Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls #3) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,97

she have to run into Preacher today of all days? What exactly had she done to have karma bite her so cruelly in the ass?

Still holding her arm, he led her to the tills.

“Hello, Miss Addison.” Shelly was standing at the till and Addie groaned inwardly. The chunky woman had worked at the Walgreens for years. She was sweet enough, but she was also shockingly dumb, and it took her forever to ring through even the simplest of transactions.

Shelly turned her gaze to Preacher. Addie watched in numb disbelief as she giggled and reached across to squeeze Preacher’s arm.

“Hi there, Preacher. I ain’t seen you in a while.”

Preacher piled the items from the basket onto the belt. “Hello, Ms. Dicks.”

“Oh, call me Shelly, hon,” she cooed.

Her head pounding, Addison stared at the cashier. The woman was in her mid-fifties, but apparently, she had a thing for younger men.

“I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo,” Shelly said as she slowly scanned the items and stuffed them into a plastic bag. “I was thinking I might get one right here.”

She pulled the neckline of her shirt down and Addison blinked at the neon orange bra that encased the cashier’s oversized breasts. Shelly caressed the top of her right boob. “Thought I might get me a little heart right here. What do you think, Preacher? Would you tattoo a heart on me?”

“Sure,” Preacher said. “Call the shop and Nolan will book you in. We’re booking for three months from now.”

“I was thinking,” Shelly leaned forward until her breasts were nearly falling out of her shirt, “that maybe you could squeeze me in sometime this weekend. To say thank you, you could drop by my place later for a piece of my famous meatloaf.”

Addison would have burst into giggles if her head didn’t hurt so much. She watched silently as Preacher said, “Sorry, Ms. Dicks, I can’t do that. It’s not fair to the other customers. But you call Nolan and book an appointment and I’ll be happy to tattoo you then.”

Disappointment flickered across Shelly’s face and she straightened before giving him a strained smile. “I’ll do that, hon.”

She glanced at Addison. “You look real bad, hon. You got that cold that’s been going around? Your face is some red, and your nose is so swollen. Tricia Rathen came in this morning with the same thing. She didn’t look near as bad as you look though.”

“Thanks.” Addison rooted around in her purse, cursing under her breath when she couldn’t find her wallet. She reached past the wad of tissue she had stuffed in before she left her apartment and shoved her bus pass into one of the side pockets. Her phone was lying on the bottom, where was her damn wallet?

“What are you looking for?” Preacher said.

Her eyes watering with unshed tears, she said, “I can’t find my wallet.”

“I’m paying for it anyway.” Preacher pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed Shelly some cash.

“Aren’t you just the sweetest,” Shelly said. She gave him his change – she had to count it out three times before she got it right – and smiled again at Preacher. “You got a big heart under that tough guy exterior, dontcha’, hon?”

Preacher took the plastic bag. “Have a good day.”

“You too, hon. You too.”

He started toward the door and Shelly glanced at his ass before smiling at Addie. “See you later, hon. And don’t you worry about what folks are saying about Harrison dumping you. You’ll find yourself a new man soon.”

Addison couldn’t even manage a polite smile. She followed Preacher out the door of the Walgreens. The hot sun brought a wave of nausea to her stomach, and she grimaced and raised her hand to shade her eyes.

She reached for the bag that Preacher still held. He didn’t let it go, and she smiled tentatively. “Thank you for buying the stuff. I’ll drop by the shop as soon as I’m feeling better and pay you back.”

He just grunted and she tried to take the bag again. “Um, the bus will be here soon so…”

“Let’s go,” he said. Ignoring the tourists swarming around them, he took her arm and marched her across the street to his shop. He opened the door and she could have wept with relief at the air conditioning when he ushered her inside.

The shop was blessedly empty of customers. She didn’t need everyone in the damn town seeing what a gross snotty mess she was. Nix was sitting at the drawing table sketching onto