Chapter Twelve
Terry felt weird going out without Dan. The man had practically been glued to his side for the last two days. Only the fact that Dan had to go to work kept him away now. Terry understood that, but he had grown to like having Dan underfoot. He hated that he wasn't.
"You ready?" Hector asked.
Terry rolled his eyes as he headed for the front door. Dan might not have been at his side, but he had made sure Hector was. He was under strict instructions from both Dan and Elijah to not step foot outside his house unless someone was with him.
Yeah, this was fun.
It wasn't so much that he minded hanging with Hector. It was the whole babysitting thing that he had an issue with. He was an adult, damn it!
Hector wasn't much of a talker and Terry didn't have much to say, so it was a pretty quiet ride to the grocery store. He only needed a few items to go with dinner, but getting out of the house for a few minutes was golden.
"Are you going to be around for dinner?" Terry asked as they pulled up in front of the corner market across from town square.
"What are you making?"
Terry chuckled. "Fish tacos."
Hector shrugged. "I guess I can drop by."
Terry didn't roll his eyes, at least not where Hector could see it. He liked Hector. The man was seriously low maintenance. He spent almost all of his time working as a bouncer at the Rusty Nail Bar and Grill or doing odd jobs around town. If he wasn't sleeping, Hector was working.
"You any closer to getting that farm?" Terry asked as they climbed out of the truck and headed into the store.
The man worked night and day because he was saving up to buy his own place. Terry could understand that. He might have inherited his house from his parents, but he was still trying to pay it off.
"I'm getting there," Hector replied. "Maybe by summer."
That was a few months away. While Terry wanted Hector to get his dream, he didn't like the idea of having to try and get a new tenant.
"If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."
"Seems to me you have your hands full already."
"Yeah, but there's always room for friends." They weren't bosom buddies, but they did live in the same house.
"So, what are we picking up from the store?"
Terry reached into his pocket and pulled out the list he'd made. "I need a couple of limes and stuff to make some homemadepico de gallo."
Hector's eyebrows lifted. "Okay, now I'm definitely coming to dinner."
Terry chuckled.
Inside the store, he leaned down and grabbed a carrying basket and started going up and down the aisles, looking for the items on his list. The corner market wasn't all that big, but they carried the freshest fruits and vegetables, which they got from the local farmers. Terry was in favor of that and tried to buy local as much as possible.
"Let's grab some beer," he suggested after grabbing everything he needed or dinner. "Do you have a preference?"
Hector shrugged. "Whatever you guys want is fine. I don't drink."
Terry came to a dead stop and turned to look at Hector. "You work in a bar and you don't drink?"
Hector grunted. "I don't drink because I work in a bar. I see what alcohol can do to people on a nightly basis. Turns them all into idiots."
Terry could see that.
"How about ice tea instead?" he asked. "I make a mean southern sweet tea."
