Chapter Nineteen
Price stood shoulder to shoulder with Winnie. Each had a bag at their sides. Both were staring at the house behind JJ with grade A poker faces.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but the inside isn’t as bad as, well, this.” She motioned back to the work-in-progress two-story that she had purchased before coming to Seven Roads.
“It’s…charming,” Winnie tried, smiling as she did so. “Right? Kind of like one of those nice older homes you see on HGTV that everyone ends up wanting.”
She not so subtly elbowed her dad’s side when he didn’t immediately respond.
Price took the hint. With his duffel bag held up by his hand over his shoulder and wearing his baseball shirt and jeans, he reminded JJ of a college student coming home after a long week at school. Young, carefree and ready to eat.
It wasn’t a bad look.
In fact, it was almost nice to feel like he wasn’t the same man who kept having to change his life around to deal with her problems.
Even now, he brought out that charm that JJ had begun to crave.
This time, it came out with some teasing.
“You definitely can’t buy character like this much anymore.” He grinned. “That’s for sure.”
“Dad,” Winnie scolded in a not-so-quiet whisper. She sent another elbow to his ribs. He laughed and looked at JJ.
“As a former part-time home renovator, I understand that burden of the before. I ended up selling my fixer-upper to the sheriff’s mother-in-law and haven’t looked back.” His words softened. “Don’t stress about us. We’re fine.”
JJ wasn’t so sure about that.
She said as much while leading them to the front porch.
“Let’s remember you said that.”
The old home off Whatley Bend was the center of JJ’s cover story.
She had purchased it as the reason for coming to Seven Roads, as well as the blueprint for her future.
It had been chattered about in the gossip mill for a while when she had first come to town, but when no progress had been visibly made, that chatter had died down.
It helped that Janice Wilkins’s former home was less than accessible and not near any locations or public areas remotely interesting.
If anything, it felt like an outsider to JJ.
A part of the town but not, at the same time.
Maybe that’s why she liked it, despite never having had any experience or desire to buy and renovate a house.
JJ bypassed the urge to explain why the siding was warped in places, wood was rotted off others and the landscaping could use a few—if not several—helping hands, and led them into the foyer.
Winnie slipped off her shoes, but Price kept his and the duffel bag on.
He had work to do, but he stayed long enough to listen to the two-bit tour.
“Everything in here works, but just isn’t that nice-looking yet,” she said, sweeping her arms toward the stairs just off the space.
“This goes to two bedrooms, one bonus room that looks like a wasteland where supplies and tools have gone to die, and two bathrooms that look like they should also be in the wasteland. But I swear, everything is clean.”
JJ went on to explain the bottom floor’s layout, make a few excuses for her utter lack of progress on the house again and then showed Winnie to the bedroom.
“Is all this furniture yours? I thought it might be empty here.” Winnie eyed the guest bedroom’s yellow-painted iron-rod bed covered in a paisley bedspread.
JJ laughed a little at that.
“A few things are mine, but most of what you see came from Janice Wilkins,” JJ answered. “Since she was downsizing and wanted to move quickly, she offered the furnishings and I agreed. It seemed like less hassle on my part at the time.”
Price had fallen behind a little, but JJ could see him across the hall, peeking into the bonus room.
JJ’s face flushed with heat.
“She even told me to keep a few things I didn’t need,” she said hurriedly. “Including a set of rusted dumbbells, a crib and a small collection of cow saltshakers.”
Price had no doubt seen at least the first two of those items standing visible in the bonus room. The dumbbells were surprisingly compact. The crib was not.
Suddenly, JJ felt more self-conscious.
Thankfully, Price didn’t hover.
He filled the doorframe and tapped his duffel bag.
“I’m curious about that saltshaker cow-thing, but first, let’s get set up.”
The next hour or so, Price did what Winnie had called a security reset. Security cameras and motion lights that he had brought were mounted outside in strategic places, new locks were installed on the front and back doors and sensors were placed along the seals of the windows on the first floor.
JJ was in awe of how thorough he was being.
Though she wasn’t sure it was necessary.
Sheriff Weaver, Price and JJ had put their heads together for where they should lie low for a little while on the off chance that Lawson and his remaining men decided to strike again.
His house was out of the question, the safe house the sheriff had used before had been taken off the market and JJ’s house had also been put on the do-not-chance list. When the sheriff had realized that not even he knew where exactly JJ’s work-in-progress home was, it convinced the three of them that Janice Wilkins’s old home was the ticket.
“We don’t know if Lawson, or whoever, even knows you were a part of what happened on the Becker Farm.
But considering you went head-to-head with him at the convention center, I’m sure you’re someone of interest to them,” the sheriff had pointed out to her.
“They may not make a move now that there’s been a big fuss with two of their guys, but keeping the two people they’d probably use against Price with as far out of the way as we can is the best we can do. ”
Another one of those butterflies had fluttered its way around JJ’s stomach at the mention of her being important to Price. She tried to remind herself that he was simply a good guy and proximity alone had gotten her the honor.
Still, she found herself fighting another wave of heat as he peeked his head around the kitchen door when he was finishing up and called her name.
“I could use your expertise real quick if you don’t mind,” he said. “Follow me outside.”
JJ did. Each step after him she tried to remember what it felt like to wear the mask that had hidden her emotions as best she could.
That imaginary mask fell right back off when he took her by the shoulders and spun her back around to face the house. His hands were warm. She could feel them through the fabric of her shirt.
“Okay, Miss Sneak,” he said. “Let’s say you want to break into this bad boy. Show me all the ways you would so I can adjust my defenses if I need to.”
JJ laughed.
“Wait? Is this what you think my expertise is? Sneaking?”
Price shrugged. He moved his hold from her shoulders to draping one arm around them, moving his body to her side. He was still facing the house.
“I’d actually say that your expertise is being surprising,” he said. “Part of that charm just so happens to be getting into places with locked doors.”
JJ was glad that his attention was elsewhere. There was no way her face wasn’t the color of a stop sign.
“I think your expertise is making people with not-so-ordinary lives feel normal,” she offered. “I once let it slip to my ex that I could theoretically hack into our university’s website if I wanted, and it inspired a meltdown from him.”
“Why?”
It was JJ’s turn to shrug.
“I guess I ruined his image of me. Which is wild to me, considering the JJ Shaw he knew was a lot less reserved than the JJ Shaw in Seven Roads.”
Price let out a sigh. It moved her body too.
“What can I say? Some people freak out a little when they realize they aren’t the most interesting person in the room. That’s why I always tell Winnie to never settle for someone who doesn’t keep you guessing.”
JJ already knew that Price was single. She had known for a while, even before they had been thrown together. Yet her curiosity soared to the forefront and her question came out before she could think to censor it.
“Was her mom like that? Always keeping you guessing?”
Forget the stop-sign red. JJ felt like her face had gone directly into fire. She hadn’t meant to overstep that far. She tried to backtrack in a flash.
“Sorry, that’s too personal. I just haven’t heard you or her or even Corrie talk about her, so I was just curious.”
She glanced over to see the corner of Price’s lips turn up.
“Don’t apologize. I’d wonder too,” he said.
“As smart as Winnie’s mom was, she was just as fun.
Straight As and straight chaos. She’d be the cool, calm, collected student at school and then would rope us into so many different kinds of shenanigans that not a day went by with her that I didn’t feel like I was in some kind of sitcom.
” The smile didn’t leave. It simply softened.
“But then she got pregnant, and we had to really sit down and think about things. She’s a good woman, but she never wanted to be a mom.
That used to drive me up the wall, but now that I’m older and I’ve seen some things, I respect the resolve she had back then.
She knew what she wanted, what she was capable of, and stuck to her guns.
Then, on top of that, she gave me room to do the same. She never once pushed me to be a dad.”
He patted himself on the chest in a teasing way, but JJ had a feeling he was being genuine.
“I chose that job myself. Pay’s bad but I don’t mind the work.
” His smile amped right back on up. “She still reaches out and emails with Winnie on occasion, but as far as interesting to me now, it’s just not there.
Not many people have had me on swivel either since we parted ways.
Though I did date a lady who had a doll collection that took up two of her bedrooms a few years back.
I bet she’d get a kick out of that cow shaker collection Ms. Wilkins left you. ”
Price laughed at his own comment. His arm was still around her. It was comfortable. He was comfortable.
And, apparently, to him JJ was interesting.
The thought warmed her.
It also saddened her.
She couldn’t afford to be interesting anymore. Not until she could find her brother, stop Lawson and get herself into a position to keep the last of her family safe. No one could ever find out that Elle and Able Ortiz’s children were alive.
Which was why JJ had decided long ago that she didn’t have the luxury of a life for just her.
Interesting or not.
* * *
Night fell and no one from the department or elsewhere made a peep. JJ and Winnie had put together an easy supper from what they had taken from their house and the three of them had enjoyed it while watching an HGTV show on Winnie’s phone.
Price forgot for a bit that them being there wasn’t exactly in their plans. It just felt nice and relaxing.
JJ fit in and that was nice.
It was also something that Winnie commented on after she had gotten ready for bed. Price sat on the ugly paisley duvet cover and watched as his daughter tried to find the right words.
“I know you told me that you aren’t going to lie to me, but you aren’t going to tell me the entire truth either.
I just want to say, I hope whatever is going on with JJ that you help her fix it.
I don’t know what did it, but something about her is different.
Like she isn’t trying as hard anymore in general.
And it’s not like a bad thing. I actually like this version of her more.
” Winnie made a frustrated noise. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d like to see more of this JJ, and I hope whatever had her so pinned up before gets straightened out.
And that you’re the one to help her do that. ”
Price’s eyebrow rose sky-high at that.
“Me? Why me?”
At this, Winnie shrugged.
“Because you two are a good team.”
It was a simple answer but one that sank heavy against Price. He told his daughter good-night and spent the next hour alone downstairs. It wasn’t until he heard footfalls from the main bedroom that he decided that feeling needed some clarification.
He needed some clarification.
He took the stairs one at a time, but there was a new anxiousness in him. It was still there as he went past his daughter’s closed door and still there when he lightly knocked on JJ’s. Even after JJ opened the door and came into view, that feeling was still moving around there in his chest.
“We need to talk,” he said.
There was no hope in the world for him, he’d realize later, after JJ nodded and then stepped aside.
“Come in.”