Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,13
girl look, and I could pull off heavy black eyeliner and a deep purple lip lacquer. One thing about the extra weight I carried—it tended to smooth out some of the little lines that had begun to appear. I was a month away from turning forty-one, and I was determined to enjoy this decade, given my twenties and thirties had been increasingly unpleasant.
Heading downstairs, I made sure my reading glasses were in my purse before I went hunting for coffee and food.
Moonshadow Bay was close to sea level, but I lived up on a hill and I noticed as I drove down into the main part of town that I had considerably more snow than the lower-lying houses. I found an espresso stand—Jitterbug Jolt—and ordered a triple-shot peppermint mocha with extra whipped cream. If Ellison had been around, I would have done without the whipped cream and asked for sugar-free, but he wasn’t, so I didn’t.
The freedom of being out from under his scrutiny hit me full force as I prepared to head into the supermarket. No more kale, no more low-fat dressing and sugar-free healthy muffins. No more bean sprouts and lean chicken breast. I could buy whatever the hell I wanted and not have him watching every mouthful of food that I put between my lips. All that the enforced dieting had done was make me miserable. Calories in, calories out, my ass.
Laughing, I grabbed a cart and headed inside. As I began to peruse the aisles, I heard someone calling my name.
“January? January Jaxson, is that you?”
I turned to see Millie O’Conner, one of my high school buddies. I hadn’t seen her in about a decade, when I was on a trip home during the holidays and we ran across each other in the local BayMart Shopping Mall.
“Millie! Hey, how are you?” I wheeled my cart out of the center of the aisle. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’m now the chief of police,” she said, grinning. She had been a detective on the force last time we had run across one another.
“Congrats!” I was genuinely happy for her. Millie had always been one of those girls who never took guff from anybody, and never let bullying go on if she could step in. “I’ve moved back to town,” I said. “Just the day before yesterday.”
Her smile slid away. “I’m so sorry about your folks. I heard about the accident. I would have come to the funeral, but I was out on a case that day and couldn’t get away.” She ducked her head. “Your parents were a fixture in the community. It won’t be the same without them. But I’m glad to hear you moved back. Is your husband with you?”
I could tell she was trying to diplomatically ask if I was still married.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I left him back in Seattle with his soon-to-be trophy wife. I wasn’t good-enough arm candy. He also bilked me out of my half of the magazine and the house, so if I sound a little bitter, well…I am.” I snorted. “Anyway, I am truly happy to be back. And trust me, I’m never, ever getting married again.”
She laughed. “You say that now, but I bet somebody will make you sit up and take notice. I’m glad that you’re free of him, though, and I’m sorry he was such an asshole.” She glanced at her cart. “I’d love to stick around and chat, but I need to get the ice cream home before it melts, and then head in to work. Luckily, it’s a slow day, crime-wise.”
We exchanged contact info and headed in our respective directions.
The house was pretty much empty except for the cocoa and cookies that Ari had brought over, so I filled the cart with staples, meats, dairy, and produce. By the time I was ready to check out, the cart was overflowing with so much food that the checker grimaced when she saw me. I tried not to laugh as I unloaded the groceries onto the conveyor belt and placed a dozen reusable bags on top.
“I just moved back to town,” I said. “I’m afraid I bought out the store.”
At that, she laughed. “We’ll get through it,” she said, motioning to one of the few bagboys left in the world of supermarkets. He began bagging my groceries, making sure the bags weren’t too heavy. Even though I had brought twelve bags with me, he still needed to use four paper ones.