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I gave her waist a playful pinch. “Monday?”
Resigned, Laurel agreed. “I’m free Monday.”
“Michaela is going to be jazzed,” Remington grinned, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth. “She got a cast iron pan for cornbread, and I guess the molds look like actual corn cobs, and that has her in some kind of state.”
Laurel nodded like she understood fully. I’d eat my shoe if she knew how to make cornbread. “I’ll bring a salad,” I offered.
I could see the panic on Laurel’s face as she wondered what this dinner was, what was normal, and how the hell she’d gotten roped into a social interaction with me.
Remington wasn’t an idiot, so he moved on before she could work herself into a worried state over it. “Perfect. We’ll see you all Monday at six?”
“We’ll see you,” I agreed.
“Oh, wait, now that I have you,” Remington added, his face sobering some, “do you have a second?”
“Sure.” I gestured for Laurel to go ahead in the checkout lane and stepped aside with Remington. It wasn’t like him to be serious that suddenly. I wondered if he was checking in on my patient from earlier that day.
“Hey, man, I have to ask. Did you tell anyone about my… hobby?” Remington asked, his voice low. He was referring to the cold case sleuthing he did in his free time.
We were standing in front of a bin of sports drinks that had been marked down, and I picked one up to scan the nutrition label. “No,” I said honestly. “Why?”
Remington scratched his chin. “Huh. I got an email tonight for my weatherman account. You know the one I mean?”
I put the sugary thing back in the bin, wrinkling my brow. “Yeah, the one you use for the forums, right?”
“Right. I guess someone knows who I am. Or they claim to. It was bound to happen with all the higher profile cases I’ve been chasing down, but I figured I’d ask if it was someone you know.”
I frowned, thinking. “That is weird. Are you worried?”
“Not really. Everything I do is encrypted. They’re probably just blowing smoke out of their ass.”
“Hm,” I said, my mind turning over possibilities. “Well, I’ll keep an eye on your house while you’re away.”
“Appreciate it, man,” he said, clapping a hand to my shoulder. “She’s cute, dude.”
I gave him a sideways smile. “Yeah. She’s cute.”She’s fucking gorgeous, actually.
“See you Monday.”
“Travel safe,” I said, giving him another wave.
When I returned to the checkout lane, Laurel was leaning heavily against the counter, and her lips had parted slightly as she struggled to catch her breath. Errands over. I shooed her away from the checkout lane and told her to get Calla in the car and I’d bring our groceries. She looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t have a lot left in the tank.
Guilt poked holes in my brain while I bought the groceries and loaded them back in the cart. A lot of the blame for her returning symptoms lay with me and my impatience. Icouldhave pretended I hadn’t seen her enjoying herself in my sunroom, let her finish, and then she’d have drifted off into blissful, restorative sleep. Instead, I had fucked her into next weekend.
I found Calla talking her mom’s ear off in the car, telling her about her sleepover with her grandmother and the fun things she’d promised Calla they would do together.
I slid into my seat and looked over at Laurel who had her forehead leaned against her hand. “Hey, you hanging in there?”
“Mm,” she agreed noncommittally.
I put the car in reverse, and then into first. “How about food? Calla, are you hungry?”
“Can we get burgers and fries?” she asked hopefully.
I made a sound like I’d been stabbed. “Calla, not you, too. Don’t listen to your mom. That stuff is poison.”
Calla gasped. “Fries are amazing.”
