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“You so stole that joke from the Facebook group.”

“I did, but it’s too funny not to say again.”

I gave a thumbs-up to all the townspeople waiting in traffic. Kerry had been the first in line, both figuratively and literally. She’d been doing a crossword, happy to help ruin this developer’s day. Behind her was Atticus, and behind him was Tammy, who was doing a great job of honking her horn so loudly that none of us could have a single thought.

Kevin must have had enough, because he finally got out of his car. Judging by how red his face was, he was pissed off.

“What the hell is the holdup?” He snapped his hands on his hips like an annoyed child.

“Oh, sorry. We’re just waiting for the cows to come home.” Mollie laughed, but yelped when I elbowed her.

Cain, her husband and caretaker of the cows, rolled his eyes. He was doing his best to pretend to be annoyed, but I knew he cared about this just as much as the rest of us.

“Some of us have places to be,” Kevin said.

“Oh well, what can you do when you’re out in the country?”

“Move the cow.” He tried to order Mollie around, but she wasn’t having it. She’d been like this when she first came to town too. Apparently, back in Nashville, she was the kind of person who went with what her fiancé said. Now, no one could stop her.

Not even her actual husband. Not that he wanted to.

“Sorry, we’re moving on the cows’ time. You could try to take another way.”

“This is the one road out of the square.”

“Wow, how inconvenient for you.” Molly took a sip of her iced tea and leaned back, offering no additional help. Kevin turned to me, his face even redder.

“I know what you’re doing.”

“Really?” I gasped theatrically. “I pride myself on being very mysterious, you know.”

“It’s not gonna work. You’re not gonna stop me.”

I looked at the line of traffic and then at him. “I think I already have, buddy.”

“For a few hours, maybe. But mark my words, I am building on that land.”

“First of all, Mark is in the bar and he could not care less about you. Second of all, no you’re not. And I think we’ve made that very clear.”

“Do your worst. I’m not afraid of a bunch of poor townspeople.”

“Oh, we will. And you should be. Though, watching you absolutely lose it will still be fun.”

He hesitated and then stormed off. He really was a petulant child and had been the entire time. All I could do was give Mollie a high five and laugh. This was exactly what he deserved.

“Is there a reason there were cows in the square? Or am I not allowed to ask about that?”

It was midday when I returned to my apartment. Gabriel must have been watching, because he knocked on my door right after.

“You’re allowed to ask,” I said. “I’m ruining Kevin’s life right now. We made good on our plans to piss him off. And Grace snuck into the mayor’s office and checked his email.”

Gabriel laughed. “Grace did that? Doesn’t she always follow the rules?”

“That all changed when she got pregnant. Besides, it’s for a good cause. Now I know when they’re planning meetings.”

“You’re making that man’s life a living hell, aren’t you?” he asked.

“That I am. The current plan is to make him think we’re absolutely nuts while stalling him.”