The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,71
phone before lying on the couch, but Preacher had done it the moment Ward’s breathing had evened out.
Dot seemed to be in the same position as well, and the number on the breathalyzer fell in the range of normal. She’d told Ward, who’d told Preacher, that she’d need to eat at some point. She’d said to watch the numbers. The moment they started slipping low, she needed to be awakened and fed.
He jotted down the number on the pad of paper next to the cheat sheet and hurried to rejoin Charlie.
“How’d your broadcast go?” He opened the blinds on the big windows facing the ranch and settled next to her on the black leather couch. She snuggled into his side, and Preacher took a moment to thank the Lord above that he’d found her.
“Good,” she said, but something carried in her voice that alerted Preacher.
“What did you talk about this morning?”
“Stuff.”
“Uh oh,” he said. “I don’t like ‘stuff.’”
“You already know about it,” she said.
“The marriage thing.”
“Yes.” She sat up and looked at him. He gazed steadily back at her. “You have the setup here, Preacher. We’re here. Your mother is here. Your whole family is here.”
“Ida’s not here.”
“Ida will survive.”
“Davie’s not here.”
She lifted her chin, her strength admirable. “I called her right after I finished my broadcast. I asked her if she’d be devastated if she watched me get married on a private, family-only video feed.”
“And?” Preacher couldn’t believe he was even entertaining the idea. Mother would be devastated, as she loved planning weddings more than the actual event itself.
At the same time, Preacher would love to have Charlie in his bed at night.
“She couldn’t believe we haven’t already tied the knot.”
Preacher scoffed and shook his head. “Okay, first off, I don’t believe that.”
“She did,” Charlie insisted. “Maybe not in those words, but she said she wouldn’t be upset.”
“Your parents aren’t here.”
“Preacher,” she said, her voice pitching down. “My family is not like yours. Trust me when I say this is going to be okay. I’ve always marched to the beat of my own drum. They won’t even be surprised.”
“I find that very hard to believe,” he said.
“You’ll understand when you meet them.”
“They’ll hate me,” he said. “Who marries someone without even meeting her parents first?” He shook his head. “That’s not a great start for my relationship with them.”
Charlie put one hand on his chest. “You want to marry me, right?”
“Of course I do.” In May or June, like they planned. When they’d found out yesterday that they were stuck at Shiloh Ridge for several more days, Charlie had come up with this insane idea of getting married. Like, right then.
“I don’t want to wait, Preacher,” she said softly. “We’re both here. Your family is here. I can livestream it if you want. My fans would love that.” She grinned as Preacher shook his head. “I applied for the marriage license online, and we could literally get married here tomorrow.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She so wasn’t playing fair, because Preacher couldn’t think properly when she kissed him with so much precision. So slow, and so careful, like she was afraid he’d break if she moved too fast or pressed too hard.
“Tomorrow,” she whispered. “Then, I wouldn’t have to go down into that chilly, scary basement all by myself, and we could avoid the huge show you hate.”
“My family is a huge show by themselves,” he reminded her, tasting her lips again. He was going to say yes to this, and he knew it. He’d be surprised if Charlie didn’t know it too.
“You can meet my parents on video right now,” she said, tilting her head back so he could kiss her neck. “I’ll call them right this second.”
“They’re not together,” he said.
“Two phone calls,” Charlie said, leveling her eyes with his. “Please, Preacher? I have all the ranch wives to help me get ready. You’ve got all your clothes, and heaven knows they’re nice because you’ve been to like a billion family weddings in the past year.”
She grinned with him as he started chuckling. He kept shaking his head no, though this crazy idea of hers had been planted in his mind and had started to sprout.
“Judge can marry us,” she said. “It’ll be legal and binding, and I know you want it over and done with. Just think how miserable you’ll be talking about cakes and colors, guests and gifts, for the next six months.”