Heaven Beside You Page 7

  She leafed through the rest of the papers. The usual suspects: nature walks, Civil War site tours, star gazing, church dances, a quilt show, etc.

  The guests would love the out-and-out Mayberry-ness of it. Then they would go home and tell all their friends about this little gem of a town. She’d be booked solid by March, and the Wegmans, too. And the townspeople would have a blast.

  Crap. Today was Wednesday and she’d sent Jason to the grocery store unescorted.

  She jammed the folder in her box with the mail and sprinted down the sidewalk. She tossed her box in the back of the truck before running inside.

  Jason was under siege in the canned vegetable and soup aisle in front of the cream soups. Nobody at the register, in the office or in the deli. All three employees surrounded him. Mr. Henderson hadn’t noticed yet, but he might be sleeping in the warehouse. There was no telling how long Jason had been stuck like this.

  His eyes lit up when she rounded the chip display. “Cassandra, bella,” he called.

  She almost stopped and looked behind her. He couldn’t be talking to her. Beautiful Cassandra? “How’s it going?” she asked, hoping to pass off the heat on her cheeks as windburn.

  “Well—”

  “Mr. Callisto said you made him dinner last night, but you’re leaving him on his own for the rest of his stay.” Cori Gwynn pouted her too-pink-to-be-natural lips. She’d been Homecoming Queen last year and now rang register. A pretty far drop. “I said I’d come cook for him.” Her voice had dropped to a sultry tone that left nothing to the imagination. The clingy fuchsia sweater she wore didn’t either.

  “And I told her she’d have him poisoned before the weekend.” Kady Stern smirked. The Prom Queen. Both of them seemed to think it still mattered. Kady worked in the office by virtue of a letter grade difference in high school business math. She held that over Cori, too. Her sweater wasn’t skin tight, but her skirt was about an inch from obscene. And they hadn’t even known Jason would be coming.

  “Oh, Mr. Callisto, you don’t want that kind.” Sweet round face clouding with worry, Angela Costi picked up one of the cans in Jason’s basket and put it back on the shelf. “It takes milk. You want this kind. This you just put in the pan and heat up. You do have a pan, don’t you?” Angela had the imagination of a block of wood, but she was passionately in love with Finn Runningwater, who didn’t seem to notice she was alive, and the only one concerned about what Jason would eat for the next two weeks.

  Jason looked at Cass. He seemed terrified by the attention. She couldn’t imagine why. Most of his life looked like this. “Do I have a pan?” he asked.

  Cass sighed. She should have known better than to let any eligible man walk into Henderson’s Grocery unescorted on a Wednesday, let alone one as wildly eligible as Jason. “I can loan you one. Listen, Kady, Cori, if Duke catches you out here there’s going to be trouble.” Using Mr. Henderson’s first name felt awkward, but did the trick. They both paled. “Angela, why don’t you go back to the deli and slice up a pound of ham, a pound of turkey and a loaf of Italian bread for Mr. Callisto?”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea, Cass,” Angela said. “I’ll get some potato salad and broccoli salad, too. Would you like that, Mr. Callisto? It’ll keep to the end of the week at least.”

  “Great.” Jason managed a smile. He hadn’t moved from his defensive position against the cream soups.

  “Oh, and some cheese. We have some really nice cheese.” Angela hurried away, signaling the other girls to leave, too. Under the guise of discussing Jason’s grocery basket, they sniped at each other as they disappeared around the Grandma Shears chips.

  “It was like a scene from The Birds. All the sudden they were everywhere,” he whispered. He moved out to the middle of the aisle and peered around the corner.

  “Sorry, I forgot about them. Do you really plan to eat canned soup for two weeks?” In his basket were twelve cans. She couldn’t possibly let him sit alone and eat canned soup for two weeks.

  Her carefully-cultivated distance was shrinking. She’d thought running down the street to get her mail and the events from Sue would have been enough time out of Jason’s gravity that she wouldn’t have gotten sucked back in so fast. Her heart rate said different.

  He shrugged. “I haven’t gotten to the frozen food aisle yet. I’m really not very good at this. I eat out a lot.”

  She met his eyes. Familiar heat spread through her. His face softened. He shifted his grip on the basket so it hung at his side. The view changed, and she couldn’t understand why until she realized she was leaning forward. The pulse in his throat throbbed inches from her face. Her body matched his beat. His dark eyes seemed darker, inviting. He licked his lips. Her stomach tightened in anticipation.

  “Cass,” someone said.

  Jason and Cass leaped apart. His basket banged against the canned vegetables shelf behind him, knocking a can of peas on the floor. She reached back to steady herself, nearly pulling down half the Campbell’s soup display. When she’d gotten her feet under her, she turned to meet the voice’s owner and tried not to look like she’d been caught stealing something. Duke Henderson didn’t seem to realize he’d interrupted.

  “What are you doing down the mountain already? Didn’t we stock you up well enough?” he bellowed from the far end of the aisle.

  “Oh, I’m fine, but my guest needed some supplies so I brought him in.”

  “Ah.” Duke stopped in front of them and looked Jason over. “Well, welcome to town, son. Hope you enjoy your stay. Next time, you give us a call in advance and we can send a delivery up to you.”

  “You can?” Cass blurted out. Duke scowled at her. Her nerves still sparked as if she’d been caught en flagrante delicto on the grocery store floor. But she had nothing to hide from Duke Henderson and nothing to prove to him either. She focused on the imprint of corrugated cardboard on his cheek above his whiskers. He had been sleeping in the warehouse. “When did you start that?”

  “Oh, about ten minutes ago. I was thinking about your little campground up there and I realized I could get some business by delivering groceries to your campers. Have to hire a boy to do the driving in the summer. A service.” He hooked his fingers through his belt loops and rocked back on his heels, quite pleased with himself for this inspiration.

  Cass wanted to bury her face in her hands. “Of course, Mr. Henderson. Is it all right if I put that in my confirmation letters?”

  “Now, that’s a very good idea. Going to get fax soon. You can put that in there, too. I’ll get the number to Sue for you.”

  A fax. Wow. “Wonderful,” she whimpered.

  Duke looked at the basket in Jason’s hands, frowning. “You’re going to need a cart, son. Can’t get two weeks’ worth of food in a basket.” Then he turned and walked away, whistling.

  “What was that about?” Jason asked.

  “I’ve been trying to get him to deliver since I opened, and he always said it was a pig in a poke. Suddenly it’s his brilliant idea. All’s well that ends well, I guess.” At least, Duke hadn’t commented on her coat.

  Jason been about to kiss her. He’d licked his lips and leaned toward her. He would have. He’d been through the beauty queen rivalry and met her parents as well as a few select townspeople who seemed intent on selling her to him, and he still wanted to kiss her. Probably wanted more than kisses, but they were in public. Why would it be bad to kiss him again?

  Cass rubbed her face. Jason still needed food and the better she stocked him up, the less likely he would need to come back here for more supplies. Or worse, to have them delivered. She could imagine what would happen if Kady and Cori got hold of that order. “Come on. Let’s hit the frozen aisle and pick up your deli stuff.”

  “I liked your parents. They seemed like nice people. I didn’t realize you had planned on stopping to visit them,” Jason said, following her past the detergent aisle.

  “I didn’t. I’d hoped to duck them.” Cass d
odged into paper products. She should have known she’d never get in and out of town without her parents catching her. Even if she did, they would have come up the mountain. She grabbed a package of paper plates and a mixed bag of plastic utensils. When she turned back, he stood behind her, so close she could feel his body heat. She clutched the plates against her chest.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Why?” Cass bit her lip. “I didn’t think you’d want to meet my parents. It’s not like we’re dating.”

  His lips curled into a slow smile. “I see. I suppose you’re right.”

  She thrust the plates and utensils at him. “You’ll need these.”

  “Thanks.” He plucked them out of her hands and paused for somewhat shorter than a heartbeat before stepping back and allowing her past him.

  As she turned the corner, she glanced down to make sure she hadn’t put on high heels at some point. No, still wearing tennis shoes. Maybe the floor had become more uneven with age. Or maybe West Virginia was having its first earthquake since the Cretaceous. At the end of frozen foods, she stopped before she stumbled into a freezer case. “Okay.” She tried to cough the squeak out of her voice before trying again. “Okay, here you are. Every frozen food known to Potterville, West Virginia.”

  Jason peered down the long aisle of lit cases. “Anything you recommend?”

  “I don’t eat many frozen dinners.”

  “I guess not. I wouldn’t either if I could cook like you.”

  He was gazing at her again, and Duke Henderson wouldn’t be interrupting this time. She should thank Jason for the compliment, but didn’t think her mouth would work.

  “I was hoping you’d bend your rule about not cooking for the guests at least one more time,” he murmured, and reached for her hand. The callused tips of his fingers scraped across her palm.

  A sigh built in the back of her throat. Her vision seemed to be filled with Jason. In Henderson’s. Henderson’s Grocery, where every Pottervillian bought the bulk of their groceries. Where anyone could see her and know, or assume, she’d fallen for her famous winter guest, giving them one more thing to feel sorry for her about. She drew her hand away. “I’ll go get your deli order. Tombstone pizzas are supposed to be good.”

  She turned and walked away. Where had she gotten the willpower to pull back? When it came to a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream, especially if hot fudge were involved, she never had that much willpower. Jason was premium mint chocolate chip with homemade hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry.

  Much more than she could handle. She was a generic ice cream girl; premium would be too rich. Jason had been not just around the block, but around the city...the country. Around the world. He knew good from better from best, and if he had some idea about her, then maybe she didn’t want to ruin it by letting him know the truth. Plus, it was a small town and word would get around. The way things were around here, the grapevine would buzz anyway and she’d be at a distinct disadvantage to denounce it if it were true. So what, if he made her pulse do a Zydeco beat and her fingers twitch uncontrollably to coil through his hair? If he did have some crazy notion about dropping back to the minor leagues for a little fun with her, well, she didn’t have to start thinking she had any chance of moving up to the majors with him.

  Of course, other people managed to have flings. She’d had campers who met their lovers for one-week stands and then went their separate ways. During one memorable new age retreat, neighboring cabins had combined into one and the resulting couple had stayed on for an extra week before going back to their regular lives. When Cass had spoken to the woman at the end of the second week as she turned in the keys, she’d discovered they hadn’t even bothered to exchange addresses or phone numbers. Up there on the mountain by herself, the town would only have her word as to whether their speculations were true or false.

  So involved debating the whys, with and without nots, she nearly went face first into Irma Tompkins’s shopping cart in front of the Ragu spaghetti sauce display. Before joining the older woman’s collection of flour, sugar, and produce in her basket, she skidded to a stop. “Hello, Mrs. Tompkins.”

  “Oh, Cassie.” The old woman beamed, revealing a whole new set of wrinkles in her wizened face. “How nice to see you. Have you been to see Sue yet? Bob and I are going to give dancing lessons.”

  She sounded so excited, Cass smiled back. “I heard. That should be fun.”

  “Oh, we think so. I met Bob at a dance you know. He was going to the war. He wrote often, but right before D-Day his letters stopped and I thought he’d found someone else. Then I found out they weren’t delivering the letters so the Germans couldn’t find out where the troops were going.” Irma looked back at the bottles in her hand. “You know I wish they had just stuck to plain old Ragu Spaghetti Sauce. There are too many choices now.”

  “I thought you canned your own sauce, Mrs. Tompkins,” Cass said.

  “I do, but every once in a while I like to walk on the wild side.” She grinned again as she set down the two jars in her hands. “Maybe next time. Goodbye, Cassie.”

  “Goodbye, Mrs. Tompkins.” Jarred sauce was a walk on the wild side? Irma had no idea. In the frozen foods aisle, the wild side was probably picking out pizzas at this very moment.

  And he wouldn’t be going on sale every other month. He was very much a once in a lifetime event.

  “Cass?”

  She blinked back to the present. Angela stood next to her with a shopping cart. She’d piled Jason’s deli order in the child seat. “Yeah?”

  “I thought Mr. Callisto might need a cart. Once I got all this stuff together, and I remembered he had all that soup, I thought he might need one. Do you think he does?”

  Angela was going to think herself a hole in the floor. “You know I bet he does.” One pound of ham, honey cured. One pound turkey, roasted. One pound loaf of Italian bread, sliced thin. Half a pound of cheddar cheese. One quart each of potato salad, macaroni salad and broccoli salad. A small jar of mayonnaise and a small bottle of mustard. Picnic food. If she didn’t relent and have him over for dinner he was going to be eating picnic food, soup and frozen pizza his entire stay.

  If she did have him over, it would mean spending another evening alone with him just a few feet away from her bed. The Zydeco beat started up again inside her. “He’s in frozen foods. Let’s go find him.”

  Jason was perusing pizzas. He had a small pile of Healthy Choice meals at his feet. At least he was trying. As soon as he heard them walking toward him, he looked up and gave her one of those smiles that made her hot and cold and slightly insane. Beside her and still pushing the cart, Angela sucked in a sharp breath, apparently believing the smile intended for her.

  “Hello, Mr. Callisto, I brought your deli order and I thought you might need a cart,” Angela muttered.

  Cass folded her arms and took a step back.

  “Thank you, Angela, I guess I do. Are these any good?” He held up a family size meatloaf meal.

  “Oh, it’s okay I guess. I make my own.” Angela clenched her hands in front of her until the knuckles went white.

  “I’ll bet you do. You’re probably a wonderful cook.” He smiled at Angela, turning up the wattage on his charm.

  Should she be jealous about this? Hmm. Well, she wasn’t, which was a good thing. If she were, that would mean she felt proprietary toward him, and she didn’t want that.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” Angela giggled. “I suppose I’m okay. I could bring you a meatloaf dinner if you wanted.”

  “You don’t have to,” Jason and Cass said at the same time. He’d made it sound like an invitation. Despite herself, she’d made it sound forbidden.

  Angela looked from one to the other, bewildered.

  “Think what would happen if Kady and Cori found out,” Cass added.

  “Oh.” Angela frowned.

  “And Finn might get jealous.” Jason glanced Cass as he said it. Did he somehow k
now about Angela’s unrequited love for Finn or was he needling her? Why would he want to tease her about Finn anyway?

  “Oh, yeah,” Angela said, and turned to Cass. “Do you think he would?”

  “That’s just a better reason to do it as far as I’m concerned,” she said before she’d thought it through.

  “Really?” Angela brightened. “Would you like me to, Mr. Callisto? I’m off tomorrow. I could make everything and bring it up to you in the afternoon.”

  Jason put his arm over Angela’s shoulders. “That sounds divine.” He kissed her temple.

  Angela made a sound that was probably meant to be a giggle, but came out hysteria. Jason released her and Cass hoped Angela wouldn’t collapse in an overwhelmed heap at their feet. That would really annoy Duke.

  “Don’t tell Kady and Cori until after Jason leaves town, okay?” she told Angela. “I don’t want them showing up on the mountain. Jason’s here to relax, not to be harassed by the locals.”

  “Oh, I know. I won’t say anything until he leaves,” Angela whispered. “I’ll see you Friday afternoon. And I won’t tell a soul.”

  Angela rounded the corner, transformed. She’d always been a dowdy, nervous girl, even in elementary school. One peck on the temple from Jason, and she glowed. She even looked prettier.

  Maybe everybody could see that in her, with the intense attention Jason had been giving her over the past day. Or did she just know what to look for?

  Having put back the meatloaf dinner, he dropped the freezer door closed. “This should do me,” he announced, setting his basket in the cart.

  No way did he have enough food to carry him for two solid weeks, but she wanted out of the town with him as quickly as possible. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Chapter 6

  At the checkout, Cass noticed Cori had opened the top three buttons of her smock, allowing the edge of her lacy bra to peek out. She was also rather cold, based on her physical reaction. Cass considered getting Duke out here to keep a lid on the proceedings, but that would mean leaving Jason alone while she went for reinforcements.