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Chapter Eleven
Athena
Shannon keeps glancing at me as we drive to the supermarket. My eyes are red, so she can tell I’ve been crying. Although Shannon is like part of the family, she’s always been closer to my brother, TB, than me. It’s not that we aren’t friends, but she’s not Todd, and she doesn’t know my story. Thankfully, Shannon doesn’t press me for conversation.
It never gets particularly cold in LA, but with the top down on the convertible, I’m wishing I had a jacket. When we pull up at the grocery store, Shannon winks at me.
“I’m thinking we need more than one pint of ice cream. Todd will tell you I ate all of it, but he’s got a sweet tooth.”
Reaching out, I lightly squeeze her arm. “Thank you for getting me out of the house, and you’re right, Todd has a weakness for anything sweet.”
Shannon smiles at me, but it’s no ordinary smile—it lights up her entire face as it builds and morphs into a grin. “You don’t have to thank me. The menfolk can be far too serious sometimes.” She leans in as though we’re sharing a secret and whispers, “We women need to stick together.” Shannon giggles. “Come on. It’s ice cream time!”
Still laughing, she links her arm with mine, and together we enter the supermarket. Shannon guides me to the frozen section as though she’s been here a million times before. Maybe she has—she and Todd have been living at our home for a couple of weeks now.
“I want chocolate.” Shannon opens a door and pulls out a pint. “What do you want?”
“Vanilla for me and coffee-flavored for Kris.”
“Hmm… suggestions for our favorite deputy?”
My eyes land on the mint chocolate chip, and I open the door. “Todd will love this.”
“Really? He didn’t strike me as a mint kind of guy.”
“How so?”
Shannon’s eyebrows draw together, and she nods her head solemnly. “Well, mint is a bold flavor that says, hey, I’m fun, but if you pair it with chocolate chips, it says, I’m fun, but I like surprises. I don’t think Todd likes surprises.”
Laughing, I hand her the ice cream while I pull out one for me and one for Kris. “Well, I don’t think you know Todd very well.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, he’s my best friend, and he’s funanddoes like surprises.” Tilting my head to the side, I say seriously, “Just not in the line of duty.”
“See, that’s the thing. He’s the deputy at home. I know around you he’s all friendly and nice, but I’ve never really seen that side of him. At home, he’s all business.”
“I think you’re confusing his job with him. In Boothbay, he can’t be friends with everyone. He has a job to do, but out-and-about Todd is the nicest man you’ll ever meet.”
Shannon eyes me cautiously and smacks her lips together before she asks, “Does he date?”
I’m so taken aback by her question that I almost drop the ice cream. “Y-yes.”
“Butnotwomen?”
Feeling like a deer in the headlights, I involuntarily nod.
“I knew it!” She slaps me on the arm as she walks toward the cashier. “Here I was thinking I’d lost my mojo.” Shannon grins at me. “But no, I’m still a hawt woman!”
The laughter bubbles up out of me, and she giggles too. Here I was thinking Shannon had an ulterior motive for wanting to know Todd’s dating preferences, and she does but not for the reasons I thought. We both put the ice cream on the counter, and I turn to embrace Shannon.
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For being you.”
