Page 60 of Maizy the Bear Charmer

He didn’t feel good about it, but neither did he feel good about leaving her to sit in the truck in the sun. “Okay. But I want to pay for whatever you buy. Cody would insist. Your money is no good here.”

Maizy rolled her eyes and slid her wallet back down into her tote out of sight. He opened her truck door for her and she smiled at him when he grabbed a cart and pushed it through the store. She gathered what she needed and met him in the produce department. He looked in the cart and said, “We haven’t had homemade peach cobbler since we left home.”

“You know what they say about men’s hearts and their stomachs.”

“We’re putting in an express lane for you, baby,” he whispered, enjoying the way she blushed.

She suddenly gasped and moved right up against him, peeking under his arm, and whispered, “Shoot. Tabitha Lester is right behind you. She’s minding her own business but if she sees me that won’t last.”

“Gotcha. Feet up on the cart and hold on, baby.” She did as he asked and he could hear her holding back a giggle as he dollied her down the aisle and took the first turn into the floral department. He stopped the cart and she let out a sigh of relief as she hopped off and hugged him.

“That was close.” At the frozen foods aisle she stopped him. “Do you have vanilla ice cream?”

“No, I think what we have in the freezer at home is chocolate or rocky road.”

“That won’t do. You’ll want vanilla.” They turned onto the aisle and were debating between Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla and Breyer’s French Vanilla when an unfamiliar voice said, “Hello, Miss Owen. And how are you this evening?”

Maizy grimaced and the color drained out of her cheeks. Spencer thought she did an amazing job of recovering her voice and composure as she turned to the woman speaking to her. “Hello, Mrs. Dumphrey. I’m doing very well, and you?”

The woman gave her a frosty smile and then turned her gaze on him. “Lovely, dear, and who is your…friend?” she asked as she pointedly stared at the tattoos covering his arms before she flicked a brief glimpse up to his face.

Maizy turned to give him an apologetic look, gestured at the woman who was now staring at Maizy’s T-shirt, and said, “Beverly Dumphrey, meet Spencer Ketchum.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Dumphrey.”

Mrs. Dumphrey kept her hands on her shopping cart handle as though she was afraid shaking hands with him might give her some sort of disease. “Mr. Ketchum, a pleasure to meet you. I’m always interested in the sorts of people the single teachers of our most impressionable children are keeping company with. I wish you both a lovely evening.”

Maizy smiled at her and returned the sentiment as the woman rolled her cart toward the front. When he turned back to Maizy she was pale as a ghost and was absentmindedly putting both containers of ice cream back in the freezer case. He took the container of Blue Bell from her and dropped it in the cart.

Maizy looked down the aisle at the woman and turned away from her just as the woman looked back at both of them with a pointed stare before turning the corner. He stroked Maizy’s upper arms which had grown cold and said, “Baby, who was that?”

Maizy bit her lower lip and whispered, “A member of the school board. She’s a long-time teacher and notoriously rigid in her thinking.”

“She said she keeps up with who her single teachers ‘keep company with’? She made it sound like you’re a school marm in the 1800s.”

“I think she’d probably like to go back to some of those standards.”

“Now I can see for myself why you’re concerned. I’m sorry I didn’t handle the shopping earlier. A dessert isn’t worth all of this.”

By the time they made it to the cashier stands, Mrs. Dumphrey and her flinty stare was gone, but a line had formed. Spencer saw Tabitha Lester turn the corner toward the front and pulled the keys to Heath’s truck out of his pocket. “Here you go, baby. Why don’t you go start the truck and I’ll be along after I get this paid for.”

She caught sight of Tabitha and nodded hurriedly and headed for the door.

---