“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?”
“Kate really is working hard—” Gale tried to intercede, but Kate cut her off before she had a chance.
“I won’t regret giving up my job or coming here. I love Daniel. And making these changes for our life together is
not
a waste.”
Daniel grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. At least she had his support. If she had Daniel and Grant’s behind her, she could do anything.
“Love fades, Katherine. Eventually. And then what will you have?”
“Margo,” her father muttered, trying again to stop her mother, but it didn’t work.
“She deserves to know, Robert.”
“You don’t know anything about the relationship we have, Mrs. Baker.” Daniel wrapped his free arm around Kate’s shoulders, his touch comforting but nowhere near enough to stop the daggers her mother sent their way. “No one really does, except those in the relationship.”
“I hope you’re right, Daniel. I hope I know nothing of your relationship. I hope you’ll be happy for fifty years to come. But I know Kate. She has a history of not sticking with things, like the swim team.”
Kate fought back the urge to scream. Would she never let her forget the one time she’d tried and failed at something? For the rest of her life she’d be haunted by quitting the swim team after only two weeks. “Mom, that was in high school. I’ve grown up. I’m different now. This is different.”
Her mother shrugged her shoulders, as if to say,
if you think so
. But she’d never believe it. To Margo Baker, Kate would always be a scared, little girl that was too afraid to get on a plane for spring break, and nothing would change that.
But Kate knew different. She was stronger now. Daniel and Grant made her strong.
“If this is how you feel, why did you even come?” Kate stepped back a little from the table, leaving the comfort of Daniel’s arms. She appreciated him trying to protect her, but regardless of how hard he tried, he’d never be able to stop her mother’s words or actions. He couldn’t shield her from this fight.
“You’re getting married, honey. We couldn’t miss that.”
Her father answered for the both of them. Though Kate doubted her mother agreed. It didn’t really matter. She probably didn’t want to hear what her mother thought anyway.
“But you could ruin it instead?”
Across the table, her mother opened her mouth, but Kate didn’t care what she had to say. There was no defense for the way she’d acted today. No matter what excuse she used, it didn’t matter. Kate threw her napkin down onto the table. The motion knocked her silverware against her plate, creating a clatter and blocking out whatever her mother had been about to say.
Good. Her mother didn’t deserve to have the last word.
“Thank you so much for dinner, Gale. It was delicious. I have a few more projects to finish before tomorrow.” Kate turned away from the table, knocking her chair on its side with her hasty retreat. She all but ran from the gathering, unable to look at her mother anymore. How could she be related to that woman? Every one of her priorities were wrong.
Tears welled in Kate’s eyes, her chest seizing. She tried to hold back the sobs, but they broke free anyway. Tomorrow was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but her mother couldn’t give her that. She couldn’t support her for one damn day.
Fisting her hands so hard her nails bit into her palms, she closed her eyes. She focused on breathing, sucking in deep, long gulps of oxygen. She needed a release. She needed some way to free the anger and sadness clawing at her chest. To feel like herself again.
She needed Grant.
Chapter Six
“Whoa, there, Sandy.” Grant petted the horse’s mane, and she snorted happily. “At least someone’s happy to see me today.”
All day, as they’d traveled the grounds, showing off the farm and their little house to Kate’s parents, he’d felt like a third wheel, unimportant and unnecessary. When dinnertime had come, he’d made an excuse about chores and had headed to the barn. They wouldn’t miss him at the rehearsal dinner. Just like no one would have missed him during today’s tours, except for Kate.
He didn’t like feeling trivial, but he could live with it. As long as he got to be with Kate again when they were done, he could deal with almost anything else.
The horse beside him shook her head, her mane brushing across his arm, and he laughed at her antics. It felt good. After holding stiff all day, trying to be his best self for Kate’s parents, it felt good to let go. “All right, girl. Here you go.” He held the carrots up to Sandy. She chomped each one down to the greens, all but pulling them from his hands.
“If only all women were as easy to please as you are.” He stroked the horse’s nose, and her hot breath snorted against his hand.
Kate definitely wasn’t as easy as Sandy. But if she had been that simple, he never would have been intrigued by her back in Dallas. That night he’d spied her sitting all quiet and demure at the bar alone, her bright blue eyes searching the club for a Dom to turn her inside out.
He’d never been prouder of anything in his life than he was of being worthy of her. It might not be easy, but nothing good ever was. And being with Kate was really damn good.
The barn door slid open, the old, rusty hinge squeaking beneath the pressure. He needed to remember to throw some WD-40 on these suckers. Kate stepped through the door, pulling it shut behind her. God, she was a welcome sight. So beautiful, she took his breath away in her gauze light pink dress. Her skin looked so white and smooth, he just wanted to turn it pink and hot with his hand.
It wasn’t until she turned toward him that he noticed her wet eyes. Tears lined her face. The sight tugged at him. What had happened at dinner? It was supposed to be a nice family meal, some of his mom’s good home cooking and friendly chitchat. Kate had been quizzing them about acceptable topics to bring up with her parents for weeks, forcing them to stay on neutral subjects. What could possibly have gone so wrong discussing golf?
“Kate, what happened?”
Without a response, Kate walked right into his arms. She felt so small and breakable huddled up against him. All he wanted to do was protect her. If she gave the word, he’d track down whoever had hurt her this way and beat them to a pulp. But he had a good idea who had caused this pain. Beating her parents didn’t sound like a good idea, even if they deserved it.
“It was awful,” she cried, her words muffled by her tears and his chest.
He tightened his arms around her, hoping to offer her some amount of peace. God, he hated when she cried. It made him feel so useless, worthless.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” He leaned his head against hers, offering her any relief he could. He wasn’t really good at comfort, but for Kate, he’d try anything.