Together, they walked to the women’s section. When he realized she was headed for the lingerie section, he stayed in the main aisle with the cart.
He kept an eye on her while also glancing around to watch for threats. Not that he was expecting any, but he would never slack off.
They probably should have gone to a more upscale store, but he had a feeling that Angela wouldn’t have known how to deal with that. Even he struggled with seeing fifty-dollar price tags on a simple black T-shirt.
When she walked over to where he waited, she had an armful of clothing.
“Do you think it’s too much?” she asked as she placed the load into the cart.
“Nope. It’s not too much. If you want it, get it.”
“I bought some stuff for Kiara too,” she said, lifting a hanger with a cozy-looking outfit on it. She ran a hand along the pants. “It’s been so cold that I wanted something cozy for us. The pants are fleecy, and the top is so soft. I got me and Kiara each a set, plus some fuzzy socks.”
Jude listened as she described the different items she’d picked up. Normally, he wouldn’t have this type of conversation with someone he was protecting, but he couldn’t bring himself to cut her off.
“Do you need new shoes or boots?”
“I think we’re both okay with what we have,” she said.
“Anything else?”
“Um… Can we go to the book section and then the candy aisle?”
Jude chuckled. “Sure.”
In the book aisle, Angela went right to the women’s fiction section. She picked up several books and read the blurb on the back before settling on two. After putting them in the cart, she went to the puzzle books and picked up a couple.
“Do you like to read?” Jude asked her as they headed toward the candy aisle.
“I do, but Kiara is a more voracious reader than I am,” Angela said. “These books are for her, though I’ll probably read them when she’s done with them.”
“Do you read eBooks at all?”
“Sometimes, but Kiara mainly picked up books from the thrift store, or she borrowed them from the library.”
“I noticed you had a couple of boxes of books that you brought with you.”
“The fiction ones are Kiara’s, and the cookbooks are mine.”
When they reached the candy aisle, Jude followed Angela as she searched among the sweets.
Finally, she approached him with a package of gummy bears and one of mini chocolate bars with almonds.
“You like chocolate?” he asked as she placed the chocolate bars in the cart.
“Yeah. But I’m mainly getting this for Kiara. When she’s feeling like this, she likes to have sweets.” She slanted a look at him. “How about you? Do you have a sweet tooth?”
“I do,” he confessed. “But I try not to indulge in it too often.”
“Do you like anything in particular?”
“Chocolate is always a winner,” he said. “But honestly, if it’s got sugar in it, I’d probably eat it.”
“You don’t look like you have a sweet tooth,” she said, her gaze shifting away from him.
“Well, in addition to a sweet tooth, I also like to exercise, so they balance each other out.”
“I’m not a big fan of exercise,” Angela said with a grimace. “Jim was insistent that we be strong, so he would make us run laps on the dirt road that circled through the property. It was terrible.”
