A Penny for Your Thoughts by Bess McBride Page B

while he waited for the light to change. Fortunately, traffic was light, and the light changed within a minute. He flew around the corner and sped down the road until he saw her car once again. With a sigh of relief, he slowed. She turned right and pulled into the parking lot of a large grocery store. He drove past and pulled into the second entrance, keeping an eye on her all the while. He parked on the far end of the parking lot and got out of the car. 
    ****
    Refurbished car in hand, Penny stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. She grabbed a hand basket, turned around and bumped into Cliff, the FBI agent from the bank robbery site.
    “Penny.” He grabbed her shoulders to steady her.
    “Cliff! Sorry about that.” She recovered her balance.
    Cliff dropped his hands. He wore a dark suit, light blue shirt and dark blue tie, looking very handsome in full daylight. His cobalt eyes reflected the dark blue of his shirt. He gave her a searching look before he smiled. 
    “Well, well. It’s nice to see you again. Shopping for dinner?”
    Penny held up her empty basket ruefully. “Yeah.” She shuffled her feet uncertainly. “So, how is the case going?”
    Cliff shook his head and sighed. “Not well, I must say. I’m spending a lot more time over here than I am in my office in Mobile.”
    “Oh, so you don’t live here.”
    “No, I live in Mobile. We’re just the closest field office.”
    “What a long drive that must be every day.”
    He smiled, the weathered corners of his eyes crinkled in an attractive way. “Yeah. I’m actually going to get a room here so I don’t have to keep running back and forth.”
    She smiled and glanced at her basket wondering what else she might talk about. He seemed to want to linger but had little to say.
    “So, are you shopping for your dinner as well?” she asked for a conversation filler.
    “No, I just stopped by to get a newspaper. I’m going to drive over to Mobile and pick up some stuff tonight and bring it back.”
    “Oh,” she nodded. She shuffled from foot to foot under his scrutiny. He seemed to scan her face every time she met his eyes, and she didn’t know what he was looking for.
    “Penny, I-I...” He paused, averted his eyes and pressed his lips together.
    Penny looked at him expectantly. What was he going to say? She didn’t know why, but she sensed it might be important.
    “I...um... Are you enjoying your stay here?”
    She blinked at the innocuous question. It wasn’t what she expected.
    “Oh, I am! It’s a wonderful place.”
    He nodded. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?” He studied her face again, and she dropped her eyes and felt the flush in her cheeks. “Well, I’d better get going,” he murmured. “I hope to see you soon, Penny.” He nodded in her direction and walked toward one of the front registers. She watched him pick up a newspaper. He turned, caught her staring and waved with a half smile as he left. Penny rubbed her reddened cheeks, shook off the awkward feeling he’d left behind, and moved off in the direction of the food. What had he wanted to say? Was it about Matt? Cliff Sutton was fast becoming an enigma. His behavior had been totally unlike the jovial man who met Matt at the bank the other night. 
    She pushed thoughts of him aside while she dawdled in front of the prepared foods, wondering how unhealthy the food was and why she shouldn’t be able to eat it like everyone else. Too much salt, too much fat, too many preservatives. She wandered over to produce and eyed the potatoes. She could hardly imagine peeling one potato for a solitary dinner. She sighed and shuffled back to the prepared foods. The single serving macaroni and cheese tempted her. Who cared about fat content and enriched wheat products? This looked just like Mom’s home cooking.
    “Penny?”
    She swung around to the familiar voice over her shoulder. Matt stood behind her, his head tilted to the side, a half smile on his face that made her