Page 11 of Horn of Plenty
Cal
Where was he supposed to begin? What was he supposed to say?
I’ve always cared for Mabel, Mr. Muldowney. I’m sure you know that.
No. Too vague.
Perhaps he could tell him that while he and Mabel were working together, they’d gotten closer, and that’s why he’d taken his daughter’s virginity.
Oh, hell no! That kind of talk would end with Mr. Muldowney going for the guns.
“Cal, I’ve got to ask because you’re looking a bit shaky, son. Are you okay to drive?” Elias said, pulling him from his adrenaline-charged and firearm-fearful thoughts.
“Drive, like the tractor?” he stammered.
Elias’s perma-frown deepened. “A truck, Cal. Are you able to drive your pickup truck?”
Was this simply a logistics thing?
“Yes, sir, of course!” Cal mopped his brow with the back of his hand.
It was damn hot out this morning, or maybe it was the fear of Mr. Muldowney learning that his farm manager was very much screwing the farmer’s daughter.
“If you’re sure you’re okay, I’d appreciate it if you drove Mabel to the farmers’ market. You don’t mind, do you?” Elias finished.
Cal wanted to melt into a pool of relief.
“What’s going on, Dad? Are you in pain? Do you need to pick up some medicine from the pharmacy? You know, I’m happy to drive you,” Mabel said, worry creasing her brow, but Elias waved her off.
“No, no, I’m okay. The meds I have here work fine. I have an errand to run,” the man answered. Something looked different about him. Was that a blush? Did Elias Muldowney blush?
“I could go with you,” Mabel pressed as the man’s slight tinge of pink darkened.
“No need. It’s Claudine. She needs a ride, and I told her I could help,” Mr. Muldowney answered, not quite meeting Mabel’s gaze.
She cocked her head to the side. “Claudine?”
“From the animal shelter. Her car’s still acting up. I told her I could swing by and get her. It’s the neighborly thing to do,” he answered, shoving his hands into his pockets.
It took everything Cal had to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground. Did Elias have a lady friend? And when the hell did that happen?
Mabel shot him a glance that seemed to wonder the same thing.
“I guess I could ride with Cal,” she said, clearly going for nonchalance but piling it on a bit thick. She turned to him. “If you don’t mind, that is?”
“No, I can drive,” he answered, not sure where she was going with this.
Mabel paced between the men. “But I will remind you. This drive into town would be work-related—as all of our time spent together has been since I’ve returned to Elverna. Business. Work. Tons of work—work, work, work,” she finished, adding a little wave to that tumble of verbal vomit.
She was as bad as he was when it came to bullshitting her father.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll see you in town at the farmers’ market,” Elias replied with a curt nod.
The man bought it!
Cal ran his hands through his hair as his hammering pulse evened out. It was one close call after another, and the sun had barely risen.
“Oh my God, Cal!” Mabel said under her breath as Elias got in his truck, then proceeded to leave the property. “I thought he’d seen us together,” she added as the vehicle disappeared into the trees.
