Page 11 of Nothing At All

A heavy plastic glass of water hit the table in front of me, condensation dripping down the sides. Gail placed a matching glass of sweet tea in front of Nicole and gave us a grin that made me think of that shark opening its jaws on that documentary I’d gone to sleep to the night before.

“Your food’ll be out in a minute.” Mrs. Gail lingered a moment, watching us with that greedy set to her mouth that knotted up my belly. I hated that feeling, the same one I still got every time I walked up to an unfamiliar car on a traffic stop.

After a moment, she wandered away, a hint of disappointment hanging about her.

Nicole fiddled with her fork, eyes on the table. “Do you want to be friends?”

Frowning, I tilted my head to the left. Doubt we had anything in common, and I really didn’t have time–

“I could use one right now.” Biting her lip, Nicole flicked a glance up at me, her eyes filling with tears. I fought down a surge of irritation. Women looked at me like that right before I wrote them a ticket, almost every single time. She blinked hard, lashes fluttering. “I’m having a tough time.”

“Yeah?” I squeezed a lemon into my water and sprinkled one pack of sugar over the ice.

“I broke up with this guy from Thomasville.” She sniffled, twisting her fingers together. “He’s been acting weird, texting and calling. I think he rode by the house last night, too, real slow. I just . . . he makes me nervous.”

My brows tugged together. Not sure I liked that. If she was around on the weekends, Lydia usually went for her runs after dark because she liked the quiet then. Didn’t want her caught up in any kind of mess if this guy went sideways with Nicole. “You have a doorbell camera, right?”

“Yes.” She blinked again. How much mascara did she have on her lashes, anyway? Lila used it – I’d watched her put it on while we got dressed when I’d stayed over once – but hers was not that . . . thick. Heavy. Fake. Sniffling, Nicole reached for a napkin and dabbed the tip of her nose. “I’m glad you’re next door.”

Not sure what help that was to her. I’d played a round of Kingdom Come with EmmaLee and Lydia, then FaceTimed with Lila until she fell asleep before turning on a documentary on great whites, so I didn’t know if this guy really had driven by or not.

“Would you keep an eye out for me?”

“Yeah, sure.” Leaning back in my chair, I shrugged. “Do a walk around when I get home from my shift.”

Nicole lit up, her whole body vibrating. “Thank you.”

She laid her hand over mine.

I jerked my hand away, dropping it to my lap. Didn’t feel bad when her face fell, either. You didn’t go around touching people without permission. She didn’t get a bye because she was scared.

Her own hands in her lap, she looked at me with wide, glassy eyes. She moistened her lips, a slow circle of her tongue from one corner to the other and back. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure.” I cast a desperate glance toward the kitchen, regretting letting her sit down with me. I’d done my neighborly duty by offering to check her house, right? I coughed into my fist and pushed my chair back to stand. Her wide eyes flew to my face. I shrugged, tucking my phone in my pocket before gathering my jacket and hat. “Gonna grab my food and take it to go.”

She deflated, shrinking into the chair. “Okay. I’ll see you tonight?”

“I’ll check your yard perimeter when I get off shift. Enjoy your lunch.”

If she replied, I missed it, tugging out my wallet and heading for the register.

Maybe if I was lucky, I could catch Lila between her sales calls and sneak in a little FaceTime while I ate in my squad car. A grin spread over my face at the idea.

A five minute call wasn’t clingy, right?

Chapter Four

Lila

“Well, they were having some kind of intense talk.” The woman in front of me at the Winn Dixie checkout insisted on taking her sweet time, unloading her buggyful of groceries item by item. With her insanely bleached blonde hair and heavy makeup, she was vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her. “She was crying and everything, and then he snatched his hand away from hers.”

“I thought he was dating someone from out of town. Think his mama said she was from Perry. I think that’s what she said, anyway.” The clerk, about the same age as the middle-aged queen of gossip, waved an airy hand. Her makeup was lighter and her hair was brassy red, but they resembled enough to be sisters. “Somewhere up there.”

“Well, he might be, but he looked mighty involved in their conversation. And then he jumped up, came to get his food to go and just left her there at the table, alone and all teared up . . .” She placed a jar of maraschino cherries on the belt. I shifted my weight, curling my toes. The day had been long, my feet hurt, and I was stuck here listening to small town Days of Our Lives.

“You really think he’s stepping out on this other girl?” The cashier floated the cherries over the scanner. Her penciled brows came together in a doubtful frown. “He seems like a good boy.”

“So did his daddy until Stephanie found out about that woman in Valdosta.”