Page 53 of The Lies We Tell
“Maybe a little,” I say, walking toward him.
“What’s got you bamboozled?”
I can’t help but smile. “Do people still even saybamboozled, Hap?”
He shrugs. “This old fella does. What’s got you so you can’t move forward or backward?”
I study his clear blue eyes and imagine that’s how Saint’s eyes will look when he’s older. And I think of Saint telling me how I haven’t told anyone what happened. “I was abducted. Saint saved me. And I’ve been hiding here ever since.”
Hap’s eyes widen in horror. “Jesus. I had no idea. Are you ... ?”
“I’m fine. Well, physically at least. Mentally though? I’m a wreck. Haven’t been past the end of the driveway without Saint going with me.”
“Poor thing. Is he away?”
“Yeah. And he’s back today from a trip. I thought it would be nice to clean the house and cook him a nice meal tonight. To say thank you. Then I debated if he’d mind me borrowing his truck. Then I debated if I could drive there without freaking out. Then, I—”
“Okay. I get the idea. Let’s go.” Hap turns and stomps over his lawn.
“Go where, Hap?”
“I’ll drive. I need to grab some groceries and run a couple of errands myself.”
Relief floods through me. I told someone, and they didn’t freak out. I jog after him, and we drive to the store.
“You need me to come with you?” Hap asks.
I’m feeling bolstered by his presence, that he helped me get here. And the mall is plenty busy, so I don’t feel quite as scared. “I think I’ve got this, Hap.”
He awkwardly pats my shoulder. “I’m glad.”
With my phone and the new card from my bank, I’m all set. Hap and I agree to meet back at his car in an hour. My first stop is to grab some new underwear. All I brought with me from my house is the practical stuff, but it might be nice to surprise Saint with something a little more enticing. I grab a new body cream and spray because I found out this morning that the ad agency decided to go with my graphics for the botanicals ad. They want to see me in person next week with some minor revisions and proposals for more work.
I surprise myself by walking by a shoe store. If I go in there, I’ll be late to meet Hap.
Then I whizz around the store. I grab all the things Saint likes, including two new bags of bow-tie pasta. But I also throw in a couple of steaks to grill and chicken to make a casserole. At Christmas, my mom used to make the most delicious potatoes, and I wonder how she made them. There was cream and potatoes, and maybe nutmeg. I debate messaging her for the recipe.
But a recipe request will lead to questions I don’t want to answer. Certainly not in the middle of a grocery store. We’ve never really understood each other. I was too quiet as a child; she was too quiet of a parent.
So I tap the dish into my phone and find a similar recipe online.
When I’ve found and paid for everything, I push the cart into the lot and wait for Hap. I’m relieved when I see him.
His eyes remain stern. “Now that I know, I see it. I’m pissed someone took advantage of you.”
“I’m okay, Hap. Saint helps.”
Hap pauses as he opens the trunk of his car. “That’s another thing. A veteran knows when another vet has seen things. Saint has seen things. It ages the soul and puts the whisper of a ghost in their eyes. I’m an old man. Perhaps I don’t know what I’m saying. But be careful, Briar. It’s easy to confuse safety with something else. I’ve seen the way that man looks at you. I don’t think he’s a risk to you. But there’s obviously a much bigger story.”
We dump my bags into the trunk as I think about what he’s said. “He’s done nothing but care for me, Hap. I think he might be the first person since my pop who really has.”
Hap adds his own bags and closes the trunk. “Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying.”
I think about what Hap said for the next couple of hours, as I clean and prepare a chicken casserole that will come together quickly with the fresh bread I bought. While I’m in the shower, I conclude one thing. I’m letting an elderly neighbor who likely doesn’t have a lot of excitement in his life make me doubt my developing feelings for Saint.
There will be time for serious conversations between the two of us, but this is all so new. And I am the worst for falling irrevocably and quickly. I do need to learn to slow down. To throttle those feelings so I don’t fall back into my old ways of giving my heart to men who don’t deserve it.
Instead, I decide I’m simply going to seduce Saint.
