Hannah’s gaze flicked to his and then back to the table. “He’s just been extra quiet.” After a moment, she glanced back up at him, questions in her eyes.
Zane shook his head. “I know him as well as anyone at this table does—except for you, of course—and he’s still into you and this wedding. I can promise you that.”
“Did he say something to you?” Hannah asked.
“No. But he didn’t have to. He’s been counting down the days for months. I remember him saying at the firehouse things like, ‘Eight more days until I marry Hannah.’ The guy is whipped. Trust me; he’s not having second thoughts.”
Mabel’s heart swelled. Zane was making the effort to help Hannah, despite looking like a punching bag.
Hannah offered a small smile. “Okay. Thanks, Zane.” She let out a breath. “I’ll still talk to him about it, but it’s nice to hear that.”
Mack, Weston, and Liam came after the food had been served. Mack clapped Zane on the shoulder. He, too, looked somber. “The shiner is looking even shinier now that you’ve cleaned up.” Mack bent down to kiss Cady and take Henry from her.
“I ordered you guys some Cowboy Spuds,” Cady told them.
Ruby swallowed a bite of her Cobb salad and pointed her fork at Zane. “Yeah, you never did say what happened to your eye.”
Bless you, Ruby.
Zane scowled and slumped further into his seat.
“You didn’t tell them?” Liam asked, nudging Zane’s shoulder with the back of his hand.
“Wait,” Mack interrupted. “Before you tell the story, I’ve got to let Marlene know if the payroll needs to shift for next month.” He typed on his phone, frowning. “Have you decided yet?”
Zane looked at Mabel, his expression hooded.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her,” Zane said, his eyes still boring into hers.
Talk to me? Mack! What have you done now?
“That’s nice of you to want to get her opinion, but, Zane, we’ve got to get moving on this right away, and no offense to Mabel, but this is me signing off on this.” Mack rubbed the bridge of his nose. “She doesn’t have to approve of it.”
“Approve of what?” Mabel asked, her breath stilling.
There was a pause in the air, as if Mack was letting Zane handle this, even when it was clear this was Mack’s doing. Whatever it was.
Finally, Zane answered. “Mack’s asked me to work on a project for the water tower.”
Tory laughed. “What does he want you to do, build it with your own two hands?” She pointed to his forearms.
Yes, of course Mabel noticed they’d only grown in size and definition since The Incident PartDeux. His waffle-print shirt, the color of oatmeal with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows, showcased that fact very nicely.
“That will be later.” Mack lifted one side of his mouth in a pretend grin. The serious expression he wore wasn’t like him at all. “This is a windshield survey of our watershed.”
“Watershed? As in the land area around here?” Tory asked.
“Yes. The land area that surrounds our lake. The windshield survey records data about our watershed."
“The project you asked me to work on.” Mabel’s voice was quiet, and it wasn’t a question.
“Yes, and no offense because you’re in freaking nursing school, but you haven’t had a chance to work much on it, and I figured it would help if you had someone. It’s a many-hands-make-light-work kind of thing.”
“He asked me to help. To take turns. One of us will drive and the other will input the data.” There was a questioning storm in Zane’s eyes.
It was true that Mack had asked her a couple of months before, as head of the water authority, to complete the windshield survey. It was also true she’d only gotten done with the basic framework of the project. She hadn’t actually gone out driving and inputting the data. He had every right to hire Zane to speed things along.
But she wasn’t an idiot. This play of Mack’s stunk like an old chicken cutlet tray left in the garbage can for a week. He’d hired Zane because, like all of KNO, he was bent on getting them together. She wouldn’t be surprised if baby Henry’s first words were, “Zane and Mabel.” Or maybe “Zabel” for short. Which she had to admit was kind of cute.
