“You’re fighting,” he countered simply. “I’m enjoying every syllable you make in my general direction. Now, I’m gonna grab a cart for us. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be here with me – or if you want to leave,” he finished and then did the unthinkable. He pressed the truck keys in her hand a moment later before walking off.
Thekeys.
Jack gave her the means to leave him if she wanted… and she was absolutely shell-shocked. No one ever let her decide, let her take the reins, let her choose what would happen next. Everything was an argument back home with Joe, dividing her from her friends and family. He was never supportive unless it suited him, but Jack was going to get a shopping cart for them. He was picking up things for his grandmother – and somehow, she knew that he would be happy pushing around a buggy full of maxi-pads, pink fuzzy slippers, and goodness knows what else… just because he was getting to hang out with her.
This was so weird… and strange.
In fact, Heidi stood there so long that she saw Jack coming back with a cart several minutes later. His face was quiet, almost solemn, almost like he was waiting for her to leave him stranded – expecting her to take this chance and run. The relief in his gaze when their eyes met made her heart wobble precariously in her chest.
“Did you find a pair of shoes?” he asked simply, but his eyes - his eyes were everything.
“I was thinking,” she replied, handing him the keys.
“About what?”
“If I should get sneakers or flats,” she fibbed, knowing that was distinctly not what she was thinking about in those moments. No, in those few moments she had been pondering what it would be like to have an actual relationship with someone that wasn’t one-sided. “You know, giving me your truck keys doesn’t mean much because I don’t know where I am. You gave me the keys to push your own agenda… but I’m not you. I wouldn’t leave someone at the store.”
“Heidi?” he began, his voice cracking as his eyes met hers. “I would never have left you either. You can make this about the shoes, the truck, us, whatever… but I’m glad you’re still here.”
Blinking several times, she looked away and swallowed. His words utterly disarmed her. Why was he so nice, so sweet toward her? Things like this didn’t happen to people like her – did they? And then she felt him touch her elbow as he bent his head slightly toward her.
“Breathe,” he murmured. “No one’s pushing you – except you. I’m going to leave the cart with you in case you find something you like, and I’ll be back in a few minutes. Take your time and just enjoy getting out for a bit.”
“With you?” she shot back, unable to resist – but unable to meet his eyes.
“With me,” he breathed and then touched her shoulder before walking away. Heidi looked over her shoulder, watching him walk off, her mind swirling with so many feelings and questions.
An hour later,Heidi had a new pair of sneakers, a pair of flat slip-on shoes, a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a few toiletries to replace the ones she’d used at Mimi’s as a courtesy. Jack picked up a few things for Mimi that honestly made her smile at how thoughtful he was, caring for her. He bought his grandmother a few word-find books, a zip-up robe, a package of curlers, and a small, scented candle. All things completely unnecessary in his rush to go shopping with her – in fact, it was almost like he was buying things to have an excuse to tag along.
“Do you like Tex-Mex?” he asked politely, putting their bags behind the driver’s seat of the truck in the small well that held a pair of jumper cables that were easily seen.
“Are you hungry?” she replied, honestly a little surprised. They’d just eaten breakfast not too long ago.
“I can always eat,” he chuckled in response, giving her an easy wink. “I might not look like it, but I won the pie-eating contest two years in a row and…”
Heidi couldn’t help it – she burst out laughing. The idea of him entering a pie-eating contest, much less winning it, seemed so normal and yet unreal. This man was shoveling down whole pies?
“Where’d you put them – your leg?”
“My hollow head,” he countered, grinning, and she began laughing even harder. Right there, in the middle of the parking lot, she was cackling wildly and almost neartears. She needed to laugh, needed this feeling of joy that came with it, and to think that some podunk town’s police officer, some guy completely not on her radar, was the one bringing joy to her life in that moment – well, it didn’t go unnoticed. No, in fact, she was ‘noticing’ it quite a bit as she fought to keep from sobbing at the frustrating truth of it all.
She didn’t want to like Jack…
This place was a tiny corner of hell…
And she was still stranded.
“I like you laughing much better than grumbling at me,” he offered simply, holding open the driver's side door of the truck. “C’mon – and let’s get outta here.”
She chuckled, shook her head, and turned away – only to feel him touch her elbow, physically swinging her around as he pointed to the seat – his seat. “What?”
“Hop up and scooch.”
“What the heck is a ‘scooch’?”
Jack rolled his eyes in mock-amazement. “Well,Miss Thing, here in thehollerwe’ve got a thing that we do…”
“You don’t need to make your drawl any thicker,” she interrupted, but he continued on unbothered.
