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She looked down shyly. “Probably just that I like dogs.” She swallowed and blinked up at me. Those eyes caught me off guard again, and I wondered if there would ever be a time that I would be used to them.
Of course, that was assuming I actually saw her again. It wasn’t something I was counting on.
“Well, if I can’t help you find anything other than your dog…” The sentence trailed off, and she gave me a quick nod before turning away from me. I stared after her, surprised by how affected I’d been by her.
I needed to get out of here, and fast. I finished rounding up all the groceries that I needed, piling them into my cart quickly before I turned it around and went over to the checkout lines.
As luck would have it, the only line that was open was in front of that same woman. Well, I’d done worse and harder things than be assisted by a pretty woman. I pushed my cart up to her till and started unloading my groceries onto the belt, barely giving her a nod as I did it.
“What kind of dog is he?” she asked, not meeting my eyes as she started passing the bar codes over the scanner.
“Not sure,” I answered tersely. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but her presence had unnerved me so much that I didn’t know how to talk to her without pushing her away. “I know he’s part German Shepherd, but they didn’t know what he was at the shelter when I got him.”
“He’s got that shepherd face, doesn’t he?” she said, looking over the belt at Bucky. The angle had her loose, V-neck T-shirt pressing up against her in such a way that I got a glimpse down her body, and I looked away quickly before I saw more of that skin than I’d bargained for.
Not that I was opposed, but it just felt invasive.
She pulled back, clearing her throat and looking down. It was the second time she’d done that, and in my experience, women as beautiful as this didn’t have a problem meeting someone’s eyes, unless…
A loud crash sounded in the store, drawing everyone’s eyes except mine. The woman had flinched so hard that she’d almost dropped the carton of eggs she was holding. Now, she was holding it so tightly I thought she might crush it in her hands.
“Hey,” I said, pitching my tone low. I caught sight of her name tag and tried again. “Hey, Macy.”
She looked up at me, blinking rapidly.
“Those eggs didn’t do anything to deserve that, you know,” I said, nodding at the carton.
She breathed deeply and set it back down on the belt.
“Sorry.”
“You’re fine,” I said. “I’ve just gotta get going.”
She nodded, not meeting my eyes, and I saw that her movements had suddenly taken on a much twitchier, jerkier quality than they had since she’d started checking me out.
I paid and mumbled a thank-you before pushing my cart out, trailed by Bucky. I thought over how her hands had tightened so hard at the sound of the crash.
I’d known a lot of women like her when I’d been in Nashville, doing my best to serve and protect. Once you started seeing the signs of abuse, they became pretty hard to miss. And as much as I hadn’t been a cop in years, I couldn’t help the rising instinct in me to protect this woman.
I pushed it down, lecturing myself for being an idiot. She’s not your responsibility, I thought as I pulled out of the parking lot. Just a new girl in a small town. And you’re not a cop anymore. Let it go.
2
MACY
The strange guy with the black hair and the dog had left me feeling, as some of my teenage clients had liked to say back in Los Angeles, shook. I hadn’t been in Singer’s Ridge for more than three months, but I already felt like I already knew everyone. That was how tiny this town was.
That man, though… I’d never seen him before.
I turned toward Alison, who’d been showing me the ropes around the store and, honestly, around town, since I’d gotten there and asked, “What’s up with the guy who just left?”
Alison turned and looked out the door after the tall man, who was loading up a black pickup truck in the parking lot. “Oh, that’s just Dillon.”
“Huh.” I paused, looking after him. “Does Dillon have a last name?”
“Why, you thinking of becoming Mrs. Dillon?” Alison gave me a crooked smile. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were. He is one fine specimen of a man.”
I blushed and looked back down at my till, not saying anything. I wasn’t blind to how attractive he was, but it wasn’t why I’d asked.
