Chapter 9 Zandra
NINE
Zandra
The doors of Main Street Market slid open with a gentle whoosh, releasing the comforting scent of fresh bread and the faint hum of refrigeration units.
Inside, the store was a picture of perfectly imperfect charm. A bulletin board by the entrance was crammed with everything from babysitting ads to lost cat flyers, and the overstuffed aisles were just barely wide enough for two carts to fit past.
The familiarity of it all was just the balm I needed this morning.
Spotting Rosie behind the customer service desk, I made a beeline there. “Hey, Auntie.”
“Baby Z!” Rosie’s magenta curls bounced as she reached out to hug me, and she waved me around to join her behind the desk.
A sheet of wax paper lay by the computer with a slice of gooey coffee cake.
“Want to share some breakfast? Oh, hold on.” She bit her lip.
“The gluten. Wait here. I can go grab you something else.”
I touched her arm to stop her. “Not that hungry, but thank you for remembering. I need a different favor today, actually. A bigger one.”
Her eyes lit up. “Anything for you. What do you need?”
“Any chance you have space for me and Chloe at your house?”
Once again, I hadn’t slept well at the Pine Cone Motor Lodge. I’d had that feeling again of being watched after getting home so late from the brewery last night. And then people were shouting in the parking lot at four in the morning. I was done with that place.
I’d even moved a piece of furniture in front of the motel room door to block it, which was probably not the safest idea if there’d been a fire or something. That whole place looked like it was made of popsicle sticks.
But the other small issue that hadn’t helped me sleep? My disastrous conversation with Callum in the storage room.
I didn’t know where to begin with what he’d said last night. Rewriting sixteen years of what I’d believed to be true. My mind was spinning in circles trying to make sense of it. Of Callum not being the sadistic asshole I’d believed.
So, naturally, I was focusing my efforts on something else instead.
“Only for a few days until I find something more permanent,” I added. “I just can’t take the Pine Cone anymore.”
I’d left my car parked down the block with Chloe in her cat carrier and all the windows cracked. My trunk held the sum of my belongings, since I’d checked out of the motel this morning with absolutely no intention of going back.
Thankfully it was a perfect sixty-eight degrees outside today. Not a trace of humidity, unlike sweaty summer months in Chicago. I’d missed summer in the mountains.
“Of course, Z! Jimmy and I would love to have you.” Then Rosie paused, her expression shifting just slightly. “Keep in mind, Jimmy’s a night owl.”
“Yeah?”
Rosie lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Well, he keeps me up. That’s all I’m saying. But then he’s up at five-thirty for his tai chi routine in the living room.”
Stay optimistic, I told myself. They’re doing you a favor. “Tai chi sounds nice. Maybe I’ll join. Stress relief would be good for me.”
“Jimmy would love that. Usually he does it naked, but I’ll ask him to put on a robe or something.”
I felt my face scrunch up involuntarily, though I tried to keep my voice pleasant. “That would be good.”
“And then he does his chanting.”
“Chanting?”
“Kind of a medieval monk thing, I guess? It’s very relaxing and melodic.”
“That’s…unique.” Wouldn’t have expected it of Jimmy Perkins, either. From what I remembered, he seemed more like the grizzled hermit type. But if he made Rosie happy…
I glanced out the window and saw Callum walking by, of all people. Gah. He stopped in his tracks, backing up to stare at me through the window.
I looked away quickly.
“And after that, when Jimmy’s all loose and feeling the good vibes, well, you’d probably be off to the brewery by then, right?”
Oh lord. “I’ll make it work. I won’t be in your way. I can pay rent.”
“The guestroom used to be a closet. Couldn’t in good conscience charge you money for it.”
This just kept getting better and better.
But if Rosie was willing to take me and Chloe, then I couldn’t exactly complain. It was only temporary anyway. Grandpa was paying me right now for the hours I put in, so I’d be able to afford a cheap apartment lease soon. Especially if I found a roommate.
Once I had the general manager salary, I’d have far more flexibility. I had to get that job.
I glanced at the window, exhaling when Callum was gone. Thank you. I couldn’t deal with him again so soon.
“Here’s a spare key so you can move your things over,” Rosie said, digging around in her purse and producing a key ring shaped like a miniature shopping cart. “Just make yourself at home.”
“Thanks, Auntie. I’ll pick up a few things to help stock your fridge while I’m here.”
“How sweet of you.” She kissed my cheek. “Grab whatever you need, and the next time I do a shop myself, I’ll be sure to get lots of gluten and dairy free.”
“That would be great. I really appreciate it.”
Grabbing a cart, I wheeled to the produce section. This was going to be good. And if the Jimmy-and-Rosie dynamic was a little…intense, I could manage anything for a few days, right?
A bag of pre-washed greens went into my cart. A couple apples. Then I looked up and found Callum O’Neal perusing the veggies across from me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked before I could tell my mouth to hold back the words.
He smirked. “Building a nuclear reactor.” He tossed a Granny Smith in the air and caught it. “You?”
Nope. Do not engage.
At some point, I’d have to deal with him again, but not right now. Not after crying in front of him last night.
Yet I couldn’t stop my eyes from checking what he was doing as we both meandered through the produce section. Callum held up a butternut squash with an exaggerated questioning expression, as if asking for my opinion.
When I pointedly looked away, he moved on to a bundle of asparagus, examining it like it held the secrets of the universe. Next was a couple of limes, which he rolled around in his palm while raising his eyebrows at me expectantly.
Oh. My. God.
I kept my face carefully neutral, though I could feel the corners of my mouth threatening to betray me.
And damn it, even when he was being completely ridiculous, he still managed to look hot. His dark hair peeked messily from under his backward cap, and those gray joggers showed off the exact slope of his glutes. And the bulge in front…
Making a choked sound in my throat, I escaped to the cereal aisle. Time to study the gluten-free options and try to pretend my pulse hadn’t quickened from ogling him.
Yet when I turned around, there Callum was again, just a few feet away with his handcart hanging from his fingers. Nothing was in it.
“You’re following me,” I said.
“I’m doing some shopping.”
“Can you pick a new aisle?”
“Nope. This one’s got what I need.” He grabbed something randomly from the shelf.
“You need Bran Bites?”
“Yep, my fave.”
“A lot of people would find this creepy. Especially after you locked me in a storage closet with you last night. At our workplace.”
“But you don’t find it creepy?” he asked hopefully.
My mouth opened, words failing me.
If he were any other guy, he would’ve been throwing off so many red flags I’d be worried about a bull stampede. But somehow, no matter how obnoxious he was, Callum never came across as threatening.
It was kind of like being stalked by a mischievous golden retriever.
I just sighed and went to the next aisle. Callum followed, picking up a jar of pasta sauce and holding it up. “What do you think of this brand?”
I didn’t look. “Not a fan.”
“Good to know.” He put it back on the shelf, then picked up a bag of pasta. “Regular or whole wheat? Yay or nay?”
“Are you seriously going to ask my opinion on every item in the store?”
“Only the important ones.” He grinned, and I felt that traitorous smile tugging at my lips again.
“I don’t eat pasta,” I heard myself saying. “Unless it’s gluten free.”
“Ah. The picture is becoming clearer.”
“Is it?”
“Do you have celiac?”
“No. But I do have an allergy.”
When I turned a corner and continued walking, he made a sound of protest. “You skipped the milk and the cheese back there. We need that aisle.”
“Do what you like. We are not shopping together.”
Then he actually grabbed onto my cart and wheeled it where he wanted.
“Callum!”
I found him loading up on Greek yogurt, with his cart in hand and mine beside him. “I skipped this aisle because I’m allergic to dairy,” I protested. “I sometimes do almond milk, but I wasn’t planning on it until I see how much room is in Rosie’s fridge.”
He picked up a carton of something to examine the label. “Coconut yogurt? What about that?”
“I don’t like it.”
“So is this why you hardly eat anything at the brewery when we’re working? The dairy thing? And the gluten?”
I nodded. “I’m also allergic to raw mango, kiwi, and cucumbers.”
“Damn. That sucks. Did you talk to Alice about it? I’m sure our head chef can make stuff that works for you.”
“I just don’t like making a whole issue of it.”
Callum looked down into his basket with a suddenly serious expression, studying the labels on everything he’d collected. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back. Need to put some things away.”
“Why?”
He loped off without answering, returning after a minute or two. And for some reason, I was standing there waiting for him.
Because we really were shopping together now. I had no idea how this had happened.
When he returned, he asked, “You’re staying with your aunt now? You’re out of the serial killer motel?”
Right. I’d just mentioned my aunt’s fridge. I regretted giving him those details. “Yes, I’m staying with Rosie now.”
He nodded thoughtfully. “Been thinking about what you told me last night.”
I groaned. “I’m not ready to talk about that yet.”
But of course, Callum forged ahead. He turned to face me, his bulk blocking my exit from dairy land.
“I understand now why you hated me. You thought I was the worst kind of asshole bully, and I get that now. But just so we’re clear, next time I see Tommy Pickering, I’m going to find out why he said the shit he did.
If he was bullying you in high school, that’s not okay. ”
I sighed. “I don’t want you to.”
“Why?”
“I just want to put it all behind me. Like I should’ve done a while ago. What happened back then doesn’t matter.”
Ha. I was so full of it. Those wounds ran a lot deeper than anything Callum might’ve caused. But I didn’t want to share the rest of what happened our senior year.
“You do believe me, though?” he asked. “I didn’t do what you thought.”
“Yeah, I believe you.” I’d spent all these years thinking that Callum was one of the villains. The whole thing was confusing. But to my surprise, I didn’t have a doubt that he’d told me the truth.
Other doubts, sure. But not about this.
“Good.” He seemed genuinely relieved. “So you’ll stop avoiding me at Hearthstone? We can work together? Or I can keep following you around and bugging you…”
“Callum,” I groaned.
“Zandra. I’m not going to let up.”
Maybe there was a reason everyone else in Silver Ridge seemed to like this man.
Either way, there was no use fighting him. On top of everything else, I didn’t have the energy for it.
“I’ll work with you. Sorry I was so difficult.”
He grinned. “Difficult? You? I hadn’t noticed.”
I chuckled, the stress of everything lifting another few degrees.
We continued around the store, and he asked, “So what do you actually eat? Besides quinoa and broccoli and shit?”
I rolled my eyes, though his grin said he’d been kidding. “I like the usual things. I just have to worry about cross-contamination. So eating out at restaurants can be hard unless I trust the kitchen.”
“Why didn’t you mention your food allergies before, though? Especially when I shoved danishes in your face. My bad for that. A lot of people have food issues these days, and at the brewery, we’ve been talking about modernizing the kitchen for a while.”
“Because I was diagnosed in college, and my parents never wanted to be bothered with it. Same with my ex.” Even though our business had been built around modernizing systems to help people with food allergies. Only the money had mattered to him. “I’m used to people not caring.”
“Then your parents are jerks. And your ex is a dick.”
A giggle snuck into my throat. “You might just be right.”
We reached the checkout counter. Callum unloaded his basket. Bran Bites, some gluten-free pancake mix, and a carton of coconut yogurt.
“That’s all you’re getting?” I asked. “Really needed to shop, huh?” I was unloading my items on the belt, along with the reusable bags I’d brought.
“Yep, I was all out of pancake mix.”
“More like you wanted to harass me.”
He grinned. “Worked, didn’t it?”
The checkout girl, who couldn’t have been older than twenty-one, practically purred when she saw Callum approach. “Find everything you needed today?” She batted her eyelashes so hard I was surprised she didn’t create a small breeze.
He up-nodded. “Sure did.”
“Ex-girlfriend?” I whispered.
“Don’t really have any of those.”
“A hookup?”
“She’s a bit young for me.” He winked. “But a lady never tells.”
After we’d both paid, Callum hefted all our bags before I could protest. When we were finally outside, he said, “Rosie’s place is just around the corner, I believe?”
“Yes. So you can give me my stuff. I’ll see you later at Hearthstone.”
“Nope, I’ll carry this for you now.”
“I can carry my own groceries.”
“But that would deprive you of my company.”
I made a sound somewhere between a growl and a sigh, hurrying to catch up with his longer stride. Chloe was still waiting in my car, but I’d parked her close to Rosie’s place anyway.
“So you’re really staying with Rosie and Jimmy.” His eyebrows lifted. “That’s adventurous of you.”
“My options are limited at the moment.”
“My roommates and I live in a big house. Rent’s affordable when we split it up. We’ve got an extra room open, if you’re looking.”
“My cat won’t like you.”
“Your cat? Is that a euphemism?”
“Big word for you.”
“Are you impressed yet?”
“Nope.” But I wasn’t feeling nearly as annoyed as before.
Heaven help me, but for the first time since I’d arrived in Silver Ridge, I was actually having fun.