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“No.” He shook his head, still chuckling. “No, I haven’t. The boss was Brittany. Same woman. She’s still in prison too. Got ten years.”
“Oh, wow.” Ginger quieted all the way, and Nate seemed to disappear inside himself for a minute.
He drew in a breath, and she imagined him to be throwing off the cobwebs in his mind, because when he looked at her again, those bright, striking blue eyes danced. “I’m going to run next door for a minute. Will you be okay here with Connor?” He tossed his napkin on the table, already starting to stand.
She shouldn’t let him go off on his own, but how could she say no? “I don’t need any gifts,” she said. “Really, I don’t. Lunch is what I wanted, and you’re buying that.”
“Give me fifteen minutes to find something,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He tossed a card on the table that actually made a thud like it was made of metal. “Use that to pay. If I can’t find anything in fifteen minutes, you’ll get lunch and that’s it.” He grinned and acted like he was getting ready to run a race. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Ginger said with a laugh.
Nate took off for the exit, taking his backpack with him. He didn’t look back, and Ginger couldn’t help giggling as he left. She looked at Connor, who had bright orange sauce around his mouth. She tapped his napkin. “Wipe your lips, bud.”
He did, and then he said, “Nate is gonna be my dad.”
“Yeah,” Ginger said. “I heard that. Are you excited about that?”
“Yeah,” Connor said, and that was all. She wondered what it was like inside a four-year-old’s head, but she couldn’t remember when she was four.
So she asked him why he liked sweet and sour chicken, and he said, “My dad used to get it all the time,” he said, launching into other foods his dad used to make or feed him.
Ginger handed the credit card to the waiter when he came by, and it was indeed made of metal. She’d never seen such a fancy, metal card before, and she was once again reminded that Nate Mulbury was not like other inmates.
Fifteen minutes came and went. So did twenty. When she and Connor had been sitting there alone for thirty minutes, Ginger reached for him. “Come on, bud,” she said. “Let’s go find Nate.”
Worry ate at her insides, and she couldn’t believe she’d let him go to the mall by himself. He could be anywhere by now. Literally anywhere.
Ginger stepped out of the dark restaurant and into the bright sunshine, blinking as if she’d never stepped foot into downtown Sweet Water Falls. The truck still sat in the parking lot only a few yards away, so he hadn’t stolen that.
Just the fact that she’d assumed he might’ve stolen from her made her frown. But why hadn’t he come back?
“Hey,” he said a moment later, rushing toward them. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Did you get my texts?”
Ginger could only blink. There he was. He hadn’t left. He hadn’t hitched a ride to the bus station and gotten on the first Greyhound to come by. He’d never given her a reason not to trust him, and guilt gutted her.
“No,” she said. “Sorry, I didn’t look.” She pulled her phone out of her purse, and sure enough, Nate had texted several times. “Long lines, huh?”
“They were having a big sale,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. He thrust a fancy, gold-foil lined bag toward her. “I think you’ll like this.”
A brand name was embossed on the bag, and Ginger wondered how in the world he knew she loved Arbortia lotions. A smile filled her from top to bottom as she pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and found not only the hand cream she adored, but a fancy, sparkling bottle of perfume.
“Nate,” she breathed, lifting it out. She’d seen this perfume before, and she knew it was very, very expensive. “Thank you.”
Their eyes met, and Ginger suddenly didn’t care who was watching. Not the general public. Not Connor. She stepped into his arms, still clutching the gorgeous bottle of perfume, and kissed her boyfriend.
