“Wait,” Allie called out.“I’ll cover her groceries.”She reached into her wallet and pulled out her card.
Both the woman and cashier looked at her, shocked.“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have a way to pay you back,” the woman said hesitantly.
“Don’t worry about it.”Allie smiled reassuringly at her.The woman and her son needed to eat, and Allie had plenty of money to cover the woman’s and her own groceries.
“Thank you,” the woman said, tears glistening in her eyes.
“You’re welcome.”
“Why did you do that?”Carson asked when the woman had left.Allie started putting her groceries on the belt.
“Because I can.”She shrugged.Did she have to have a reason to help others in need?“They looked like they could use a hand, and I was in the position to help.Are you saying you wouldn’t have?”
Carson’s silence was all the answer she needed.
“I guess that’s the difference between you and me.I don’t need a reason to help people.”That family didn’t look like they’d had a decent meal in a long time.That little boy needed the groceries the mom was trying to buy.The mom looked like she’d skipped quite a few meals so her son could eat.
She wasn’t stopping world hunger, but every little bit helped.She knew it made a difference to those people.
Allie paid for her groceries and left.Carson hadn’t said anything to her since she’d told him that she didn’t need a reason to pay for someone else’s groceries.It was just as well.She’d prefer to forget about Carson Townsend.
“Allie, wait,” Carson called after her as she reached her car.
Oh my God, could this man not just leave her alone?First, he avoided her, and now she couldn’t get rid of him.At the end of her patience, Allie slammed her truck closed and whipped around and snapped, “What, Carson?”
“We haven’t finished our conversation,” he remarked, not looking upset in the least about her outburst.Was he that used to women snapping at him that he didn’t notice?Wouldn’t surprise her.
“What conversation?”In her opinion, there was nothing more to talk about.It was a bad date that neither one of them wanted to repeat—there, end of discussion.
“About our date.”
“If you can call that a date.”She still didn’t know what to call it, but a date was not it.
“How many times do I have to say I had an emergency I was dealing with?”he questioned, his voice getting strained like he was starting to get upset.Good, she was upset with him too.She hadn’t shown it at the time, but she was livid with him.And if it hadn’t been bad enough, now he wanted to add salt to the wound by bringing it up and daring to call it a date when it hadn’t been.
“And how many times do I have to say, if it was that big of a deal, why not just reschedule?”
Once again, Carson didn’t have a comeback.She knew why, and she didn’t want to hear an excuse.It’s not you, it’s me.Something came up.She’d heard them all.Maybe she should write a book about the failures of dating.A lesson for women to learn from.Men to avoid.Signs to watch out for.
Allie took a deep breath and said in a calm voice, “Look, let’s just write this up as we aren’t compatible and go about our lives pretending we don’t know each other.You’re already one step ahead because you can’t remember my name.”
Carson flinched at her direct hit but didn’t contradict her.
“Goodbye, Carson.”Allie got in her car and started it.Well, tried.It wouldn’t turn over.Oh no, not again.She peeked out of the corner of her eye to see Carson standing next to her window.Could this be any more embarrassing?
He tapped on the window with his knuckles.Allie tried starting her car one more time, but it was dead.All she heard was the click of the key in the ignition.
“Allie,” Carson called out, his voice sounding muffled through the glass.She opened her door since she couldn’t turn on the car to roll down the window.“Let me give you a ride home.”
“No thank you, I’ll call a tow and figure something out.”Allie didn’t want to spend any more time in Carson’s presence.
“Allie, let me give you a ride home,” he said more sternly, as if he wasn’t asking but telling her.
“I’m fine, really.”She could call Sandy to come pick her up.
