Page 28 of Taming His Brat

Vicky’s mouth twisted unpleasantly at the latter part. “Half. I can’t believe your father gave half of your inheritance away. I never would have expected Jimmy to be so cruel.”

“Mom …”

Charlie’s attempt to explain the will again was interrupted when Vicky shook her head and then threw her arms around Charlie, hugging her tight. “You poor kid.”

Charlie was getting used to her mother’s sudden bursts of affection and relaxed into the hug. For so many years being hugged by Vicky was something she had only dreamed of, and it was nice to feel it for real. It just seemed like sometimes the older woman used affection to get in the last word, and then she’d feel guilty for suspecting her mother of ulterior motives.

In this case though it was just as well, and she let the defense of her father drop for the moment. She was still struggling with Jimmy’s decisions too, so arguing in his favor wasn’t exactly easy. Vicky’s annoyance seemed to dissipate, as though she’d gotten it out of her system and finally things relaxed between them.

Charlie helped out in the kitchen, doing the actual cooking part as she stir-fried strips of chicken in olive oil. Vicky chopped vegetables and threw together the rest of the salad. It was fun working side-by-side in the kitchen. She enjoyed it and things seemed peaceful as they sat down to eat and chat.

But when her alarm went off and she explained that she had to go, it seemed to upset Vicky all over again. She didn’t get angry, but her eyes filled with tears and her whole mood dropped leaving Charlie feeling guilty.

“I know we didn’t get much time together today. I’m sorry, but tomorrow I should be able to come over. Maybe we could go out for lunch. Around noon?” she suggested, hoping to raise her mother’s spirits in the very limited time she had before she needed to dash.

“Sure. That sounds nice,” Vicky replied. Her voice was almost monotone, and it was obvious she was still upset about it.

Charlie hesitated but the minutes were ticking away. “I’m sorry. I promised Sam I’d be home by seven, but we’ll have tomorrow, okay?”

Vicky frowned and then shrugged. “I guess I don’t have a choice. It’s obvious the opinion of the foreman means more.”

It hurt to hear that. Charlie felt her guts churning as the stress built. “Mom …” She didn’t know what to say. If she reminded her mother that Sam was also her boyfriend then her mother would complain about Sam controlling her—she’d implied that once already.

The older woman gave herself a visible shake and then held up her hand. “Don’t try to convince me. It’s fine. I can’t expect to be the most important person in your life when I haven’t even been around. I get it.” She sounded so sad and empty.

Part of Charlie wanted to agree with her. There was still an undercurrent of resentment that her mother had walked out and never come back. She kept it pushed down because she didn’t want to blame the woman for a decision that her father had made for both of them.

But another part of Charlie, the piece of her that desperately wanted this relationship to work, felt guilty. She blamed herself somehow for Vicky’s sadness and it quickened a fear in her that it would chase Vicky away. Her mother, she could tell, wasn’t someone who wanted to hang around being unhappy.

“It has nothing to do with any of that, but Sam goes to bed really early and he wants to spend some time with me too—you get that right? I’ve been over here a lot since you arrived, and he just wants to see me before he goes to bed.” It was the best she could do.

She put down the towel she’d been using to dry dishes as her mother rinsed them. She leaned in and kissed her mother lightly on the cheek. “Tomorrow we’ll have a nice lunch out. It’ll be fun!”

Vicky nodded, still looking upset, but she forced a smile and Charlie had to accept that because she was out of time. She offered a quick goodbye as she hurried out the door, and then jogged the whole way home. Luckily for her, she made it right on time because Sam was pointedly looking at the clock when she came inside.

“I’m here!”

“You are, barely. How was dinner with your mother?” He held out his arms and she ducked into them, melting against him with a happy sigh.

“Awkward and full of guilt for barely seeing her.”

“Your guilt? Or your mother trying to make you feel guilty?”

She sighed. “A little of both I guess.” More the latter but she wasn’t going to get Sam started on her mother again. “Can we just cuddle and relax? I don’t really want to talk about her.”

He drew her over to the couch, where the fire was already crackling. He pulled her into his lap as he sat down, and they were quiet together for a few minutes. “I see you got the housework done, how about the school stuff?” he asked as she relaxed in his arms.

“I made a list of potential long-distance doctoral programs, and there’s also one close enough that I could drive, so I’m considering that one too. As far as the pre-requisites I’m going to need a few things, but well … I admit I snuck in as many related classes as I could when I was going for my masters so it’s not too bad. Maybe one semester worth before I can apply.”

Sam chuckled. “I think I understood about half of that. I’ll tell you a secret, little girl.” He stared into the fire thoughtfully for a few moments as she waited. “When your dad sent you off to school, I was a little jealous. I always wanted to go on to college, but it just didn’t work out that way.”

It surprised her. Her mouth opened and then she snapped it shut as she thought about that. Sam had only been a teen himself when his father had died, and he’d stepped into a man’s full-time work when it happened. It had never occurred to her that maybe he’d wanted something more than this.

It was funny really. Him wanting what she had, while she’d wanted nothing more than to stay on the ranch and run things with her father. She snuggled back into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s not too late, you know?”

“For what?”

“To go to school? If that’s something you want to do there’s no reason why you can’t.”

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