“Morning, Ma. Good to see you, but I think I’m gonna hafta ask ya to start knocking before surprising me with breakfast in the future. My guess, Dakota might not be into surprise guests.”
She swallowed, and I continued to think of a million things to say with absolutely nothing fitting this situation.
“Son, would you like to introduce me to your, um, lady friend?” Her voice shook as she turned down the burners and set the tongs on the counter.
He inhaled fully and shifted me to his side, his big arm coming around my shoulders and tucking me where he wanted me. I had to hold back the urge to elbow him in the ribs for such a possessive display, something I would normally have done if I wasn’t stunned stupid being face-to-face with Sutton’s mother.
“Well, this is going to rock everyone’s world a bit, but this is Dakota McAllister-Goodall… My wife.” His words held pride, not regret, which I had no time at all to ponder.
His mother took a step back until her body pressed against the counter where she braced herself in support.
I closed my eyes and took a full breath, letting it out while trying to calm my nerves.
“Your wife?” she croaked.
He nodded, squeezed me in a side hug, and kissed my temple. “Yeah.” His tone was gentle, almost…loving.
“Dakota?” she reiterated, even though she damn well knew my name.
“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured into my hairline.
“As in, Dakota McAllister who lives next door and runs the entire McAllister farm?” she added unnecessarily.
He grinned and then looked down at me. “See, sweetness? Everyone knows you’re the real boss around that farm.”
Before I could comment on the very unusual but rather astute comment about the goings-on at my family’s farm, Sutton’s mother lifted her hand to her forehead.
“Is it hot in here?” She touched her brow and then both of her cheeks. “It is hot in here,” she amended, then went over to the deep farm-style sink and ran the water, wetting her hands. Then she lifted a wet hand to the back of her neck and then her cheeks.
“You okay, Ma?” Sutton let me go to tend to his mother.
I crossed my arms over my chest and rubbed at my arms, suddenly cold without his embrace to keep me warm or grounded. I felt like I could fly away at any moment and wished I had the ability to do that very thing so I could disappear.
“And you said this woman is your wife? What on earth do you mean, son?” She waved a hand at her reddening face.
“Dakota and I hooked up in Vegas on my business trip. It was love at first sight,” he lied smoothly. “It just sorta happened, and we got hitched. Now we’re home, and here we are. ”
“Love at first sight?” she breathed, her tone one hundred percent disbelief. “How could that be? She’s a…a McAllister?”
McAllister may as well have well been the name “Satan” for how much disgust was implied in that one word.
“I’m gonna…” I pointed to the room. “Get dressed, and go over to my, uh, farm, and check on things. You be with your mom,” I stated and disappeared down the hallway as fast as my feet could take me.
I sprang into action the second I was out of sight, ripping open my suitcase and tugging on a pair of jeans and socks. I yanked off Sutton’s shirt and tossed it on the bed before putting on a tank that had a bralette inside of it and grabbing one of my favorite green plaid button-downs to throw over it. Then I shoved my feet into a well-worn pair of boots and hit the hallway.
I dashed past the kitchen as I heard words from his mother’s mouth I could never unhear.
“How could you marry a woman from the ugliest family this state has ever seen? You’ve broken my heart, Sutton. You better find a way to fix this!” she cried, her words pleading and muffled through the tears she now shed.
Her words continued to wound as I made my way out of my new home.
Ugliest family.
I’d never thought of myself as ugly before. Mostly I considered myself average in the beauty department. Definitely not my entire family though. My sister Savannah was coveted by men. Her flaming, dark-red hair was the stuff our ancestors from Ireland had gifted our genetic line. Even my mother, Carol, and my grandmother, Amberlynn, had been true beauties. Everyone said so. Which meant she was talking about me.
I was the ugly one.
And that was fine because I’d found that the ugliest people were that way on the inside, not the outside. And I wasn’t here to impress Sutton’s mother. I was here to save my family’s land, and that’s what I was doing.