First day of Spring and Last Page Friday?

I know it's supposed to be First Page Friday in the book world but I thought I'd take a different route since it's also the first day of Spring.  I mean really.  Who am I to steal Mother Nature's limelight?

So here's where I left Eric (Grace 28 (unedited copy), book five in the Men of Faith series, coming 2016)...

When they first met and Claire dedicated her energy to caring for Eric, he watched from a place of adoration.  He’d never had someone attend every game just to watch him play.  A person that knew his stats and learned the plays and actually cared how he performed.  Looing back he had to admit the attention was intoxicating.  As time wore on, Eric struggled to comprehend why she didn’t seem to want to find something more suited to her talents and dreams.  You don’t have to worry with me so much, he recalled saying more than once.

Eric was a big enough man to admit that Brody was right, he couldn’t hope to buy his way out of trouble with Claire.  And he didn’t.  But he had no intention of walking into his home empty handed.  Deviating from the most direct route home, Eric checked his rearview mirror and saw Brody pull in behind him where Eric had stopped at the local grocery.  Claire used to love it when Eric made her coffee in the mornings.  The least he could do was buy a box of her favorite Kuerig K cups and a package of those dark chocolate toffee bites he knew she liked.  He didn’t have to hand them to her the moment he walked in the door but maybe she’d find them later and smile at the notion he’d been thinking of her.  Pointing toward Brody, Eric motioned him to stay put and hold on a second just before he disappeared through the doors of the Fresh Market.

“Oh no,” the young man behind the register said as Eric placed the coffee, chocolates and a potted mini rose bush near the scanner.  “What did you do?”  It was the million dollar question Eric wouldn’t be able to fully explain if he had a lifetime.

“Everything,” Eric replied, his eyes glued to the floor as he pulled two twenties from his wallet and grabbed his items, stepping toward the doors without even bothering to wait for his change.