“So, I may have heard about your brief encounter with a certain Wilder at the grocery store a few days ago,” Mac told me with a teasing smirk. I sent her a glare before going back to the bowl that I was rinsing.
“Who told you?” That may have been one thing that I didn’t miss about living in a small town—how fast gossip spread.
“Chloe Briggs, she works as a stocker there. She briefly mentioned it when she was here for her weekly order.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why was it even considered worthwhile news?”
Mac shrugged her shoulders. “You’re kind of the long-lost daughter of the town. Your absence saddened many people and you know the Wilders... they’re the closest thing to royalty that this town offers. Anything those guys do is newsworthy.”
“One of the many reasons I can’t stand them,” I grumbled.
“Can you honestly tell me you didn’t notice how attractive that man is?” Mac asked me incredulously.
I remembered back to the moment I’d dropped the box of spaghetti noodles I’d been reaching for, the way he’d knelt down to help me and our eyes had met. For a second, just a second, I was lost in the gray depth of his irises. Then he had to go open his mouth and everything after that was downhill.
There was no way that I’d admit that I noticed how he filled out that shirt, the way my fingers itched to grab hold of the muscles that begged for my touch. Or how I wanted to run my fingers through his hair, see if it was as soft as it looked.
No way that I would admit any of that. Not even to myself.
“Once he opened his mouth and spoke, I noticed nothing else.”
Mac smiled at me, giving me a subtle wink. “But you noticed before.”
My lips pursed as I shook my head, knowing that my friend knew me better than I could ever know myself.
“Yes!” Mac screamed, jumping up and down a few times before slapping me on the shoulder in excitement. “You can hate them as much as you want, but those boys... they can be really nice to look at.”
I wanted to deny it, but I recalled the way I’d briefly gotten a whiff of whatever cologne Nick wore when I passed him in the grocery aisle. I shook my head to clear it of those ridiculous thoughts.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter anyway. I have more on my plate than dealing with those man-children.”
As if to punctuate my words, my phone vibrated against the counter. I cursed myself for setting it down next to Mac, close enough for her to read the words that flashed across the screen.
“How the hell is he still contacting you? I thought you blocked him.” The anger and fear in her voice told me clearly what kind of message she was looking at on the screen.
I swallowed down my unease and grabbed a nearby towel to dry my hands before I picked up my phone. I blocked the new number and deleted the message without reading it; they all said the same thing anyway.
I then answered Mac, “He keeps calling me from different numbers. I block one and then he sends me a message with another.”
Mac gave me a worried look. “Have you thought about changing your number? Or getting that restraining order?”
Reluctantly I said, “Changing my number might be the right way to go. It’s not like I’m in contact with anyone from my life in Collins.” Everyone that could call me was in North Hills, never over fifteen minutes away. It would be a good way for me to say goodbye to my life in Collins, for good.
“We’ll go to the store after I close the shop and get you a new phone. What about the restraining order?”
I ran my tongue over my teeth, thinking of all the probabilities that could happen from such a simple move.
“I’m not ready for him to find me and if I file a restraining order...? He’ll get my address and there’s no way that he’ll let something like that stand.” I added, “And there’s no way I’m going into that station and telling my darkest secrets to Wilder. The last thing I need is for the entire town to hear what happened in my marriage.”
Mac sighed. “First, he’s a good cop. He wouldn’t let your history get in the middle of keeping you safe. And second, he’s not the only officer in town. You could try to go in when he’s not supposed to be there. If you are adamant that you don’t want to deal with him then there are other options besides not doing anything at all.”
I looked at my phone that was still in my hand as I thought about everything that Mac had just said. I knew there were only three weeks left in the time limit that Jon had given me, and before I knew it he would be in North Hills, demanding for me to leave with him.
I wanted to say that I had the strength to tell him no, but... there was a small part of me that knew I would go back to Collins with him. Just to avoid a big blowup between him and my father. There was no way that would end well, I loved my father, but Jon was sure to kick his ass if they started something.
“I don’t know...” I mumbled.
Mac put her arm around my shoulders. “It’s fine. We’ll change your phone number and we’ll handle everything else if it comes.”
I sniffled, giving my friend a watery smile. “Why do you always seem to look on the bright side?”
“Why would I do anything else?” Mac asked rhetorically.
AFTER CLOSING UP THE store that night, we went straight to the small tech store on Main Street. It didn’t have nearly the options that Collins would have, but since all I was looking for was a new phone, it would do.
As we waited for someone to come to the front, Mac and I browsed the few devices that the store had on display.
“This one looks like it has a great camera,” Mac said, pointing to one of the latest models.
I hadn’t thought of my photography in years; I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d taken pictures. I’d thought that part of me had died when I married Jon, but as I looked at the pictures that were displayed above the phone, showing what it could do, I itched to take the phone for a ride.
Looking at the price at the bottom of the phone, I balked.
“I can’t afford that,” I whispered to Mac.
“Before you worry about that, have you thought about being on your parents’ plan?”
I knew if I asked them they would say yes, but I hated thinking of depending on someone else right after leaving Jon. Not that I didn’t love my parents or appreciate everything they did for me, but... I needed to feel like I could do this on my own.
“I wanted to open up my own. Do you think that’s possible?” I hated how little I knew of stuff like this; Jon had handled everything. Just one more red flag that I had stepped over.
Mac gave me a reassuring smile. “Of course. Then you should be able to get this phone,” she told me again, pointing at the device and giving me a wink.
My shoulders lifted helplessly. “I haven’t taken a picture in so long; I don’t even know if I would be able to.” I glanced from the new phone to the one I held in my hands; the camera on that one was so old that I could see better through a dirty glass of water.
“Liz, you were so talented in high school. Something like that doesn’t just go away; it’s still there,” she said, pointing to my chest. “It was just pushed down because of Jon. Now’s your chance to bring it back to life.”