Page 34 of Horn of Plenty
Mabel’s grin dissolved. “Does he have a gun? Is he going to shoot at us?”
There was a good chance that old Stewart did have a gun. You never know what you’ll run into in the country at night and most farmers carried one. But he didn’t want to freak Mabel out.
“Let’s start running and not find out,” he said, helping her onto the bank.
Like a pair of crazy kids, they sprinted away from the creek. He pulled on his jeans, wiggling to get them onto his dripping body as Mabel slipped on her shirt and jean shorts, then started running in circles.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, glancing over to see the beam of the flashlight moving closer.
“Cal, I can’t find my bra!”
He grabbed his shoes. “You’ll have to leave it.”
“Are you serious? I love that bra,” she hissed.
He checked for the light. Christ! Farmer Stewart could really move.
“We’ll come back for it!” he called, watching her bat through the tall grass.
Shit! They were so getting caught!
He was ready to throw her over his shoulder and drag her ass out of the field when she popped up.
“I found it!” she called, swinging it around like a lasso—or a target for Farmer Stewart’s shotgun.
He grabbed her hand. “Stay low.”
“This is private land! No trespassing! Who’s out there?” the farmer called.
Giggling like idiots, they ran to the truck. He fished his keys out of his pocket, started the old F-150, then gunned it. Bits of dirt and rock billowed behind them as they sped down the road, laughing their damn heads off. He drove for a few miles, then pulled over. On foot, there was no way Mr. Stewart could catch up to them.
“Why’d you stop?” she asked.
He tucked a lock of wet hair behind her ear then glanced at theMglinting in the moonlight against her skin. “I needed to look at you—to know that it’s real.”
“It’s real, Cal. It’s all real,” she said, lifting his hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.
“With you, I feel like the sky’s the limit. It’s like there’s nothing we can’t do,” he said, and the lightness of revealing that truth sent an amped-up electric charge through his body.
“I feel the same way,” she replied, and he couldn’t help but kiss her.
“Do you mean that, Mabel?” he breathed against her lips.
She held his gaze. “Cal, I’ve never been happier than I am right now.”
It was all he needed to hear. Her words had answered his prayers. She was his, and she was here, and she wasn’t going anywhere. He kissed her again. And while he treasured every kiss, this one was different. This kiss was a promise of a life that he’d never dreamed possible.
She pulled back and held his gaze. “We should do it, Cal.”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Go into the city. Help out with the food pantry, and work with Preston and Logan. Your first impulse is to say no. But hear me out. This could be something big for the town.”
He didn’t say anything.
“We’ll do it together. You and me,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he answered, his voice barely a whisper. He couldn’t say no to her.
