Page 232 of Banter & Blushes

She felt her cheeks blush. “You know, I’m starting to get the feeling that people think we should be dating. How crazy is that?” She joked addressing the elephant in the truck with them.

“Really crazy. I’m very sorry for my cousins. They are normally not like that.” He pulled onto the road out of Red Bird. “It’s as if I can’t be friends with an accomplished, beautiful woman.”

“That’s awfully nice of you.” She paused, looking out the window at the vast farms they drove by. “Beautiful woman, huh?” She thought back to Agnes, telling her he never brought a woman to meet them. Hmm…

“Very beautiful.” He flashed a smile in her direction before quickly returning his eyes to the open road in front of them.

“I like that your cousins call you Johnny. It’s cute.“

“They are the only ones I’ve ever let call me that. Although,” his eyes went from the road to Elva as he flashed a smile at her, “you can call me anything you want.”

CHAPTER 14

“Ugh,” Mitch couldn’t help but let out a groan as the first taste of bitter coffee burned down his throat. “Why do I torture myself every morning?” He asked Dozer sitting next to him in the Buzz & Go parking lot. “Especially now that I know not all coffee is this bad?” He forced another sip.

His expression changed when the phone buzzed across his dash. Penny’s name flashed on the screen.

“Good morning, pumpkin!” He smiled into the phone.

Pumpkin?She looked at her phone to make sure she called the correct person. “WOW! Good morning to you, too, dad.”

“Wow?” He echoed, unsure of her meaning. “Can’t a dad be happy to hear from his girl?”

His girl?She knew something was definitely up. “So, uh, how was the … date?”

“We had a really really nice day. I don’t know that it was officially a date - date, but it was… really nice.” He repeated.

“What did Bea & Ag think of your non-date date?” She giggled knowing better.

“Oh,” he huffed. “That’s an entirely different story. They were relentless. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are already planning a spring wedding!“

Trying not to smile too hard into the phone, Penny imagined that sight.

“El held her own, though, I will say that.” He added in rubbing Dozer’s ears. “The game was great, too. We beat the ShoreBirds 5 to 1.”

“It sounds like a win all around, dad.”

Josephine was sitting on the curb outside of Gandolf’s just after the sun came up. Her rusty truck was the only vehicle parked in the gravel lot.

“You’re here early. Did I miss a meeting?” Elva asked walking up to the door.

“You know I’ve been up since like 4:30,” she shrugged. “Gotta tend the garden before it’s too hot. AND I wanted to be the first to hear about your day yesterday. I almost waited for you at your house last night, but I didn’t want to impose on your goodbyes.”

“He was a perfect gentleman when he dropped me off.” She reported while opening up the window blind in the front dining room while Joe pushed open the curtains to the patio doors.

Nodding her head, she said, “I’d expect nothing less. He’s nearly perfect, you know? Tell me you had an amazing time yesterday?”

“Did you know that Mitch used to play for the minors? That was after he was in the Marines. He’s really had quite a life,” she gushed.

Josephine watched her friend. So it was amazing?” She waited for an answer.

Pouring water into the coffeemaker, she continued, “he has cousins who own a B&B right on Main Street. Really, really gorgeous house. He helps with projects, of course.” She looked over her shoulder at Joe. “The girls were so funny, too. They call him Johnny. It was just adorable.” She sighed into the ground coffee as she counted scoops.

“So... it was amazing?”

“And everyone knew him everywhere we went. It was like… well, it was like-“

“Being home?” Joe answered for her, knowing that everyone in the Landings knew everyone else.

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