Page 12 of Horn of Plenty
“Yeah, me too,” he answered on a relieved exhale.
She turned to him, all serious eyes and set jaw. “Because you know he’d shoot you if he found out what you did to his daughter.”
He reared back in mock disbelief. “What I did? You seemed very much on board with what we did in the greenhouse. And, not to mention, what else we did in my kitchen, behind that bale of hay in the north field, in my bed, then on the floor next to the bed, in my truck, in the—”
“Cal!” she whisper-shouted as her cheeks grew scarlet.
They’d had about as much sex as two people possibly could in the last ten days—not that he was complaining. And it wasn’t like they were reckless. She was on the pill, and while they were sneaking around, they weren’t teenagers. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Mabel, we’re consenting adults. You’re twenty-five years old. I’m twenty-eight.”
That teasing glint was back in her eyes. “Do you want to tell that to my father?”
She had a point.
“Not unless I’ve hidden every knife and firearm on the property.”
She laughed. “No kidding! It would be a shame if my dad took you out. Where would I find another broody farmer with a horn of plenty to satisfy my every desire?”
He loved this back and forth—this playful banter that made him want to throw her over his shoulder and take her behind that bale of hay and satisfy her every desire over and over again. He tilted her defiant little chin and stared into her sky-blue eyes. He had no problem with her calling him a broody farmer as long as she made sure to note that he was her one and only.
He liked the sound of that.
And that caveman, the one inside of him that wondered if they could fit in a quick roll in the hay before they had to leave, loved knowing that he’d been her first. That primal voice deep within him wanted to make sure he’d also be her last.
It was surreal feeling this good. Sure, he’d had moments of happiness in his life—many of them. But he could never quite silence the ominous voice whispering that the world could go sideways in the blink of an eye.
Jamie’s premature death, Grandma Gladys’s decline, and his tragic arrival in Elverna all those years ago were prime examples.
He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but everything with Mabel felt so right. They hadn’t discussed the future. He’d wanted to bring it up, but she still wore that crossbody purse everywhere. The purse that held her passport. He’d seen it yesterday when she’d unzipped her bag to retrieve her phone. Maybe it was nothing. Perhaps it was just habit. She’d been carrying it around for years. Still, it gave him pause. But he had her now. And he had this time to show her what her life would be like here, in Elverna, with him. She might not know it yet, but she didn’t need the city. He could be her everything. He’d find a way to make her understand that beyond the facade of skyscrapers and glittering avenues, darkness dwelled beyond the shiny surface.
He knew that better than anyone.
“Cal?” she said, bringing him back from the brink like she always could.
His gaze drifted down her toned body. In those boots, shorts, and shirt tied in the front, she was the epitome of a country boy’s wet dream. “How do you feel about this broody farmer kissing you?”
Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she pushed up onto her tiptoes. “I think you know the answer to that question.”
He slid his hand down past her neck and twisted the chain, holding theM, around his finger. “You are hard to resist, Mabel Muldowney,” he replied as the thrill of having her close whipped up an idea for when he had her to himself tonight.
She pressed her hands to his chest, and just as their lips were about to meet, a horn honked. They broke apart as if a stick of dynamite had ignited between them. He looked up to see Kenny waving from a Muldowney Farms truck loaded with produce.
“We’re ready to go, Cal!” the man called. “Is everything okay with you two?”
First, Abe, then Mr. Muldowney, and now Kenny! How many times were people going to ask if he was okay?
He had to get himself under control!
“I got some dust in my eye,” Mabel called to the men. “And Cal was helping me get it out.”
He glanced over at her, and she gave him a panicky shrug.
“What was I supposed to say?” she whispered. “That was the first thing I could think of to explain why we’re so close together. Go with it!”
He waved to Kenny as Abe, who sat next to his brother, leaned forward to see what was going on.
Cal cleared his throat. “We were taking care of the dust. But you’re fine now. Eye-dust free, right, Miss Muldowney?”
Miss Muldowney? Jesus! Who did he think he was? Some Wild West sheriff helping a damsel in ocular distress?
