Cassidy #2
Blowing out a harsh breath, she pulled a tissue from her purse and swiped at her face. “I shouldn’t have worn makeup, but I wanted to seem normal.”
“Normal is a relative term.”
She huffed out a laugh. “You’d think I’d be over this by now.”
“Ellie, it’s been a little over a month. That’s not enough time for me to get over a skinned knee.”
She glanced around the empty store. “People stare at me everywhere I go. I’m that girl.”
“You’re a survivor,” I corrected. “And they’re not staring at you because of what happened. Well, some of them might be. I think mostly, people want to help and have no idea how to.”
“Well, include me in that because I have no idea how to help me.”
I wished I had words of wisdom for her, but I had never been through anything traumatic in my life. Not even a fender bender. I didn’t have the slightest clue how to help.
“Have you opened the shop again?”
She shook her head, still fidgeting with the tissue. “I can’t be alone there, and Ryder has work. He stayed home with me for three weeks before I kicked him out.”
Fake smiles and laughter were clearly her go-to, but they didn’t fool me.
She was desperately hurting. “If you want to get out of the house, but don’t want to be alone, come to the bookstore.
I have comfy chairs and reading nooks. You can sit there and be left alone, or you can talk to me as much as you want. ”
“I would only be bothering you.”
“In what way? I’m alone all the time. Well, Alyssa comes in and spends time there also, but she’s not going to bug you with questions.”
“Well, I might take you up on that.”
Glancing in her cart, I changed the subject, hoping to cheer her up. “Are you shopping for Thanksgiving?”
“Trying to. I’m not the greatest cook, but Ryder and I decided to try it out this year. Though I think he’ll be ten times better at it than me.”
“If it fails, you can always swing by my house. It’s just me and my parents this year.”
Her eyes widened at the amount of groceries in my cart. “That’s enough to feed an army.”
“Yes, but the best part is the leftovers.”
“I was hoping to just make a small turkey breast and not burn it,” she chuckled.
I was about to tell her that cooking Thanksgiving was one of my favorite things when I heard the snide voices of Kasey and Raleigh one aisle over.
“—doesn’t even leave the house. I heard she’s selling the shop.”
“Well, wouldn’t you find it hard to go back to work if something like that happened to you?” Raleigh asked.
“Oh, please. I bet she liked it. Ryder may pretend to like fucking that cow, but he’s only staying with her now because of what happened. It’s not like he can leave her after something like that.”
I gripped Ellie’s hand as the tears started dripping down her face. I fucking hated those girls so much, and if it didn’t cause a scene that would only make Ellie more uncomfortable, I would march around the corner and give them a piece of my mind.
“And I suppose you think that when he does leave her, he’ll fall for you,” Raleigh laughed.
“I’ve got my eyes on someone even better. I don’t need her sloppy seconds.”
“And who is this mystery man?”
“Uh, hello? Sam. Total hottie. Have you seen those muscles? I bet he could benchpress me.”
I didn’t realize I was now gripping Ellie’s hand even tighter than before until she whimpered. Releasing her, I pulled her in for a hug and tried to rein in my anger at the thought of either of those women going near Sam.
“You’d have more luck with Ryder. Sam’s not interested in anything but sex. He’ll drop you as soon as he fucks you,” Raleigh said.
“Give it another few weeks, and that might actually be possible. He’ll get sick of Ellie moping around, and he’ll leave her. I can guarantee—”
“Get the hell out of my store!”
I flinched at the sound of John Callahan’s voice booming down the next aisle. Ellie’s face was buried in my shoulder as sobs wracked her body. It didn’t take long to hear the ding over the door as the women exited, or for John to walk around the corner, his face pinched in concern.
“Is she alright?”
I had no clue, but staying here was not an option. “I’m going to take her home. Can you—”
“Just leave it. I’ll make sure it gets sent to your house.”
“This cart is hers,” I said, tapping the second cart. “Give me your phone,” I whispered.
As soon as I had her phone in my hand, I dialed Ryder’s number and ushered her out the door and to my car. As I was rounding the front, he answered.
“Ellie—”
“It’s Cassidy. I’m taking Ellie home. She had a run-in at the General Store.”
“I’ll be right there. Don’t leave her alone.”
“I won’t,” I promised, hanging up as I got in. “Ryder’s going to meet us at your house.”
“God,” she moaned, tossing her head back against the seat. “This is so bad.”
“No, it’s not,” I reassured her. “He understands, and he wants to be there for you.”
“Yeah, but how many times can he leave work or stay home with me?” she cried.
“As many as he needs to. He loves you, Ellie. I saw it with my own eyes when you were missing. He would have given anything to get you back.”
She swiped at her face, staring out the window as we drove through town to her house.
I had never been great friends with Ellie. We’d talked a lot about being women and owning businesses in a small town, but we didn’t hang out. I regretted that now. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like I was only being nice to her because of what happened.
Thankfully, as I pulled into her driveway, Ryder was already there, pacing as he waited for me to come to a stop. The second we did, he was tugging Ellie out of the car, holding her close as she cried.
I didn’t know if I should stay or follow, but I figured Ryder might need some context, so I lagged behind, waiting for a signal if I should stay or go.
He held up his hand like a phone and mouthed, I’ll call you.
Giving a wave, I headed back to my car and waited for them to get inside before backing out and driving away. I still had grocery shopping to do, but right now, all I wanted was a drink.