Page 62 of The Auction
Twenty dollars per grocery trip wasn’t going to add up to 50K any time soon, but I could add it to my stash of cash and at least it would be something.
I didn’t know if Creed was the dumbest human on earth for giving me such a gift…or maybe the coolest. But, whatever. I couldn’t get lost in the sentiment if I was going to stay focused on my mission.
Freedom was the goal. I had to remember it.
I put the bags into the cart and smiled at Jennifer. I was halfway across the parking lot when I heard my name being called.
“Juliette!”
I turned around to see April Talley jogging across the parking lot. Her hair was bouncing behind her in that way that announced how perfectly thick and long it was. My hair did not bounce like that no matter how long I grew it.
“Hey,” she said, slightly out of breath. She was in white jean shorts and a t-shirt, with a pair of sneakers that looked like they were made for jogging. Folks around these parts did not jog. But they looked cute.
“Hey,” I said, having zero comprehension as to why April would be chasing me down in a parking lot. Unless this was about Kevin? Would he have said something about me?
“I just wanted to thank you for finding and catching Will. He’s an absolute asshole, but he’s my asshole, if you know what I mean.”
I smiled. Yeah, Margo could be a bitch like that sometimes. Especially when she tried to take your fingers off when all you were trying to do was feed her a carrot. “Actually, it was Creed who did most of the work.”
“Jackson said he’s a horse whisperer,” she said.
I shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“So my mom says I can be too bold sometimes, but I’m just going to ask. What’s it like to be married?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, you’re only like, what, two years older than me? And you’remarried.That’s so crazy.”
“It’s a little weird. Living with someone who’s not your family,” I admitted. “He leaves the toilet seat up, but only sometimes. And he eats like a freaking horse. But he’s pretty good around the house.”
“And of course, he’s hot,” April laughed, like that was the most obvious thing.
“Is he?”
“Yeah, he’s huge and looks a little scary looking, which is always hot. At least, when I’ve seen him around town. Don’t worry though, I’m not gagging after your husband.”
“Yeah, I don’t really think of him like that,” I said. I pulled a bag out of the cart and put it into the back seat of the truck. Then thought about what I said. “I mean, I just like him for who he is.”
“Sure, a hundred percent.”
“Are you still seeing Kevin?”
She shook her head and her hair danced in this wave behind her. Like, what the fuck?
“All he wanted to do was like hang out on the couch and stuff. He didn’t say much at all. I’m going to college in the fall anyway. So hopefully, I can meet some new people there. You were so lucky that someone not from here just showed up and was like bam,I want her.”
First, let’s unpack the statementyou were so lucky. Seemed like a stretch.
I lifted another bag into the back seat. “It didn’t happen exactly like that.”
“Yeah, but he’s not from Riverbend. He had a life before he got here. I swear, there are times I feel like if I closed my eyes and just listened to the sound of everyone’s voice I would be able to tell who was who. You know?”
Not an exercise I planned to partake in, but whatever rocked her boat.
“Hey, I know this is sudden, but I don’t know if you saw that Bella’s daughter opened a consignment shop above the Hair Stop. Retro Fits.”
“I thought that was like the bachelor apartment in town.”
