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They laughed together as he made his way to the porch swing and sat back down.
“I love porch swings, but I spent a little bit too much time on one today.”
“At least you have a beautiful view. So much sky, so much waving grass. And the temperature today was absolutely perfect for sitting outside.”
“You’re right on all three counts.” He slid a little bit, giving her room to sit down, which she did. Lifting his bandaged foot, he propped it on his opposite knee and stretched his arm out across the back of the porch swing. He didn’t touch her, but he was tempted to.
“All right. How soon are we going to get married?” he said, figuring he might as well lead off the conversation. He wasn’t going to beat around the bush, and she was right about needing to get some details figured out. It didn’t seem very romantic to him, but Mabel didn’t seem like the kind of woman who needed a lot of romance. Maybe he was wrong about that, but he thought that possibly his loyalty to her and his willingness to do things for her would count for more in her book than a bunch of flowers and pretty words. In fact, he was quite sure that the pretty words weren’t going to mean anything to her if he didn’t back them up with actions.
“A week? I actually was thinking tomorrow, but I figured there were probably people that you’d like to have here?”
“My dad might come up from the Keys. With my third stepmother.”
“Third?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Yeah. After my mom died, he couldn’t seem to find anyone that would...stay with him? Put up with him? I’m not sure which of the two is correct, but he’s on his third wife, actually fourth if you count my mom. It’s my third stepmother.”
“I’m so sorry. That must be hard.”
“Not really. This one’s been the easiest, because he married her right before he retired and moved to the Keys. I don’t have to see them very often. The second one was the worst, and I actually kind of liked the first one. I was younger then, though. Maybe I wasn’t as cynical and couldn’t see through the façade that showed that she was all about his money and definitely not about his happiness.”
“Wow. That’s hard. And I guess I can see how that would make you cynical.”
“Yeah. I try not to be, but I guess that’s just something that happens whenever you have money. And people know it. They...want a piece of it, you know?”
“Or a piece of you.”
“You actually did get a piece of me earlier today.”
“Seriously? Is every conversation going to go back to that?”
“I told you. It’s a pretty momentous occasion in a person’s life when they get shot.”
“You know what, I’m going to march right in that house, grab that case from Carol, and insist you shoot me. And then, we’ll both have something to talk about.”
“Nah. I like being the only one in the relationship who’s gotten shot. I think I’ll keep it that way.”
“You are no help.”
He grinned, his boyish, engaging grin, and he was right, she couldn’t resist it, and she grinned right back at him.
His heart warmed, and he had the feeling that with all the things that happened today—and they still had a long evening ahead of them if they were going to entertain the preacher and get marriage counseling—it had been a good day. A very good day.
