Free Elusive Echoes by Kay Springsteen Page B

and let me help
you find a car. Do you care what you drive?"
    "I originally wanted it to have four wheels
but I'm no longer that picky."
    He just stared at her. She stared back. Her
tropical-ocean blue eyes were so wide, he could almost fall into
them. Slowly, she shook her head and sighed. "No, I don't care what
I drive as long as it runs. But I was trying to keep to five
hundred or less. I can go up to seven-fifty if I don't eat next
week."
    Sean dialed back his acerbic response. "Do
me a favor and eat, sweetheart. You're already too thin." He kissed
the tip of her nose. "Okay, I have . . . grocery shopping to do.
But I'll come back after and look through the classifieds."
    Her melodic laughter filled the room. Some
of the shadows fell from her face. "Did you draw the short straw?
You hate shopping."
    Sean smiled, deciding how to best move in
for the kill. "Ryan only brought Sandy and Bethany home from the
hospital this morning. Dad could do it but he buys stuff he wants
that's not good for him. Ricky has work later today."
    She was nodding. "So . . . you drew the
short straw."
    He shrugged and schooled his features into
what he hoped was an appealingly helpless smile. "I don't suppose
you'd have time to help me out, would you?"
    Mel looked around the bar. "LeeAnn's in the
stockroom. I'll get her out here. If we hurry, I can help you
before the Saturday rush."
    "Thanks." Sean slid the list from his
pocket. "We can go more quickly if we divide this up." He tore it
in half and handed her the bottom section. The one Sandy had
written.
    Mel looked it over in
silence. Suddenly, her eyes flashed up to him. She tossed back her
head and laughed. "I am so tempted to demand we trade halves just
to watch you pick this stuff up. In fact, I've already decided. I
don't care if it does take longer. We're doing the shopping together ." With a wicked
smile, she reached in the drawer beneath the bar and pulled out a
roll of clear tape.
    His topsy-turvy heart suddenly righted
itself when he saw his Mel again for the first time in months.
     
    ****
     
    Mel became aware of a burst of positive
energy she hadn't experienced for a long time. It felt right to
just be in no-demand mode with Sean again. Little Bob's Market was
crowded and they ended up parking about as far away from the door
as they could get and still be in the same county.
    As she walked around to the rear of his
pickup, Mel cast a sidelong glance at Sean, noticing that he'd also
seemed to find his more lighthearted self again. With a grin, she
chose a shopping cart that had been left at the edge of the lot.
She put one foot on the back bar and pushed off with her other,
like she was on a scooter until the cart started rolling. Then she
hopped on the back and steered down the long hill toward the store.
The breeze kissed her face and tickled through her hair, and
incredibly Mel's heart lifted even further. Leaning outward, she
steered the cart around Mamie Schmidt, pulling her two-wheeled
personal shopping basket behind her.
    Mel heard a whoop from behind her. On the
back of his own cart, Sean drew even. He was about to pass her.
    "Oh, no you don't!" Mel touched her toe to
the ground and gave herself an extra push, laughing triumphantly as
she passed Sean. "Take that! You'll never catch me now."
    She glanced over her shoulder. The
expression of horror on Sean's face was comical. But then he jumped
off and pulled his shopping basket to a stop. Still smiling, she
turned back to face forward.
    Her own cart came to an abrupt halt when it
ran into the six-foot wall of muscle blocking her path. Her gut
wrapped around the cart's handlebar, and the breath whooshed from
her lungs. Mel's gaze fell on the scuffed brown boots first, then
slowly traversed an upward course over the dark brown pants, the
hands firmly gripping the other end of the basket, and the tan
shirt with the shiny gold star over the left pec.
    Finally, her eyes met the scowling
countenance and she smiled weakly. "Hey, DC."