Page 50 of From Rivals to I Do

“It’s true,” Sparrow says. “Ever since you started seeing Eli, there’s this radiance about you. It’s something I haven’t noticed in you in a long time.”

“You know what? I definitely feel it,” I say with a sigh as I sit down to finish my breakfast. “I feel ten years younger at least!”

“You deserve it, Mama,” Sparrow says as she lays a hand on top of mine and gives it a little squeeze.

“You’re right,” I reply. “I really do, don’t I?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“I’m just glad I found a good one on there,” I say as I bite a piece of bacon. “There’s some real wild ones on that dating app.”

“What do you mean?” Sparrow asks, and I just shake my head, not even wanting to get into it.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I tease as I finish my breakfast, play with Jade on the floor until they leave, and then crawl into bed. Finally able to sleep, visions of Eli and I together dance across the back of my eyelids.

***

“Hyah!” I yell as I rush around the back of the herd of cattle with Mitch and the boys, Tango speeding around like he was a young buck still, not showing any signs of aging. Me on the other hand, my hips are sore from riding all day with Darla, and now having to round the cows up—who thankfully had stayed more or less all together—had me aching for a nice hot bath and some time planted in front of the television.

“Did we get ‘em all?” I yell to Zack and Noah, who are heading up the back.

“Yeah, I think so,” Zack calls out as I meet back up with Mitch at the front.

“Sheesh, that was rough,” I say to Mitch, but he’s eerily quiet, and no longer wearing his bandana on his face. He appears to be deep in thought. “Still not sure how this happened.”

“I guess we’ll have to check everything when we get back after we get these guys and gals up, hmm?” he replies quietly.

“Yeah,” I say, trying to gauge where Mitch’s head is at. The tone in his voice is level, but it also seems full of an emotion I can’t quite peg. It feels like the calm before a storm, and I don’t much like it.

“Look like the date went well,” he says finally after about five minutes of our silent ride to take the cows back.

“It sure did,” I say. “She’s a wonderful woman.”

“Agree to disagree, but you know what, I’m glad you’re happy,” Mitch replies, his face affixed in a scowl for a moment before leveling out.

“You seem angry at me,” I say.

“Less angry, more disappointed,” Mitch replies. “I’m trying to protect you, Eli. But you just won’t let me.”

“I think the one you need to be protecting yourself from is that Joe guy,” I say, trying to figure out how to ease into the possibility that Joe was trying to hurt Darla, but unsure how to without upsetting him further.

“Joe is a good man,” Mitch insists, shaking his head. “It’s too bad you didn’t meet him first or seen the things I’ve seen.”

Seen the things he’s seen? What things? I think to myself. Darla only just moved here, and there he is again, making claims about things he shouldn’t know.

“Well, I hate to break it to ya, Mitch, but I believe that man has it out for Darla,” I say, and Mitch looks over at me, his eyes seeming like two hollow pits. There’s just nothing there.

“Is that so?” Mitch asks.

“I think he tried to hurt Darla,” I say, and Mitch stops short, the cattle beginning to walk around him. So, I stop just behind him. “The night he and I had words at the bar, after I took off with her like you said, we came back, and her car wouldn’t start.”

“So?”

“Her son in law looked it over and someone messed with her battery, put the cables on the terminals backward,” I reply. “It could have blown right up.”

“That’s not possible,” Mitch says as he shakes his head.

“Is it not possible, or you just don’t want it to be?” I ask him and I see his jaw move around as if he’s fighting back anger.

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