CHAPTER 7: PULLED OVER

Palmer was quiet the whole ride, and even inside the diner, she didn’t say a word

while she played with her spoon in the vanilla ice cream they served with the apple pie.

“Palmer, what’s wrong?” Daisy asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“I finally met Christopher, and when I invited him to join us, he rejected the offer,”

she replied, taking a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Daisy chuckled, making

Palmer look at her like she was crazy. She looked down at her pie and poked on it hard

until it turned into mush.

“Sweetheart, you just met him, and it must have been an overwhelming first day

for him. Especially in a new school. Give him some time, stop rushing into things.”

“Well, he looks like he needs friends now, and I’m sure I can be a good friend to

him. He’s so shy and so quiet. No one is going to hang out with him. You know how my

schoolmates are.”

“Well, you can be a little too much, Palmer. Maybe you’re scaring the poor boy.

Give. Him. Time,” Daisy ordered with a firm voice. Palmer sighed and looked out the

window, seeing Grace and Christopher pull over at the grocery store across the street.

“I’ll be back, Mom,” she said, getting out of the booth and running across the

street, avoiding the honking cars that almost ran her over, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Her mission was to talk to Christopher.

“Hello, Christopher!” She greeted him, and Christopher let out a deep breath,

trying to ignore her.

“I was wondering if I could make you change your mind about joining us. Maybe

your mom can too? That way, she can meet my mom. What do you say?” Palmer

asked, fidgeting with her hands in excitement as she smiled at him. Grace looked at

Christopher and then looked at the direction Daisy was, waving at them.

“Okay, but we can only join you for a minute,” she replied as Christopher looked

at her with his eyes wide open, begging in silence for her to change her mind. Palmer

squealed, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the diner. They crossed the street,

making sure this time no cars were coming from each side.

As soon as they made it to the diner, they both walked in. Palmer pulled him

down on the booth and introduced her mom to them. Daisy stood up, pulling her in a

hug, and kissing each cheek.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Melbourne,” she said.

“Likewise, and please, Grace is fine.”

They both sat down, looking around the diner and admiring the place. The

sizzling sounds of the grill and the smell of freshly baked desserts were making Grace

feel at home, but Christopher was still nervous as he looked out the window, not daring

to look back at the girl sitting next to him.

Palmer took the initiative first. She ordered a pie for Christopher. He tried to say

something, but the waitress had already brought a piece of the delicious warm dessert

with some vanilla ice cream. She didn’t know he couldn’t have dairy, but her intention

counted.

“Eat, they’re the best pies in town!” She said excitedly. Christopher looked at her

with his eyebrow raised before he took a bite of the pie. He enjoyed the dessert and

smiled at Palmer, but he left the ice cream aside.

“Good, right? Why not eat the ice cream too? They make it fresh,” she said,

curious to see why he wouldn’t try it. Palmer pressed her lips in a thin line, and Grace

noticed her expression.

“You’ll have to excuse my son. He’s a little shy and until he gets to know

someone, he won’t talk much. Also, he can’t have the ice cream or any type of dairy,”

she mentioned, and Palmer mouthed an ‘o,’ apologizing to Christopher for almost

forcing him to eat it.

“Well, I’m looking forward to hanging out more. My friends, too. They are excited

about it, especially Faith.”

At the mention of Faith, Christopher winced. That crazy girl was Palmer’s friend,

and he had enough of her. Now to deal with two crazies was too much for him. Grace

realized how uncomfortable Christopher was that she decided to cut the meeting short.

“Well, it was nice to meet you both, but we have to go. Christopher has to do

some yard work, and we don’t want the sun to set before then.”

They both bid their goodbyes before they drove off. Palmer looked at their car as

it drove into the distance. Palmer’s mother watched her as a smile spread across her

face.

“That boy caught your attention, didn’t he?” She asked, and Palmer knew there

was no point in denying it.

“Yes, Mom. I’m sure that they will bother him in school, especially Hunter, so he

needs me,” she replied confidently.

“Now that you mentioned Hunter, have you decided where to go for your date?”

Daisy asked. Palmer rolled her eyes as finished the last of her mushed-up pie. She

dreaded talking about it.

“It’s not a date. Just a friendly outing and I’m sure it will be boring. Hunter is not

fun. He’s too much of a snob. No matter how nice he says he is,” she replied, making

Daisy laugh. They both left the diner and drove back home in silence. Palmer couldn’t

help but think of many ways to get Christopher to come out of his shell.

~~~~~~

The ride back home was silent. Grace would steal glances at his son as he

looked out the window.

“Palmer seems like a good girl, don’t you think?” She asked, breaking the

silence. Christopher shrugged his shoulder before he looked at her.

“She does, but she scares me, Mom. When I was taking my things out of my

locker, she appeared out of nowhere. Who does that to a total stranger?” He asked,

making Grace chuckle.

“Well, maybe someone who took an interest in you. Have you thought of that?

And I really liked her. How about we invite her and her friends over one day? Maybe get

out of that shell you’ve been living in for years. That’s what I want for you, to be happy

and to rely on someone.”

“Mom, please stop. All I want is to finish this year in peace. If that means, go

through it alone, and with no one to bother me, it will be much better.”

Grace was so distracted talking to Christopher that she didn’t realize she had run

a stop sign. There was a sheriff’s car on the side of the road, ready to pull her over.

She pulled her car over and groaned. In the rearview mirror, Grace could see the

sheriff walking their way.

“Oh, no. What did I do?”

“Hello, Ma’am. May I see your license and registration?” He asked. She glanced

at the documents, but when she looked up to see who it was, she realized it was

Thomas.

“Hello, Thomas. Is there something wrong?”

“It’s Sheriff Fisher to you, Mrs. Melbourne,” he said, making her frown. He had

been friendly and even shared some breakfast with her, but she couldn’t blame him for

wanting to act professionally in this case.

“May I ask why you pulled me over?” She said, putting her hands on the steering

wheel and tapping nervously on it with her fingers. Christopher was still silent, listening

to the entire conversation.

“Did you realize you had run a stop sign just a mile back?” He asked, taking her

information and writing it down on his board.

“I’m sorry, Officer...”

“Sheriff,” he corrected her, not looking straight into her eyes. The aviator glasses

were hiding the serious expression he had on his face. Grace was biting her bottom lip,

not to say anything smart.

“Sheriff. I’m sorry, my son and I were having a conversation. I got distracted and

didn’t notice the stop sign. Could you please let this one slide? I can’t afford a traffic

ticket right now.”

He stayed silent while Grace looked back at Christopher, who leaned against the

seat, looking out the window. Thomas put his glasses down to his nose while looking at

her with those deep blue eyes.

“I will let the lady out of paying this fine. If she would do me the honor to have

dinner with me,” he said, smiling at her—the smile only a cowboy can give, the one that

could make any lady swoon. And right now, that is what Grace was feeling.

“Mom, you should accept the offer so we can go home, please,” Christopher

finally said, pulling Grace from her thoughts.

“Um... sure. Dinner sounds nice. I can cook for you too.”

“No, how about I invite you to my house and cook for you? I make a mean steak,”

he replied, handing her back the documents. She nodded in agreement. Thomas patted

the roof of the car and let them go, walking with a content smile.

At his age, he still had it to pursue a lady, and this specific lady had caught his

attention from the very first moment he stepped into her yard.

They arrived home, and Christopher left the car, slamming the door as he

stomped into the house. He headed to his room and locked the door, letting out a sigh

as he launched himself on the bed.

“Christopher, darling. I will make some dinner while you work on the yard,” his

mother said from behind the door, and all she got was silence. She let him be and come

out of the room when he felt okay.

Christopher looked out the window at the yard after he changed into some old

clothes before heading out to work on it. The lawnmower he found was older than him,

and it took some time to turn it on. His father taught him how to work one every time

they went to their summer house on the hills.

With some quick cleaning and a lot of beating, the machine-made that victorious

sound, and he mowed the grass in just a short time.

Grace called him soon for dinner after Christopher gave the yard one more look.

Satisfied with the results, he walked in and took a shower before he sat down for dinner.

A sudden smile unconsciously escaped his lips, remembering how crazy Palmer was

and how he knew he had to see her every day. There was no escaping her.