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“She’ll be happy when we ’splain it to her. You’ll see. I’ll go tell her now.” He darted toward the back of the store and disappeared around an endcap holding a selection of nuts.
Noah gave a quick retreat serious consideration. He couldgrab the bare necessities and head for the register. Or he could continue shopping and hope that Mrs. Eldridge would get control of her kid.
Based on how she’d stormed his fortress, she undoubtedly would try to rein in Drew. She’d been the quintessential mama bear protecting her child—all the while worrying that she was overprotecting him. He’d liked that about her. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt anything for Noah to shift into speed-shopping mode.
He grabbed a couple stalks of broccoli, some carrots, and a bag of lettuce, then breezed by the bread and snagged a loaf. Now at the back of the store, he turned to roll past the meat cases, loading up on protein. He deliberately did not look down the aisles as he passed, doing his best to be a stealth shopper.
To no avail.
From behind him came Drew’s voice. “Mr. Tannehill!”
Noah closed his eyes and sighed.
“Mr. Tannehill! You’re still here. I’m so glad. I was worried when you weren’t by the bananas.”
A second little voice piped up. “Drew says you’ll help us because you’re his friend.”
Noah glanced over his shoulder to see a little girl in blond pigtails and pink pajamas staring up at him with big green eyes rounded with worry.
Oh hell. A little girl. I can’t deal with little girls.They reminded him of Maddie.
“Our mom is crying in the grocery store,” Drew said. “She only cries when she’s in her room or the bathtub and she thinks we can’t hear her, but she’s crying right now in the yogurt department. Anyone can see her, and she’ll hate that.”
Noah abandoned his cart without thought and started toward the children. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Drew moaned.
The girl piped up. “I told Mama that Mimi wants us to bring creamer for Grampy’s coffee. She looked at me, and then her eyes got wet, and she sat down on the floor and started crying.”
Noah put the clues together. “Mimi and Grampy are your grandparents?”
Both children nodded. Drew said, “They came to visit us. They’re going to Uncle Jake’s wedding, but they came early to help Mom with us because she is so busy getting everything ready. They just got here today.”
“Are they here in the store?” Noah asked, hoping help was at hand. The girl shook her head. Drew said, “No. They’re staying in one of the cabins at Raindrop Lodge where we live, and they were tired from the trip so they are going to watch TV and go to bed early.”
“Our mom put groceries in their cabin before they got here,” the girl added. “But she forgot that Grampy likes coffee creamer. So I told her and it made her cry!”
Drew bit his lower lip. “I tried to ask Mom what was wrong, but she just held up her hand. That means to wait and give her a minute. But she’s been sitting there for way more than a minute.”
“And we’re not supposed to sit on the floor in the grocery store,” the girl said, wrinkling her nose. “It’s gross.”
Drew nodded. “If the mean lady at the front sees her, I’m afraid of what will happen.”
Drew was talking about Nettie Parkin. Noah shared his concern. He headed for the dairy department, where, sure enough, he found Willow Eldridge sitting on the floor with her hands covering her face. Her shoulders shook. She was definitely crying.
“Um… ma’am? Willow?”
She ignored him. Noah didn’t like the sensation of looming above her, so despite the pain the action caused him, he went down on one knee. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, now. What can I do to help?”
A good ten seconds passed before she finally responded. “Watch my kids so I can have a safe nervous breakdown.”
“Can nervous breakdowns ever be safe?” Noah wondered aloud.
“I can’t have a dangerous one because of my kids.” Sighing heavily, she lifted her head and met his gaze.
It was a gut punch.
Noah hadn’t seen such misery in a woman’s eyes since Daniel’s wife, Cheryl, visited Noah in the hospital.
