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“Maybe that’s what Joseph was thinking when his brothers threw him into the pit? That God doesn’t work that way? But a lot of times, God does work that way. He leads us down paths that we don’t understand. Like when Saul was trying to kill David. Surely David had to wonder if he was ever going to be king?”
“That’s different.” Her mom didn’t elaborate on how it was different, but she seemed to think that since she said it that made it true.
Mark knew Pam didn’t want to fight, and if her mom was going to leave it at that, Pam would too.
“Oh!” Chi said as she hurried back to the table.
Mark glanced up, surprised.
“I forgot!” She put her hands on the table, a little out of breath. “Rodney wants to give you two a ride in his carriage. I was supposed to ask you when I brought the crumb cake over, but I totally forgot. If you guys are interested, I’ll text him, and you guys can just let him know what time you’re going to be down there.”
“Tonight?”
“You can do it anytime, but he said tonight would work. There’s going to be a full moon, although it’s not quite dark yet. And...” She looked at their clothing. Neither one of them had thought to grab a jacket. “When the sun goes down, it’s going to be chilly, but he has blankets in the carriage. It’s actually very romantic. Griff and I have done it a few times, and Rodney’s a natural driver.”
He looked at Pam, who glanced at him and shrugged her shoulders.
He nodded and then looked back at Chi. “All right. You can tell him, and we’ll text him when we’re done here and ready to walk down.”
“Awesome. He’ll be happy. He wanted to do something for you guys too.”
Chi gave them one last smile and hurried away.
Well, that was one way to get away from his sister and her mother. They’d take a carriage ride together. He would much rather be on the beach with Pam than walking back to their house and having to deal with her mom the entire time. So far, his sister hadn’t been too bad, but she’d been pretty busy eating. Once she was full, she was likely to start on them too.
Normally he didn’t mind too much, but he was feeling very protective of Pam, for some odd reason. He didn’t want her to have to put up with all the skepticism and unkindness.
“I don’t think you guys should do that. I just read online the other day where a runaway horse and carriage killed a man.” Paulette swallowed and brushed crumbs off her lap. “That’s dangerous.” She shivered.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of any issues at all with Rodney and his Percherons. In fact, they’ve brought business into Strawberry Sands more than anything else, other than maybe the other stables.” Just like he usually let Pam and her mother hash things out, Pam never got between him and his sister. He knew this was his baby to deal with.
He appreciated that. She would have his back, but she wouldn’t step in front of him.
He hadn’t realized how much he liked that. Liked the fact that he had her support, but she didn’t try to control him. It was a quality in friends that could be sadly lacking.
“Well, I’m just telling you what I read. I would be careful about that. Probably a stroll along the beach would be a lot smarter.” She looked specifically at Pam. “Doesn’t that scare you?”
“No. It doesn’t. I guess it’s possible that even though Rodney’s horses are the most gentle horses I’ve ever seen, they could spook at something, I suppose, and run the carriage off a cliff or something. I don’t know. But this diner could collapse while we’re sitting in it. That happens too.”
“That’s why we have building codes,” Paulette said, getting her glass and taking a sip and raising her eyebrows.
“True. But despite building codes, things happen. Even if the building is built to code, it might fall down. My point is, anything could happen at any time. I’m not going to sit around and be afraid.”
“Well, some things are more dangerous than others. Anything that has to do with horses notches up the danger level.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Mark put his arm around Pam and squeezed gently. He appreciated the fact that she didn’t fight with his sister, although she didn’t allow her to intimidate her either. He knew that she valued family and the relationships that they had with them, and didn’t want to put any wedges between them.
When his nieces were younger, they had been afraid that if Paulette was offended, she wouldn’t allow her daughters to visit. They’d always walked around on eggshells with that, and he was grateful that they had made sure to keep those relationship lines open. They’d had a lot of good times with his nieces, and he had a good relationship with them now that they were adults.
“If you don’t want to go, we don’t have to.”
“I think it would be fun. I’ve wanted to go ever since he’s gotten them, but...with school, and then in the summer, they’re always so busy...”
“Same. I’ve wanted to do it since he’s gotten them, too. I... I’d really like to do it with you.” There. Maybe he’d been saying more than he should, but it made Pam’s eyes glow. And then her mother cleared her throat, and Pam’s expression changed.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what happened, but it made him think that maybe she was thinking that he was only saying that for the benefit of her mom and his sister.
