” Sam said, pointing out the obvious.

She couldn’t argue with that. It did sound like something Vicky would do. “You’re right.” She knew he was, but it didn’t stop her from wanting her mother there.

Of course, the mother she wanted to be at her wedding was more the mother of her childhood fantasies. Vicky was connected to that dream vaguely, but she was far from what Charlie had expected.

Sam reached over and took her hand. “Baby, this is your wedding and it’s the only one you’re getting because I’m never letting you go. If you want her there… invite her. I can’t promise to be happy about it, but I’ll be nice… ish.”

Charlie felt a warm gooey rush of emotions flood through her. She dropped her notebook and threw her arms around him gratefully. “Thank you, Daddy. I don’t know if I’m going to do it, but it means a lot that you are willing to suffer through it if I do.”

Sam had taken the brunt of Vicky’s machinations. The woman had done everything she could to paint him in a bad light and shake up their relationship. She didn’t blame him for not wanting her around to stir up trouble again—but Charlie was fairly confident that Vicky would keep the trouble to a minimum.

She wouldn’t want to lose her paycheck.

There was a necessary amount of snuggling to restore her composure before they got back to the planning. In the end Vicky’s name was added to the list in pencil, so it could be erased if Charlie changed her mind.

That was the only complicated part of the guest list. The rest went smoothly, and they were able to check it off and move on to the next item. There were too many chores to finish them all that day, and not all of them were things they could do on the spot.

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