8. Boone
Juniper came back from lunch looking paler than when she’d left. I wanted to ask her if everything was okay, but she didn’t look like she was interested in talking and I didn’t want to overstep. I knew one of the reasons she pushed her parents out this morning was so she could have some privacy. I wasn’t about to pry and lose the small amount of trust she seemed willing to give me.
So when she appeared next to me to take over the register, I gave her a quick smile, gathered my things, and stepped out of the way.
I grabbed a sandwich from Sal and a soda. After Juniper rang me up, I ate quickly in the break room. I had a few more voicemails from Collin Baker, but I just deleted them without listening. I wasn’t ready to face my mother’s house just yet, and no pushy acquisitions guy was going to force me to.
Once my food was gone, I didn’t wait to finish my break. I grabbed my garbage and tossed it into the trash on my way out. The store was quiet when I pushed through the swinging doors.
I could see Juniper by the register. She was leaning against the counter, looking down at her phone. I glanced around to see if her mother’s chair was there, but I didn’t see it. So I spent the next five minutes hunting it down.
Juniper glanced up as I neared. Her gaze drifted from my face down to the chair I was carrying. Her expression was stoic as she left the register alcove so I could enter.
My heart sunk as I set the chair down. I don’t know why I thought she would break into a big smile. She just seemed so down, and all I wanted was to see her smile. It was gnawing at me that she was this unhappy.
“Thought you might need this,” I said, feeling stupid that I wanted to be her hero. I was bringing her a chair to sit on, not solving all of her life’s issues.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
I set the chair down and turned to face her. Her lips were more relaxed now, and the worry lines that had creased her forehead earlier were gone. I was going to take that as a win even though I wanted so much more.
“I’m going to finish stocking the cheese,” I announced as I straightened and stepped out of the alcove so she could step inside.
Juniper glanced toward the cheese refrigerator along the back wall. “Okay.”
I paused, wanting to ask her if everything was okay, but I forced those words down my throat and pushed my hand through my hair. “Call me on the intercom if you need anything.”
She nodded and settled down onto the chair. She didn’t look at me. Instead, she picked up her phone and returned to scrolling.
I spent the next few hours cursing myself for being so stupid. How had I allowed myself to become so enamored with a woman I’d only just met? Every time I tried to push her from my mind, her soft, creamy skin and full pink lips invaded my thoughts. She seemed so small and fragile that all I wanted to do was protect her—even though I was constantly telling myself she wasn’t mine to protect.
The evening sun was shining into the store when I wheeled the stock cart to the back room and emerged back into the store. I cracked my neck and fingers as I glanced around, wondering what I should do next.
I made my way to the front of the store, where I saw Juniper talking to a girl with blonde hair. She was smiling as Juniper talked. Juniper looked so at ease, and then they both broke out into a laugh. It was the sound of Juniper’s laughter that caused me to quicken my pace as I made my way toward them. It was so full of life. I’d felt dead for so long my body warmed from the sound, and I instantly needed more.
“Hey, Boone,” Juniper said when her gaze fell on me. I hadn’t expected her to acknowledge me, and I certainly didn’t expect the way my heart picked up speed as she turned her smile on me. “Have you met Shelby yet?”
The blonde woman turned to me and offered me a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Boone,” she said as she extended her hand.
“Shelby married Miles. They run The Harmony Island Inn.”
I remembered the inn, but neither name was familiar to me. So I just shook Shelby’s hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“My parents hired Boone to help out around here,” Juniper said. “It’s been nice to have someone help me run this place while they’re gone.”
Shelby glanced over at Juniper before she settled her gaze on me. “You’re awesome for doing that.”
I didn’t like praise. As soon as the words hit my ears, a black cloud moved through my body. Not wanting to stand there under their approving gazes, I shoved my hands into my front pockets and turned my attention to Juniper.
“I was thinking about grabbing some steaks for dinner tonight.” I paused, wondering if it was too presumptuous for me to think she would actually want to eat with me. “Er…I mean if you wanted me to make you something.”
Juniper’s cheeks flushed, and I wasn’t sure what to make of that. She dropped her gaze for a moment before she brought it up to meet mine. “I actually have dinner plans,” she said, her voice low and hushed.
I glanced over at Shelby, who was shifting her gaze between me and Juniper. Realization dawned on me. She was probably eating out with Shelby. This felt awkward.
“Oh, okay,” I said quickly. Ready to get far away from this embarrassing situation, I gave them a quick nod before I turned and headed toward the back room.
Once I was through the swinging doors, I moved to the nearby corner and took in a few deep breaths. I closed my eyes and forced my feelings to the dark corners of my mind. I hated that I felt so drawn to Juniper. I was sad that she wasn’t going to be eating dinner with me and I wanted to know what she was doing. But she didn’t have any obligation to tell me, and it wasn’t my place to ask.
I was the biggest idiot.
Not wanting Juniper to find me back here slowly losing my mind, I rolled my shoulders and stilled my thoughts. Juniper wasn’t mine to worry about and I needed to stop acting like she was. I was going to head back out there and grab food to make myself some dinner. Then I was going to drive home, eat, and go to bed.
And I was going to do all of that while not thinking about Juniper.
Juniper was talking to Jordan, who was filling in as evening cashier and store closer, when I finally put myself together and walked out from the back room. Juniper was running over what Jordan needed to do to close up the store as she rang up the items I’d picked up for dinner. Jordan nodded after every few words. Tim would be here in a few minutes to help. With Mr. and Mrs. Godwin gone, they were calling in reinforcements, and since I was so new, I hadn’t met them yet. Which was okay. I really didn’t have a plan to make Harmony my final stop.
The fewer people I got to know the better.
I kept to the back, waiting for Juniper to finish. We’d driven to the store together, so I couldn’t leave without her. The grocery bag handles dug into my fingers as it hung near my leg. I shifted my weight as Juniper nodded along to whatever Jordan was saying.
Suddenly, Juniper’s gaze drifted over to me, and I realized that I was staring at her. I cleared my throat and dropped my gaze to the ground. What was I thinking? Why had I been watching her that hard?
What was wrong with me?
I heard Juniper’s steps before I saw her shoes appear in front of me. She cleared her throat, so I brought my gaze up to meet hers.
“Sorry that took so long,” she said, a soft smile playing on her lips. “I wanted to make sure that Jordan knew what needed to be done.”
“I understand,” I said quickly. “I was fine waiting.” I didn’t want her to think that the reason I’d been staring at her was because I wanted her to hurry along. I’d been happy to stand there watching her all evening. I gave her a quick smile, and she just studied me before she nodded.
“Let’s go.”
She headed through the swinging doors to the back room and walked into her mom’s office to grab her things. I waited in the hallway, leaning against the wall with my legs extended. I forced my mind to still, too scared of where my thoughts might go if I let them wander too far.
She appeared in the doorway a few minutes later. My gaze snapped right to her, and I watched as she flipped off the light, closed the office door, and locked it before dropping her keychain into her purse.
“Ready?” she asked as she met my gaze.
I nodded.
She led the way through the hall to the back door. When she paused at the door, I leaned forward to push it open for her. Her startled gaze met mine.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Of course.” I waited for her to pass through before I followed.
The outer door slammed behind me. I unlocked my truck with the key fob and hurried to the passenger door to open it for her. Once again, her gaze snapped to me. Her eyes were wide. “Thanks,” she said.
I just nodded this time while I waited for her to get into the truck. Once she was in and situated, I shut the door and jogged around the hood of the truck. My chest brushed her shoulder as I twisted to put my bag of groceries in the back seat.
I prayed she couldn’t hear my pounding heart as I turned to face the steering wheel. In an effort to distract myself, I shoved my car key into the ignition and turned the engine on. I threw my truck into reverse and pulled out of the parking spot.
We were headed down Main Street when I felt Juniper’s gaze on me. I wanted to turn to look at her but decided against it. Instead, I just kept my focus on the road. When I got to the stoplight, I took a second to pull my phone from my back pocket and set it into the cupholder. It had been jabbing me.
“Fun plans for tonight?” I asked as I squeezed the steering wheel and waited for the light to turn green. When she didn’t respond, I turned to see if she’d heard me. Her cheeks were pink and she was staring at her hands in her lap. Her lips were pulled together in a line. I leaned forward to catch her gaze so I could give her a comforting smile. “Everything okay?” I asked for what felt like the millionth time today.
She sighed and glanced out the window before turning her attention to me. “I just have that dinner I have to go to.” Her smile was small and there was an intense pain in her gaze. “So I wouldn’t say fun.” She grew quiet for a moment as her gaze drifted outside. “It’s just necessary.”
“Oh.” The light turned green so I pressed on the gas. She wasn’t saying much, and it made me wonder if it was because she was seeing Kevin. Was he still in town? “Aren’t you going out with Shelby?”
Juniper glanced over at me before she folded her arms across her chest. “Listen, Boone, I’m grateful for your help at the store and everything. But I think it’s okay if we don’t know everything about each other.” She smiled at me. “You live your life, and I’ll live mine.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks and made me feel like an idiot. Of course she felt that way. I’d stepped into her territory, and I didn’t belong. Maybe I’d deluded myself into thinking that we were friends. It was clear that she wasn’t interested in even being that.
“Gotcha,” I said as I stared hard at the road in front of me. “I won’t pry.”
I could tell from the few times she glanced over at me that she wanted to say something. I wondered if she felt like she’d been too harsh but didn’t know what to say to fix it. Truth was, I’d needed her words like a glass of ice-cold water dumped over my head. They had been the wake-up call I needed. I’d overstepped, and she had every right to slap my hand.
I was grateful that she did.
I pulled into the Godwins’ driveway and turned off the engine. Juniper lingered in her seat, so I stayed put as well in case she had something she wanted to say to me. We sat in silence until the loud, shrill sound of my phone ringing pierced the air. Both of our gazes snapped to the screen.
Collin Bakerflashed under the phone number. I shook my head as I reached out to hang up. I wasn’t going to talk to him now or ever. I kept my phone in my hand as I opened the driver’s door and climbed out.
Juniper beat me to opening her door, so I focused on grabbing my dinner fixings from the back seat. By the time I turned toward the house, she’d disappeared inside. I took a moment to stare at the door. For a moment, I allowed myself to wonder if she was standing on the other side before I shook my head and crossed the space between my car and the house.
Of course, she wasn’t standing there. Only an idiot would think that. And once again, I was proving to myself how much of an idiot I was. Juniper wasn’t my friend. She certainly wasn’t my girlfriend. I was nothing to her, and I would do well to remember that. Now and in the future.
I came to Harmony to settle Mom’s estate and bury the past. It was time I started working on that.