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“Well, I’m really not.”
“Oh? A new hobby?” Silas asked as he continued to walk.
“Not really. It was an excuse.”
“An excuse?” Silas asked, matching his stride to James, and when James stopped, Silas did too, shoving a hand in his pocket and looking at James underneath the brim of his cowboy hat.
“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you about something else, and I guess I used the truck because I couldn’t actually come right out and tell you, because it’s...not something that most people would think was normal.”
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, Sweet Water is full of people who aren’t exactly normal.”
“I think the world is full of people like that,” James said, glad that Silas didn’t seem upset. Although, he hadn’t exactly admitted what was really on his mind.
“So what’s up?” Silas asked. Then he glanced back over at the truck. “You’re really not interested in fixing it up?”
“The idea is a nice one, but I would be lying if I said I knew anything or had any interest other than passing.”
Silas jerked his head up and then seemed to drag his eyes away from the dilapidated old vehicle.
“It’s about Mabel.”
There. The words just came out. Forced, but out nonetheless.
“Gladys’s sister, Mabel?” Silas’s body shifted, like he was going on high alert. That was what James was afraid of. Silas felt protective of his wife’s little sister. He was sure of it. And he appreciated it.
This wasn’t exactly how he had seen himself having this conversation, but he plowed ahead.
“Yes. That Mabel. I... I’m interested in her. Have been for a while.”
“I know.”
That stopped James in his tracks. First Aunt Carol, now Silas.
“Does the rest of the world know too?” James couldn’t help but say. “I thought I did a really good job of making sure that no one knew, and you’re the second person today that told me that they knew.”
“I knew the day you came to their house after her parents died. It was obvious to me, but I admired you for doing the right thing. She might not have been too young, but she had goals and dreams and plans, and if you had stepped in, you might have derailed her.”
James didn’t say anything for a moment, because he hadn’t expected Silas to see all of that. But that’s exactly what he had done. He stepped back, because he knew Mabel had a lot of potential and had things that she would be really good at. Being a vet was one of those things, and he didn’t want to keep her from being what she was born to be.
He just felt that he was born to be her husband.
“You’re more astute than I gave you credit for,” James finally murmured.
“I might be a gearhead, but I do have eyes. And I have a wife too, who might have noticed the same thing. But she hasn’t said anything either. Not to Mabel. We...thought perhaps your feelings might have shifted over the years, since you haven’t been around as much as I was expecting.”
“I was busy building my business, but that wasn’t very satisfying, even though it was more successful than I ever envisioned it would be.”
“I see. Sometimes we chase after things when it’s really God who satisfies.”
That hadn’t been the way James’s thoughts were going, but Silas was probably right. But if he had been born to be Mabel’s husband, then God was manipulating things so that was the way they would end up. He might want to spend a little more time thinking on that, later. For now, he shoved the thought aside.
“Mabel doesn’t seem to know I exist. I’ve never seen any spark of interest in her eyes at all, and I... I know she’s special. Different. In the best way. It’s part of her allure, and I just don’t know how to approach her.”
“The same way you’d approach any woman,” Silas said offhandedly.
“I don’t usually approach women. My aunt said I was charming, and I suppose that’s true, but since I saw Mabel, man, it’s been years, I haven’t made any effort to be in a relationship with anyone else.”
Silas grinned a little. “That’s what I was hoping to hear.”
