Absentminded Angel(Divine Creek Ranch 20)(17)
Swallowing, she looked down at Whit and made sure that he was properly covered, which he was, and then went about her meal. A few moments later, the women rose from their table. Their staring was rude enough, but the whiniest one made a point of speaking louder than necessary so Presley Ann could hear. “You’ll never see me serving as some kid’s milk cow, but then again, look at how frumpy she is, stuffing her face.”
Heat blazed in her cheeks, even when one of the girl’s friends elbowed the outspoken one and plainly stated, “Girl, you’re just jealous! I’ve seen your baby pictures. Any kid you make is gonna be at least half-ugly.”
All three laughed and the exceptionally rude girl called “Moo!” as they walked out on their designer stilettos.
She looked down at the remains of her sandwich and chips and sipped her sweet tea. Taking in a deep breath, she was very aware of the padding in her waist and hips. Amazing how the words of a stranger she’d never see again affected her so much—perhaps because at one time she might have shared the same attitude.
But she nodded to herself as she recalled the way she’d looked down on other people in her recent past—judged people based solely on their appearance. Lucy Owen, with her sleek curvy body, came to mind. She’d looked down on her and her sisters-in-law Jayne Carter and Maizy Welsh, for no other reason than the fact that they must have no self-control because they were voluptuous. Then she’d gotten to know them. She shook her head at herself, feeling shame.
And then she smiled as she looked down at her crossed legs, knowing that although she’d been able to hold off the family genes for a while, there was no denying her fluffy heritage, at least not at the expense of her son and her health. She stroked her upper arm, feeling its warmth, and recalling how proud she’d been of its formerly skeletal thinness. No, she wouldn’t go back there, to that time when her weight had been the only thing she’d truly ever stayed focused on. Whit shifted his blue gaze up to hers and he smiled at her as he continued suckling.
“He sure is a lovely little boy,” a deep male voice said right next to her ear, and she jumped so hard she banged Whit’s head into the table edge and popped her knee against the table support. Jerking her head around, she caught the older man staring right down her top and past the pashmina, close enough to her that she got a whiff of his stale breath. The silky shawl around her shoulder slipped against the seat at her sudden movement and she lost her balance, smacking her head against the brick wall beside her.
“Ow! What were you doing looking down my top?” she demanded as she rubbed the sore spot on her head and tried to comfort Whit who was screaming loud enough to draw the attention of every person in the shop.
“If you’re willing to put it out there then you shouldn’t mind if you have spectators.”
“Excuse me?” she asked as she drew the baby and the shawl close to her as she quickly did up her nursing bra and adjusted the neckline of her nursing top. “You invaded my space, you pervert.”
“You put your tit out there, I was just enjoying the view,” the seventy-something man said with a shrug and an oily smile as he took a seat facing her in the next booth.
Presley Ann looked around the shop but most of the patrons who had to have heard him just looked down at their lunches. The male employee behind the counter looked nervous and like the last thing he wanted was to be involved.
“I was feeding my son beneath a cover. In order to see, you had to be looking directly over my shoulder. You were practically touching me.”
The jerk opened his sandwich, seeming completely unconcerned. Was she going to let him treat her that way? The old Presley Ann wouldn’t have stood for it. The new Presley Ann on the other hand, wondered if maybe this was another serving of karma coming her way, like the girls from moments before.
Evidently unfinished with her, the man looked her up and down and scoffed. “A beautiful woman like you? You act outraged, but you have to be used to being stared at. I think you like the attention but it made you feel guilty because of your kid.” He shrugged again and took a bite of his sandwich before leaning toward her and softly adding, “Just relax and enjoy it, babe. You know you like it.” He grinned at her, showing the lettuce stuck in his teeth.
Whit was still screaming, and she was done with lunch. She bundled the pashmina around the baby to protect him from the wind and grabbed her belongings. She told herself to take the high road and walk away. She told herself she’d be proud if she held her head high and walked away from that asshole. He’d reap what he’d sown eventually.