Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,61
mind.
“Don’t tell her what to do,” Rupert said.
“Whatever,” Tam said, looking back to the head of the table, where her parents stood watching and listening to their children bicker and bite at each other. Tam didn’t know how to stop herself from doing it. She’d taken so much from Stacy over the years, and she just couldn’t keep doing it.
“Go on, Momma,” she said.
Her mother reached for another present, and Stacy said, “I think that’s from us.”
“No, it’s not,” Cara said. “Daddy got that for Momma.”
“Didn’t you bring that one, Rupert?”
He looked at Stacy with such an utter look of confusion and surprise, and Tam didn’t understand what she was doing. Literally everyone in the room knew Stacy and Rupert had not brought a present for the anniversary party.
“I think we brought it,” Stacy said.
“What’s in it, then?” Tam challenged, her sassy side rearing its ugly head.
“It doesn’t matter,” Momma said, slipping her fingernail under the wrapping to open the gift.
“It matters,” Tam said, jumping to her feet. “It they brought this gift, they’ll know what’s in it.” She snatched the box from her mother before she could get any more of it open. She held up the boxy package. “So what is it?”
“Wow, it’s no wonder you’re not married or engaged yet,” Stacy said. “Honestly, who wants to live with the control freak?”
Though she’d heard it before, her sister’s assessment of her still stung. Tam ignored her, which was what she should’ve done in the first place.
She handed the package back to Momma with a murmured apology. She returned to her seat, a very disgruntled wave of emotion flowing through her. Why had Stacy even bothered to come?
Probably for the free food, Tam thought. Rupert ate an entire tray of fresh shrimp by himself, and Tam couldn’t help watching him as he sat on the other side of the table from her.
Soft music played in the background, and Daddy said, “Time for dessert.”
“Thanks for inviting us,” Cara said.
“Of course,” Momma said. “This is about our family now, not just the two of us.”
“We are the beginning of us,” Daddy said, and Tam wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.
Momma went into the kitchen and retrieved the pies she’d made. “Cherry, apple, or pecan.”
“That’s all you’ve got?” Stacy asked.
Cara opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and just looked to Mom.
Three pies for seven people was plenty, and Stacy hadn’t even responded when their mother had asked for suggestions for the pie flavors for this very party only a week ago.
Momma and Daddy worked together to dish up the pie and add as much ice cream as someone wanted.
Afterward, Momma handed Tam a cup of coffee, and said, “Come sit with me on the porch.”
“Are the screens down?” Tam asked. “Because the bugs are a real issue right now.”
“Yes, we’ve got them all zipped.” Momma led the way to the screened-in porch, and Tam sighed as she sat down beside her on a comfortable couch. “Tell me about Blaine, dear. Why did he not come? Really.”
“I told you why,” Tam said. “I didn’t know he was invited.”
“You’re still seeing him?”
Tam frowned, confused by this line of questioning. “Yes, Mom. Of course.”
“You can’t say of course,” Momma argued. “Hayes had broken your engagement for three weeks before you told me.”
“That’s because it wasn’t hard to get everything cancelled,” Tam said. That had been partially true. They’d still been more than sixty days from the wedding, so cancelling had been somewhat easy. Dealing with the emotional aftermath of the break-up had not.
Tam hadn’t wanted to tell the story again, so she hadn’t said anything to her parents to spare herself the pain. That wasn’t a crime; she was allowed to protect her own feelings.
“Where is Hayes?” Stacy asked, and Cara threw her a look.
“He’s back in Dreamsville,” Tam said slowly. She hadn’t seen him since the line dancing incident, and he hadn’t tried to call her. Or if he had, she wouldn’t know, because she’d blocked his number. “His father has cancer, so he came back to help with the dealership and be with his dad.”
“Darren’s doing really well,” Daddy said, smiling around at everyone as if they all got along like peaches and cream. “That’s what I heard. The surgery got out a huge tumor in his lower intestine, and he’s doing much better.”
“That’s great,” Cara said, and Tam nodded her assent too. Maybe Hayes would leave town once his father was feeling better. Then Tam could