“You okay?”
“Right as rain.” During a hurricane.
“You don’t look like it. Here.” She scooted to one side. “Sit.”
He wanted to refuse, but his pounding head made him reconsider. Trying not to scowl, he lowered himself to a seat beside her.
“Are you sick?”
“No. I—” He debated whether he should share about last night’s incident, but why not? “I got conked on the head at work last night. Just a mild concussion, but I’m feeling it today.”
She gaped at him. “Are you serious? What happened?”
“The cameras caught someone skulking around the building. I went outside to check things out and got ambushed.” Man, that was embarrassing to admit.
“That’s awful!”
“Not my best night on the job.” Then again, it wasn’t his worsteither. “This isn’t my first concussion though, so I know the ropes.” He stole a glance at the little girl. She still held fistfuls of Hailey’s blouse, but she’d ceased crying and was now peeking at him.
Hailey followed the direction of his gaze, and her face softened. With her free hand, she tapped the girl’s shoulder, then signed,Good man.
Wait. A few minutes ago, she’d told him the girl couldn’t hear him, hadn’t she? His head must be more off than he thought if that was just now sinking in.
The girl was still watching him, so he signed,My name isPeter. What’s your name?
“You sign?” Hailey sounded delighted.
“I’m no expert, but I can hold my own in a conversation.” He signed and spoke simultaneously this time. “My grandmother is deaf, so most of my family knows some degree of ASL.”
“I’m surprised you use ASL.” She paused, her forehead wrinkling. “YouareBritish, right? I didn’t totally misidentify your accent?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I’m from Southampton. But my dad’s American, and we spent most summers in Ohio. It’s his mum that’s deaf. So, yes, we learned American Sign Language, not British.”
“Makes sense. Jenna is the first in our family, so we’re all learning together.”
“Very good.” Sweat trickled from his brow. Even in the shade, it was insufferably hot out today. Hailey and Jenna were both flushed, and he doubted it was all from their recent scare. He stood and motioned to the shopping cart. “I’d best be going. How about I finish loading your groceries, and we can all get out of this heat?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’ll only take me a minute.” Before she could protest again, he transferred the last few items into the back of her SUV, thenpushed the cart to the corral. That done, he returned to collect his own bags from where he’d dropped them to intervene. Thankfully, no one had run over them, but he might have to toss the steak he’d planned to have for dinner. It would take him almost a half hour to get home, and the extra ten minutes sitting in the sun couldn’t have done the meat any favors.
Hailey pulled up next to him in her Explorer, the passenger-side window down. “Thank you again.” She scanned the lot around them. “Where are you parked? I can drive you to your car.”
He waved her off. “No need. I walked here.”
“You live close?”
“About two miles.”
She fixed him with what he could only guess was her mom-stare. “Walking two miles in this heat with a concussion is unacceptable. I’m driving you home.” She reached across the vehicle and opened the passenger door. “Get in.”
Reluctantly, he complied. He gave her directions to his place, and they set off. As they turned onto the main road, Hailey set the AC to full blast. The cold air was a welcome relief.
“So you spent summers with your grandma in Ohio, but you’re from the UK. How did you end up here in Kincaid?”
Now that was a complicated topic. One he didn’t plan to go into. But Peter offered her an easy grin. “My siblings and I have dual citizenship, and my brother settled in Cincinnati after a stint in the US military, though his current job keeps him traveling more often than not. I always liked it here, and I decided to follow him. Being near enough to enjoy Gran’s cooking every now and again didn’t hurt.”
“But why here? Why not in Ohio?” She side-eyed him.
