Chapter 3

Idefinitely got some surprised looks when I parked my truck outside the bank two days later and got out, and it wasn't surprising. For someone who made it a point not to come to town more than once a month, coming down the mountain twice in one week was definitely out of character for me. But I'd been so distracted by Macy two days before that I'd forgotten my most important stop.

I walked into the bank, closely followed by Bucky, and walked up to the first teller, an older woman named Barbara, who I'd known since the age of five as "Bobbi."

"Hey, Dillon," she said, smiling at me kindly when I went up to her window. She'd been another one who'd made a consistent effort with me when I'd come back from Nashville, only to be rebuffed by my annoyingly stubborn ass. I figured I was probably hurting her feelings, and she was sweet enough not to mention it, but for whatever reason, I just had never been able to bring myself to get close to her again.

"Hey, Bobbi," I said, pulling my debit card out of my wallet. "Can I get my usual cashier's check, please?"

"Sure," she said, putting my card into the reader as I put in my pin. "Remind me of the name again?"

"Jackie Fitzpatrick," I said. Her eyebrow gave the subtlest twitch up, but I knew that she knew I wouldn't be answering any of her questions about who Jackie was. I'd been coming in to get the checks every month since I'd moved back to town two years before, and I figured that Bobbi probably thought I'd gotten some girl pregnant while I was living in the city and that these were just my child support payments. In a way, they kind of were.

I suspected the dinner invitations were partially so that she could ask me about Jackie, given that she was too professional to ask about her while she was on the clock, but there was no way I was going to show my hand.

"Okay, just make sure that all the information on the paper is correct, and if it is, sign at the bottom."

I did, following the same protocol I did every month when I pulled the twenty-five hundred dollars out of my account. A cashier's check, made payable to Jackie Fitzpatrick.

"Perfect," I said, signing and handing it back to her. She gave me the check in an envelope, and I gave her a brief smile before going next door and putting the check into a certified letter. I hadn't been taking any chances since I'd started sending her the money, doing everything in my power to make sure the checks got to her and stayed anonymous.

As always, I put the check into its envelope with a plain piece of paper wrapped around it and paid for the tracking number to ensure it got where I needed it to.

When I was finished, I thought back to everything I'd picked up at the market the last time I'd gone and how I'd been promising myself that I would start eating more vegetables. I'd only got some tomatoes and more canned beans the last time I was at the market, and I knew I would probably do well by incorporating some more green into my diet.

Or at least that was what I rationalized to myself as I walked up to the doors of the supermarket, thinking of the deep blue eyes and pearly skin that had captivated me days ago.

I really was an idiot, and I didn't know if it was because I hadn't gotten laid in forever or because I was just really starting to lose it up on that mountain, but for some reason, I hadn't been able to get her face out of my mind.

I grabbed a basket from the stack near the door and walked in, making straight for the produce section. Not really knowing where to start, I headed for the prepackaged bags of salad, knowing that at the very least, I could add some stuff to those to make a meal.

As much as I'd told myself that I hadn't come in to see her, I couldn't help looking around the store for Macy, knowing I'd spot her immediately.

And I did; she was standing a few feet away from me, pulling out some onions and stacking them carefully on the shelf. I sighed, knowing there was nothing for it. I was going to feel off until I talked to the girl, so I might as well just get it over with.

"Macy, right?"

She visibly flinched at the sound of her name and looked up at me. I felt a pang when I saw the deep grey crescents under her eyes. She clearly hadn't been sleeping much over the last few days, and I couldn't help feeling my heartrate pick up, in spite of myself.

I didn't say anything, though. I just let her start leading the conversation—if it could even be called that.

"Yeah, that's right," she said, looking up at me and raising her eyebrow. "But I think you have the advantage over me."

I huffed a little bit, amused by the annoyed tone in her voice at the idea. I could already tell that she was more like me than I'd realized.

"I'm Dillon," I said. I almost held my hand out to her to shake, but I had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate the overture.

"Well, Dillon," she said, tucking her thumbs into her back pockets. The gesture made her pop her hip out, just a little bit, and it allowed me to take in her curves with new appreciation. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, actually. Do you guys have any good zucchini and eggplant?" Somehow, I came up with the exact idea of what to make.

"Sure," she said, leading me over to one of the shelves and gesturing to the vegetables with an obvious look on her face, as if I would've seen them if I'd just looked around.

"Thanks," I said, reaching out and grabbing a few of the eggplants and putting them in a small produce bag.

"No problem," she said, her voice sounding tired.

I couldn't help my curiosity anymore. "If you don't mind me asking, are you okay? You look pretty exhausted."

She flinched again, like she had when I'd first said her name. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… being in a new place is taking some adjusting."

"Oh, you're new in town?" I wasn't sure why I was so invested in making her comfortable with me. I just wanted her to be able to feel safe.

Whoa. Where had that come from?I barely knew this woman, and already I'd gotten invested in making her feel safe with me.

If anything, life had already taught me that I wasn't good for keeping anyone safe. I was just as likely to put people in danger as I was to bring them security.

"Just moved here a few months ago, actually," she said. I reached out for some more veggies while watching her out of the corner of my eye. She didn't look settled, quite the opposite, actually. She looked like she was about to jump out of her skin any second.

"Where are you from?" I tried to keep my tone casual, but it clearly hadn't been casual enough. She looked back at me suspiciously.

"Why do you want to know?" her tone harder now.

I shrugged a shoulder. "It's a small town. Everyone knows everyone's story around here. People like to help each other."

"But you don't live in town, do you?" she said. "If you did, I'd have seen you before two days ago. So why do you want to know my story?"

She had me there. Why did I? "Just call it curiosity," I said.

"Well, you know what they say about what curiosity did to the cat," she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I should get back to work."

She turned away and walked down the aisles of the store, fidgeting with every step she took as she walked away.

I'd clearly struck a nerve and put her on the defensive. I wasn't sure why that surprised me so much. I would have reacted the exact same way if the roles had been reversed. I valued my privacy and my isolation and clearly, she did too. However, my damn cop instincts were still pinging on high alert.

I finished grabbing the rest of my groceries, adding a few more odds and ends to the basket that I knew would last me at least a few weeks before going to check out at the cash register. I barely paid any attention to the person helping me, looking over her shoulder toward Macy, who I spotted pulling bottles of detergent out of a cardboard box at her feet. I turned back to the person in front of me, getting a raised eyebrow from the dark-haired woman I recognized from most of the times that I came down to the market.

"You alright up there on the mountain, Dillon?" Alison asked. "It's lookin' like there might be some storms comin' up soon."

"So everyone keeps sayin'," I said, unable to help myself from falling into the twang when I was around other Smokies. "I'm alright, though."

"Alright. I just know that everyone thinks about you a lot up on that mountain, you know?"

"If you say so," I said, handing over the money for the groceries. I grabbed the bags and headed back out to the truck. I hadn't brought Bucky into the market with me that time, so he was really excited to see me when I finally opened the car and got inside, starting it up again and heading back to the mountain where I could focus on myself and forget all about Macy.