Rodeo Christmas at Evergreen Ranch (Gold Valley #13)(43)

“Your daddy half didn’t believe it,” she said. “I half didn’t believe it. No offense, Jake,” she said.

“None taken, Mrs. Carson.”

“You can call me Mom,” she said.

He stood there frozen to the spot. Because he didn’t say that word. Didn’t have a reason to.

“I...”

“Better if he calls you by your first name,” Callie said, nodding.

“Okay,” her mother said with a look that promised to get the rest of the story later. But he was just glad he didn’t have to tell it now.

Grateful that Callie really was his friend, for all the marriage was fake, because she had understood what he was thinking effortlessly.

“Dinner’s about ready. Everyone’s at the table,” she said.

And when he was ushered into the big dining room, he knew... Well, that hadn’t been an exaggeration. Because there everyone was. From his new father-in-law, down to each and every one of his new brothers-in-law, and they were all staring at him.

“Boone, Chance, Flint, Jace, Kit, Daddy. You all know Jake.” She tightened her hold on his hand, and the two of them walked down to the two chairs at the end of the table, where they sat together.

“Sure do,” her dad said. “Though I have to say, I didn’t expect to be welcoming him as a son-in-law. Especially not with such little warning.”

“Sorry about that,” Jake said, giving his best, charming grin, because he knew he could be charming. But whether or not he could be charming to the man whose daughter he’d up and married without permission, he didn’t know. “Callie came to visit me for Thanksgiving. You know we’ve been friends for some time. Change in our relationship threw me,” he said. “I didn’t expect it.”

That much was true. He certainly hadn’t expected to be marrying her.

“And as much as I would’ve liked to do things properly in that regard, I also wanted to make sure I was right and proper with her.”

Yeah, he knew what he was implying. At the damn dinner table. But he had a feeling that if he was going to pick a route, the one that suggested he hadn’t had sex with their sister and daughter until he’d made vows to her was the one that was most likely to win points.

“Old-fashioned,” he said. “Appreciated. Your daddy must’ve raised you right.”

Damn family stuff. This was the second mention of his parents in the minutes since he’d walked in the door. This was why he didn’t like this sort of thing. At least with his family there was shorthand. At least with them there was an inbuilt knowledge of their past. They didn’t have to explain things to each other. And if someone needed to leave the room because things had gotten a little too heavy, nobody had to ask. Just like how it had been for Griffin back at their Christmas celebration. He might not have the shared grief the rest of them did, but they all understood grief. And that sometimes you didn’t want to talk about it. You just had to feel it.

But these people were all relative strangers to him, and they didn’t know about his life. And so it required a little bit more explanation. And he didn’t particularly want to give explanation.

“To the best of his ability,” he said. Because that seemed a safe an answer as any.

“Callie mentioned you did Christmas with your family before you came here.” He chuckled. “Right after Thanksgiving?”

“My cousins are big on holidays. We grew up together.”

“That’s nice,” his mom said. “I’ve always liked big, close families.”

“Yeah. It’s... It’s a good one.”

“I guess we know how you met,” her brother Boone said, giving him a hard look.

“Yeah, guess you do,” Jake said. And he probably would’ve been a little bit more circumspect if Boone were his actual brother-in-law. But he wasn’t. And this wasn’t going to be a situation Jake had to deal with for the rest of his life, thank God.

“You ever been married before?” That question came from Flint.

“No,” Jake said.

“Any kids?” This one from Chance.

“No.”

“Criminal record?”

“None of the above.”

“You have to forgive us,” Boone said. “It’s only we got robbed of torturing you before you married her. We didn’t think Callie would ever get married. But she is the only sister we have, so you know we’ve been saving up a lot of torture for the man who thinks he’s good enough to steal her away.”

“Nobody stole me away, bonehead,” Callie said. “I’m still Callie Carson.”

“You’re not taking his last name?” That deflated question came from her mother.

Callie recoiled. “Why would I do that?”

Boone chuckled. “Good for you, Callie.”

“I’m a Carson,” she said. “Just the same as any of you. Why should I become less of one just because I got hitched?”

“Fine by me,” Jake said. “Wouldn’t want to change her,” he said, meeting Boone’s gaze. “I like her just like she is.”

“Another good thing,” Boone responded.

Dinner was served, and there was less chatter, because there was homemade pasta, and Jake felt like it might’ve been worth the whole trip just for that. Really, all the inconvenience was a washout because the pasta was that damn good.