R Is for Rebel by Megan Mulry Page A

differences.” Penny leaned forward and picked up one of the muffins, then tucked her feet up under her and got more comfortable in the large wicker chair with the big down cushions. “Here in the States, we pretty much want to be known for what we do, rather than who our parents were or where we came from. It’s what we make of ourselves that we want to be known for. Don’t you think?”
    â€œI think you might be right. Whereas in England, I suppose it seems, well, I don’t know, this will probably sound elitist or something, but people would rather be known for their ideas, not what they do for money.”
    Penny laughed. “Oh, you sound like Sarah’s grandmother. Have you met her?”
    â€œYes, I’ve met her a couple of times. She’s extraordinary.”
    â€œShe is. I remember Sarah telling me how appalled her grandmother was that Sarah had decided to go into trade ! Isn’t it funny that there are still people who think like that? Trade! ” Penny laughed at the sound of it.
    Abby smiled but she was a bit ashamed to admit that her own mother had raised her with the same contradictory set of values. One, especially if one happened to be female, was meant to be productive but never money-grubbing, busy, but never truly obligated to an employer. It was an impossible balance to strike.
    â€œI’m sorry, did I say something wrong, Abigail?”
    â€œOh, no, nothing.” She looked up and saw compassion in the woman’s eyes—just like Eliot’s. Something sweet and concerned that made Abby want to cry. “Really nothing. Just how we all sometimes get mixed messages from our parents.” Abby smiled again, trying to change the subject.
    â€œOh! I know all about that!”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œYep. This was my parents’ house.” Penny gestured around her head. “I was born in this house. That’s why I sound like I’m from a farm and Eliot sounds like he’s from… Harvard. That boarding school bred the farm right out of him. Anyway, my people were what was known as upstanding . Methodists. Hardworking farmers. No nonsense. And I went and fell in love with the boy in school whose father was a truck driver. His people were from Kentucky no less.” The way she said Kentucky made it sound like a plague on both their houses. Which it probably was at the time.
    â€œSo… you and Will were star-crossed lovers, then? How romantic!”
    Penny took a bite of her muffin and stared at Abigail. “It sounds romantic now, when you say it like that, but we eloped and it was more like the end of The Graduate than anything else. So scary.”
    â€œOh dear!” Abby brought the palm of one hand to her cheek. “That bad?”
    â€œI know! Can you imagine? My poor mother. Bless her heart. Those few weeks were probably the worst of her life. I was her only child and my father swore he’d never speak to me again.” Penny gave a quick laugh. “He was always one for blowing his top on Monday morning and then making amends by the weekend. But they were long weeks, I’ll tell you what.”
    â€œMy mother can hold a grudge for months. Years even. You’re lucky.”
    Penny tipped her head to one side. “I’ve never met your mother, but Eliot mentioned she is… formidable.”
    â€œThat’s an understatement! But go back to your mother and how you worked it out.”
    â€œOh. My father came around eventually. What else could he do? He’d raised me to be honest and trustworthy and all that, and Will was the man I loved.” She shrugged as if it had all been out of her hands. “So there really wasn’t any way around it. I had complete faith in Will Cranbrook. He promised me he would always love me and that he was going to take his father’s one truck and turn it into a hundred trucks.” Penny took a slow sip of coffee. “And that’s just