“Bingo.” He smiled, showing off straight, white teeth. “Tell me about volcanic snail books.” He glanced at our haul before picking up one last toy and motioning to the checkout. I nodded and took my items from the cart, but he took them right back and shook his head.
“Oh. Thank you, Mark.”
He nodded his head and raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to answer the question.
“Right, well, I read a bit of everything. Romance, Science Fiction, Marine Terror, even Blue Aliens.”
“Marine Terror? What the hell is that?”
“Oh. It’s about prehistoric giant sharks and ocean animals, showing up in present day.”
“Seriously?”
“Totally,” I said. “There are some awesome authors out there.”
I pretended not to notice that the cashier was ringing him up with the biggest, gooiest smile on her face. Mark took it all in stride, barely acknowledging her and answering with grunts and nods.
Letting out a barely audible, “Thanks,” he gathered up the bags in one hand, held the kitten in the other, and strode out the automatic door like he owned the place.
“So listen, thank you for this.” He followed me to my SUV and stood there like all the bags were filled with feathers and not a ton of supplies.
“Sure.” I took a business card from my wallet, scribbled my cell on the back, and tucked it in his front pocket. “Call or text if anything comes up. I can usually answer quicker at this number than if you call the clinic.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“Bye, Officer Handsome.”
“Bye, Dr. Cutie.”
I shut the door with a smile, putting my key in the ignition. Mark opened the back door of his cruiser to put in the bags but made no move to leave. I guess he was waiting for me to go, so I cranked my SUV.
Nothing happened.
I tried again. And again.
On the third try, I laid my head back, trying to remember if I had renewed my Triple-A membership when Mark opened my door, startling me.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. The check engine light came on earlier. I was just going to look for my Triple-A card now.”
“Don’t worry about that. Come on. I’ll drive you home. Where do you live?” He motioned with his head because his hands were full.
“Oh, no. You don’t have to do that.”
“Truly, it’s the least I could do, Jenna.”
Having him give me a lift would be easier than waiting for a tow in the humid night air, but I didn’t want to put him out. Scrunching my eyebrows, I stared at him.
“I don’t mind,” he said as if he knew what I was thinking. “Where do you live?”
“Magnolia Crescent, but I don’t want to impose.”
“Jenna,” he rumbled, his voice sounding like smooth whiskey over ice. “It’s my pleasure. Now, come on.”
Sighing, I reached over to grab my bag before getting out of the SUV and locking the door.
He plucked the keys from my hand. “We’ll leave the ignition key under the wheel well. I’ll call a friend of mine to come and check it out.”
