Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (new ebook reader .TXT) 📗

moved to her mother’s side was when a man crossed their path, but her reaction wasn’t as extreme like when she’d seen the cops.

“Such a lovely family,” the woman added to Eddie and moved on before he could correct her. His unease must have shown when his gaze met Amy’s.

“Unless you want to explain, just let it go.” The next aisle was the frozen food section. Amy consulted his list and chuckled. “Whipped cream and three tubs of ice cream. You have a sweet tooth.”

“Whipped cream for the strawberries and three tubs for all of us. Rocky road for me, cotton candy for Raelynn and mint chocolate chip or whatever you fancy for you.”

“You shouldn’t spend money on us.”

Eddie ignored her, his attention on Raelynn. The little girl stood stiffly in the middle of the aisle that ran perpendicular to the one they were on. “Is Raelynn okay?”

Before Amy could respond, two policemen in uniform walked past Raelynn. She continued to stare straight ahead with the same petrified expression she’d worn in the parking lot.

One second Amy was beside him, the next she was picking up Raelynn, who clutched her neck with a deathlike grip. She spoke softly to the child again, her expression horrified.

Eddie hurried toward them. Fury had replaced horror on Amy’s face by the time he reached their side.

“Is everything okay?” Eddie asked.

Amy shook her head. “I need to take her outside. Could you finish here, please?” She struggle to pull out her wallet from her purse while carrying the child.

He gripped her arm. “I have this covered.”

“I have some money—”

“Take care of Raelynn, Amy.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll sort out the details later.”

She hesitated then nodded and hurried toward the entrance, the child too tall for her smaller frame. Eddie stared at them and shook his head.

What the hell was going on? Eddie had never seen a child react like that to a police officer. And the look on Amy’s face had surprised him. For a split second after she picked up her daughter, he’d seen fear in her eyes.

He threw tubs of whipped cream and ice cream in the cart and raced toward the checkout stands. Outside, he was surprised to see the hood of Amy’s car popped up. She was checking the engine while Raelynn sat in the front passenger seat with all the doors open for ventilation. Since they were parked side by side, he pulled the cart between their cars and joined her.

“What happened?” he asked.

Amy came from behind the hood and wiped her brow. “The car won’t start and I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it.”

“I can take a look at it. Meanwhile, the two of you should move into my car. It’s like an oven out here.”

“It’s been a lot hotter than usual the last week,” she said absentmindedly while glancing around the parking lot.

Not sure how to respond to that, Eddie entered his SUV, started the engine and cranked up the AC. When he turned around, Amy was still studying the parking lot as though searching for someone. The police? When she noticed him watching her, she gathered their things from the front seat of her car.

“Do you need the booster seat?” he asked.

“I’ll get it,” Amy said firmly.

The woman gave a new meaning to the word independent. Ignoring her, he opened the back door of her car and released metal clamps holding the booster seat. He placed it in the back of his SUV, snapped it in place and stepped back. Mother and daughter stared at him with identical expressions. Both of them had serious trust issues. He indicated the opened door and arched an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” Amy said, clutching her bag and her daughter’s hand.

“No problem.” While putting groceries in the back, he followed their conversation. The little girl was as stubborn as her mother, but she couldn’t resist the cool interior of the SUV and she allowed her mother to buckle her in. He wasn’t surprised when Amy went back to the hood of her car.

“May I?” he asked. She was so prickly about everything he had to tread carefully.

She stepped aside, albeit reluctantly.

Eddie put down the battery tester he’d retrieved from his car and checked the battery terminal connections first. They were corroded. After a bit of cleaning, he glanced at Amy. “Try to start it.”

Not even the click-click sound of a dead battery. He tested the battery, but it seemed fine. “It’s either a bad ignition switch or starter connection,” Eddie said. “You need a mechanic to take a look at it.”

Amy closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “Exactly what I need now.”

“Did you already call for roadside assistance?”

She shook her head, then she said defensively, “I, uh, don’t have a service plan.”

“Then who are you looking for?”

Color bleached from her face. “Nobody.”

Eddie sighed, pulled his Nationwide Road Assistance card out of his wallet and showed her. “Do you mind if I use mine?”

“Let me know how much I owe you later.”

Eddie shook his head. Stubborn. Proud. Opinionated. He actually admired those traits in her even though at the moment, everything she did bugged him. He punched in numbers on his cell phone and waited for the dispatcher, his gaze not leaving her.

Call it his cop instinct or whatever, but she and her daughter were acting like fugitives. Her dyed hair might even be tie into it. The problem was he couldn’t imagine this particular woman breaking the law. She was direct and honest to a fault. On the other hand, her weakness was her daughter. What if she was on the run because of Raelynn? Maybe the husband got custody and she disagreed with the court’s ruling. He’d seen enough cases of abuse, where one parent was denied custody and took matters into her or his hands. Could this be the real reason his aunt had sent him to Sandpoint? To help Amy?

***

Amy could feel Eddie’s eyes on her. Humiliation upon humiliation had turned her into a bitch