Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
“I don’t know,” Rowan said, holding up two packages of brownie mix and eyeing them critically. “I guess so.” Muzak drifted through the brightly lit aisles, a soupy rendition of Stairway To Heaven.
“Well, Marta—at the bridge club, you know—says he’s a very nice boy.
And he’s asked Marta about you.” Her father rested his trembling hands on the cart.
His red suspenders matched his red socks, and the sports jacket with a hole on the collar was his traditional grocery-shopping outfit.
“Get the ones with nuts, sweetie. You know how I like those.”
“I’ll add real nuts to the mix, Dad,” she replied absently, putting a box back, taking two of the other brand and dropping them into the basket. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not going on another blind date.”
“It’s not a blind date if you’ve already dated him. Are those the ones with nuts?”
“I’ll add them, Dad, I’ve got a whole bag of walnuts at home.
Look, the man’s an ass. He spent our entire last date talking about his job.
” And how big his dick is. Always thinking about teenage girls, too.
I don’t care if he is Marta’s nephew, I’m never going near him again.
Makes my skin crawl. She shivered, pushing away the memory.
“Well, you make men a little nervous, princess. You’re a very beautiful girl.”
“Yeah, Dad. That’s why they’re beating down my door, right?
” Stop it, she told herself, pretending not to see when her father snuck another box of brownie mix into the cart.
Don’t be mean to him. It’s not his fault you’re too picky, Rowan.
“We need milk and tortilla chips and some bottled water, and some frozen vegetables.”
“You should have made a list.” he said, a mischievous smile crinkling his face. His eyes sparkled.
“I did make a list,” Rowan replied, tapping her temple. “It’s up here. Come on, slowpoke.” The conversation was so familiar she barely had to pay attention.
Which was a good thing, because she was severely distracted.
It wasn’t often that she wandered while driving, or had trouble choosing brownie mix, for God’s sake.
But her former good mood had fled, and her head seemed stuffed with cotton.
She was also shivering, even though the supermarket wasn’t cold, and her father, who felt chills far more than she did, was comfortable enough in his sport jacket.
Chill gooseflesh ran in waves down her back.
They managed to get through the rest of the store without mishap, and Rowan paid with her debit card.
Between her job and her dad’s Social Security and pension, they were both supported and could even save a little, which meant that maybe they could afford a new car.
Tuna was an old trooper, but Rowan was getting tired of the frequent breakdowns.
A hundred and sixty thousand miles was a good enough lifespan for a car, anyway, but Tuna had been her mother’s.
The thought of Mom sent a spear through Rowan’s heart.
Outwardly, she was holding her father’s elbow as a pimpled young clerk pushed their cart out to the car for them.
She made small talk, kissing her father’s cheek and patting his arm after she unlocked his door.
Inside, she was thinking of how Mom had just fallen over, tumbled to the ground between one word and the next, dead of a massive stroke.
It had been painless, Rowan supposed. But still, the thought of her mother made Rowan’s chest ache and her eyes fill with tears.
Why didn’t I know, if I know all these other useless things? The thought still tortured her. If she could help her patients, why hadn’t she been able to help her mother?
She helped the clerk load the paper bags into the trunk and thanked him, and tried to ignore the feverish worry cascading out of the boy.
Fucking Dee stiffed me for a dime, got to get the money, how’m I gonna get the money—
The blast of thought caught her off-guard, and she leaned against Tuna’s battered silver side for a moment, taking a deep breath. Dad slammed his door and locked it, so she had to hurry. It was cold and she wanted the—
“Come with me, miss,” a man said, his hand closing around her elbow. Her head began to pound, horrible twisting needles pushing through her temples.
She was so stunned by the pain that he had dragged her a whole three steps away from the car before she started to struggle.