The Bad Boy Next Room (Charlie and Taylor) novel Chapter 79

"And our baked ham is here!" A tall man in his early fifties rushed out from the house, carrying a huge homemade ham.

"And that's my husband, Eric Dawson," Serena introduced. "Eric, Charlie."

Eric rushed to the table and set the ham down. Then, he extended his hand to Charlie, saying, "Finally, we meet the special guest who had Dad on edge."

Everyone laughed.

"What?" Charlie asked, wide-eyed.

"It's true," Samara said. "Douglas couldn't care less about other politicians visiting the farm or agricultural inspectors, but he was definitely on his toes for Charlie's visit."

"Now, now. That's an exaggeration." Douglas came out of the house, responding.

"Oh, really?" Serena responded. "Dad, you asked me to have the maids clean Charlie's room three times."

"And we don't usually have almond tart first thing in the morning," Tanya said while eating a piece of the dessert.

"That's for Charlie!" Douglas scolded, garnering another round of laughter from the entire family.

"See?" Tanya objected.

"Well - um." Charlie eyed the almond tart, rather tarts. There were two big ones! "There is more than enough to share."

Douglas tapped Charlie on the shoulder, saying, "I just wanted to make sure you had a great first experience here. This farm is important to our family; if you are going to be part of it, you have to learn to love it."

"I have only been here overnight, and I already love it," Charlie claimed. "Thank you so much for making my visit so welcoming."

"Oh, Taylor's here. Perfect timing. It's time to eat!" Savannah said, shifting her gaze to the pathway up ahead.

Taylor was driving a passenger cart. His father, Grayson, was seated at the back, carrying a basket of peaches.

"You also grow peaches?" Charlie asked.

"Only a few trees," Savannah answered. "It grows well next to almonds."