Page 107 of Always Meant for You
She’s building something. Right here in front of me.
“I guess you could add just about anything you want to our trucks. They’re refrigerated.”
Mabel’s grin is pure gold rush energy.
“Refrigerated trucks?” she repeats.
“That’s right. It’s part of that grant.”
She paces across the room, murmuring to herself.
Harry cuts her another wedge and places it gently in her hand as she passes.
He leans toward me and lowers his voice. “Is she all right?”
“She’s better than all right,” I say. “That’s how her mind works.”
And it is. I remember watching her pace in her bedroom, flipping through dresses, layering necklaces, asking Jamie if one looked effortless or forced.
“Seasonal produce. Pies from the diner. Flour from the mill,” she murmurs, her thoughts still turning. Then she freezes. Her gaze sharpens as she looks to Harry. “You said the food stays fresh on the road?”
“Sure does,” he replies. He glances at me, confused but intrigued.
“How long?” she asks.
He rocks back on his heels again. “Twenty-four to even forty-eight hours.They can maintain below forty degrees Fahrenheit for several days if left unopened.”
I cross my arms. “Why would anyone need to haul food that far?”
“Because that’s what people in cities want, Cal. Farm-fresh food,” she answers.
“Farm to table,” Harry chimes in. “That’s what you said in the meeting. Then Ruben at the Senior Living Center thought my cousin said Farm to Mabel.”
“Word gets around fast,” Mabel remarks.
Harry shrugs. “It is Elverna.”
Mabel’s back to pacing. “Fine dining spots and food lovers in the cities and the bigger suburbs north and west of Elverna would eat this up, and we could guarantee freshness. I had no idea the town already had this capability.”
I know where she’s going, and I have to stop her from getting ahead of herself.
“Slow down,” I say, holding the line I know she’s about to push. “The goal is to lock in a contract with a major distributor. Let them worry about the infrastructure.”
She doesn’t flinch. “Goals evolve, Cal. Strategy bends to the market.”
“Mabel,” I murmur.
She steps toward me, voice low but controlled. “Signing with a distributor is smart. But you still have to prove you’re viable. Start small. Prove you can move product. Then scale up.”
Harry looks between us, then turns to me. “Makes sense, Cal. Can’t build without a foundation.”
I nod, though the knot in my chest tightens. “You’ve made your point.”
Harry studies me for a long beat. “You and Jamie never pushed it this far, did you?”
“No, sir. We focused on sustainable methods. Changing what we grow and how we grow it. The distribution and marketing plan never moved past brainstorming.”
Jamie had the vision. But none of it came with a cohesive business model. The numbers. The workflows. The schedules. That part fell to me.
