Chapter 5
As they came around the bend in the road that led to Joshua’s farm, Callie was clinging so tightly to the steering wheel that her hands started to hurt.
On some level, Callie knew she shouldn’t have been that nervous.
It wasn’t like Joshua was going to do or say anything inappropriate.
Then again, he wasn’t suspicious that day at the farmer’s market and Sasha still assumed she was having an affair with Joshua.
What was Mallory going to think? And if she did make any assumptions, what would Callie be able to do to convince her there was nothing to worry about?
“Mom!” Mallory barked, snapping Callie back to the moment. “You passed the turnoff.”
“Huh? Oh, shoot.” Callie pulled onto the shoulder and waited for a good time to make a U-turn. “Sorry, I was a little lost in thought.”
“Are you okay? You seem on-edge.”
“I’m just stressed about getting everything ready for tomorrow. But it’ll be fine.” She exhaled heavily. “I’m glad Joshua’s going to be able to help us.”
“Yeah, it’s very nice of him,” Mallory agreed. “Why have I never met this friend of yours?”
“I’m sure you have. I stop by his booth every time I’m at the farmer’s market.”
“Oh, well, that explains it. I haven’t been to the market with you guys in forever.”
“Good point. Even when you’re in town, you never accept invitations to go.”
Mallory shrugged. “It’s just not that fun. And you always go so slow. No offense.”
Callie smiled. “I like to take my time.” They turned onto the side road that took them to Joshua’s farm and came to a stop right outside tiny farmhouse. Before she stepped out of the car, Joshua walked out onto the front porch and waved.
“Oh, wow.” Mallory laughed.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said, opening the side door. “I just didn’t expect this farmer friend of yours to be so handsome. No wonder you wanted to come alone! You’ve got a little crush on him, don’t you?”
Callie gawked. “Mallory, no! That’s—that’s preposterous. Of course I don’t have a crush on him. Why would you say something like that?”
“Oh, calm down, mom! I’m just joking.” She snorted. “Sheesh. So, everyone else is allowed to poke fun at me and my love life, but I can’t do the same?”
Callie shook her head and got out of the car, still taken aback by this comment. If she wasn’t nervous before, now she was practically going to be sick from her anxiety. She smiled tensely at Joshua but noticed that he didn’t have a box in his hands.
Oh no. Please don’t invite us inside.
Callie had really hoped this would be a quick hi-bye situation.
“Hey there,” he said cheerfully. “You brought company.”
Callie introduced Joshua to Mallory and then had no choice but to accept Joshua’s offer to go inside the house to his office.
He didn’t have the veggies with him, and it would’ve been very strange if she insisted on staying outside while he went to fetch them for her.
He led the way and then lingered to shut the door behind the two women.
“Sorry it’s a little messy.” The front room was cluttered with a desk that was far too big for the space, a couple of chairs, boxes, and piles of paperwork.
“If I’d known earlier that you were coming over, I would’ve put some of this junk away. ”
“We’re the ones barging in at the last second,” Callie said. “Don’t even worry about it.”
Mallory was looking curiously at the boxes.
“Yeah, I know.” Joshua rubbed the back of his neck and laughed sheepishly. “It looks like pure chaos, but I promise, I have a system.”
“A system that works?” Mallory shot him a knowing smile.
“Now that’s a good question,” said Joshau with a laugh. “And one I’m not going to answer for fear of judgment. I’m trying to make a good impression on you, after all.”
Callie’s hands tightened into fists, like her body was getting ready to jump into fight or flight mode. Mallory looked a little surprised as well by his comment, but she didn’t say anything in response.
“But come on now, I know you two didn’t come here to talk shop,” Joshua said.
I’ve got your veggies all boxed up in the kitchen.
” They followed him down the hall, passed a bedroom that was much neater than the office space, and a bathroom that was spotless.
For a man who lived as a bachelor, Callie was pleasantly surprised with how clean his house was.
“Alright,” Joshua said in the kitchen, placing his hands on top of the cardboard box that sat on the counter.
“I have all the replacement veggies in here and I also threw in a few extra goodies. For the spinach dip recipe, I think you could turn it into more of a southwestern dip. I threw in some really good corn and peppers too. I know that’s not necessarily a traditional Thanksgiving dish, but—”
“No, that sounds perfect,” Callie said. “We’re not going with a super traditional menu anyway. Two of my children don’t like turkey very much, so we’re going with chicken, and I’ve had to make a couple other swaps so my grandkids will actually have something to eat. Do you have a recipe for it?”
He smiled. “I already texted you a picture.”
“Oh, wonderful.” She reached for the box. “You’re on top of it.”
“If only I could show this much initiative with my other work.”
“I’m sure you’re doing just fine with the farm stuff,” she mused. “At least, you’ve always got a lot of people shopping at your booth at the market.”
“I won’t say business has been bad. I could really use a personal assistant. Maybe I’ll put an ad out.”
“You should!” Callie nodded. “Well, thanks again. I seriously owe you. But we’ll get out of your hair now. It sounds like you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Technically I carved out a few hours this morning to try and get organized, since all my employees are off until Friday and I won’t be distracted, but I don’t know.
” He shook his head in feigned disappointment.
“If the alternative is getting to stand around swapping recipe details with you, I can’t say I’m itching to get back to the office. ”
Callie flushed and stared down at the top of the box. “That’s nice of you. Unfortunately, I have a lot of work I need to do to get ready for tomorrow, and Mallory has a date in town.”
“I never said I had a date!”
Callie smirked. “Yeah, but don’t you? Aren’t you meeting up with James?”
“We might be getting coffee,” Mallory relented. “But it’s not a date.”
“Okay, well the point is, you are meeting someone, so we have to go.” She gave Joshua one last glance, smiled, and then turned to leave the room. “I’ll let you know how the other recipe goes.”
“Please do.”
He walked them out and lingered on the porch as they drove away. When they pulled back onto the main road, Callie could feel Mallory’s eyes on her. “Can I just say something?”
No.
“Sure, honey,” Callie said as casually as she could. “Always.”
“You were so freaked when I made that joke about you having a crush on Joshua,” Mallory said. “But it’s obvious that he has a crush on you. He knows you’re married, right?”
“Yes, he knows I’m married,” she said. “And he doesn’t have a crush on me. That’s absurd. He’s just a friendly guy. If he flirts sometimes, it’s because that’s how he gets more sales when he’s at the farmer’s market. I think it just comes naturally to him.”
“I don’t know. It seemed like a little more than that to me.”
Callie rolled her eyes. “Are you just trying to get me back for calling your meet up with James a date?”
“No, I really think he likes you!” Mallory shuffled further down into the passenger seat. “I’m just saying this so you know to be careful. You don’t wanna accidentally lead the poor man on. He seems really sweet.”
“He is sweet. But you don’t have to worry about Joshua. Nobody is leading anyone on.”
“If you say so…” She shifted around in her seat. “But hey, if he’s actually going to put an ad out for a personal assistant, maybe I should think about applying.”
“You want to work for Joshua?” Callie wasn’t sure if she should be excited or worried. “You want to stay in town?”
“I don’t know,” Mallory said. “But it’s not like I’d have to sign a super strict contract right?
I’m sure he’d be happy to just have someone come and help him get organized and stuff for a few weeks.
Even if he doesn’t have a thing for you, he’s still your friend, so I thought I might have a leg up…
though I don’t have a ton of clerical experience. ”
Callie didn’t say anything right away. She was torn between wanting to encourage her daughter to get a job and stay close to home while also wanting to keep Mallory and Joshua far, far away from each other.
“He would definitely give you the job,” she said eventually, because she had to say something. “But you should think about whether that’s something you really want to do. It sounds boring, don’t you think?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I like that he’s a local business owner and it’d be a nice change of pace to work for someone who actually seems to care about people, instead of getting another soulless corporate gig.” She looked out the window. “But you’re right. I’ll think about it first.”
“Good. I think that’s best.”
“But only if you admit that Joshua totally likes you.”
“Mallory, stop it,” Callie griped. “Are you trying to push my buttons?”
“A little.” She laughed. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not right.”
“Except that in this case, you’re absolutely and completely wrong. Please, can we just drop it?”
“Okay, fine. We’ll drop it.” Mallory was clearly not convinced, but much to Callie’s relief she didn’t keep arguing with her mother, and they drove the rest of the way to town in calm silence.
*
James was standing on the curb in front of the coffee shop, well-dressed and smiling as they pulled up.
Mallory tried to get out of the car hurriedly, throwing a half-hearted goodbye over her shoulder at her mother, but Callie wasn’t going to let her off that easily.
She rolled down the passenger side window after her daughter shut the door and waved to James.
“Hey, Mrs. Ward,” he said, coming up to the car.
“Callie,” she corrected him. “Please, call me Callie.”
He nodded. “Right. Callie. How are you?”
“I’m better now,” she said. “We had a little snafu with some Thanksgiving preparations this morning, but it’s all taken care of, and I should be back on schedule for dinner in no time.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”
“Mallory invited you to dinner tomorrow night, right?”
He nodded. “She told me you extended the invitation. Thank you. That’s really sweet. But I’m actually going to spend the day with my aunt and some of her friends. We’ve got a whole feast planned and everything.”
“How fun,” Callie said. “I hope you have a wonderful time and if things wrap up early, don’t hesitate to drop by.
We usually stay up pretty late on holidays and we’d all be thrilled to see you.
” Especially Mallory. She kept that comment to herself, however.
She knew Mallory wouldn’t appreciate it, and both of them had had enough teasing for one day.
“Thanks.” James smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. And you let me know if there’s anything else you need for food prep. My aunt decided to do an online grocery order for the first time, and she accidentally got multiples of things, so our kitchen is literally being taken over by non-perishables.”
“Good to know.” Callie laughed. “And thanks. You’ll be the first one I call if we have any more cooking emergencies, but fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.”
James held up his crossed fingers and smiled.
“Alright, mom, don’t you have to go?” Mallory chimed in. “You’ve got a lot of cooking to do, right?”
“Yes, I do. I’m leaving. Have a nice time you two!
” Callie waved to them and then drove off.
She had a grin on her face as she drove home, and a warm feeling overcame her as she thought about how great it’d be for her youngest child to finally find someone—someone who could give her the kind of relationship she wanted more than anything.
A relationship like the one I have with her father…
Suddenly, the warmth was doused by an icy shock of guilt, and she pulled into the driveway with a sickening feeling in her gut.