Trail of Secrets(27)

                “I’d be glad to. But you don’t have to worry about driving yourself around. Until we’ve caught whoever tried to kill you and Dan, I’m going to be sticking to you, anyway. I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

                The memory of everything she’d experienced the night before flooded into her mind, and she swallowed the fear that threatened to engulf her. “Thank you, Seth. I appreciate your doing this for me.”

                He stared at her for a moment before he answered. Then he took a deep breath. “Let’s get one thing straight, Callie. I don’t want you reading anything into this arrangement. I’m doing this because of Dan. I’d do anything for him. That’s all there is to it.”

                She blinked back the tears that threatened to fill her eyes and tried to smile. “I understand, but I still appreciate it.” She pushed to her feet. “Now I think I’ll fix myself one of those sandwiches. Then we can go to the hospital.”

                When she sat back down at the table with her food, the hunger she’d felt when she’d first entered the kitchen had vanished. Seth kept his gaze downcast as he finished his lunch, and Callie tried to force herself to eat. The food tasted like sawdust in her mouth.

                With his last bite swallowed, Seth picked up his iced tea and took a long drink before he directed his attention back to her. “I’ll be in the den. When you’re ready to go, let me know.”

                Before she could reply, he picked up his dishes, deposited them in the sink and walked from the room. Callie took a deep breath and tried to slow her racing heartbeat as she listened to his retreating footsteps.

                She propped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. Seth had been very thoughtful of her feelings last night, but in the light of day his attitude toward her had changed. It didn’t surprise her, but it still hurt.

                Until her uncle’s condition had improved and his attacker was caught, all she could do was endure Seth’s feelings toward her and hope he would never find out the real reason she had refused his proposal.

                * * *

                Seth had dreaded accompanying Callie on her shopping trip. He’d often shaken his head in sympathy at the men he spotted sitting around the mall waiting for their wife or girlfriend to finish. Now he found himself one of those he’d often pitied.

                He tried to slump down on the store’s sofa in the middle of the ladies’ clothes department, but it was impossible to make himself invisible. Until Callie was finished trying on clothes, he was destined to wait and endure the knowing stares from other men who happened to walk by.

                He looked up as Callie emerged from the dressing room and stepped in front of a full-length mirror. She twisted and turned as she examined the outfit she wore. When she saw him watching her, she smiled.

                “I appreciate your taking the time to drive me to the hospital and now to the mall. I know you’d rather be anywhere else but here. I really appreciate you bringing me.”

                “No problem,” he said. “Glad to help.”

                She glanced back at her reflection once more before she disappeared into the fitting room. After a few minutes, he spied the handbags display on several counters against the far wall, and an idea struck him. His sister’s birthday was a week away, and he’d heard her tell their mother she needed a new purse. Maybe he could find one while he waited for Callie.

                Ten minutes later a salesperson finished ringing up his purchase and handed him his change. “I hope your sister enjoys her new purse,” she said.