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“I know. I know.” Lark’s hand covered Mabel’s, and Mabel felt some of her tension draining out. Lark was never still, always seemed to be busy, but she had more patience than anyone Mabel knew.
And she was completely unvengeful. Even if the grandmother had told her they were terrible people and she would never allow her grandchildren to set foot in their house again, Lark would be explaining why the grandmother was probably right, that she was allowed to have her own opinion, and they should just focus on what they could do, not get upset about what they couldn’t.
Mabel had heard all of it more than once.
Lark had a way of making things make sense, and Mabel had watched as she worked her magic on many of the girls who had stayed with her.
“I... I have someone I could ask. I don’t really want to get married. I...” Lark’s voice trailed off, and she looked off into the distance.
Mabel could only imagine that she was thinking about the one man she had loved at one time and had never truly gotten over.
“I don’t love this man, and I never will, but I think I could propose a marriage of convenience to him, and he would accept.”
“Who?” That was not the most important question, but it was the one that tumbled off Mabel’s lips.
“Do you remember Paul, from in town in Sweet Water?”
“Paul?” Mabel asked, her stomach tilting dangerously. Paul wasn’t a terrible-looking man, but he just had a way about him that seemed kind of sneaky. There had been rumors, unsubstantiated, that he was addicted to porn. He worked in IT and spent a lot of time on his computer. Mabel had never given credence to rumors, but the way Paul looked at her when she met him on the street gave her the creeps. It wasn’t a respectful, friendly look, it was...almost a leer.
“Would he be the best father for the girls?”
“I think that I could pay him to stay where he is, and I would stay where I am, but I would technically have a husband, which would meet the criteria that the grandmother has set down. She wants the girls to go to a married couple.” Lark’s lips pressed together, and she breathed out slowly.
Mabel wanted to protest. Lark had someone she loved. Mabel was sure of it. And if Lark married Paul, she would never get the chance to be with the person that she truly loved. Mabel didn’t know if there was even a chance of that happening, but if there was, it would be ruined if Lark did what she was saying.
But she had to admit Lark was right. She could marry Paul, then pay him to stay where he was, and the girls would not be affected.
Lark had money. Mabel wasn’t sure exactly where it came from, but she never seemed to lack.
That was a mystery for another time.
“I’ll get married.” She didn’t know the words were going to come out of her mouth, didn’t even know they were in her head, until they spilled out, tumbling across the table and falling to the floor while Mabel looked on in horror.
“You?” Lark asked, and despite the total disbelief and shock in her tone, Mabel did not take offense.
She didn’t exactly have suitors lined up for blocks. She really had never had a boyfriend. She just hadn’t been interested. She put her blinders on, and had decided what she wanted to do with her life, and hadn’t taken them off to even look around to see if there was anyone who would be suitable for her.
“Yes, me. I’m the one who loves the girls. I want them. I’ll—”
“I was hoping that you would help me with them. I wasn’t thinking that I would take them from you, I just knew that there was no chance of you getting married. And the only solution I could come up with was me.”
“I’ll marry Paul. Instead of paying for a nanny, you and I can share responsibilities, and I’ll pay Paul to stay away, the same way you would. Only I... I don’t have anyone that I would rather be with.”
“But you might.”
“No.” She said that with assurance. She had never found anyone she was the slightest bit interested in spending the rest of her life with. Her parents had not been happy in their marriage, and while Gladys seemed to be madly in love with Silas, even after having been married for years, Mabel didn’t hold a lot of hope for herself. A marriage of convenience sounded like the perfect solution if she wanted the girls, and one that wouldn’t be too hard, although even discussing the situation with Paul gave her the shivers.
“I can handle Paul, but...” Lark’s voice trailed off.
“It’s okay. I won’t be offended. I know you’re older than I am, wiser, and you’re probably right. It would be easier for you to handle Paul than me. Plus, he’s a good bit older than I am. My parents’ age, actually. But for the girls, I’ll do it.”
“Maybe there’s someone else?” Lark asked, and her words seemed almost gentle.
Mabel caught the new tone but didn’t give it much thought as she ran the eligible men who lived in Sweet Water and the surrounding areas through her head. She had been on almost every ranch in the area at some point and knew almost all of the men, she was sure.
There weren’t any that she could imagine walking up to and suggesting a marriage of convenience and having them say yes. Definitely none that she could say that they would just stay on their farm while she continued to be a vet, and it would be in name only.
All of them would want to get married to someone for real at some point.
