“I’ve taken up enough of your time,” Wanda said after a while. “It was great to see you again. I was happy to move closer to my grandbabies, but I was sorry to say goodbye to you.”
“I’m glad things are working out for you,” Taylor told her.
Wanda smiled huge and said her goodbyes.
After Wanda had pushed her cart away, Taylor turned to Eagle. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Eagle asked, playing dumb.
Taylor frowned. “You know what. I had no idea who that was, and you seamlessly stepped in and made her introduce herself.”
Eagle looked into her dark-brown eyes and said, “You don’t know me, and like you said, you have no reason to trust me. But you absolutely can. I’m going to prove it.”
She didn’t say anything, but didn’t drop her gaze either.
They stared at each other for a long moment before he nodded to the list still in her hand. “Is that salvageable?”
Sighing, Taylor shrugged and then said in a wry tone, “I’m not sure. I really did think you were throwing me a line about the not-good-at-shopping thing.”
“I wasn’t. I’m not.”
“I see that now. I think I’ve got the original list reorganized according to the aisles in the store. We might still have to do a bit of backtracking, but hopefully not much. You really ought to get your employees to make an electronic list. I can barely read some of their handwriting.”
“Archer will take care of it,” Eagle told her.
“Archer?”
“He’s the new guy. Shawn Archer. He’s currently got the week off, but when he gets back, I have no doubt he’ll take charge of all this, and those haphazard lists will be a thing of the past. Not to mention, he’ll be the one shopping . . . thank God!”
“Good. Well, come on. I’ve already been at this damn store much longer than I’d planned, and if I’m going to help you, we need to get on with it.”
She grabbed her cart and was about to turn it to continue shopping when Eagle put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “Thank you. For helping me. I’m man enough to admit when I’m in over my head. I’d have eventually figured that list out, but I’d have been in a piss-poor mood by the time I did. So thank you.”
“No, thank you for making me not dread being here for once in my life.”
And with that, she pulled away and headed back toward the apples. With no other choice, Eagle followed . . . not that it was a hardship to watch her from behind.
Taylor couldn’t remember a time that she’d felt so relaxed in public. Normally she dreaded every single second she spent outside her apartment. Inside her safe space, she was Taylor Cardin, highly educated, much-sought-after proofreader, and confident in her abilities. She loved watching cooking shows and trying out new recipes. She had good relationships with her regular clients and was witty and funny in emails and on social media.
But the second she stepped outside, she turned into someone she didn’t like very much. Meek, unsure, and standoffish.
She’d put off grocery shopping for as long as possible, finally setting out for the store that morning. Taylor knew she could shop online and do the curbside-pickup thing, but she didn’t like the thought of someone else picking out her food. She was particular about her meat and fruits and vegetables. Besides, many times when she was wandering the aisles, she got inspired to try something new in the kitchen.
But she hated running into people she knew. Or rather, who knew her. It was always awkward. She either pretended she knew the person, or she had to admit that she didn’t recognize them. People hated that. She’d lost too many friends to count over the years because she simply didn’t know who they were when she saw them.
Forcing the depressing thoughts to the back of her mind, Taylor turned her attention to the man behind her and what had happened in the parking lot.
She could identify the men who’d been fighting based on their clothes, but as soon as they went home and changed, she wouldn’t know them from Adam. Taylor was well aware that the officers were skeptical about her condition. Maybe even thought she was lying to get out of testifying, if it came to that. She’d felt awkward as hell as they’d discussed her disability, with regard to what they should put in their report about her, in front of the other witnesses, who, one by one, were allowed to go about their day while she’d been detained.
She felt as if she’d done something wrong, when all she’d been doing was trying to buy some damn food.
Then Eagle was there.
She’d known people like him existed; they were called super recognizers in her world. People with the opposite ability to what she had. She’d pretty much expected him to blow her off too, to make her feel as stupid as the officer had when he’d compared her to Drew Barrymore’s character in 50 First Dates. She hadn’t meant to blurt out to Eagle that she wasn’t like that character, but he hadn’t even blinked.
She also hadn’t expected him to introduce himself to Wanda. He could’ve stood there and watched her struggle to figure out who the woman was. But instead, he’d taken the initiative to help. She’d known that was what he was doing the second he’d introduced himself.
That conversation had been the most “normal” one she’d had with someone in a very long time. She’d actually enjoyed seeing Wanda again and hearing how she and her grandkids were doing. There wasn’t any awkwardness on either of their parts.
Taylor didn’t know anything about Eagle, except that he apparently was clueless about cooking and shopping for food. She also knew he worked at Silverstone Towing, which in itself said plenty, because the company was well known around the Indianapolis area. The police officers obviously knew him and were comfortable with him.
Hmmm, maybe she knew more about the man than she’d thought.
“Why the hell are there so many kinds of flour? It makes no sense,” he grumbled.
Taylor couldn’t help but chuckle.
He turned to her. “What? Look at this shit. There are rows and rows of fucking flour. It’s stupid. All-purpose, cake, bread, self-rising, whole wheat, gluten-free . . . jeez.”
Taking pity on him, Taylor reached for two bags of all-purpose flour and put them in his cart. “There’re different kinds for different kinds of baking. But because your people didn’t specify what they wanted, they get the normal everyday kind. If they want something else, they’ll learn to be more specific.”
Eagle simply grunted.
It was such a guy thing to do, she couldn’t help but giggle.
“Are you laughing at me, woman?” he asked, his brows shooting upward.
“Yup,” she admitted easily. And suddenly Taylor realized she was having fun. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she was enjoying herself while out in public.
“Before I lose my mind about all this food shit and how complicated it is, tell me more about yourself,” Eagle ordered. “What do you do?”
Taylor knew she could blow him off and he’d let her change the subject, but she didn’t want to. She liked Eagle. He was blunt, but he’d also made her laugh. That went a long way with her.
“I’m a proofreader.”
He glanced over at her. “A what?”