Best Friends in the Show Me State

by Jessie Gussman

  Clark was listening so intently he didn’t even correct his son for talking with his mouth full.

  Huck swallowed. “She had some man there, and they wanted me to do a bunch of stuff. And the man didn’t look very happy.”

  “He didn’t? Why not?” Clark paused with his fork midair, and Marlowe wasn’t even sure he knew it.

  Huck shrugged his shoulders, typical unconcern. “I don’t know. It was fun, at first, because they let me play with trucks. But then they brought Molly in. And they told me I had to play with her, and I didn’t want to because she wanted to play dolls, and she’s not like Kylie. She was mean. And then they wanted me to hold her hand. But I didn’t want to get any closer to her. She didn’t smell good. That’s when the man wasn’t happy.”

  “And your mom wanted you to do this?” Clark’s voice had gotten softer.

  Marlowe didn’t hear that tone out of him very often, but she knew exactly what it meant. Dana was in big trouble. She would’ve smiled if she hadn’t been so outraged herself. What had that woman been doing with Huck?

  “Yeah. She told me to do whatever the man said. And I tried to, because you told me that I always have to obey adults. But I don’t want to do that again.” Huck got a mulish look on his face, and Marlowe almost smiled, because he looked just like his dad. “And they didn’t let me eat until it was over, and it lasted a really long time.”

  “But you did get something to eat eventually, correct?” Clark said, and the threatening note was almost gone from his voice, although it was still soft.

  “Yeah. They gave me a doughnut.” Huck shoved another forkful of egg in his mouth, and he looked across the table at Kylie. “Are we still going to race our bikes after breakfast?”

  The two kids chatted, and Clark’s eyes lifted and met Marlowe’s.

  “I guess it’s no longer a mystery as to why she wants custody. It sounds like she either has a part for him to play already, or she’s trying to push him into it.”

  Marlowe’s heart hurt, but she nodded, feeling bad for Clark, because he didn’t need this kind of complication in his life. He would never let Dana get away with it.

  “It almost makes it better. We kind of knew there was something going on, and this makes everything clear.”

  His cell phone rang, and it showed how distracted he was, because he answered it while still sitting at the table, and she’d never known a time she’d eaten with him that she’d ever seen him on his cell phone at the table.

  She only listened to his conversation with half an ear, because Kylie asked her if she and Huck could fly kites, and then they started talking about where the kites were. She got involved in that, but she could tell Clark’s conversation was something serious by the look on his face.

  Clark slid his phone off and smiled at her, a real smile. It had to have been good news.

  “What?” she asked.

  His smile got bigger. “That was Judge Rhodes. Apparently, Dana and Cody ate at the diner this morning on their way out of town, and they discussed what was apparently an audition for Huck over breakfast. They happened to be in the booth behind Judge Rhodes.” His smile almost turned into a smirk as he set his phone down on the table. “Mr. Rhodes wasn’t impressed when Dana started talking about the audition and how she’d been filing for custody so she could make money from Huck.” His tone lowered. “But I’m pretty sure she sealed her fate when she called her kid a brat.” His eyes cut to Huck, who was deep in conversation with Kylie about the best way to get a kite in the air.

  “I honestly can’t even believe she would say that, even knowing Dana.”

  Clark nodded.

  “Wasn’t Judge Rhodes the man that you worked for all through high school? On the pig farm west of town?”

  “Yes. I came on and gave them a hand along with his hired guys when he went on vacation every September. And March.” His hand touched his fork, but he didn’t pick it up. “That could’ve been a lot different, and the Lord really worked that out perfectly. Judge Rhodes might not have my custody case, but not all cases are decided in the courtroom.”

  Marlowe nodded. There was a lot of finagling that went on; even with her limited experience, she knew that much.

  “I’m happy for you, and I’m very relieved for Huck.”

  “Monday, I might have to make some phone calls, but I’m pretty sure we can get this straightened out. She might not even be allowed to visit anymore, if what Judge Rhodes was saying works out. She obviously doesn’t have Huck’s best interests at heart.”

  “Not a surprise to us, although it is kind of shocking that a mother could act like that.”

  “After Monday, I don’t think we’ll have to worry too much about Dana.” Clark looked at his fingers, but he probably wasn’t seeing the fork in his hand. He lifted his gaze. “I guess what I’m saying is we had talked about needing to be married, but I don’t think that’s gonna be necessary after all. I know you are willing to do it, and I appreciate that.” His chest rose and fell. “It looks like the Lord might’ve worked that out for us too. For you. If you’re still wondering whether or not you should go, that’s not holding you back anymore.”

  “I guess it’s good to know.” She wasn’t sure that would make a difference. She’d already pretty much made up her mind. She thought anyway.

  It was something she should probably tell him, but suddenly she realized it was getting late. “Oh my goodness, I need to get going. With the feed store’s extended hours, we’re open until one o’clock on Saturdays, and it’s my day to work. I need to get in there.” She pushed back away from the table as Clark nodded. He’d known she was working and already planned on watching Kylie. She had let time slip away from her.

  She was still fifteen minutes early when she pulled into the feed store. Definitely tonight she and Clark needed to talk. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure on her decision, but she needed to be by this evening. It wasn’t fair to string Clark along. He’d been supportive and sweet, and she was taking advantage of him.

  They had a rush of customers when they opened at eight, and Marlowe didn’t think too much more about it until things slowed down around ten.

  That’s when the Cromwells came in. Mrs. Cromwell held the baby in one hand while pushing the cart that held the two other children in it, with the oldest walking beside her. They followed her husband around the store.

  The older children were well-behaved, but the baby was fussy.

  Finally, Mr. Cromwell turned around and said loud enough for the entire store to hear, although they were the only customers, “If you can’t get the kid to shut up, take it outside.”

  Mrs. Cromwell smiled, a little sad in Marlowe’s opinion, and with a long-suffering look on her face, she lifted the two children out of the cart, and they all followed her out the door.

  Mr. Cromwell turned. “Adam, get back here. You push the cart.”

  The oldest son looked up at his mother, and she nodded.

  “You don’t need your mother’s permission. I told you to get over here, now get.”

  Adam didn’t look at Mrs. Cromwell again. He returned to his dad and put his hands on the cart.

  Marlowe turned away. Mr. Long stood at the end of the counter, watching as well. When Marlowe moved back around, his eyes went to hers.

  She didn’t figure he’d say anything about the Cromwells, and neither did she.

  “Everything going okay this morning?” Mr. Long asked.

  She was kind of surprised he was in; it was Saturday, after all. She nodded. “It was really busy when we opened this morning, but things slowed down.”

  He nodded. “That’s a Saturday for you.” He tapped on the counter with his fingers, his eyes kinda staring off into the distance.

  It was unlike Mr. Long, and Marlowe moved closer, putting her hand on his. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Well, the missus isn’t doing so great. I’ve been thinking about retiring.”

  Marlowe almost smiled. Mr. Long thought
about retiring a lot. Although this was the first that he’d mentioned his wife’s health.

  “I don’t think the store would run without you,” she said. “I say Mrs. Long needs to get better, because I think she knows that too. We need you.”

  “I want to be here. Although Mrs. Long would like to do some traveling, and I’ve kinda got a hankering to spend a little more time with her than I have been. I guess her sickness isn’t bad, but it’s made me think. We don’t have a lot of time left. And I’m happiest when I’m with her. As much as I love the store, and everything we do here, and Mrs. Long has always supported me, I just knew she missed me when I wasn’t there, and maybe it’s time for us to do a few things together.”

  Mr. Long never talked like that, and Marlowe’s stomach dipped and swayed at the thought of the man who was almost like a father to her not being there anymore. It would be really odd working for someone other than Mr. Long. Of course, she’d get used to it, but still, change was hard, especially when one was looking at losing someone one admired and trusted as much as she did Mr. Long.

  But there was no point in borrowing trouble, so she didn’t. “I think that’s a smart idea. I’m sure Mrs. Long will be pretty happy if she hears you’re going to be home.”

  Mr. Long chuckled. “I’ll have a honey do list about a mile and half long.”

  “I bet you could talk her into doing it with you.”

  Mr. Cromwell and Adam came to the counter then, and Marlowe checked them out. Mrs. Cromwell never came back in. Marlowe didn’t blame her.

  She didn’t know what the Lord was trying to tell her with this, although she kind of felt like maybe He was saying something. Mr. Long and Mrs. Long’s marriage which had spanned decades and was happy versus the Cromwells’ marriage where Mr. Cromwell was a jerk and Mrs. Cromwell was a saint.

  There. Maybe that was it. The world would tell Marlowe that she needed that degree and that career.

  But it didn’t matter what they said.

  She would have a marriage like the Longs with Clark. Because he was about the opposite of Mr. Cromwell. She wouldn’t have to daily take up a cross and die to herself in order to stay married to her husband. Being married to Clark would be fun. She could almost bet that would be true every day.

  She’d always kind of felt like God messed up her life when he’d allowed her mother and sister and her husband to be killed and, while she hadn’t minded stepping up and adopting Kylie, she’d not seen it as God’s best for her.

  But, as she’d thought of leaving and doing what she wanted, she realized that’s not what she wanted anymore. It was hard to believe that she would have been happier away from Cowboy Crossing and Kylie and Clark.

  In fact, she knew she wouldn’t have been.

  She grunted as the realization swept over her – God had been working everything out for years, and she’d been too busy being bitter at Him and hadn’t taken the time to see that what He’d given her was better than what she’d wanted.

  With those thoughts, peace settled in her chest, and she felt lighter and cool, and a weight she hadn’t even realized she’d been carrying around floated away until it was gone. She couldn’t wait to talk to Clark.

  Chapter 19

  Marlowe ended up doing inventory and restocking shelves with Mr. Long after the feed store closed at one. It wasn’t something she normally did, but since they were shorthanded, and since it was the busy time of year, she put the hours in.

  They worked quickly, though, since Clark had texted her around two saying that a bad line of storms might be coming through before supper.

  Mr. Long had left, and Marlowe was just finishing up when Clark’s dad, who owned the store, stopped in.

  “It’s looking good in here,” he said as he came around the end of the aisle where Marlowe had organized the rakes, shovels, and pitchforks.

  She looked up, surprised at the sound of his voice. She put a hand to her heart. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Sorry. I used my key and came in the back.”

  Her heart still thudded, but she thought she sounded calm. “I’m glad you like what we did. We put some items we thought might be impulse buys at the end of the aisle. Those kids’ gloves are just adorable. I actually bought a pair for both Kylie and Huck.”

  Mr. Hudson smiled, looking so much like Clark that Marlowe had to stare. This was probably how Clark would look in twenty-five years.

  “It looks like you’re almost done, and I don’t want to keep you because of the weather. I do appreciate you staying. You’ve been doing a lot of things that aren’t your job lately.”

  “I enjoy it, but I really enjoy having customers come in and enjoy shopping here.” It was the truth. Of course, she enjoyed being home, but she also liked looking for ways to make the feed store better.

  “That’s one of the things I like about you.” Mr. Hudson shifted and looked at the shelf above her head, as though gathering his thoughts. “That’s not really why I’m here. I suppose you’ve been hearing from Mr. Long that he’s thinking about retiring.”

  “He did mention that today,” Marlowe said, scooping up the cardboard pieces she’d left on the floor and straightening. “But he’s said that before.”

  “I think he’s serious this time. He and his wife have plans for a cruise.”

  “Yeah, we talked about that this afternoon while we were working.” She grinned. “I think he’s pretty excited.”

  “I want you to take his place.”

  “While he’s gone? Sure. I can do it.” It was only a ten-day cruise. She could handle the store for that long.

  “Then, yes. But I want him to train you to take his place. I want you to manage the store when he retires.”

  She stood with her mouth opened, shocked. She hadn’t expected this. It was on the tip of her tongue to argue—she didn’t have any kind of business degree or experience—but neither did Mr. Long. He’d just learned on the job and done the best he could. How many times had he said that over the years?

  Marlowe thought about God’s timing and plan. He’d opened the door for her education... She still loved chemistry and probably always would, but an online business degree was doable, and God had just opened this door. She could have what she wanted most—Clark and a family—and also what she wanted next—to finish her education. It just wouldn’t look quite like what she had thought it would.

  “You think about it.” Mr. Hudson shifted. “In the meantime, I definitely think you ought to be getting home. These storms might not amount to much, but I’d feel better knowing you are at home with Clark.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hudson,” she said. Her answer was almost a sure yes, but she wanted to talk to Clark about it. He’d almost certainly be happy for her and okay with it, but she wanted to make sure.

  Despite the darkening sky, her heart was light on the way home. But by the time she pulled in, it was hard to pull her eyes away from the gray-green color in the western sky.

  Clark stood on the porch, waiting. He’d texted while she was driving home, but she hadn’t stopped to answer him.

  His lips smiled, despite his pinched face, when she pulled in.

  “I was about ready to come after you. Dad said you left fifteen minutes ago.” Clark was at her door before she came to a complete stop.

  She felt bad about the worry lines on his forehead that were her fault. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to stop and answer you on the way home.”

  “It’s okay. I’d rather you be safe.” He put his arms around her as soon as she stood up. “I sent the kids down to the cellar with blankets already. I told them they could play games on the iPad.” He squinted at the sky. “I think we have about ten minutes.” He brushed her hair back and pulled her closer. “Man, you had me worried.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have texted you before I left, but I was talking to your dad and thinking about some things.”

  “Oh?”

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “Crops an
d stuff. Not about you, but I’m sure Mom told him about us. Or...” His voice trailed off like he wasn’t sure what to call them. He still thought she was leaving.

  “He talked to me about managing the feed store since Mr. Long is retiring. I thought maybe you said something to him.”

  A gust of wind whipped across the yard. He waited for it to pass. “No. I didn’t know about Mr. Long. He’s really doing it this time?”

  “That’s what your dad said.”

  “Dad wants you to take his place?” He smiled, but then his face fell. “Did you tell him you were leaving?”

  “No.”

  “You probably should.” His face seemed guarded, like he was trying hard to be supportive of her and not give her any guilt because her choice wasn’t what he wanted. She appreciated it.

  “I’m staying,” she blurted out.

  He paused, then shook his head. “No. I don’t want you to give up your opportunity. Not for me. Not for anything.”

  “I’m going to manage the feed store. I want to get a business degree, and I can do that online. But I wanted to talk to you first.”

  “Oh.”

  She was pretty sure he was stunned, but in a happy kind of way. She swallowed. She hadn’t planned this next thing, but it felt like the right thing to do.

  Pulling back a little, she took one of his loosened hands and dropped to one knee. Her stomach knotted, and her throat felt like parched earth, but she opened her mouth. “Clark, you’ve been my best friend forever. You know I love you, and we’re even living together. I was kind of hoping you’d make an honest woman of me... I don’t have a ring, but would you marry me?”

  “You’re not supposed to have a ring. Holy smokes, woman, I’m not wearing a diamond on my finger.”

  She shrugged. “That’s what they always say in the movies. I couldn’t come up with anything else. It was a little spur-of-the-moment.” She sighed. “It’s uncomfortable down here, and there’s a storm coming, in case you forgot. Would you please answer me instead of complaining I didn’t do it right?”

  “It should only happen once. You need to do it well.”