Rich Soldier (The Dirty Thirty Pledge 2)

Tia doesn’t even hesitate, ramming her cart forward into the pyramid of cereal boxes, which collapse on top of me, and suddenly I’m on the floor covered in cardboard and little crispy pellets. I slap boxes away and start to lift myself from the floor when Tia’s face appears above mine.

“You have a lot of nerve coming back here,” she says. “After what you did.”

And she throws the box down before I can say anything back to her.

I lay there staring up at the grocery’s fluorescent lighting for a second.

Fuck.

That didn’t go how I expected.

Well…I probably should have expected that, given that I left without saying goodbye. It’s just that I never forgot her, and I hoped…

I hoped that maybe she would remember me for all the good stuff and not for all the bad stuff. But that was dumb. I close my eyes and let the weight of the boxes press down on me. Yeah, this feels about right. And yet, the feeling when I saw her, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Tia Vance can push a stack of cereal a mile high onto me any damn day that she wants to. I’d be fine with that.

There’s a shuffling and I can hear boxes being moved, so I shove upwards with an effort, managing to get partway free. “Hey man, are you okay?” A kid with a grocery store vest on asks me.

I nod. “I’m fine. I’m just glad it wasn’t something heavier.”

“Seriously,” he says, clasping my hand and helping me to my feet. A shower of crisps falls to the floor from my body.

“Let me help you clean this up,” I say. “And let me know how much the damage costs.”

Another voice comes from behind me. “That won’t be necessary.” It’s a man with silver-grey hair and a button-down shirt. “I’m Jerry, the manager. I saw what happened. You weren’t at fault.”

I give him a small smile. “I know, but still, someone should pay for the damage.”

Jerry raises an eyebrow. “Miss Vance will, once I contact her. I’m friends with the family.”

“No, please,” I say, feeling the blood drain from my face. “Please don’t do that. I insist on paying for anything. I’d rather her not have to deal with this any more than necessary. I have more than enough money to take care of it.”

He gives me a hard look, but nods slowly. “If you insist. You’re the Monroe boy, aren’t you?”

I swallow, fighting off flashbacks of being called that by people who seem a lot less kind than Jerry. But I don’t see that look in his eye. He knows who I am but he doesn’t want anything from me. Yet. “Yes, sir.”

“Heard you came back from the army.”

“I did.”

Jerry holds out a hand to me. “Thank you for your service, son. Finish your shopping, and I hope to see more of you around here.”

I blow out a breath in relief. I thought he’d say something about my dad and how I wasn’t a good son for missing the funeral. Or how my dad was an integral part of the community. Anything but this. “Thanks.”

I feel bad walking away from the giant mess that’s on the floor, but I’ve been around enough people in my life to know that the look on Jerry’s face is final, and he isn’t going to let me participate in any part of that. I finish wandering through the aisles, filling my cart with enough food to last me for a week. Probably more than, if I’m being honest.

I get to the check out and there’s a woman with a kind face waiting. She gestures me through the line and makes small talk while she rings up all the items. And then she tells me to go ahead.

“I haven’t paid,” I say, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket.

She waves a hand. “You don’t need that. Jerry’s got your groceries today. Told us coming back from a war is hard enough for a while without having to worry about this too. Now you get going and enjoy your day.”

I open my mouth to protest, but she just shakes her head and shoos me away. Walking out of the store doesn’t feel like it’s real. Tia, and then Jerry. I wasn’t expecting kindness from the people of this town. I never really received it before, and I didn’t see it happening with my new status as a shiny object. But maybe there are still a few good people here. Maybe coming back here wasn’t the mistake that I was afraid it was.

That’s really all I can hope for.

I’m going to make sure I pay for more than what that cereal is worth, to show Jerry my gratitude. And then I’m going to pray that with Tia, I hopefully get a miracle.