Page 12 of Blue Norther
He was staring at me, and I just stared right back. I wasn’t about to let a stranger make me feel uncomfortable. It was almost as if he was waiting to see if I’d back down first, but as I got closer, he simply went back to looking at the box of cereal in his hands.
Maybe I looked like someone he knew. Maybe he just had no manners. Whatever the reason was, I didn’t care. Grabbing thefirst box of maple brown sugar oatmeal I could get my hands on, I hightailed it out of the aisle.
It took me another ten minutes of wandering the store to feel like I had an okay selection of groceries. After I stopped into the Sheriff’s department tomorrow—the one in Bell Ridge, and not here in Silver Springs where I knew I was likely to run into Colt—my plans were to hide out at the house until I could gather up enough courage to talk to him. Now that I was back, he deserved to know the truth.
“Ma’am.” I turned, looking at the guy behind me in line. My apple-disaster rescuer was behind me in line.
“Sorry. I don’t have any apples with me,” I joked. “I hear there’s a lovely selection in the fruit department, though some may be a little bruised for an unknown reason.”
He laughed as his eyes dropped to my belly, where I was rubbing my hand over what I was almost certain was the baby’s foot pushing out at me.
“Can I help you to your car?” he asked.
“Oh, I…uh. No, that’s so kind of you, but I’ve got everything under control.”
“That’ll be $112.85, dear,” the cashier announced as she placed the last of my ice cream into a bag and handed them over the partition to me.
“Sure thing.” I placed the ice cream into my cart and held my credit card over the receiver, waiting for the all clear from her side. As soon as I saw the receipt start to print, I began to push my cart out of the way.
“My mama would actually throttle me if I didn’t help,” the man behind me offered. “Besides, it’s getting dark. Our town is pretty sleepy, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
Sweat pricked on the small of my back.He was just being friendly. He was just trying to look after a woman who wasclearly very pregnant. One who had admitted to being clumsy earlier, and that he’d seen first-hand. I didn’t need to fear him…
“That’s very sweet, but I’m okay.”
“Oh, honey.” The cashier smiled at me, clearly understanding my hesitancy wasn’t just about being polite or independent. “You’re safe with him, he’s a deputy. And I know his mama—she would actually throttle him.”
“Thanks, Ms. Carolyn.” She scanned his Coke and a sub from the deli.
The tips of his ears turned red as he smiled at me. A deputy. He worked with Colt. The apprehension in my muscles drained away.
“Well, I can’t be responsible for your mom being mad at you. I’d actually love the help. Thank you.”
“I’m Nate, by the way. Nate Jones. Or Jonesy, if you’re my friend,” he informed me as we walked out of the store.
I smiled, a little hesitant to relinquish control of my shopping cart to him. He swooped in very smoothly and smiled as he took over. Probably a good thing as I felt my belly tighten. Braxton Hicks contractions were becoming a part of my nighttime routine lately. They were completely normal—at least that’s what my midwife had said when I asked about the risks of traveling so far this late in my pregnancy.
“It’s nice to meet you, Nate. Thank you again for helping me out to my car. It does make me feel a little bit like I’m eighty, but I’ll let it slide because I am actually very tired and appreciate the help.”
“Dang. I was hoping you’d call me Jonesy. I feel like helping someone through an apple containment breach and subsequent cleanup at least puts us in the friends category.”
“Friends, then,” I agreed.
“So…” He raised his eyebrows as I pulled my keys out, clicking the little button that released the back hatch on my car.
“Oh,” I laughed, “I’m Violet.”
“Well, it’sverynice to meet you, Violet, even if you did put me straight to work from the very first minute of our friendship.” He winked at me. Oh God. I could feel the heat flooding my face. He had to beat leastten years younger than me, not to mention the fact that he kept looking at my very,verypregnant belly.
We got to my car and Nate made quick work of transferring my groceries for me. I stood like an awkward potato, just watching until he was all done.
“Thank you again so much for the save with the apples and the grocery bags.” I held out my hand to him.
Nate smiled, looking down at my hand with a chuckle before he shook it. “No problem, Violet. Get home safe, okay?”
“You got it.”
He pushed the cart away from my car and I got in the driver’s seat, locking the door behind me quickly. I watched as he kept an eye on my car until I backed out and left.
