“Well, I’d better get movin’. I’m supposed to be fetching some cake.” He stood and glanced at Megan’s round stomach, his expression growing serious. “I hope everything turns out well for you, M.B. Oh, sorry, I forgot.” A twinkle danced in his eyes. “I like Megan better.”
“So do I.” She stood too, and he leaned down so he could hear her over loud laughter from a nearby table. “Please don’t tell anyone that I’m here.”
“I won’t. The best thing you ever did was get away from that bunch.”
“You too.” She wondered when he’d come to his senses.
“I only hung around because of you.”
That was a surprise. “It’s good to see you, Mike.”
He gave her a little hug and murmured in her ear, “Hang on to Callahan. I hear he’s a good man.”
As he walked away, she sat down and glanced around the table. Bless Zach’s sweet little heart. Totally focused on his dessert, he was the only one who wasn’t dying of curiosity about the exchange between her and Mike.
“It really is a small world,” said Nate.
“Isn’t it?” She picked up her fork, wishing that was the end of it, knowing it wouldn’t be.
“There are several folks from San Angelo here, but it’s a big town. It’s amazing that you’d run into an old acquaintance.” Chance ate his last bite of groom’s cake. He leaned close to Emily and whispered something in her ear. When she looked across the room, he swiped a bite of wedding cake from her plate.
“Chance Callahan, you stop that.” Emily playfully swatted his hand.
“Aw, darlin’, you have to share. There’s not going to be any of it left, and I wanted to taste it.” He turned his attention to Megan. “Jenna’s piece had chocolate mousse filling, and Emily’s has strawberry mousse. But both of them came from the bottom layer. I watched Lindsey’s aunt cut them. How did you do that?”
She laid her fork down without taking a bite. “Because the bottom layer is so big, it’s made using half-circle pans. It takes four half-circle cakes for the bottom since each layer is two cakes high. So I used different fillings for each half, then put them together on the plate so they looked like one big round layer and iced them.”
“Smart.”
“I just followed directions.” She picked up her fork again. The white cake with pineapple mousse tasted even better than she’d hoped it would.
“So how did you know Mike?” Chance turned his attention back to her.
“He and my cousin Josh were friends. I met him about six months before I left home.”
Will had waited to eat his dessert. If he wondered why she didn’t say anything about Mike when they first saw him, he kept it to himself. “So why did he call you M.B.?”
“That’s what everybody called me growing up.”
“Why?” Jenna finished wiping Zach’s face and hands with a damp lavender paper napkin and helped him down from the chair. He immediately ran around a couple of tables to see Dub and Sue.
“Mom was going through a hippie phase when I was born.”
“Uh-oh.” Will looked down at her, a hint of a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “What did she saddle you with?”
“Moon Beam.”
“Are you serious?” Emily—and everyone else at the table—stared at her.
“Unfortunately, I am. Thankfully, my first grade teacher took pity on me and called me M.B. from the very first day. All the other teachers followed her lead, so the kids did too.”
“Did you change it when you left home?” Jenna asked, giving Nate a smile as he put his arm around her.
Megan nodded. “I couldn’t legally change it until I was eighteen, but I told people my name was Megan. My bosses knew otherwise because I had to use my real name on job applications, but they were kind enough not to mention it.”
“So when you went to school in Austin, you were able to start fresh as Megan?” Chance asked, his mild expression not hiding the fact that he was on a fishing expedition.
Will tensed, and Emily glanced at her husband in surprise. Up until then, none of the Callahans had pushed her for information about herself. She knew Will and Chance were very close. It was natural that Chance would want to look out for his brother.
The noisy people at the table next to them had left. The table on the other side was also empty. No one else would be privy to their conversation. She didn’t know if Will had told his family about her mother and grandfather. If he had, and she answered Chance truthfully, it would be another mark against her. How much more would it take to change their kindness to disapproval?
“I never did go back to school, or get my GED. I was too busy working.” And trying to survive.
“You were all on your own?” Emily stacked her empty dessert plate on top of her husband’s.
Megan knew Emily came from a wealthy family. No one ever actually said so, but Megan put little things together. Did they have any idea what it was like to fend for themselves, to wonder where they’d sleep or when they’d have their next meal?
“Yes. Though I wasn’t too proud to ask for help. I didn’t want to live on the street. I stayed at a homeless shelter for a couple of months. I had worked before I left and had a little savings. I found a job waitressing pretty fast, but it took time to save up enough to get into a place of my own. My first job in Austin didn’t pay too much even with tips, so I worked a lot of double shifts. Later I got on at a large, upscale restaurant and made decent money. But I still worked long hours.”
“How did you get into real estate?” Her lack of education didn’t appear to bother Chance. That was a big relief.
“One of my regular customers at the restaurant asked me to work for her and a couple of other agents as an assistant. I learned a lot about the business doing their busy work and being a gofer. And I acquired some computer skills by trial and error. The first month I made up advertising flyers, I almost went back to the restaurant.
“I worked mostly days and had weekends off for the first time ever. That’s when I took the cake decorating classes. Later, I took some online real estate classes and got my license.”
“And you lost some of your free evenings and weekends,” said Jenna. “I had a friend in Dallas who was in real estate. She worked all kinds of hours. Do you think you’ll ever go back to it?”
“Not for a long time. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t want to try to juggle it and take care of a child.”
“Speaking of your baby . . .” Jenna grinned at her. “What are you going to name her? Sweet Baby is cute for now, but I don’t think she’ll want to go through life with it.”
That gave them all a laugh. “Definitely not. That would be as bad as Moon Beam. I’ve been thinking about it but haven’t come up with anything I really like.”
They started tossing around names, some pretty, some outlandish and only meant to make them laugh. She noticed that Will didn’t contribute to the banter, which was unusual.
“Is anything wrong?” she asked quietly as the others hooted about a suggestion Nate had made.
“No. Just considerin’.”
“Considering what?”
He leaned close, his breath warm on her ear, and he curled his fingers around hers. “How each one sounds with Callahan.”
21
On Monday morning, Will tucked the cash for Megan’s van in his pocket and watched Dalton’s friend drive it away. He’d thought about trying to add to the money somehow, but he decided it wouldn’t be a smart move. If Megan ever found out, she’d throw a hissy fit and insist on giving it back anyway.
He wasn’t quite sure what to think of her reaction to his comment on Saturday night about baby names. Longing had filled her countenance, followed by regret before she turned away. She barely talked the rest of the evening, claiming she was tired. He couldn’t argue with that. She’d worked way too hard all week, and it had been a long day.
After he took her home, she paid him a hundred dollars toward the cost of her hospital bill from the money
she made on the cakes. He told her he didn’t want it, but she dug in her heels like a cow pulling against a rope. To keep the peace, he grudgingly accepted her payment and scrawled a receipt on a piece of scratch paper.
When he tried to give her a good night kiss, she shied away—which didn’t make a lick of sense because she’d thoroughly enjoyed the one on Friday night.
Will concluded that he’d blown it, pushed her too much with the comment about the baby names. She hadn’t seemed to mind him putting his arm around her several times at the reception. She’d even welcomed it, especially when Mike joined them.
Fear had flashed across her face when she saw Mike approaching their table. It vanished so quickly Will thought he’d imagined it. But when he put his arm around her, and she leaned against him, she was definitely sending the other man the message that Will would protect her.
From what? Why was she afraid of Mike? When they first saw him, why hadn’t she mentioned that she might know him? What could he do to harm her?
Both Lindsey and Dalton thought highly of him. He was a respected businessman, not some lowlife thug. He must have a clean record, or Dalton wouldn’t have been happy about him dating Kim.
Likely Megan was afraid her old friend would tell her family where she was. Since they appeared to be on good terms when he left their table, he expected Mike had assured her that he wouldn’t.
Yet, the nagging thought that she might have been afraid of what he would reveal to them—about her—lurked in the back of his mind. Mike had given them one more piece of the puzzle, a cousin named Josh who was back in town. Back from where? And if she’d had no contact with her family, how had she known her cousin had been gone?
Will climbed in his pickup and started it up. What was it she’d told Mike? I’ve heard a few things through the grapevine. Things she didn’t want to mention in front of the Callahans, and Mike had gotten the message.
“Lord, I wish she’d just sit down and tell me all about her family, about her life. I want to get to know her, to understand what makes her tick. I hate getting these chunks that only leave me asking more questions. I’m trying to trust you here, but her baby is due in eight weeks. The way I see it, we don’t have a whole lot of time to get this situation resolved.”
It didn’t help that he hadn’t seen her since Saturday night. She missed church for the first time since arriving in Callahan Crossing. She passed on the family get-together to celebrate Father’s Day too. His mom thought maybe she was uncomfortable with it since she’d never had a father.
Will believed there was more to it than that. He hoped she’d worked out whatever was bugging her because he intended to intrude on her space whether she liked it or not.
As he drove around to the back of her house, he was surprised to see her standing by the pasture fence, a small bouquet of wildflowers in her hand. He parked the truck under the chinaberry tree and walked out to join her.
She glanced back at him with a smile. “Good morning.”
That was a good start. His mood scooted up a notch.
“Mornin’, sugar.” He stopped beside her and rested his hand lightly at the small of her back. When she didn’t pull away, he breathed a little easier. “What ya lookin’ at?”
“Grass, birds, and cows way over yonder. Is that a different pasture?”
“Yes. It’s hard to see the fence from here.”
“So that’s why they never come over this way.” She looked up at him. “Why aren’t there any cattle in this pasture?”
“In the past, we usually had a cowboy living here, so it was for his horses. Since Nate married Jenna, we haven’t needed it for a hired hand. That worked out well when Dalton lost his home in the fire. Not only were we able to provide him with a house, but it gave him a place for his horses too. The grass has grown quite a bit after that good rain, so I could move some cattle in here next week if you’d like.”
“What do my likes or dislikes have to do with it?”
“Cattle can get noisy if they’re upset about something, and occasionally it might be smelly if the wind blows in the right direction. Most of the time here, it blows the other way.”
“I’m from the city, remember? I think I might enjoy a few cow moos. It will remind me of car horns.”
He chuckled and gave her a gentle squeeze. “A calf bawling for its mama sounds better than a honking horn. Don’t tell me you miss all that hustle, bustle, and racket of Austin.”
“I did at first, but not now. I really love it here.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Hearing “I love you” would be even better, but he’d take what he could get for the moment. “Do you want some more flowers?”
“A few more would be nice. I’m to the point where bending over is difficult.”
Will laughed and stepped away to gather verbena for her bouquet. “Sweetheart, you reached that point a couple of months ago. I’m surprised you didn’t topple over pickin’ those.” He dodged when she threw a daisy at him, though it didn’t come close. Still grinning, he broke off several small branches of the purple flowers and walked back toward her, picking up the daisy on the way.
He handed her the verbena but kept the daisy. “Do you want more? I’ll get some from the pasture if you do.”
“I ought to make you go through that fence—and hope you get stuck on the barbed wire—but I won’t. These are enough.” She turned toward the house and started walking. “Did Dalton’s friend show up?”
“Yep. He drove off with the van too.”
“His offer was better than the others?” She stepped around a patch of grass burrs.
“Not a lot, but every little bit helps.” He patted his pocket. “Got five hundred cash.”
“That’s two hundred more than the salvage company. You did good, Callahan. Thank you.” Her happy smile warmed his heart.
He grinned and flipped one of her curls with his fingertip. “Yes, ma’am, I did. I’m a horse trader from way back. What are you up to today, besides enjoyin’ the scenery?”
“I’m going to start on the museum newsletter. I have some new formatting ideas Emily said I could try, so it will be fun. She has a new display set up that we’ll highlight.”
“The general store one?”
“Morgan’s Mercantile. Emily said it was like a general store. I was surprised at all the things the family brought in. Bolts of fabric and lace, shoes, hats, some books, and several different kinds of canned goods. Emily was pretty excited when she found an old unopened package of Arbuckles’ Ariosa Coffee in one of the boxes. Something on it indicated it was from around 1885.” Laughter danced in her eyes. “I acted happy too, though I still don’t know what all the fuss was about. Other than it being old and the date documented. Someone came in, and Emily went off to give them a tour. I never got around to asking her about it.
“I’m not real up on history. Just between you and me, I never found it very interesting, but Emily is changing my thinking on that. She’s given me a couple of tours of the museum, plus I hear her talking to visitors. I learn something new each time. She’s so knowledgeable and explains things like a story. I used to think history was dull, but she makes it fascinating.”
“That she does. I heard my grandparents talk about Arbuckle coffee. It was real popular with cowboys and pioneers because it was already roasted. Before the Civil War, coffee beans were sold green and folks roasted them at home or in a skillet over a campfire. If you burned even one bean, it could ruin the whole batch.
“After the war, the Arbuckle brothers figured out a way to coat roasted beans with an egg and sugar glaze that retained the flavor and aroma. They sealed them in airtight one-pound bags and shipped them all over the country. There are several entries in Grandpa Aidan’s record books for a case of Arbuckles’.”
“Emily said there were one hundred one-pound bags in a case. Your grandpa must have really liked coffee.”
Will smiled and cupped her elbow as they walked up the back porch steps. “He wa
s buying it for the whole crew. They had anywhere between ten and twenty cowboys working for them at various times. The chuck wagon cook constantly kept a pot of hot coffee by the campfire, so they went through a lot of it. The packages came with a stick of peppermint, and the cook used it to get the cowboys to turn the coffee grinder.” He opened the screen door and followed her into the kitchen.
“Whoever ground the beans got the candy?” Megan took a glass from the cabinet.
“That’s right. Those boys didn’t get to town too often, so they didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy candy.” He watched as she put the flowers in the glass, added water, and rearranged them a bit.
She glanced at the daisy he still held in his hand. “Are you going to keep that one?”
He nodded. “I thought maybe we could sit on the porch a spell and talk.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” She set the bouquet on the kitchen table, pausing to admire them.
He handed her the money for the van before he forgot it. “We’ve been visiting. Now I want to do some discussin’.”
She stopped by the sink and filled two glasses with water. “Discussing or meddling?”
“A little bit of both.”
After handing him a glass, she led the way back out to the porch and sat down in one of two rocking chairs he’d brought over a few weeks earlier. “This sounds serious.”
He smiled, hoping to put her at ease. “Not dirge-worthy serious. Just have some things on my mind.”
She sat down, still not looking too happy. “Okay. Shoot.”
Thinking of the cash he’d just given her, enough to keep her going for a little while if she took off, he prayed silently. Lord, don’t let me make a mess of this.
“When we first saw Mike Craig outside the church, did you recognize him?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“He was with Kim. Wouldn’t she have been thrilled if I walked up and greeted him like a long-lost friend?”
“Good point. I can understand you not wanting to make a scene.” He studied her intently. “But why didn’t you tell me you knew him?”
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