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He just kept me from stumbling through a yes that'll have to wait.
I go with it. After all, maybe it's a sign the time isn't right.
Chapter 18
Violet
* * *
I get all the necessary items as quickly as possible, leaving the burger meat and other cold items for last. Every night after closing up Betty, Jasmine and I not only clean and sterilize the bus but also wash and prep lettuce, tomatoes, onions and other fixings for the following day. That means they also require cold storage—which means they also have to be tossed and replaced.
My brain is scrambling, trying to come up with how much I need of this or that when I feel a prickle of unease crawl up my back. I freeze and continue looking at the produce selection, all the while trying to discreetly place the source of the feeling.
Someone moves on my left, and I jerk my head in time to see a man round a nearby aisle. I put my feet in motion and speed walk to the aisle where I saw him go, but he isn't there. Only an older couple and a woman with a small child. I cross to the next aisle, but it's entirely empty.
My imagination?
You're stressed. What do you think?
I've never hallucinated before, but I shake my head at myself and go back to my cart, grabbing up and bagging tomatoes and onions before moving on to the refrigerated mushrooms along the outer wall of the store.
I'm waiting on the butcher to bring out the large tubes of packaged meat and bacon when Sully approaches, garnering the gazes of all the women he passes along the way.
His grin is soft and sweet, and I feel like the Grinch as I muster up a smile in return. "Hey. Thanks again for the ride."
"No problem."
The swing door opens, and the white-aproned man appears with a roller cart of meat. Sully steps forward before I can and transfers it to the cart.
"Anything else?"
I take a final look and recite the ingredients Jas and I prep nearly every single day of our lives, hoping I haven't missed anything. "Coolers and ice are at the front of the store, but I think I have what we need to get through lunch. We'll make an early day of it."
Sully grabs hold to push the heavy cart, and the sight of him so domesticated leaves me floundering. I feel that prickle of being watched again, but this time, I blame all the female gazes on him—after a quick look around where I don't see anyone else of the male variety watching.
Back at Betty, Jas and MacGyver have just finished emptying the freezer and fridge. While Jas scrubs them down, MacGyver is taking a heavy bag to the dumpster behind the police station where he works.
I see him dump it and head back toward us, lifting a hand in greeting as we park to unload. The man and Sully make quick work of carrying the now-heavy coolers we'd packed in the back of Sully's truck bed in the grocery parking lot onto the bus.
Jas and I begin prepping as fast as we can, but customers arrive before we are ready. To our surprise, MacGyver and Sully scrub in and don aprons before grabbing knives to take over for Jas at the prep station so she can take orders. I get the burgers, bacon, onions and mushrooms on the grill.
We work side by side, shifting around one another in the too-tight space when needed. I focus on cooking, but Sully and MacGyver talk in low voices at the prep station while they continue to chop and slice and cut. I'm about to start a new round of burgers when I hear MacGyver chuckle.
"Crybaby," the man says.
I look up and see Sully shouldering away tears. A laugh catches me by surprise before I can squelch it, but Sully sniffles and keeps cutting the onions, taking the teasing in stride. He winks at me, unashamed of his wet eyes as he gives me a look that makes breathing difficult.
"You get used to it eventually," I manage to say softly.
"I doubt that," he jokes, voice choked.
MacGyver chuckles again.
We keep working over the next hour or so until the meat is gone and the crowd starts to thin. Thankfully I hadn't overbought and only had a couple patties left when the rush is over. I fry them up and hand them over to the guys, loaded up with all the extras and topped with onion straws.
"I have a new appreciation for you ladies," MacGyver says from where he eats his lunch, hips propped against the sink. "And this is delicious."
"The least we can do is feed you after all the help," Jasmine says.
