Because Melody is so way more important than we are.”
“Like, right,” the other one said.
“Now girls.” Mrs. Gregg glanced at Nick and me, obviously embarrassed. “Let’s go see where he is.”
“You go look,” the older one said. “I’m going to the concert. Come on, Annie.”
The two girls spun like countrified synchronized swimmers, and stalked away.
Mrs. Gregg looked like she was going to say something, like maybe, “I’m sorry you had to witness that, and that I have two spoiled brat kids,” but instead, she pulled her head in like a startled turtle and scuttled away.
“Any guesses?” I said. “Has he been after that other woman for a while, or did he just want to take this moment to screw another 4-H mom in his trailer?”
“Stella!”
“What? You think he wouldn’t do it?”
“I don’t know anything about him!”
“Except he’s a cheater in one way, with the cows. So why not another? You saw him over there, practically smothering the woman.”
Nick frowned. “Sometimes you disturb me.”
“And why did she look like that?”
“Who? Like what?”
“Mrs. Gregg. Dirty.”
“Maybe she was cleaning out the girls’ stalls. Seems like something those parents would do instead of making their kids do it.”
“True.” I hesitated. “Should I have told her where he was?”
He shrugged. “No-win situation right there.”
“Absolutely. So let’s forget them, okay?” I pulled him toward Zach’s stall, but our boy wasn’t there. “Where’s Zach?” I asked Barnabas.
He didn’t answer.
Austin, Zach’s next-door neighbor, was cleaning out his stall, putting the dirty wood chips into a large wheelbarrow. He leaned on his pitchfork. “I think he already left for the concert.”
“Aren’t you going?”
“Yeah, soon. I wanted to make sure Halladay here had a clean place for the night.”
“Good man.” I looked around, wondering where Zach had gone. Barnabas looked just fine, so I assumed Zach had done what was needed, and then headed out.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Nick said. “Let’s go get seats for the concert.”
“You sure you want to?”
“I thought that was the whole point of coming again.”
“Well, it really was just to be social.”
He shook his head.
“What?”
“Who are you?”
I punched his shoulder, and he grinned. “That’s more like it. So, what do you say?”
I said goodbye to Austin, took Nick’s hand, and started toward the grandstand. “We can always leave if you can’t stand it anymore.”
“Or if you decide you’ve had too much socializing.”
I kissed the smirk right off his face.
Chapter Ten
Zach was standing toward the front of the crowd with his friends, but Nick and I wanted a seat in the stands, not having any desire to be on our feet for an hour and a half. Besides, I also didn’t feel like dealing with the unavoidable drama—I could see that cute girl Taylor standing right next to Zach, and him looking like a lovesick calf. Claire was close by, too, doing her own looking at Zach and the other girl. Nope. Didn’t want to be anywhere near that.
I heard someone calling my name, and I searched the faces in the stands until I saw Jethro, Zach’s dad, standing up and waving. We were fortunate the stands didn’t collapse with his bulk swaying around like that.
Nick and I clambered up toward the Grangers, offering a lot of “Excuse me’s” and “Sorry, I didn’t see your lemon-shake-up there’s,” and squeezed in between Belle and Vernice, whose husbands made us feel like a particularly smooshed up sandwich. Jermaine was as large as Jethro, but had landed solidly at the other end of the color spectrum, his skin resembling eighty-percent dark chocolate. Yum. He’d come to the Granger family as a Fresh Air kid from Philly way back when, and had been adopted into the white-faced Granger clan for good. He was a great addition to the group, and everyone in the area just thought of him as “one of Ma’s boys.”
“Country music?”
“Like, right,” the other one said.
“Now girls.” Mrs. Gregg glanced at Nick and me, obviously embarrassed. “Let’s go see where he is.”
“You go look,” the older one said. “I’m going to the concert. Come on, Annie.”
The two girls spun like countrified synchronized swimmers, and stalked away.
Mrs. Gregg looked like she was going to say something, like maybe, “I’m sorry you had to witness that, and that I have two spoiled brat kids,” but instead, she pulled her head in like a startled turtle and scuttled away.
“Any guesses?” I said. “Has he been after that other woman for a while, or did he just want to take this moment to screw another 4-H mom in his trailer?”
“Stella!”
“What? You think he wouldn’t do it?”
“I don’t know anything about him!”
“Except he’s a cheater in one way, with the cows. So why not another? You saw him over there, practically smothering the woman.”
Nick frowned. “Sometimes you disturb me.”
“And why did she look like that?”
“Who? Like what?”
“Mrs. Gregg. Dirty.”
“Maybe she was cleaning out the girls’ stalls. Seems like something those parents would do instead of making their kids do it.”
“True.” I hesitated. “Should I have told her where he was?”
He shrugged. “No-win situation right there.”
“Absolutely. So let’s forget them, okay?” I pulled him toward Zach’s stall, but our boy wasn’t there. “Where’s Zach?” I asked Barnabas.
He didn’t answer.
Austin, Zach’s next-door neighbor, was cleaning out his stall, putting the dirty wood chips into a large wheelbarrow. He leaned on his pitchfork. “I think he already left for the concert.”
“Aren’t you going?”
“Yeah, soon. I wanted to make sure Halladay here had a clean place for the night.”
“Good man.” I looked around, wondering where Zach had gone. Barnabas looked just fine, so I assumed Zach had done what was needed, and then headed out.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Nick said. “Let’s go get seats for the concert.”
“You sure you want to?”
“I thought that was the whole point of coming again.”
“Well, it really was just to be social.”
He shook his head.
“What?”
“Who are you?”
I punched his shoulder, and he grinned. “That’s more like it. So, what do you say?”
I said goodbye to Austin, took Nick’s hand, and started toward the grandstand. “We can always leave if you can’t stand it anymore.”
“Or if you decide you’ve had too much socializing.”
I kissed the smirk right off his face.
Chapter Ten
Zach was standing toward the front of the crowd with his friends, but Nick and I wanted a seat in the stands, not having any desire to be on our feet for an hour and a half. Besides, I also didn’t feel like dealing with the unavoidable drama—I could see that cute girl Taylor standing right next to Zach, and him looking like a lovesick calf. Claire was close by, too, doing her own looking at Zach and the other girl. Nope. Didn’t want to be anywhere near that.
I heard someone calling my name, and I searched the faces in the stands until I saw Jethro, Zach’s dad, standing up and waving. We were fortunate the stands didn’t collapse with his bulk swaying around like that.
Nick and I clambered up toward the Grangers, offering a lot of “Excuse me’s” and “Sorry, I didn’t see your lemon-shake-up there’s,” and squeezed in between Belle and Vernice, whose husbands made us feel like a particularly smooshed up sandwich. Jermaine was as large as Jethro, but had landed solidly at the other end of the color spectrum, his skin resembling eighty-percent dark chocolate. Yum. He’d come to the Granger family as a Fresh Air kid from Philly way back when, and had been adopted into the white-faced Granger clan for good. He was a great addition to the group, and everyone in the area just thought of him as “one of Ma’s boys.”
“Country music?”
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