Page 18 of Needing You

“You might want to check the date on those.” A smooth feminine voice cut through my mental math as I tallied up the cost of the groceries in my cart.

I looked up with a start, frustrated that I’d have to start over. “What? Oh—” I gulped, and a sharp pain sliced through me as I met Jenna Walker’s discerning gaze. “Hi, Mrs. Walker.”

Jenna’s eyes narrowed fractionally at what was probably thinly veiled terror on my face. I hadn’t run into her at all since Will found out about Jackson, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Wasn’t that how this whole mess began? Will seeing us here at the grocery store and doing his own mental math on my son’s age? Of course I’d run into Jenna here too. Small towns were great for a lot of things, butthiswasn’t one of them.

“The date,” she said again, tipping her chin at the jar of mayo in my cart. “I noticed they were all expired, so I let the manager know.”

I stared at her for a moment, surprised beyond measure that she was giving me a quick scoop on the status of my mayo given the circumstances. But then I jumped into action, picking up the jar and checking the date. Just as she’d warned me, it was about six months past its best-by date.

“Ew, thank you,” I said stiffly.

“You’re welcome. I suspected you might have grabbed one before Todd waddled over and pulled them from the shelf. Wouldn’t want you to feed mygrandsonexpired food.”

I gulped again, not only at the way she’d emphasizedgrandsonso accusingly but also at her pointed look that basically implied she’d have no problem feeding it tome. “Of course not. I’ll let him know you saved him.”

She scoffed. “Oh, will you?”

“Mom,” Will said as he walked up with a package of bacon in his hand. He dropped it into their cart and looked between us like he was expecting a brawl in the meat section of our local grocery store. “I think that’s everything we needed. I’ll meet you at the register?”

Jenna peered at me for a beat, acting like he hadn’t even spoken. Then she lifted her nose and pushed the cart away without a word to either of us. Jenna Walker had been a total sweetheart every other time I’d talked to her in the last ten years, but back then, she hadn’t known I was harboring her son’s secret baby. Now, I got to see a new side of Jenna: the mama bear who’d always lurked within. And oddly enough, this version of her was no less deserving of my respect. Or admiration.

After she’d disappeared down an aisle, I let out the breath I’d been holding and looked at Will. “Well, that was fun.”

He shifted from foot to foot, his jaw clenching like he was biting back some choice words for me. Or at least that was what I assumed he was doing, because I doubted he was mad at his mom. She wasn’t the one who’d put him in this situation. I was.

“Sorry about her,” he surprised me by saying. He reached up and clasped the back of his neck, dragging his hand over it before finally letting his arm fall against his side. “I’ll tell her to back off.”

His concern for me despite what I’d done rattled me enough that I needed to snag some levity, so I forced out a snicker. “Oh really? If memory serves me, your mom was the one woman who never got the infamous Will Walker attitude. Has that much changed in the last fifteen years?”

“A lot’s changed,” he bit out, then cursed under his breath. “Sorry. You’re right. A lot’s changed, but…hell. That hasn’t.”

Biting my lip, I looked down at my cart to avoid the way humor and bitterness fought for space in his expression. Seeing my full basket reminded me I needed to get back to calculating the value of my haul so I could determine if I’d be able splurge on some fancier ice cream and wine.

Will and Jackson had hung out enough times in the last almost two weeks that I suddenly found myself alone at our apartment way more often than I was used to, and I’d already gone through my stash of both for the month. Which, admittedly, wasn’t very large to begin with. I denied myself most of life’s pleasures—guilty or otherwise—so I could afford to feed my giant teenager on my meager pay.

I looked up to say goodbye to Will, but then I found him studying the contents of my cart with the corners of his lips turned down. I followed his gaze, trying to figure out what had him looking so conflicted. Was it the ingredients for the cake I was decorating for a kid’s birthday next weekend? Did he think I was having a party for Jackson and didn’t invite him?

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious.

“Are you one of those people who buys the store brand because it’s cheaper even though you know it’s not as good, or do you actually prefer it?”

My top lip curled reflexively, and I tightened my grip on the handle of the cart, pulling it closer to my body. I raised my chin. “I prefer it.”

“Here,” Will said, making the universal move that he was reaching for his wallet. “Let me—”

“No!” I all but shouted. Embarrassed, I looked around and lowered my voice, leaning forward so he could hear me. “No. We don’t need help with groceries. I can put food on our table.”

His hand was frozen in the air about three inches from his back pocket, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes caught on my chest with the way I’d leaned over the handle of the cart. I abruptly straightened my shoulders, which caused him to straighten too. But damn if the way his dark eyes had gone impossibly darker as he’d appreciated his view of my cleavage didn’t do funny things to my long-neglected lady parts.

“It’s something I should have been doing all along,” he said, keeping his gaze on my face now. “It’s not a big deal. Let me help like we talked about.”

“Itisa big deal. We haven’t talked abouthowyou’re going to help us, but I can promise you it won’t be after running into me in the grocery store and judging me for buying the store brand.”

His brow furrowed, and he opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. He looked around the quaint store before turning back to me with a slight bob of his head. “That’s fair.”

Relieved that he wasn’t going to embarrass me further by pushing the issue, I nodded back. “Great. I need to get back to my shopping, so I guess I’ll see you next time.”

“Next time?”

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