Jase frowned. What was going on here? Another mystery? He mentally shrugged his shoulders. It was none of his business who Laurel chose for her friends.
He drove down the street for several blocks and turned left into the Piggly Wiggly parking lot. The little Escort fit easily into a space that a bigger car could never have managed, which reminded him that he needed to pick up his Cadillac at the airport tomorrow. He wasn’t going to let himself run into anybody he used to know without the luxury car somewhere in the background. Let them all see what Jason Redlander had made of himself.
As they walked toward the store, Laurel seemed to hesitate, to hang back. Jase was instantly suspicious. Gossip systems function quite effectively in towns the size of Bosque Bend. Was she ashamed of being seen with Growler Redlander’s spawn?
But she wasn’t like that, he told himself. Laurel had been willing to stand up for him sixteen years ago, and she wouldn’t let him down today. Besides, it’d been a long time since he’d been in Bosque Bend. No one would recognize him. Probably she was just shy, embarrassed that people might guess he’d spent the night in her bed.
His protective instincts caught fire. No one was going to make any snide remarks about Laurel Harlow while he was around! Maybe it would be a good idea to be more discreet, to minimize the time they’d be seen together in the store.
As soon as they went through the door, he grabbed a plastic grocery basket and slid its handles over his arm. “Why don’t you take the cart and go get the groceries while I pick up a few things for myself. Meet me in the bakery when you’re through.”
“Sure.” She ran her eyes down the list they’d made. “Give me thirty minutes. I’ll try to be quick.”
He watched her head off in the direction of the produce department, checked his watch, and started wandering around the store, accumulating random items he might possibly have a use for.
He caught sight of a few faces he thought he recognized, but no one showed any particular interest in him. Instead, people smiled and nodded at him along the way, saying “excuse me” or “con permiso” when they crossed in front of him—or when he inadvertently cut in front of them—which startled him at first until he remembered this was standard operating procedure in small towns. People had enough time to be courteous to each other.
Half an hour later, he started walking slowly toward the bakery by way of the pharmacy. Laurel was probably on some kind of birth control, but he’d better grab a package of condoms, just in case.
He paused for a moment. If he could have had Laurel all to himself without sex, would he have claimed her? Would he have accepted her as the eternal virgin princess? Was that the way he saw her? Maybe back then, but not now. That was one thing the shrink had cleared up in therapy. Sex did not have to be a dirty secret leading to guilt or anger. Good sex was a tender, joyful fulfillment of an honest relationship.
He arrived at the bakery area and looked around. Laurel wasn’t in sight yet, which gave him the opportunity to check out the display cases and pick up some brownies and a loaf of fresh bread. The solidly built woman behind the counter looked him up and down as she started bagging his purchases.
“You usually shop here?”
“No. I’m from around Dallas.”
Her face brightened. “My cousin lives in Dallas. LuAnn Ramirez. Used to be LuAnn Stout. You ever run into her? She drives a school bus.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Dallas is a big place, and, actually, I live outside it, the North Plano area.”
She nodded slowly, as if he’d said something profound. “How long you gonna be in town?”
“Not sure.”
“Well, you have a good visit, y’hear?” She gave him the bakery bags and dismissed him with a valedictory smile, at the same time signaling another customer that she’d be right with her.
Turning away from the counter, he spotted Laurel pushing the loaded cart in his direction and moved toward her. He put a hand on the cart. “I’ll take everything through checkout. You go on out to the car and turn on the air.”
Her back went ramrod straight and she tightened her grip on the cart’s handle, looking at him as if she was the queen of England and he had offended her majesty. “These are my groceries. You’re not paying for them.”
Damn, he hadn’t counted on her making a scene.
The bakery lady and her customer stopped talking and looked their way. He nodded at the two women, then smiled at Laurel and lowered his voice so that she was the only one who could hear. “Tell you what. I’ll bill you later. Now, how about you hustling your cute little fanny outside to the car and getting the AC running?”