It’s clearly not fine, judging by the “fuck you” in his tone, and I waffle between trying to start another conversation and jumping out of the truck. I can’t really afford a trip to the hospital, so I search for a new conversation topic before remembering something that niggled at me all day.
“Kade, does Micah use ASL?”
Kade glances sharply at me. “Yeah.”
“And you use it too?”
He nods but doesn’t say anything.
“Did you learn when you hired him?”
Kade shakes his head no, and when he doesn’t follow it up with anything, I resign myself to a silent ride.
I want to know how he knows sign language. I want to know everything about him, but I’m going to have to live with the disappointment.
At least I know a little more about Micah. Maybe I can watch a few videos, figure out what signs Micah might use the most. Maybe he’ll write out a list for me. I’m going to ask him first thing tomorrow morning.
I grab a cart at the grocery store, conscious of Kade’s dark presence at my back. I thought he would stay in the car, but maybe he needs a few things too? Deciding to ignore Mr. Grumpy Pants, I head off around the perimeter of the store, grabbing enough fresh food to last me the week, but at the meat department, I realize I’m missing some key information. I sneak a look behind me and see Kade standing in the middle of the aisle, arms crossed, cold eyes fixed on me. Right.
“I forgot to check,” I say softly. “Are there pots and pans in the apartment?”
Kade’s nod is glacier slow, and I spin back to ponder the meat. I blink back the wetness in my eyes and look for any discount labels.
My excitement over the new job, over Kade, is waning. Based on the hostility on his face, it’s unlikely I’ll be employed much longer. I’ve got to make every penny in my wallet count.
I grab a discounted package of ground beef expiring tomorrow and a few other inexpensive cuts, then veer into the middle aisles to pick up a few pantry staples. By the time I get to the checkout, I’m fried. Both from the mental stress of adding up every item in my cart as I shopped and Kade’s scowling presence behind me.
The man ruined grocery shopping for me.
Fucker.
I quickly unload my cart, chatting with the tired guy at the register. He’s young and looks like he’s about to fall asleep where he stands. Poor kid.
“That’ll be ninety-six seventy-four,” he says, the squeak in his voice making me smile. I’m fumbling with my wallet when from the corner of my eye, I see a big tanned hand holding a card heading toward the debit machine.
“Aaagh!” I yell before flinging my body between the hand and the machine, wrapping my arms around the little pole it’s mounted on. As I glance up, I see the kid’s wide eyes locked on my chest. I peek quickly and exhale in relief when I see the girls are still strapped in right where they should be. My eyes shift to the tanned hand, frozen a foot from me, and follow it up to Kade’s face.
His face isn’t cold anymore. In fact his eyebrows are about to disappear into his hairline.
“Becca…what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? What are you doing?”
His eyebrows lower again. “Paying for the fucking groceries.”
“What the hell for?”
He blows out a frustrated breath. “Can we finish up here, please?”
I nod. “Sure.” Kade moves toward the POS machine again, so I lean more of my weight on it, pressing my boobs harder onto the number pad. Kade’s growl makes the hairs stand up on my arms.
“Move Becca.”
Asshole thinks he can growl at me and get his way?
Better set him straight right the fuck now.
“You are not paying for my groceries, Kade. Back. Up.” I make sure every bit of ice I can gather is in my tone.
