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“Been a while.” Elijah’s voice was deep and gravelly as he spoke.
I pressed my lips together and gave him another nod. “It has.” He didn’t have to know that on my days off I watched him come home.
“I have those cars with the paint kits.” Elijah ran his fingers through his hair as he moved closer and turned in the direction we were heading—back to the chips aisle.
He was talking to me, but Lucy answered, “I knew you didn’t forget!” She bounced on her heels. “Can we do them when we get home?”
“It’s late, Lucy,” I mumbled quickly.
“I don’t mind,” Elijah said. He shrugged before rubbing the back of his neck. “Unless it’s close to her bedtime…”
I normally tried to get her in bed before ten most nights, but sometimes I’d let her stay up later.
“Please, Mommy?” More jumping from Lucy. “I want tacos, anyway.”
I sighed before finally giving in. “For a little while, okay? Let’s go check out.”
“Let me grab my chips.” Lucy took off like a bolt of lightning, and I always feared when she did. More than once, she thought it was okay to slip into another aisle, and I’d have to chase her down.
Remembering the creepy old man from earlier, I hurried after Lucy even though the chips were several feet away from us. Sure enough, standing by the bread was the same man. He was staring at me and Elijah who was walking next to me.
“What’s wrong?” Elijah asked, startling me.
How could he have sensed the change in me so quickly? Until Elijah spoke up, I hadn’t even noticed how my heart raced. My eyes drifted over toward the man before I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
Elijah’s jaws tightened, and he strode over to Lucy. “You guys ready?” he asked. “Want to help me push the shopping cart, Lucy?”
I was too stunned to do anything, but let the two of them take it away from me. Lucy was so small tucked between the cart and Elijah as he helped her steer it. I glanced back toward the stranger. He was slightly annoyed, gripping his cart tightly as he glared at Elijah. With a stormy huff, he finally wandered off.
It wasn’t my imagination. The man had been following us. My heart sank to the floor. I stared at Elijah’s wide, menacing back. Lucy was hiding in front of him. I’d never realized how intimidating big, scary guys like Elijah were even to other men. Knowing he was there didn’t erase the disgust I felt, but it sure was comforting.
I was quiet as we unloaded our things and didn’t even protest as Elijah helped—I was still freaked out. No embarrassment or awkwardness was evident. After paying for our purchase, Lucy insisted we wait for Elijah to pay for his chips, deodorant, and body wash. After he was done, Elijah took the cart and walked us to my car. As soon as we got there, I removed Eli from the wrap since he was getting fussy. Someone was hungry.
It was dark by the time we walked out of Walmart. Elijah put our things into my trunk. I buckled Lucy in, walked to the driver’s seat, and sat down with Eli. He latched onto my nipple the moment I unhooked the strap on my nursing bra.
It was strange how Elijah and I hadn’t spoken to each other the entire time in the store yet I hadn’t stopped him from helping me. I blamed the easiness on my being creeped out.
“Let me see your phone,” I heard him say before he appeared at my opened door. A baby and a breast weren’t what he was expecting. He leaned back and turned around quickly. “I’m sorry—” Then very slowly, I could see him peeking around like he couldn’t help himself. He was so blatant with his eyes and blunt with his mouth, I wondered if he was aware of it?
“What do you need my phone for?” I fished it out of my scrub bottoms, unlocked it, and handed it to him
“So you can call me the next time you have to shop so late,” he murmured as he turned and took my phone. A few seconds later, I heard his phone ding, and then he returned mine. He must have given up not ogling. He propped his elbow on the roof of the car as he looked down at me. He wasn’t watching Eli nurse. No, his gaze was fixed on mine. “Do you realize you’ve been quiet since you spotted the pervy bastard following you guys around?”
“Language please!” I hissed, and Lucy giggled in the back. “And, no, I hadn’t noticed.”
“Do you realize how long you were in there?”
“No.” I scoffed. “But how do you know?”
“I can’t even remember why the fuck I went in there,” he continued, growing more frustrated.
I sighed. “I don’t, but you’re telling me all about it.” I was trying to figure out what he was complaining about.
Elijah tipped his head back. I could hear him swearing before he finally looked at me. “You guys make me worry. I’m not trying to be mean…”
“Because we’re your friends?” asked Lucy.
He slowly nodded. “Yeah, Lucy, we’re friends.” He tapped his knuckles on the car. “I’ll follow you guys home.”
