Page 27 of Horn of Plenty
“Did he seem to like Mabel?” he asked, fishing for more information as he scanned the crowd and again came up with nothing.
Margaret chuckled. “Oh, Cal, what’s not to like about Mabel? She’s a beautiful girl—and smart to boot. Look at what she’s done for the town.”
“She sure is a real catch. I’m surprised no one’s snapped her up,” Sally added.
His cheeks had gone from warm to scorching hot.
“Which reminds me,” Margaret mused, removing her cell phone from her pocket. “We need to pay her. It’s safe to say that she came through on her end of the bargain.”
“Five thousand now and another five thousand at the end of the summer?” Sally questioned.
“That’s right,” Margaret replied, tapping away.
“You’re doing that from your phone?” he asked. Between worrying about Mabel being whisked away by some good-looking city douche bag and noticing how many old people in this town had become tech-savvy, a topsy-turvy feeling set in.
“Yep, I’m using something called anapp,” Margaret replied, enunciating the word.
“Not an appetizer, Cal. It’s short for application,” Sally instructed.
Sweet Jesus! What was going on with the old people in this town?
“I’m familiar with apps,” he answered.
Sally squeezed his hand as if he were five years old. “Good for you, Cal!”
This was getting too weird. He didn’t want to be a jerk, but he needed to find Mabel.
“That’s five thousand big ones! I’ve transferred the money,” Margaret finished, pocketing her phone.
“Where did you see Mabel last?” he asked, going for nonchalance.
Sally pointed toward the road. “Down the block a bit. I believe she and that nice handsome man were chatting next to his car. A very fancy car.”
“Quite fancy,” Margaret chimed. “You don’t see a lot of luxury cars in Elverna.”
A handsome guy with a fancy car? A knot twisted in Cal’s stomach.
“I better go find her. There’s some Eat Elverna business I need to discuss with her,” he said, coming to his feet.
Sally sat back in her chair. “I’m sure there is.”
“And let her know to check her bank account,” Margaret added.
“Yeah, I will,” he said, hating to be rude, but he needed to get to her.
He weaved his way through the crowd like a cat on the prowl. He was not a jealous person, but he sure as hell didn’t like the idea of some slimy city prick hitting on Mabel. But that wasn’t the only thing going through his mind. He’d be lying if he said there wasn’t something darker, something more menacing that had him on edge. But he could trust her, right?
They were…
Together?
Well, not officially.
But what they had wasn’t some booty call situation. No way! Not even close. It was the real thing.
He loved her.
He’d loved her his whole life. And he didn’t want to lose her.
