“So no time. I got it,” Xeni said. Mason lungs felt like they were collapsing on themselves when she looked over at him again. That resolve was back in her eyes, but so was the pain. She hated this. “I need a day. I need to—I need to talk to my parents. I have a lot to think about.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Bess reassured her.
“Why don’t we regroup on Friday and if you and Mr. McInroy are married, we’ll take care of all of the paperwork,” Mr. Barber said.
“Wait, we can get married that quickly?” Xeni asked the question that was right on the tip of Mason’s tongue.
“If you head to town clerk’s office now, you can be married by this time on Thursday.”
“Jesus,” Xeni said with a deep breath. The same overwhelming feeling bounced around in his own head. This was a whole lot to process in such a short amount of time. “Okay. So we’ll meet right back here, Friday.”
“That works for me,” Ms. Jordan said.
Martha would contact everyone with an exact time. With that decided, their meeting was adjourned. Mason left first and headed outside to wait. He slipped his baseball cap on to block his eyes from the sun, even though the clouds were beginning to roll in. He could smell it in the air. The rain was coming.
A few moments later, Xeni and Bess came walking down the stone steps.
“Oh good, I thought you’d taken off,” Xeni said.
“No, just stepped out for a bit of air,” Mason replied.
“Hmm. Do you need to get back to the farm right now?”
“No, they can handle things without me a little bit longer.”
“Maybe you could drive me back to the house. We should probably talk.”
“That’s a good idea,” Bess said. “You have my number?”
“Yes, thank you. I’ll give you a call if I need anything.”
Mason watched as Bess gave Xeni’s hand a light squeeze before she turned and crossed the street toward her own car.
“I’m just over here,” he said, pointing to his beat-up Suburban a ways down the street. “I know the way to her house.”
“Okay.”
Mason didn’t miss how exhausted Xeni sounded. The quiet thank you she offered him as he held her door open and helped her up into the cab was the last thing she said before they arrived at Ms. Sable’s house. She lived about fifteen minutes outside of the town center. When they pulled in the tree-shaded driveway, a large lump formed in Mason’s throat. He half expected Ms. Sable to walk out the front door and offer them a big wave like she’d done so many times before. He brought his truck to a stop and waited. She let out a small sigh, then scratched her jaw. Mason watched as a small, angry welt raised on her skin.
“Your—your face.”
“Oh.” She touched the spot. “It’s this weird skin condition. It’s a stress thing. I get these welts if I scratch myself. It’s fine. Why don’t you give me your number? Then you can call me or text me later and let me know when’s a good time to go to the town clerk’s office tomorrow.”
“We don’t have to do this,” Mason replied.
“Yes we—I mean, I do. Sorry. I’m absolutely all in my head.” She turned to him. That clarity was back in her eyes. Like she’d made a decision. “Will you marry me?”
Mason knew what his answer should be. No. A firm no. He wanted to try to talk her out of it. He wanted to come up with some sort of reasonable alternative, but he had none. Ms. Sable’s wishes were legal and binding.
“Might as well,” he said, giving in.
“Great. I’ll ask Mr. Barber about a pre-nup or a post-nup or whatever. Shit. I’ll call him when I get inside. I’m sorry I just can’t give you half of everything whenever we finally dissolve this thing. And you seem nice and all, but it’s a lot and you might decide you’d like your inconvenience fees to the tune of ten million dollars, and nah. That’s not happening.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Now. But as you can see, money makes people do stupid things. We saw proof of that just this afternoon.”
They exchanged numbers, then Xeni climbed down from the truck. “I’ll try and make this as quick and painless as possible. I promise your next proposal will be more romantic.”
