Carol Grace - Expecting...

“I have no idea,” he said. She’d worked for him for six years and he couldn’t picture anything she wore. At all. Ever.

“Was she pretty?” Mallory asked.

“You got me.” He opened a packet of crackers and crumbled them into his soup.

She sipped her iced tea. “You don’t have to spare my feelings,” she said. “If she was pretty, say so.”

“I tell you I didn’t notice. What does it matter if she was Miss California? The important thing was that she was good at her job.”

“I thought if I looked like a housekeeper, I’d be able to act like one. Then someday I might be as good as Diane.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” he said, avoiding her gaze. If ever there was a time to tell her, it was now. You don’t need to look like a housekeeper, because you’re not going to be one. You wouldn’t have liked the job, anyway. It’s a lot of work. The kind of work you’re not used to. But he didn’t say that. He didn’t have a chance.

“Don’t tell me what to worry about,” she said under her breath as the waitress refilled her iced tea glass. “You have no idea what I’m really worried about.”

“No, I don’t,” he said, struck by the way her voice shook just slightly. He leaned forward, his soup forgotten. “Do you want to tell me?”

“Zach Calhoun, I thought that was you. Mind if I join you?” Before he could say yes he did mind, a tall woman lavishly decorated in silver and turquoise jewelry squeezed into the booth next to him and looked up expectantly at Mallory. Just when Mallory was going to tell him what was bothering her. He glared at the woman and stifled his irritation.

“How are you, Stella?” he asked. “Do you know Mallory... Mallory...”

“Phillips,” Mallory said.

Stella stuck her hand across the table to shake Mallory’s. “Nice to meet you.” Then she turned to Zach. “I heard about your foreman,” she blurted, unable to contain a knowing smile.

Oh, Lord, he should have known. Ranchers who hadn’t had much to say to him for years would now take the opportunity to gloat over his misfortune in losing Joe.

“Did you really?” he asked. He wished she wouldn’t bring this up in front of Mallory. But how was Stella to know she’d been jilted by Joe?

“The word is he got his girlfriend pregnant.”

“What?” he said, dropping his spoon onto the table with a loud clank. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mallory turn pale. Oh, no, she was going to faint again. Damn Stella for gossiping. Why hadn’t he told her to butt out when she’d appeared at the booth? Didn’t it occur to her that the news might hurt Mallory’s feelings?

On the other hand, it could be pure hearsay. Diane pregnant? He would have known. She would have been sick a lot in the mornings and thrown up, those things pregnant women did. No, it wasn’t possible. So Stella was there to gloat about his misfortune and to show him she knew more than he did about his own ranch and his own foreman. And maybe to make up for the fact she’d lost out on the bidding for a bull he’d bought last year.

She nodded solemnly and ordered a salad and a diet Coke. “That’s what I heard. From Randy who heard from Chuck who got it from Joe.”

“I wouldn’t take anything I heard third-hand very seriously. I would have known if Diane...no, it can’t be true. I don’t believe it,” he said firmly with a glance at Mallory who had little worry lines etched between her eyebrows.

“Believe it,” she said. “It pays to keep your ear to the grindstone.”

“I thought it was your nose.”

“Whatever it is, you apparently weren’t doing it and now you’ve lost two of your best workers. If I’d known Joe was leaving, I would have offered him twice what you were paying him. But they say he wanted to get away, put some distance between him and the gossip. How’re you ever going to replace him?”

“I already have. Nobody’s indispensable, you know.”

“We’ll see about that. Wait a few weeks and I’ll ask you again.” She took a sip of her drink and looked across at Mallory. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Are you and Zach...”

“Friends,” Zach said, before she could open her mouth. “Mallory is an astronomer.”

“Really. How fascinating. Could I get some advice from you? I’m a Libra.”

Mallory might have smiled at the question if it weren’t for the pain in her chest. How many people were gossiping about Joe and the housekeeper? How long would it be before she was part of the gossip? On the other hand, she was grateful to the woman for changing the subject. The best thing she could do now was to play along.

“Libra,” Mallory said thoughtfully, gazing off across the crowded restaurant “Let me see. Yes, now I’m getting it.” She shifted her gaze back to Stella. “What you need to do is to stay in your cocoon. Don’t stray from home until your moon is in another house. Does this make any sense to you?” she asked.

“Yes, it does. You know I had a feeling I should have stayed home today. First I had a flat tire and then I broke my fingernail changing it. Instead of going to the bank, I’m going right home after lunch. You’re amazing, you know,” she said beaming at Mallory. “What’s your sign?” she asked Zach.

“How should I know?” he said.

“When’s your birthday?”

“October twenty-eighth.”

“You’re a Scorpio.” Stella turned to Mallory. “What’s in store for him?” she asked.

Mallory surveyed her boss’s rugged face as if she knew what she was doing. “Scorpio,” she repeated, her mind floundering. It didn’t help that Zach was looking at her with an expression brimming with cynicism. “Let’s see. While Mars joins Venus in Capricorn, you should weigh your options and change direction.”

“She’s unbelievable, isn’t she, Zach?” Stella said, wide-eyed with wonder.

“Unbelievable is the word for it,” he said drily.

“Let’s see what the newspaper says,” Stella enthused while Mallory nibbled on her sandwich. “Not that a newspaper would know more than a live astronomer, but still...” She reached into her bag, pulled out a section of her newspaper while Mallory nibbled at her sandwich. “Here we are. Listen to this, Zach. ‘Worrisome situations around home base can be a drag.’ Oh, ho, that’s definitely you.”

“Pure coincidence,” Zach said flatly. “Everyone has worrisome situations at home base.”

“‘Your best bet is to act swiftly,’” Stella continued unabated. “Sounds like you’ve done that. ‘There’s a strong temptation to do something rash. Despite the current chaos, stay calm. Unexpected good will come of this.’” She tilted her head to observe his reaction. When there was none, she continued. “Your thoughts and feelings are at odds,” she read loudly. “Since your thoughts are well-known, try siding with your feelings for a change.”

He smiled blandly and nudged her arm. “Thank you, Stella, for those words of wisdom. It was good seeing you again.” He stood up. Stella had to move so he could get out of the booth. He grabbed Mallory’s arm with one hand, the check with the other and almost dragged her along with her shopping bag to the cashier while Stella went back to reading horoscopes.

“The woman doesn’t know when to quit. ‘Thoughts and feelings at odds.’ What garbage,” he muttered when they were out on the sidewalk. “What possessed you to play along with her? You didn’t have to do that. You could have explained the difference between astrology and astronomy.”

“I know, but she didn’t want to hear that. She wanted someone to tell her what to do. So I did.”

“Am I the only one who doesn’t want to hear my horoscope? Tex believes in the stars, too.” He was irritated by this run-in with Stella, but he was grateful for one thing. His horoscope mentioned nothing about romance. Not that he believed in that kind of thing.