Page 13 of The Fixer and the Fugitive

“I guess so,” she muttered. At the very least it would provide a distraction from her houseguest.

She started the vehicle and drove to the grocery, loading her cart with all manner of things she otherwise wouldn’t have thought to get: peanut butter, crackers, beef stew, soup, canned fruit, jerky, fruit leather and every other emergency convenience food the town thought she might need to survive a big storm. For good measure she also picked up extra milk and more cereal. Her guest wasn’t a tiny fellow. He could probably out eat her and then some.

“Prepping for the storm?” someone said, peering into her cart.

“Yes,” Celeste said, avoiding the urge to place both hands over her groceries. What was it with this town and their inability to mind their business?

“I’d put in some hot cocoa, tea, chocolate candy bars, and cookies, if I were you,” the interloper said.

“Thank you,” Celeste said tightly. She had no intention of complying but then it was as if the power of suggestion began to work against her. Soon she found herself tossing tea, cocoa, candy, and cookies into the cart, along with instant coffee that could be prepared if the power went out.

The bill was enormous, but that didn’t concern her. The Colonel would provide a stipend for her houseguest, probably one worth more than he used in food or utilities. An overly eager bag boy helped her carry her groceries to the SUV, loading them into the back despite her protests. She tried to tip him but, blushing, he refused, saying they weren’t allowed and it was, “All part of a day’s work, ma’am.” When he touched his finger to his head, it was all too easy to picture him wearing one of the ubiquitous cowboy hats she saw everywhere. Despite the fact that she felt old and useless, standing by as a teenager loaded herfood, there was something pleasant about his nice manners and schoolboy stammers.

I would have destroyed a boy like him, back in the day,she thought, then quickly pushed the thought aside. No chance to recriminate herself over her shady past when she still had to go to the… She picked up Minnie’s list, groaning when she realized where she’d need to go next. “Not the hardware store,” she whispered.

It wasthehangout in town, the place where all the retired cowboys gathered, and the young ones, too, when they weren’t at work. There was an actual checkerboard, but mostly they sat or stood around, gossiping and speculating on life. She’d stopped by during her first week in town, out of curiosity, and quickly backed out again when she realized what it was.A man nest.The place was crawling with them. Not that she hated men, she didn’t. But over the last fifteen years, her relationship to the male of the species had become very…fraught.It’s complicated,she told herself as she took a deep breath and opened the door.

As expected, all activity came to a halt as all the men paused what they were doing and stared at her. Squaring her shoulders, she headed toward one of the aisles, hoping to become invisible as soon as she was hidden.

“Hey, it’s our most famous, and coincidentally only, new girl,” Tony said, appearing beside her as if by magic.

She mustered a smile that had to have looked strained.

“What can I help you find?”

It seemed unlikely that a man such as he was following her around for the sole purpose of trying to gain insight into her life. Therefore she came to the next obvious conclusion. “This is your place?”

“This is my place,” he said, patting a display of mousetraps and then straightening them when he realized they were askew.

“Minnie gave me a list,” she said, holding it aloft.

“The list! Haven’t seen that since Maybe came to town.” He took it now, letting his eyes roam over it. “Wow, this thing has really grown. I see every business owner in town has had a hand in adding something. I’ll leave it to your interpretation whether you actually need one of Sheila’s homemade huckleberry pies, but the rest looks pretty good. Let’s see how efficiently we can take care of things on our end.” He handed the list back to her and began heading toward a display. He was taking charge, and she should probably be annoyed. She had worked hard to be as independent and capable as possible, mostly because she had no one else to rely on. But there was some relief in following mindlessly behind someone who knew exactly where he was going and what he was doing. It was the same feeling she got with The Colonel, a feeling of weightlessness as she was finally able to let go and unburden, if only for a moment. She took a deep breath, one that went all the way in and out for once.

“For the car,” Tony announced, stopping in front of a display with a flourish. “We made these for the tourists, but it turns out the locals like them, too. It saves the trouble of having to remember what to pack or put together. Here we have an emergency car kit that has some power bars, some water, a couple of space blankets, a basic first aid kit, and some flares.” He picked one up and held it out to her, pausing as he delivered a warning. “If you get stuck in the snow at any point, make certain you keep your exhaust pipe clean. About once every handful of years someone dies from carbon monoxide buildup from that very thing. And if the snow is too deep, the flares will melt right through and be useless.”

She took the kit, nodding, trying to add the new information to her already overcrowded brain.Carbon monoxide. Flares. Death. Got it.At least the car was prepared now. That was one worry off her mind. Of course she hadn’t even had the worrywhen she walked in the door, but she was still relieved to have added it and then removed it so quickly.

“We’re going to need extra hands here,” Tony said. He put his hand in the air and it must have been some kind of signal because soon a teenage boy appeared and began gathering all the things Tony listed. “Flashlight, extra batteries, lantern, candles, a couple of cans of Sterno.” He paused and regarded Celeste. “How are you on blankets?”

She froze, deer like.

Tony turned to his sidekick without waiting for an answer. “A couple of blankets and a bottle of iodine, in case you have to use water from your creek.”

She nodded, trying to process that deluge.Blankets. Lanterns. What is Sterno? Water from my creek? Why not water from my faucet? Iodine?

She must have looked as overwhelmed as she felt because Tony plucked the list from her and scanned it again. “On second thought, you should probably get the pie.”

Celeste felt as if she had put in a full day of work. As before at the grocery store, the helpful teenage clerk loaded the SUV for her, doffed his imaginary cap, and called her ma’am. She was so tired she minded less this time. Or maybe she was starting to become used to the people and their strangely friendly, helpful, and intrusive ways. Whatever the reason, she wished for the teenagers again as she arrived home and made trip after trip unloading everything.

Though she hadn’t seen him, she sensed that Sam was still in the living room, on the couch. When she finally ran out of tasks,she popped her head in to check on him. He lay on his good side, staring at her with a baleful expression.

“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” he said.

She gave a small nod in reply.

“Sorry I couldn’t help you unload.”

“I’m not used to having help,” she said, then wished she could take the words back. Though they were supposed to be a display of rugged independence, they came out sounding sad and needy. She cleared her throat. “How are you feeling?”

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