“Everything okay?”
Mae jumped, nearly throwing her phone into the next aisle as Stone placed a box of oatmeal into the cart. She had to force herself not to make a disgusted face. He loved oatmeal, and she regularly ate it for breakfast… before their baby decided she absolutely wouldnotbe consuming it for the duration of her pregnancy.
“Of course,” she smiled. “Lily was just asking what else we need for tomorrow’s party.”
“I don’t even know why we are hosting one. It’s not like Cap’s going to let me go back to work, or I remember what happened so we can get whoever the hell decided to shoot me.”
“Let’s not focus on that. No sense in getting upset at something we can’t control right now.” Mae patted his shoulder. “Alright, we’ve got the corn for the salad and the rolls and buns for the stuff on the grill. I just need to grab some bacon for the baked beans and we should be good to go.”
“I think that’s probably plenty, Mae. We aren’t feeding a small army.”
She scoffed. “It’s like you’ve never seen my brother eat. He’ll expect an entire pan of our grandmother’s cornbread just for himself.”
His hand slid around her waist, stopping from pushing the cart towards her next destination.
“What?”
“You don’t have to do all this. Youshouldn’tbe doing this all on your own.”
“I’m not. Hawk is taking care of all the grill stuff and Lily is in charge of drinks. I’m literally doing a couple of the side dishes and making sure our apartment is clean. I can handle it. Especially to celebrate you coming home. Trust me, handsome. It’s worth it.”
“You just seem…”
Her eyebrows raised.
“Think carefully about how you finish that sentence,” she teased.
His finger reached up to trace her cheekbone. She watched as his eyes moved over her skin, which she knew looked more pale than usual. Although she hadn’t been feeling sick to her stomach since he woke up,thank you littlenugget, her body was still working overtime to juggle everything.
“I’m good. Getting better now that you are home and on the mend. It’s all fine, I promise. Let’s get what we need and go home. I’m thinking we can repeat our stress relief from earlier if you’re still feeling… stressed.”
The fire she loved so much flared in his eyes.
“Which aisle has the beans?”
“We don’t need beans.” She scoffed. “We need bacon, for the beans we already have at home.”
“Bacon, right… Bacon, bacon, bacon… Where is the damn bacon?” Stone threaded his fingers through her hand, taking control of the shopping cart. They strolled through the store, her phone buzzing occasionally with more messages.
She shivered as they made their way into the refrigerated section of the small grocery store. Stone stepped up to pick the packages of bacon out, so Mae turned, trying to find some warmth a few steps away from the coolers. That’s when her eyes landed on a familiar face.
“Hey, Colt. Working tonight?” Mae asked.
Behind her, Stone turned, dropping the meat into the cart before nodding at the sheriff’s deputy.
“Nah. Got the night off.”
“Making cookies?” Mae observed his basket full of baking ingredients.
“Yup. It’s my ex-wife’s recipe. Been having a hankering for them for weeks. Finally couldn’t take it any longer.”
“How did I not know you were married?”
“It was over a long time before you guys ever got to town. But at least she left me with the recipe for her seven layer cookies. These things are sinful. Her mom made some for our wedding and I’ve never been able to let them go.”
“That’s really cute.” Mae wrapped her arms around her body.
“I won’t hold you two up, but it’s good to see you back in town, Stone.”
