Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lydia finished putting the last of the formula canisters and diaper cream boxes on the baby supply shelf, satisfied that the infant care section in Monroe House’s community shopping space was now fully stocked again.
She swiped at her damp forehead with her forearm as she looked at the wall clock across the warehouse, surprised that it was nearly four o’clock.
The afternoon had been busy with several families stopping in for food and household items before the facility closed for the holiday.
She’d been a jack of all trades for the last three hours, helping wherever she’d been needed.
Ty had been great, too, pitching in as well.
She grabbed the now-empty boxes at her side and glanced down a couple of the grocery aisles, looking for Ty as their shift came to an end, spotting him helping Mrs. Connoly to the exit with her mostly empty cart.
She smiled as her heart melted, noting how big and broad he looked in his T-shirt and athletic shorts as he walked arm in arm with the slightly hunchbacked octogenarian.
“Why are you so perfect?” she whispered as one of Monroe House’s beloved regulars talked his ear off—like she’d been doing for at least half an hour, yet Ty gave her his full attention.
Mrs. Connoly rarely ever selected many food items. Mostly, she was old and lonely and stopped by for a little company.
Lydia started their way in denim shorts and a Monroe House T-shirt, tossing the boxes into the corner where they would be repurposed while she struggled with a grin as Mrs. Connoly continued to hold Ty captive by the door.
“Now, you remember apple cider vinegar if you ever find yourself with a bee sting. It’s an old remedy that works wonders. The pain vanishes almost immediately.”
Ty nodded. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
Mrs. Connoly patted his arm. “And don’t forget about the baking soda for the litter box. It keeps the odor down.”
Ty nodded again. “If I ever get a cat, I’ll be sure to make that happen.”
“Just a little sprinkle here and there does the trick.”
“I’m making a mental note,” he told her as he tapped his temple.
In rescue mode, Lydia grinned as their eyes met, stopping next to him and Mrs. Connoly.
Mrs. Connoly beamed. “Lydia, dear.”
Lydia hugged the adorable woman. “Hi, Mrs. Connoly. Did you find everything you needed today?”
Mrs. Connoly nodded. “That I did. I got the kitties a couple of treats.”
Lydia looked at the package in the cart, which was the only package in the cart. “It looks like they’re in for a nice surprise.”
Mrs. Connoly nodded again. “That they are.”
“Do you need any help getting to your car this afternoon?”
Mrs. Connoly shook her head. “I’ll put the treats in my purse, and I should be just fine.”
Lydia grabbed them and handed them to her. “Are you sure?”
“That I am,” she said as she tucked the package in the front pocket of her large bag. “I should probably be on my way. The traffic’s bound to be quite terrible with the tourists crowding in for tomorrow.”
Lydia nodded. “I have a feeling you’re right.”
Ty opened the door for her, letting a rush of afternoon heat into the air-conditioned space.
Mrs. Connoly gestured for Ty to bend down. “Now, you come a little closer.”
He did as he was asked, resting his hands just above his knees so they stood nearly eye to eye.
“You’re a handsome one,” she said as she patted his cheek.
He grinned. “Thank you.”
“You’re a gentleman, too.”
He smiled again. “I’m glad you think so.”
She nodded. “You have yourself a nice Fourth of July, and I’ll see you next time.”
“I’ll see you next time, Mrs. Connoly.”
Mrs. Connoly looked at Lydia. “Goodbye, dear. You enjoy your holiday, too.”
“I will.” She kissed Mrs. Connoly’s cheek. “You enjoy yours, too.”
“That’s the plan. Although my kitties will surely be unhappy when the fireworks start.”
“Hopefully, the treats you’re bringing home will make up for some of the noise,” Lydia said.
Mrs. Connoly chuckled. “They just might. Bye, now.”
“Bye,” she and Ty said at the same time as they stood in the doorway, watching Mrs. Connoly walk to her late-model Oldsmobile parked in one of the closer spots.
Ty winced as she got in the driver’s seat of the tank of a vehicle. “Should she still be driving?”
Lydia found herself wincing as well as she realized that Mrs. Connoly could barely see over the steering wheel. “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s better if we don’t watch.”
“Good thought,” he said, closing them back inside.
She looked at him, smiling. “So, bee stings and litter boxes. That was an eclectic conversation.”
He puffed out a breath as he shook his head. “I’m not sure how we got there. It all happened so fast.”
She laughed, absolutely adoring him. “You’re super sweet, Ty.”
He shrugged as he smiled. “She’s lonely.”
“Yes,” she said as she nodded, bringing his palm to her cheek, finding it harder and harder to resist Ty Corddry. “You’re a good guy.”
He jerked his shoulders again. “I try to be.”
She gave his hand another quick nuzzle before she let him go. “Thank you for helping today.”
He snagged her hand, lacing their fingers. “I wanted to.”
“Our shift is over, and it’s closing time.”
His eyes tracked around the massive space that was quiet now that the community members were gone and most of the volunteers had headed home. “Is there anything else we need to do?”
She shook her head. “Stephanie locks up, so we’re all set. Do you want to grab an ice cream cone?”
He nodded. “Yeah, definitely.”
“There’s a stand at the beach on the way back to the compound. The line’s probably a mile long.”
He shrugged, hooking his arm around her waist as they pushed through the door. “I’m not in any hurry.”
“Let’s go get some ice cream, then.”
Ty sat next to Lydia on one of the benches by the ice cream stand, watching as the warm winds rushing in off the water blew the hair escaping from her ponytail around her gorgeous face. “How’s the strawberry cheesecake ice cream?”
She nodded as she ate more of her double scoops. “Really good. Do you want to try it?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug.
She held the waffle cone up to his mouth.
He took a generous sample, finding the strawberry flavor to be extra creamy as he chewed a chunk of cheesecake. “Wow. That is good.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said as she nodded. “I think it’s my new favorite.”
“Do you want some of my Moose Tracks?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to accidentally eat a peanut butter chunk. It’ll mess with the delicious flavors I have going on in my mouth.”
He laughed. “We wouldn’t want that.”
She grinned. “No, we wouldn’t.”
“Lyd…” He chuckled as he shook his head, forever finding himself amused by her many quirks. “I’ve got nothing for that one.”
She laughed as she bumped her arm against his. “Thank you again for helping today.”
He nodded as he captured her free hand, holding it in his. “It was fun. It was also really busy. There were a lot of people there.”
She nodded. “It seems like there are more every time I volunteer.”
“You busted some serious ass.” And she had, doing all the stuff and things.
At one point, he’d spotted her sitting at one of the computers, helping some of the other volunteers with intakes.
She’d also stocked shelves with him and visited with several of the community members as they shopped the aisles.
It hadn’t been a surprise that she’d done all of it with kindness and a smile.
She shrugged. “We were pretty understaffed.”
He bumped her arm this time. “You’re an awesome person, Lyd.”
She shrugged again. “I’m just trying to do my part.”
“Because you’re awesome.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded as he ate more of his ice cream, chewing one of the chocolate peanut butter chunks that Lydia hadn’t wanted. “So, I got a text during our shift. I need to meet with my contact agent tomorrow.”
She frowned. “On the Fourth of July?”
He shrugged. “We’re meeting in the afternoon, so I’ll be back long before the fireworks start.”
“Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “As far as I know. Nobody’s said otherwise, so it’s probably just a check-in.”
She ate more of her ice cream. “So, the guy who’s sort of your boss but not really came to Massachusetts, too?”
He shook his head. “Danny, the case agent, is down in DC for the time being. My contact agent, Nick, came up from the New York office.”
She shook her head. “Your job is so complicated.”
He caught a drip on his cone with his lips. “Not really. Not when you understand how it all works.”
She chewed as she looked at him. “I don’t understand how it all works.”
“So I’ll explain.”
She nodded.
“Danny’s our case agent, which means he’s in charge of our leg of the investigation.”
She nodded again. “I got that part.”
“Nick is my contact agent. He looks after me and reports any information that I develop back to Danny.”
Her frown was back. “What does that mean? He looks after you?”
He shrugged. “A contact agent helps an undercover agent stay anchored to the real world—to life outside of the investigation.”
“Huh,” she said with her brow still furrowed.
“When you go under for a while, reality can get a little hazy. That’s not necessarily a problem with this case because I get to be myself for the most part, but it’s protocol to have a contact agent when you’re working undercover, so Nick’s spending some time up here in Massachusetts.”
Lydia licked at a drip before it reached her cone. “Do things get hazy for you when you’re on other assignments?”
He bobbed his head from side to side as he tried to think of how to describe what that meant.
“Not hazy per se. I think it’s more that who you are is completely manufactured.
Every part of your life is made up. You’re hanging around with scumbags all day, every day, so it’s nice to have a familiar person to talk to.
Your contact agent knows you. They’re your co-worker, so you can let your guard down.
You know you’re safe in their company. Because when you’re on your own, playing your part, your guard is constantly up—your life is constantly in danger. It can be really exhausting.”
She raised her brow at him. “And you volunteered to be an undercover agent?”
He smiled as he nodded. “It’s exciting work.”
She looked at him with deep skepticism. “If you say so.”
He stroked his thumb along her knuckles, deciding that he didn’t want to talk about his job anymore. He just wanted to focus on Lydia and the life they were sharing together. “So, what do we want to do about dinner tonight?”
She looked toward the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the coastal road. “There’s a good possibility that we might be stuck here till midnight, so we might be eating more ice cream.”
He laughed. “I have faith that someone will let us turn left.”
She smiled. “Uncle James said something about cheeseburgers on the grill, but by the time we get home, we’ll probably have missed it.”
He shrugged, not necessarily hating that they would probably be eating something on their own—that he would have Lydia all to himself for the rest of the evening. “So, we’ll make sandwiches.”
She nodded. “How about sandwiches and a movie on the couch?”
He nodded this time. “It sounds like we have ourselves a date.”