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“Nope. Not going down that path,” Hale said with a short laugh. “You’re the golden girl, the center of the spotlight. Everything from here on out is for your attention and amusement.”
“Amusement?” I asked in disgust.
“Or maybe his amusement. But he’s escalating. Be waiting for my call.”
I suspected he was right. Making an enemy of Malcolm was either stupid or ballsy, probably both.
“Has anyone tried to bring Malcolm in for questioning?”
“Not yet,” Hale said, sounding exhausted, “but we know it’s coming sooner rather than later.” Then he hung up.
I had forty minutes before I needed to meet my father, and since Morty’s Bookstore was one block down from Roots, I decided to drop by and make sure I hadn’t blown up my budding friendship with Nate.
I parked my car in the lot behind the restaurant, then headed down to the bookstore, stopping in a bakery to get an assortment of cupcakes as a thank you/apology offering.
When I walked in, Nate was behind the counter helping a woman and two small children. With a broad smile, he handed the little girl a brown shopping bag with handles. “Thanks for coming in today, Molly and Micah.”
“We always love Storytime with Nate,” the woman said as her daughter took the bag. “Although we also always buy the books you read, so it’s hard on my credit card.”
He leaned closer with a mischievous grin. “It’s all part of my master plan.”
“Well, it’s working,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and giving him a warm smile before she walked past me to exit.
Another mother with a toddler approached the counter, holding two picture books.
I stood to the side by the door while he checked them out, noticing how friendly she was to him, and how Nate doted on the little boy when his mother picked him up so he could watch Nate check them out.
“See you next Wednesday,” the woman called out as she walked out of the store.
“Bye, Nate,” the boy said, waving his pudgy hand.
“Bye, Preston,” he called after him.
I waited until the door closed behind them before I approached the counter, holding out the white bakery box. “I brought you a peace offering.”
His head tilted to the side, and he gave me an awkward smile. “That wasn’t necessary, Harper. I wasn’t upset with you.”
“It’s okay if you were,” I said, setting the box on the counter. “I put you in a weird position, and I’m really sorry.”
He opened the lid and laughed. “So you bought me half a dozen cupcakes?”
“I didn’t know what kind you like.”
He picked one out of the box. “I’d recognize Ida’s Chocolate Carmel Surprise cupcakes in my sleep.”
“So it’s your favorite?”
Peeling the wrapper down, he merely grinned. “I can’t make it that easy for you.” He took a bite and groaned with pleasure. “But it’s pretty damn good even if it isn’t.”
“Well, again, I want to thank you for going out of your way to help me, and well…thanks for being my friend.”
“Hey, us brass knuckleheads need to stick together,” he said before taking another bite.
I laughed. “God. How did I forget that’s what you named our section in band? I should walk out the door and never speak to you again on principle.”
Chuckling, he finished off the cupcake, and said through his mouthful, “You like me too much to do that.”
I shook my head and laughed. Nate had been fun when we were in high school. A nerd with a nerdy sense of humor. I’d been a nerd too, just about other things.
