Page 108 of Always Meant for You
Mabel watches me, and I’m pretty sure she’s weighing how much to push me on the issue.
“Mr. Sperry, do you mind if I take a few more pictures?” she asks, shifting her focus from me.
I breathe a sigh of relief. She’s letting it go, at least for now.
Harry reaches for her phone resting on the table. “How about a picture of you two, Mr. and Miss Eat Elverna?”
“Okay,” she says, a thread of hesitation in her tone.
“People can’t get enough of that name. Eat Elverna,” Harry says, punctuating each syllable. “Everyone at the diner was raving about it this morning. This town’s buzzing again. The way it did when Jamie was still here, sharing his big ideas over a slice of pie.”
“That’s kind of you to say, Mr. Sperry.” Mabel’s voice cracks. She’s holding the M charm.
I want to gather her into my arms, tell her Harry’s right. She has that same light, the same spark as her brother.
Harry holds up the cell. “Stand next to Mabel, Cal.”
I do, leaving a solid foot between us.
Harry frowns. “Put your arm around her, Cal. You’re stiff as a fence post. It’s only Mabel.”
Only Mabel.
She steps closer. “It’s for the town.”
I ease my arm around her shoulders. She steps in, and her hand settles over my chest.
Harry grins. “That’s it! Say cheese!”
She tilts her face toward mine. I meet her eyes.
“Cheese,” she says softly, looking at me, her sky-blue eyes getting lighter by the second.
“There we go. What a shot!” Harry hands her phone back with a satisfied nod.
I lower my arm, every nerve lit up. I glance at my watch. “We should get moving, Harry.”
“What’s next?” Mabel asks. Her cheeks are flushed.
Harry eyes her shoes. “I was about to take Cal out to the back field to check the soil. You’re welcome to wait inside.”
She straightens and smooths her dress. “I’ll come with you.”
Harry glances at her heels again. “Those might not be ideal walking shoes.”
“I’ve hauled busted irrigation hose across a dry field and cut brush in these,” she says.
I bite back a grin. “It’s true, Harry. Jamie dared her to do it.”
She looks up at me. “That’s right. He did.”
“Are you sure?” Harry asks, a skeptical twist to his lips.
Mabel smiles at the man. “These won’t slow me down, sir. I could patch a roof and chase down a runaway chicken in these.”
Harry chuckles. “Suit yourself.”
But I can’t laugh. I can barely speak. She’s standing there in heels, and I’m the one who can’t find his footing. Because it isn’t the shoes. It’s everything she is. Her strength. Her spark. Her big heart.
