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“Sorry. You’re just going to have to wait!” She heard a wagon pull into the yard, and she extricated herself from his arms. “Someone’s here!”
“We’re expecting people. Don’t seem so shocked!”
She sighed. “I’ve never done this before. Why are we doing this again?”
“So, we can get to know our friends and neighbors and form closer bonds with them. That way if anything happens to either one of us, the other will have people to rely on.”
Charlotte walked to the door and opened it wide, seeing that it was Ada, with Wade and the baby. As promised, she carried a basket that Charlotte had to assume was filled with bread. Wade carried the baby. “I didn’t think to ask if babies were invited,” Wade said, but we thought it was best if we didn’t leave her home alone.”
Earl sighed. “I suppose we’ll have to put up with her then.”
Ada stepped into the house and smiled. “Your home is beautiful, Charlotte. So clean!”
“Walt and I scrubbed all day.” Charlotte shook her head. “I probably shouldn’t have said that and just pretended my home is always spotless.”
Ada laughed. “With as much as you had to work on the ranch in the past year if your home was always spotless, I would think you never slept.”
“I barely slept as it was,” Charlotte agreed with a laugh.
Another wagon pulled into the yard and Charlotte and Ada both turned to greet Cassandra and Cameron, as well as Cameron’s mother. “We’re certainly going to have a full house tonight,” Charlotte said. She’d never once had the opportunity to use her dining room, finding it easier to eat in the kitchen since it was just the three of them. There was a beautiful oak table with ten chairs in the dining room, however, and she was excited to use it for the first time. She’d even set the table with her best dishes. “Come in!”
Cassandra walked up to the house carrying the baby while Mrs. Royal carried two pies. “I thought we might want two pies with so many of us,” Mrs. Royal said, looking excited to be invited for supper. “Your home is just beautiful, Charlotte.”
“Oh, thank you,” Charlotte said. “Please come in, and we’ll eat while the food is hot.”
As everyone sat at the dining table, Charlotte carried in all the dishes. She was happy to have everyone at her home now that it was actually happening, and she didn’t have to fret about it.
Once everything was on the table, Charlotte took her seat at the foot of the table, while Earl sat at the head. They bowed their heads, and Earl prayed for good fellowship, a filling meal, and a good branding.
The men immediately dominated the conversation. “You haven’t done your branding and castration yet?” Cameron asked.
Earl shook his head. “Give me a minute. I’ve only been here a week, and I was a farmer back in Beckham. This whole ranching thing is new to me.”
“Do you need help?” Wade asked. “I would be happy to come lend my expertise for the day.”
Cameron nodded. “I would too. Wade was my foreman for a long time, and he knows how to lead men. It might be easier for you to have backup the first time.”
Earl looked between the two men. “Do you think it would make me look weak in front of the men?”
Cameron laughed. “All any of the men could talk about at church last week was you knocking Johnny on his backside…repeatedly. No one is going to think you’re weak after that. Trust me.”
Looking sheepish, Earl rubbed the back of his neck. “I was defending my wife’s honor.”
“About time too,” Cameron said. “Between you and me, I think her first husband encouraged all the rumors. He didn’t want there to be competition for her.”
Earl’s eyes widened and he quickly glanced down at his wife, who was engrossed in a conversation with the women, and obviously hadn’t heard. He’d had a feeling life between Charlotte and Howard hadn’t been as perfect as she made it seem. “Not now,” he said softly, and Cameron nodded, looking a bit embarrassed.
Walt sat next to Earl, watching his every move, and Earl was worried the boy had heard what Cameron had said about his father. No one should have to be disillusioned about their father that way. Hopefully he hadn’t caught it.
“Walt’s been a huge help to me around here, showing me the ropes. He milks the cow every night, and he even helped me plow a patch for our kitchen garden.”
Walt’s face lit up at the praise.
“Is that so?” Wade asked. “I sure wish I had a helper like that. I just have a girl.”
“And a beautiful girl at that,” Cameron said, nodding toward the wives.
“She sure is a beauty,” Earl replied. “I think I’m luckier though, because I have a man who is willing to work at my side. Right, Walt?”
