“Quit it. That’s unprofessional.”
She put the citrus back and pushed her cart forward, but couldn’t resist pressing him a little more. “They were an eight, right? And you didn’t want to hurt her feelings?”
He laughed as he grabbed some whole wheat hamburger buns, pointedly ignoring her continued needling. “Her husband said she also ordered a case of industrial-strength hydrogen peroxide online.”
“Well, she’ll be able to get that bottle blonde look for quite a while on that,” Ainsley said, turning down the booze and cheese aisle. The Chateau St. Michelle wine she wanted was on the top shelf. Ainsley sighed.
“Problem, short stuff?” Kyle smirked.
“No.” She pushed back her shoulders. “It’s no problem.” Putting one foot on the lowest shelf, Ainsley proceeded to climb high enough to grab the bottle she wanted, as Kyle looked on, his face painted with shock.
“I would’ve gotten it for you!”
“I didn’t need you to,” she informed him, flipping her hair. Short girls knew how to get things done. There wouldn’t always be a tall friend around.
Kyle was quiet for a moment as they pushed their carts farther on. “I should see if he wants to sell some of that hydrogen peroxide to my mom,” he mused, “if he can’t cancel it.”
“That’s a good idea,” she agreed, grinning. “How is your mom, by the way?”
“She’s good. You want to come to dinner on Sunday?”
Ainsley froze, her hand almost to the baby brick of pepper jack she’d been reaching for. “Oh. Um, I’m not sure if I should.”
“You used to come when we were younger.”
She waggled her head a little, considering. “That’s true . . .” But we were kids. And Daniel invited me, not you. It didn’t mean anything then. And yet, she’d love to hang out with his family; they were the best. Daniel had asked her once if she had a favorite (besides him), and she honestly couldn’t choose. They were all so great in their own way. She loved Philip’s warm big-brother thing and Kyle’s quiet, dependable way and Maggie’s salty snark. And the parents: she loved how Farrah could turn anything into a celebration and how Evan always had a new dad joke to tell.
“Are you concerned that the host didn’t invite you? I can text her right now.” He was whipping out his phone, and she panicked.
“No, Kyle, don’t. I think I’m already busy, don’t bother her. Maybe another time.”
That seemed to assuage him, but he was quiet as they neared the end of the cereal aisle, and she glanced at him, worried that she’d hurt his feelings. That was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Why don’t you just go back where you came from?” A man’s voice punched through the elevator music playing in the store. She peered around the end of aisle, and her stomach dropped when she saw Bilqiis facing down Ranger Zane alone; she’d know his shaved head and red face anywhere. As she approached, Ainsley tried desperately to remember the active bystander article she’d read a few months ago.
“Bilqiis?”
“Ainsley?” The young woman’s eyes locked onto hers and she read the terror there. Giving her a nod, Ainsley placed herself between the angry man and her friend, but gave Ranger her back.
“Hey! Are you listening to me? I said you should get the hell out. We don’t need you here, don’t want your kind.” Ainsley felt herself trembling, not with fear, but with anger. She wanted nothing more than to whirl around and scream at him that Mrs. Sadiq would probably love to go back to where she came from. That her home had been taken from her, her childhood destroyed. Instead, she focused on her friend.
“Bilqiis,” she said, smiling at her, “I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about going shopping for some furniture for the house.” She put her arm around the woman’s shoulders, turning her away from her cart and her attacker. “When would be a good time for you to do that?” Bilqiis’s eyes were wide, and her shoulders were taut under Ainsley’s touch.
“Hey. Zane. What are you doing?” Kyle’s voice was calm, but firm.
“I’m just having a conversation. Not that she can understand me.”
“She can, actually,” he said. “But she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”
“You don’t belong here!” he shouted past Kyle.
“That’s enough, Ranger. Just walk away.”
As Ainsley and Bilqiis turned the corner at the end of the aisle, Ainsley could see out of the corner of her eye that the store manager had come over to stand behind Kyle.
“Let’s go to my car, okay? I’ll come back and get your groceries. Were you almost done?”
“Yes, I was almost . . .” Mrs. Sadiq choked out a sob. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault he’s an idiot.” She paused their conversation as they passed through the sliding doors into the parking lot. “Do you want to call Abshir?”
“Yes. I will call him in the car.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“I don’t know, I don’t . . .”
“That’s okay,” Ainsley soothed, rubbing her back. “Let’s just get to the car, and then we can figure out what to do next.” She opened the door for Bilqiis, then her phone plinked.
Kyle: Don’t leave. I’m paying for the groceries now.
Kyle: Is she okay?
Ainsley: Okay, we’ll wait. I think so. She’s in my car.
Kyle: Let’s follow her home and make sure.
Ainsley: No argument here.
Kyle: That’s a first.
Ainsley was texting him back a face with a tongue sticking out when a shadow fell over her phone, and she looked up to see Ranger.
“What’s your problem, Buchanan? I was just talking to her.”
“No, you were just belittling, insulting, and harassing her, Ranger. She doesn’t deserve that. No one does.”
“It’s a free country.”
“That’s right, it is. And she’s as free to be here as you are. You’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re not entitled to share it so viciously. It was disrespectful and rude, and she’s not obligated to just stand there and take it.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyle coming out of the store.
Ranger stepped into her personal space. “She doesn’t belong here. Nobody’s going to censor me.” Kyle now appeared to be hurrying.
“I’m sorry you see it that way. Her presence here is perfectly legal, so I disagree. And as for censorship, it’s not that we’re saying you can’t say it; we’re just saying that we’re not going to listen.”
Kyle arrived at the car and began loading the groceries into the bed of the truck.
“Zane,” he said without looking at him, “the next time I see you, you better not be sick with anything I can cure.”
“What’s that mean, Durand?”
“It means if you don’t step away from this car, the next time you need my help, you might not get it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”
“According to the AMA, ‘a physician shall, in the provision of appropriate patient care, except in emergencies, be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical care.’ Salem’s not that far. I’m sure you’d be fine.” He looked him up and down. “If you lay off the six-packs.” He slammed the trunk and touched the small of Ainsley’s back to move her toward the driver’s seat. Ranger stepped back to make way for her, but she didn’t miss the way his hands flexed into fists.