Page 27 of The Lake House (Southern Charm #2)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The drive to Ryan’s family home was a nerve-wracking one. Matilda looked out the window, letting her thoughts drift. Her fingers tapped out a rhythm on her knees. Behind the wheel, Ryan glanced over in her direction.

“Nervous?”

She nodded.

He sighed. “There’s no need to be. My family isn’t going to bite. Well, not hard, anyway.”

She huffed. “Thanks. That’s so helpful.”

He laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. But you’ll be fine. It’s going to be fun. Relax and enjoy yourself.”

She wanted to. She really did. But it was intimidating, facing the whole brood at once.

She’d asked if maybe they could start with his parents, but it was going to be the whole extended family.

A BBQ to mark Labor Day, even though that had passed weeks earlier.

His parents had been in Florida on vacation, and so this was the first weekend they’d had available to celebrate.

It took almost three hours to get to his parents’ place in eastern Georgia.

They lived on a property near Statesboro.

It was where Ryan had grown up—a farm specialising in timber and horses.

He’d raised horses since he was young, and Matilda was actually excited to see some foals.

She hoped they’d have a few around. She loved horses but had never had much to do with them.

The driveway was long and straight. It passed through an avenue of pine trees.

Beyond that were acres and acres of pines—tall, straight and green, planted in rows.

Closer to the house, there were fields where horses grazed.

And it wasn’t long before Matilda spotted a few foals on gangly legs, lolloping around the place playfully.

“Look! They’re so sweet!” she cried, pointing them out.

Ryan nodded. “You’ll get to meet them. I’ll take you out later.”

They pulled up beside a long, low white house. There was an old tractor parked nearby under a big oak tree, and several pallets stacked next to it. Beyond that was a massive old barn painted red, with tall round hay bales piled alongside it.

Three dogs raced out to greet them, barking furiously as Ryan parked the truck. He climbed out, and their barks turned to keening as he greeted them one by one. Then some figures emerged from the house and meandered towards them.

A large man with bowed legs shook Ryan’s hand. Then a rotund woman with an apron tied about her waist and wearing a polka dot dress threw her arms around him with a great smile on her lips.

“Mom, Pop, you remember Matilda?”

They both nodded and came to greet her with a tentative handshake. She smiled and moved closer to Ryan. “Thanks for inviting us. Your farm is beautiful.”

“Thank you so much,” Lynette, his mother, said. “You’re too kind.”

Bob, his dad, beamed at her. “Glad you could make it. Was the drive okay?”

“It was fine,” Ryan said, putting his arm around Matilda protectively. “Matilda made a cake.”

“Oh, how thoughtful,” Lynette said.

Matilda pulled the cake from the back seat of the truck and handed it to Lynette. “It’s an English teacake. My mother’s recipe.”

“Well, bless your heart. Come on inside, you two. Everyone’s excited to see you.”

There was a gang of kids chasing one another around the outside of the house. A couple of them cried greetings to Ryan without slowing their pace. He laughed at them and lunged in the direction of one of the boys, who jumped out of his way with a squeal.

Inside, the house was loud—so many voices, all raised in conversation. Country music played on a stereo in the corner of the living room. There was a long trestle table in the centre of the room, piled with food and drinks. People held small paper plates or red plastic cups.

Bob turned down the music and raised a hand before yelling “Hey!” Everyone stopped talking midsentence and turned towards him.

“Let’s welcome Ryan and his new bride, Matilda.

Come hug their necks when you can.” Everyone broke into applause.

A few whistles resounded. Then he turned the music back up in volume, and the conversations resumed.

Matilda’s heart thudded inside her chest. There were a lot of guests, more than she’d thought. Surely this couldn’t all be family. “Who are these people?” she whispered to Ryan.

He laughed. “Some are neighbours, and the rest are family.”

“There’s no way I can remember all these names.”

“No need. I’ll run interference for you.”

“Don’t leave me,” she demanded, sliding her arm through his.

“I’ve never seen you this shy,” he said.

She shrugged. “I feel really guilty about marrying their golden-haired child without telling them. And I’m sure they all hate me.”

“Now you’re being paranoid. No one hates you. I promise you that. And anyone who gives you trouble will have to deal with me.”

His words helped her feel a little better.

She let the tension ease from her shoulders and did her best to relax.

They got cups of sweet tea from the drinks station, and she loaded a small plate with chips and dip, pigs in a blanket, and some kind of meatball with BBQ sauce.

Then they wandered around, chatting with people.

Everyone was very friendly, and she started to realise she’d built up the issue in her own mind. It seemed no one was upset with her, or wanted to tear her apart after all. She’d clearly imagined a scenario far worse than reality.

A few hours later, most of the guests had left. The noise died down in the house, and Matilda got to work helping her mother-in-law clear dishes from the trestle table.

“Ryan tells me you’re a vet,” Lynette said as she cleared a plate of potato salad.

“That’s right. I’ve purchased a vet clinic, and I’m renovating it.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is. I’ve got sore muscles in places I didn’t know existed.” Matilda groaned.

Lynette chuckled. “Hard work does the soul good.”

“I’m sure you and Bob would know about that, having worked a farm so long. Do you still enjoy it?”

Lynette shrugged. “We wouldn’t know what else to do with ourselves. It’s our life.”

They set the dishes in the kitchen. Matilda glanced around at the mess in dismay. “Wow. Let me help you with these dishes.”

“That would be wonderful. Thanks, hon.”

They got started on washing up while Ryan and a few others helped clear the rest of the table and put away the leftover food.

Lynette rinsed while Matilda stacked the dishwasher.

The kitchen was huge, with an enormous gas stove in the centre of the room that also housed a furnace to heat the home.

Large windows looked out over the horse paddock and the big oak tree.

“You know, we never thought Ryan would get married the way he did.”

Matilda’s heart constricted. She inhaled a sharp breath as she tried to formulate a response in her mind. “I know you didn’t…”

Lynette turned to face her, pain in her eyes. “We can’t fathom it.”

“I’m sorry…”

“He says your parents are deceased?”

“That’s right.”

“So, I can understand you not having family there. Maybe the pain is still raw for you. But we’re here, nearby. We could’ve come. A phone call…” Her voice broke, and tears filled her eyes.

A lump formed in Matilda’s throat. “I know…”

“He’s our only son, you know. We wanted to be at his wedding. I’ve dreamed of it for years. I wanted him to find love, to be happy, to have a family. And now…”

Matilda felt helpless. She didn’t know how to respond.

Lynette had a point. She knew it. It’s why she’d dreaded coming to see them.

She was in the wrong. She’d married Ryan impulsively and because she wanted a visa.

He’d been the one to suggest the arrangement but she could’ve turned him down.

Lynette and Bob had missed out on their only son’s wedding because of her.

She put a hand on Lynette’s arm. “I’m truly sorry, Lynette.

I know it must’ve hurt to find out what we did.

I promise it was simply a spontaneous decision, and we didn’t think through the implications.

But I do regret it—I wish we’d waited and done things in a more thoughtful way.

I didn’t really get to enjoy my wedding either because it happened so fast. I wish I could do it all again. ”

Lynette sniffled. “Maybe you could.”

“What?”

“You could renew your vows. Have the family there. Wear a dress and cut the cake, the whole nine yards.”

Matilda frowned. “Have the wedding again?”

Lynette began to smile. “Yes, do it right this time.”

Matilda hesitated. “I suppose we could do that.” Would that work? Would it help everyone to feel better about the situation? Because she desperately wanted to make up for any hurt they’d caused.

“There’s no reason you couldn’t.”

“That’s true, I guess.” Matilda offered a faltering smile. “It might be fun.”

Lynette beamed. “Wonderful! We’re having a wedding. Oh, I’m so excited.” She patted Matilda’s hand. “It’s going to be great. Wait until I tell Bob. He’ll flip.”