Handle with Care Read Online Free PDF

honestly, if cryptically.
    “Away
from the person I once was,” she replied in a soft enough tone he could pretend
not to have heard if he chose.
    * * *

Chapter 5 ~ Discovered Craig turned off the engine and pulled his keys from the ignition, but he made
no move to open the door. Instead, he turned in his seat in an attempt to face
her. “Is that person so different from who you are now?” He was insanely
curious about this woman's evasive nature. He’d never met someone capable of
being so withdrawn, and yet still warm and considerate. It was as if she could
listen to his whole life story, feel empathy for him, but never give him the
chance to do the same for her.
    Abby
cringed a little at the intensity of his focus upon her. She began to think he
had missed his calling. He would have made a good therapist; he was quite
intuitive, and persistent. He would have done just fine in my field .
    “Not
yet,” she admitted as she put her hand on the door handle and began to open it.
“But I hope one day, she will be.” She was about to make a dramatic exit from
the car, when she encountered the boundary of the seat belt he had put on for
her. He reached out and covered the clasp she reached to release. Abby’s cheeks
burned with embarrassment.
    “I
promise you, before you leave here, you're going to tell me everything,” he
said, with enough lightness to his tone he could get away with such an
aggressive statement. He released the clasp on the belt and Abby nearly jumped
out of the car in an effort to get away. She did not look back at him, not even
when he fell into step beside her. Abby adjusted her purse on her shoulder and
grabbed a cart as they reached the entrance. It was about one-third the size of
stores she was used to. She was fairly certain they would not have a great
supply of the organic foods she usually purchased. Abby tried to quell her
anxiousness by building a list in her mind.
     
    As
she pushed the cart through the sliding doors, she realized Craig was going to
follow her around the store. She usually did not have company while she
shopped. There was something intimate about him knowing her purchasing habits.
First of all, the number one item was a large bottle of wine. What would he
think of her? More importantly, why did she care what he thought? To her
relief, the grocery store was more populated than the sleepy town had been. She
hoped it would be busy enough to distract him from her selections, and from
asking any more questions.
    “This
you have got to try,” Craig said with pride, as though she would be
missing out on life if she did not taste it. There he stood holding up a large
bottle of wine. Abby froze, staring at him with surprise. His smiled faded as
he lowered the bottle.
    “Oh,
you don't drink?” He realized he might have ventured into personal territory.
“AA?” He probed.
    “No,
no,” she blurted out as she took the bottle of wine from him. She then lifted
one shoulder in a mild shrug. “At least, not yet.” Abby laughed awkwardly and
looked over the label on the bottle of wine he offered.
    “It's
from a local orchard,” he explained and tapped the glass lightly with his
fingernail. “It is delicious. You’ll never be able to get it back in
Philadelphia. So you’d better enjoy it while you're here.”
    Abby
gave him a small smile before setting the bottle of wine into her grocery cart.
“Thanks,” she said and continued down the aisle. A woman walking toward them
met eyes with Craig and flashed a secretive grin. Craig glanced away,
pretending to look at the selection of rice.
    “Oh
boy, we're going to be the talk of the town,” he muttered as he shook his head.
“That was Penelope Baker, the mayor's wife. Before we get back, everyone will
know we were caught in the act,” he gasped and clutched at his chest playfully,
“of grocery shopping together.”
    “Oh,
if it bothers you, maybe we should split up,” Abby suggested, trying to hide
the hopefulness in her