Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Need some help?" his voice made her look up. Isabella was trying to lift the barrel from under the bar, so she could set up a new one before the evening crowd. But her body, having lived off one meal every other day for almost two weeks now, was struggling. And, of course, that was when Austin had to show up again.
"I'm fine," the brunette muttered, getting annoyed that he was always showing up to offer her help in one way or another. Why couldn't he offer her sister the same kind of support? She was the one who should stop lifting things and start taking it easy. But no, her ex or whatever she should call him, who was hell-bent on ignoring any prior connection between them, kept offering her help. Well, he could suck it. The last thing she needed right now was David getting any more stupid ideas about her fidelity.
"It looks heavy, I don't mind," Austin said, making his way towards her and lifted the empty barrel up in one go. "Where to?" he asked, his bulging arm muscles holding the barrel as if it was a bag of feathers.
"Out back," Isabella grudgingly accepted his help and led the way past the office to the small courtyard out back.
He put the empty one down by the others and eyed up the new full barrels. "I'll bring the new one in, yeah?" he asked, more as a formality as he was already bending through his knees to lift it up.
"Thanks," she muttered again, trying not to sound ungrateful. She ignored her sister's surprised look when the redhead saw the Sheriff lifting their barrels for them.
"You okay?" Tatum asked her sister as she leaned around the office doorway.
"Uh huh. All good," the brunette tried to reassure her and quickly went into the bar to hook it up properly.
"Need anything else liftin'?" Austin offered now, a cheeky glint in his eyes as he gave her a smile.
At this she rolled her eyes at him. "Nah, all good. Thanks Sheriff," Isabella shook her head, wanting him to go almost as much as she wanted him to stay. It had been easier when she was still just annoyed at him for ignoring her. But even she had to concede that his continuous offers of support or concern did indicate a level of caring she hadn't thought were there.
"Any time Bella," he said softly, confirming her thoughts as if he'd heard them. She hated how his tone made her heart race, her breath stopping when he reached for her face and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're okay, right?" he asked, cupping her face softly, his voice barely more than a whisper. The conversation he'd had with Tatum was one he hadn't been able to forget, in fact, it was all he could think of most of the time. He'd been trying to keep a close eye on the sisters and, though Tatum hadn't come to him with more concerns, he couldn't quiet the worry in his heart. Tatum had already told him that Isabella hadn't had any more of her, as she called them, clumsy moments, but with every day the brunette was looking more and more tired, and he needed to know why.
"I'm fine, really," she answered, clearing her throat and taking a step backwards when she realised how close they were standing. If David walked in on them now, she'd have no way to explain herself. "I… should get back to work," she added, tearing her gaze from the blue eyes that had stolen her eighteen-year-old heart all those summers ago. She didn't wait for his reply as she walked away.
"Are we staying long?" Isabella asked her sister, sounding a little nervous.
"No, I guess not. But I need some better clothes. The things I've had to resort to just ain't me," Tatum answered, glancing away from the road to take her in. "Besides, it's just a shopping trip," she added, not saying that it shouldn't be anything to worry about. "And I may need food first," she chuckled as she continued focusing on driving.
"I guess that's not a complete surprise," the brunette responded, managing a small laugh as well. She'd skipped breakfast as soon as her sister had informed her that they'd be going to the mall today, knowing there was a good chance they'd have to stop for food. There was no way she'd risk eating too much, even if she did feel her stomach rumble more often than not.
"Good, so food and then let's hit the shops," the redhead summarised.
Their first hurdle was trying to agree where to eat. Isabella wanted to eat as healthy as she could; while Tatum agreed she probably should too, all she could think of was a juicy burger and chips. Eventually, the pregnant sister's hormones won the battle, especially when she said that Isabella could still order a salad.
Tatum insisted of hitting all the normal shops first for their maternity collection, before considering going to the special maternity shops. She found a couple of cute shirts and dresses, as well as a couple of jeans with a stretchy front. "Oh my god, I can't wait to wear these all the time," she told her sister as she came out of the dressing room to show her what they looked like. "You're not bored, are you? I know this can't be much fun," the redhead continued when the brunette only gave a half-hearted smile.
"I guess not," Isabella shrugged. It was hard to keep her attention on all the clothes her sister wanted to show her, when she had a running horror show of things David had been saying to her take it in turns with Aaron's weird behaviour and Austin's recent displays of concern.
"Okay, next shop we're gonna find you somethin' to try on too," Tatum told her before she headed into back into her curtained room to get back into her normal clothes until she'd paid for her new outfits.
"Oh, that's not…"
"That's not a choice," her sister told her sternly from inside the room.
By the time they made their way back to the truck hours later, Tatum had several bags of new comfortable clothes for herself and another bag with three new tops for her sister. Isabella had tried to object, but the redhead had taken them from her and carried them to the till with her things. "I'm gonna get changed, I can't wait," Tatum said almost gleefully and practically skipped up the stairs to her room. Isabella knew before she even saw her boyfriend's face that he wasn't happy with her.
"Seriously?" he started closing in on her.
"She insisted I try them on and… and…" the brunette stammered.
"Were you at least in separate rooms, or did she see these?" David said, grabbing her arm for the first time in two weeks and pulled her sleeve back. There weren't any new bruises, but she was still a patchwork of green and yellow finger- and handprints and other marks.
"She didn't see anything," Isabella quickly assured him, leaning away from him.
His narrowed eyes showed her he wasn't convinced, even as he let go of her arm. "Even so, do you really think it's a good idea to be spending money right now, on clothes?" David asked his girlfriend, annoyed that he had to think of everything for her. Isabella stammered as she tried to think of an acceptable response, her hand nervously pulling her sleeve down again.
"Don't worry David. I paid for those tops for Izzy, as a small gift for my baby's auntie," Tatum's voice made them both look up in surprise. "And, you know, if you're so concerned about how much money you have, maybe you should put a little more effort into actually findin' a job and a little less into buyin' beer," she added now, pretending to pass it off as a little friendly piece of advice. She could tell her sister was looking at her in near horror, but she couldn't help herself. How dare he turn her nice gesture into something to be angry at Isabella over? The two sisters waited for his reaction, as he himself tried to think of something that wouldn't cause Tatum to go straight to the Sheriff.
"You know what, of course, you're right. If you want to spend money on clothes she'll only fit for a few weeks, that's your choice," David said, giving his horrified girlfriend a teasing poke in the side to make it obvious what he meant. Before the redhead could respond indignant on her sister's behalf, he headed out the front door.