Once Upon A Rodeo

Chapter Eighteen - [Charlotte.]

"She's going to screw you over," I said, my tone matter of fact. Rose became defensive.

"You don't know that. You don't even know her."

"I know enough about her. She will screw that over. I'm telling you that right now. I just wish you would see it before it happens."

She didn't respond and I shook my head, saddened.

This was her lesson to learn.

xxx

My next stop was refilling some of the cleaning supplies that had been depleted in the last few weeks.

I was in the grocery store, a basket in my hand when arm when a gentle hand touched my arm.

I turned around, coming face to face with Brantley's mother.

"Good morning, Kennedy," She said.

"Good morning, Mrs. Nash."

She waved a hand at me.

"Please, just call me Charlotte. I was wondering if you were busy."

I shook my head, wondering what she had in mind.

"Not really busy at all."

"Would you like to sit down and have coffee together?"

"I would love to, thank you."

"Great! I'll meet you at the cafe in about fifteen minutes. Does that sound good?"

I smiled at her.

"Sounds perfect."

She beamed at me, turning around to head to the check out. I wasn't sure why she wanted to have coffee with me, but I couldn't say I wasn't pleased. Brantley's parents seemed like such good people.

I checked out, sticking the stuff in my car and taking the short drive to the cafe. Callie was working, and she greeted me as I walked through the door.

"Mom's already waiting for you in the corner booth," Callie said, nodding to where her mother sat. "Brantley's going to love this. Make sure she shows you his baby pictures."

I shook my head, laughing at her.

"Don't instigate things," I said, rolling my eyes at her.

"There's one where he's in the bathtub, and you can see his butt..."

"Callie!" I play scolded.

She held her hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm done, I'm done."

I walked across the cafe.

"Thanks for inviting me for coffee," I greeted, sliding in across the booth from her.

I poured some creamer into my mug and took a sip.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm great," She said. "How are you liking Hudson so far?"

"It's amazing. I don't think I'll ever leave this place," I answered.

"That's awesome. I'm glad you like it. I was a little bit worried when we first moved here, but it's a great town."

"It really is."

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Sure."

"I...Uh, I heard about what happened to your mother and I wanted to see how you were doing."

I didn't respond for a second, unsure how to take in this information.

"Brantley didn't tell me. I accidentally heard him on the phone talking to you. I'm so sorry. He sounded so concerned...I know eavesdropping is wrong..."

Charlotte's face was twisted in concern, and I couldn't be angry at her. She was worried because her son sounded worried, and I couldn't blame her for that.

"Don't worry about it. You were just being a mom. My mother and I are working on our relationship. It's been rocky before now...Really rocky, but we're working on it. Although, I don't know if we will ever be close."

She reached across the table, squeezing my hand for a second.

"My mother and I went to war when I got pregnant with Brantley. If you ever need to talk to somebody, about this or anything, feel free to talk to me. It will stay between you and I."

My heart warmed.

"Thank you, Charlotte. That means a lot."

I sat back, taking a long drink of my coffee. An idea popped into my head.

"I have a question."

"Shoot," Charlotte responded.

"How did you and Brantley's dad meet?"

A grin broke out on her face, and I could tell that she was amused at my question. She leaned in a little bit closer.

"Well, it all started on Spring Break..."

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long. My life has been a little...hectic lately. I thought that I would reward your patience with a little bit of Charlotte in this chapter. I hope you like this update and Charlotte's appearance. Kennedy is finally hearing the story about how they met! Yay! :D