From Nowhere (Wildfire #2)

Chapter Sixteen Ozzy

Chapter Sixteen

Ozzy

Maren leaves town Thursday, so Lola doesn’t cat-sit. It would have worked out if I could have driven to Maren’s house to pick him up. Instead, she talks Jamie into keeping an eye on Bandit.

By Sunday, Maren’s scheduled to head home, with six more days until she has a break. And all I can think about is her sneaking into my bedroom.

Why did I try to talk her out of it?

Idiot!

Who am I kidding? I’m not prepared for this. I have an ex-mother-in-law who’d be happy to see me die a lonely man, and my ten-year-old daughter sleeps thirty feet from my bedroom.

And I don’t have condoms.

That is the one thing I can solve because, at some point, I want to be in the position to need a condom.

After breakfast on Sunday, I shower, slide on a hoodie, and head upstairs, where Lola’s giggling about something. She and Amos shift their attention to me, a half-empty box of doughnuts on the kitchen table between them.

“Where’s Tia?” I ask.

“Showering,” Amos says.

“Well, I’m running to the store for a few things.”

“I’m coming.” Lola hops out of her chair, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

“It’s Sunday. Why do you want to go to the store with me?” I fetch a glass of water.

“Because I like going places with you.”

This girl. “Maybe we can go hiking later.”

“I want to go with you now.”

Amos eyes me like he doesn’t understand why I’m pushing back, so I press my lips into a firm line and nod. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

She shakes her head, shoving her feet into her dirty red sneakers without untying them.

“We’ll be back.” I offer Amos a tight smile.

He nods, closing the lid of the box of doughnuts.

When we get to the store, Lola skips ahead of me and grabs a basket. “What are we getting?”

“Apples.”

“Nana just got apples.”

“I meant oranges.”

“How many?” She finds the oranges.

“Three.”

We meander around the store, grabbing a handful of miscellaneous items we probably don’t need.

“Now I know why you wanted to come with me.”

Lola smirks while scanning the items through the self-checkout, her favorite pastime. “Maybe I’ll get a job here. I’m good at scanning things.”

I tap my credit card and arrange the items in the bag, except for her natural soda. “I forgot something. Why don’t you take your soda out front and wait for me by the bikes?”

Her eyes widen. “By myself?”

I think it over for a few seconds before nodding. “I’ll be really quick. Don’t talk to anyone, and stay where lots of people can see you.”

“Does this mean I can ride my bike to school alone?”

“No.” I take the bag and hand her the soda.

She frowns.

“Meet you out front.” I ignore her displeasure and make a beeline for the personal-care aisle.

“Jesus . . . ,” I whisper, surveying the condoms.

Her Pleasure.

His Pleasure.

Extended Pleasure.

Double Ecstasy.

BareSkin.

Fire & Ice.

Is there such a thing as “classic”? A basic one-size-fits-all that will prevent pregnancy and STDs? I think I can figure out the pleasure and ecstasy parts on my own. Fire & Ice sounds risky. BareSkin sounds less effective.

I grab one and head toward the checkout.

“Your bike blew over,” Lola says.

I jump out of my fucking skin at the sound of her voice, dropping the condom box into the paid bag of groceries.

She sips her soda.

“You can’t drink that in here,” I say with the urgency of her carrying a loaded gun.

She wrinkles her nose. “Why not? You paid for it.”

“Just meet me out front. Don’t worry about my bike.” I rest my hand on her back, ushering her toward the exit.

“Excuse me, sir.”

I turn toward the man’s voice. He’s wearing a baseball hat with the store’s logo, a green apron, and a scowl. “I need to check your bag.”

Fuck.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Can we do this in private? And is there somewhere my daughter can stay that’s safe?” I grit through my teeth.

He narrows his bushy eyebrows at her and then nods at me.

“Come on, Lola. Follow me.”

“Where are we going?” She stays right behind me.

“I’m taking a survey for the store. It will only take a few minutes,” I say.

The guy stops at the door across from the restrooms. “The glass is one-way. You’ll be able to see her.”

I point to a spot on the floor. “Stand right here. Don’t move.”

She rolls her eyes. “Is blinking moving?”

I don’t answer with more than a frown before following the man into the office.

“One of our employees said they saw you put something in your bag without paying for it.” He nods to the bag. “I need to see your bag and your receipt.”

I set the bag on the desk. “The receipt is in the bag. But I can tell you right now there is a box of condoms in the bag that won’t be on the receipt.”

He retrieves the receipt and unloads the groceries.

I keep my mouth shut until he finishes and makes eye contact.

“Listen.” I sigh. “I don’t know if you have kids, but I’m a single dad, and—”

“Sir, if money is an issue, there are places you can get free contraceptives. I really should report—”

“No.” I shake my head a half dozen times. “I know what this must have looked like, but can I tell you what actually happened?”

He glances at his watch as if he may or may not have time to listen to my explanation.

“It wasn’t my plan to bring my daughter with me, but I had no choice.”

That’s not entirely true, but I don’t think he has time to hear how Lola’s sad eyes have brought me to my knees since her mother died.

“I bought all of those groceries, sent her out to wait by our bikes, and then I was trying to buy a box of condoms without her knowing. But she came back inside, and I panicked and tossed them into the bag so she wouldn’t see them. Then I was ushering her toward the door to have her wait outside for me while I paid for them, but you stopped me before I had the chance to do that.”

He removes his hat, exposing his bald head, and scratches above his ear while eyeing me with suspicion.

I pull out my wallet and set a fifty on the desk. “You can keep the change if I can walk out of this store without the police being called.”

“Are you trying to bribe me?”

I deflate, hand on my hip, head bowed. “I’m trying to thank you for understanding my situation. I’m trying to thank you for not making a big deal out of this, since the last thing my daughter needs, after surviving a car accident that killed her mom, is for her dad to be arrested for shoplifting a box of condoms.”

I hate myself. This is the lowest. I never imagined the day would come when I’d use Brynn’s death and Lola’s trauma to elicit sympathy.

The guy clears his throat and pockets the fifty. I’m not the only one in this room struggling with morality. He repacks the groceries, putting the box of condoms at the bottom of the bag.

“I’m sorry about your wife.” He hands me the bag of groceries.

I take them with more force than necessary and turn toward the door. “Yeah, I can tell you’re really sorry.”

Lola licks her lips after taking a sip of the soda. “What’s a survey?”

“Come on. I’ll tell you later.”