He hitched his shoulder. “Can’t a bag of flour take care of itself?”

“It’s symbolic, okay?” I growled out in annoyance. “Gah. Why is this so hard for everyone to understand?”

“Because it’s a bag of flour.”

“Yeah, well, babies are heavy.”

I made a move then, heading toward him. He crossed his arms over his chest, his elbow making the path around him even tighter. Too tight.

“So why do you have two? Did you get assigned twins?” He had both of them now. One in each hand.

“The white one was Kori’s, okay?” I was breathing rapidly now, but Shay just stood his ground, not even aware of how rude he was being or the anxiety he was causing.

“And you’re taking care of it for her, because …?”

“I don’t know!” Then, calmer: “Because, she didn’t finish it. Because, if she had a child, I would take care of it. Okay?”

He reached over and picked up the sonogram picture I’d found in the bathroom. “Is this yours? Or Kori’s?”

I swallowed and looked away. “It’s neither. It’s a friend’s.” When I looked back at him, I could tell he didn’t believe me. “Well, she’s not really even a friend. But it’s not mine or Kori’s. I swear.”

As soon as he moved out of the way, relenting his interrogation, I started shoving my stuff back into the bag. I felt, of all things, ashamed.

“Hey, I wasn’t making fun or anything, I was just curious.” He reached out and lifted my chin with his finger to force me to make eye contact. “I’m curious … about you.”

I jerked away. “Well, now you know.”

I could hear the exasperated draw of his breath as he watched me close up my bag. Then: “I think it’s really nice what you’re doing … for her.”

“You do?” I asked, not so sure.

“Yeah. I don’t know too many people who would go to that kind of trouble. Even for a friend.”

I shifted to lift my bag. “Yeah, well, she’s … was a lot more to me than just a friend.”

When his hand closed over mine, my eyes darted up. “I know,” he said softly. Then a few beats later, with dimples flashing: “Let me walk you home, carry your bag. I’d really like to see your spine stay healthy, you know.”

I narrowed my already suspicious gaze. “Sounds pretty stalk-erish.”

“Please. I just want to talk to you. You don’t even have to talk back. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

nineteen

I’m not stalking you.”

Shay swung my pack over his shoulder and started walking out of the barn. I had no choice but to follow.

“Actually, I should be running away from you. You’ve kind of been bad luck for me, you know?”

“Gee, thanks.”