Page 11 of Jasper

“Free?” She had no doubt he’d batted those eyelashes of his, and Dorothy probably got lost in them.

“Free with the promise of coming in for my daily dose of sugar. I also picked up some homemade jam and some pastries that called my name. That place is amazing. If I die, I hope it’s somewhere exactly like that, surrounded by sweet, sugary things.”

“You’re crazy.”

“So they tell me.” He flashed her another smile, and she turned away so he couldn’t see how it affected her. Her hormones needed to sit down and shut the hell up.

“Did you find a coat and some sweaters?”

She nodded and pointed to the cart she’d been pushing. It held warm socks, a few sweaters, sweatshirts, and three pairs of warm flannel pajamas. Her jeans would be fine, but she did find a pair of fuzzy slippers that looked more like boots than house shoes.

“Do you know if they have phones here? Mine is busted, and I need one.”

“Right over there in the electronics section. They even have some laptops.”

“Really?”

Sloane had been shocked too. “When I asked about it, the saleslady told me people have to drive a good hour to get to any of the big box stores, so they keep a few things on hand like a laptop or two. They don’t have many, but they look like good ones. Might be a little more expensive than you’d pay at Walmart or Amazon, but it comes down to how fast you need one, I guess.”

“Are you about done?”

“Yes. I was just looking, mostly.”

“Okay, go ahead and check out. I need to pick up a few things, and I’ll be right behind you.” He handed her the keys and walked toward the electronics section.

So, maybe he wasn’t a mass murderer. She would have to call Jarrod to verify this was the guy, but how else would he have her cousin’s truck? She knew it was his because she’d checked the registration in the glove box. Jasper had rolled his eyes but hadn’t said a thing to her about looking at it. She was all about “trust but verify.” Learned that in her first group project in high school. Not everyone did their work.

She watched him walk away, very aware of what a nice behind he had. Shaking her head, she grabbed a few long sleeve t-shirts and threw them in the cart. Best to get out of here before thoughts of Jasper’s very fine ass started to intrude into her daydreams. And it could, if she let it.

Dammit. She did not need this right now.

She asked the girl at the checkout where she could pick up a few groceries. There were apparently two grocery stores in town. The mom and pop store was where people went to pick up a few things like milk or bread, but if you really needed to stock up, the bigger store held everything they’d need. Once she got directions, she bundled her bags into the cart then strolled outside to where Jasper parked the truck.

Sure enough, sitting in the front seat were two bags. His donuts and jam. The man didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, but if he ate like this on a regular basis, it would eventually catch up with him.

She stored her bags in the truck’s back seat. She wasn’t taking any chances on her new clothes getting stolen. What she’d packed in the one suitcase she’d allowed herself was full of warm weather clothes. Well, except for her jeans, but she could buy more. She had picked up a few sweatpants on the way to the checkout line, anyway. She wouldn’t be pantsless.

Jasper came hurrying out of the store, only a few minutes behind her. She was sitting in the truck with heat on when he opened the passenger side door.

“You driving?”

“Did you remember to get directions to the grocery store?”

He made a face. “We’ll find it eventually.”

Uh-huh. Typical man. Why was it men refused to get directions? Why did they just assume they’d eventually find wherever they were going? Made absolutely no sense to her.

“Well, I did, so get in. You’re letting my heat out.”

He tossed his bags in the back with hers and climbed in. “Lead on, Obi-Wan.”

Sloane clipped her seatbelt into place and pulled out of the parking lot. The drive to the grocery store was short, and Jasper’s eyes lit up like Christmas when he walked inside. It would be funny if she wasn’t terrified of what he was going to toss into the cart.

“Do I need to be worried, here?”

He pulled a shopping cart loose and handed it to her. Then he got one for himself. “Why would you be worried?”

“The fact that we each have a shopping cart does not bode well.”

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