Chapter 19 JR
JR
“Liam!” I shouted, yanking off my gloves. “I’m heading out for the day.”
He raised his hand, motioning me over. “Christ,” I muttered, knowing I was in for some other lecture. Most likely about Lizzy.
Glancing at my watch, I headed toward the surly bastard, whose temper matched my own. “Yeah?”
“So…you work with Lizzy.”
I waited for more, but that was all he gave me.
“How’s she doing?”
“As usual.”
“But you’re not letting her lift heavy things or do anything that might…somehow hurt the baby, right?”
“I’m not her keeper,” I snapped. “She knows her limits. If you want a guard dog, hire one.”
His head tilted just a little. “I heard that might have been something you did at one time.”
I glanced away, shaking my head at him. “She doesn’t need anyone to watch out for her.”
“She’s all alone,” he argued.
“Imagine that. A woman, pregnant and all alone. That’s a first,” I retorted, walking away from him. I didn’t have time for this shit.
“You know what I mean,” he said, chasing after me. “She’s got no one looking out for her.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? The whole town is looking out for her!”
“It’s not the same. Look,” he sighed, his anger leeching into something much more devastated.
“We’ve had some trouble with one of the other families lately.
I think it’s handled, but with Lizzy being pregnant…
” He glanced away, shaking his head. “I need to know someone’s watching out for her. Even if it’s only at the bar.”
I fucking hated being asked to work for free, but there was no way I’d charge him to look after Lizzy. Hell, I’d been doing it since the first day I arrived.
“She’s fine. And as long as I’m at the bar, she’ll remain fine. Got it?”
“Thanks.”
Fuck, I really hated it that I was starting to like this family.
Lizzy was already one of the nicest people I’d met, but now the rest of them were growing on me with their kindness and protective spirit.
It made me long for that same camaraderie I once had when I was working with Archer. But those days were long gone.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure what he was doing anymore. He kept to himself, and for all I knew, he was working some job around here.
“Listen, I gotta get to the bar. If anything happens, I’ll let you know, but it’s been quiet.”
“And you don’t know anything about this guy?” he asked before I could walk away.
I shook my head. “Who she sleeps with is none of my business, and even if I did know, I wouldn’t say a damn thing.”
I walked away from the job site and got in my truck, sighing when I saw the damn dog waiting in the passenger side for me.
“What the fuck do you want?”
He yipped at me, his tongue wagging playfully.
“I didn’t bring you food, and I sure as shit don’t have any treats for you.”
He barked twice, then turned and sat forward like he was ready to go. The little bastard was getting his way. If I kicked him out, he’d just follow me home like Lassie.
I shifted into drive and pulled out of the ranch. Before I headed to work, I had to stop by the bank and deposit my check. I couldn’t remember the last time I actually had a checking account. I usually dealt in cash, but now, I was acting like a normal person, with income to report and everything.
I waited in line behind two other cars, but going inside wasn’t an option. The last time I did that, the women all gaped at me, needling me for information on where I was from, who my family was, and if I was single.
That last question got asked way too much.
At least in the drive-thru, only one woman could harass me. And just my luck, it was the oldest broad at the bank who was happily married, if the gossip around town was true.
“Mr. Hunt!” she greeted me cheerily.
“Afternoon, Ruth. Just a deposit today.”
She beamed at me, leaning in close to the microphone. “I see you have a friend with you today.”
“He’s not a friend. More of a stowaway.”
“Just let me get this deposited and I’ll grab a little treat for him.”
As if the dog knew she was talking about him, he barked excitedly.
“That’s really not necessary. He’s not my—”
But she had already walked away.
“See what you’ve done?” I asked the dog accusingly. “I need to get to work, and you’re delaying me.”
He barked again. The little mutt was causing all kinds of trouble.
“You shouldn’t even be in my truck. I have a no dogs policy, and you’re ruining that.”
“JR, would you like any cash back?”
“No, thanks, Ruth.”
She smiled at me again. “You know, I have a granddaughter in town. Her name is Ada, and she’s the sweetest thing. Has her own daughter as well, Rose. She’s so smart and such a sweet little girl. Oh, what am I talking about? She’s nearly a teenager now. Her father, well, we won’t discuss him—”
“Mrs. Preston, I really have to go.”
“Right, just let me find those dog treats. I know I have them somewhere.”
“Really, it’s not—”
She pushed her glasses on her face and beamed. “There they are.” Sticking one in the automated tray, she pressed the button. “What’s his name?”
Sighing, I gave her the only name Josie ever called him. “Milo.”
“Milo! What a sweet dog. I’ll see you next time, Milo, with plenty more treats.”
I took the damn dog biscuit and tossed it at him, grumbling the whole way to the bar. I couldn’t believe anyone would feel the need to give a dog biscuits. It was absolutely ridiculous.
When I got out, I motioned for the dog to follow and pointed to the ground. “Stay.”
Lizzy was already rushing around by the time I walked inside. And she was doing shit she didn’t need to be doing. If Liam caught her, she’d be getting a lecture from him.
“Here, let me take those,” I said, snatching the crate of glasses.
“Thanks. I just have so much to get done.”
“Well, I would have been in earlier, but I got hung up at the bank.”
“Mrs. Preston?” she asked with a knowing smile.
“Somehow, every person in town feels the need to tell me about anyone who’s single or might be single in the future.”
“And that will happen until you start dating someone. Then they’ll switch to telling you how it won’t be long before the woman you’re dating only has so long before bearing children is no longer an option.”
“Doesn’t anyone have anything more important to do?” I asked as my phone rang.
It was a local number, but not one I recognized. I showed it to Lizzy.
“Uh…that’s the police department.”
“For me?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
She shrugged and headed into the back.
“Hello?”
“JR, this is Sheriff Maverick Wynne. Is there a chance you could come down to the police station and pick up an unruly neighbor of yours?”
I racked my brain for any sign of who that might be, but there was no one. “Sheriff, I don’t have any unruly neighbors.”
“No, not usually,” he agreed. “But it just so happens you do today.”
“Josie?” I asked, certain he had that wrong. “No way.”
“I know. I never thought I would see her in here either, but there you go.”
“Was she arrested?”
“She’s…detained.”
“So, call her brother,” I said just as Lizzy walked back out, stopping at the bar.
“Her brother is here also with another lady.”
I rolled my eyes at that. “So, release them both into his custody.
A low chuckle rumbled through the phone. “Yeah, I’m afraid I can’t do that. The two of them are rather feisty at the moment, and I’m not sure Sawyer can handle the both of them. Then again, I could just leave Josie in a cell for a while… Let her cool off.”
“No,” I sighed. “That’s fine. I’ll come pick her up.”
“Much appreciated. Oh, and Mrs. Preston wanted me to give you her daughter Ada’s number while you’re here.”
“Perfect,” I mumbled, hanging up the phone.
“Trouble in paradise?” Lizzy grinned.
“Give me half an hour. Apparently, I have to go pick up Josie from jail.”
“Josie?” she gasped. “Sweet, herb-loving Josie?”
“The very one.”
I walked out without another word. It was bad enough that I had to be responsible for someone in this town.
It was even worse that others knew it. My first time pulling up to the station was not at all how I expected.
First of all, I wasn’t the one in cuffs.
Second, I was walking through the front door.
Yanking the door open, I was nearly bowled over when Milo ran past me, barking at the woman behind the counter.
“You can’t have a dog in here!” the woman said, then bent over and started petting Milo. “Oh, well, he’s just so sweet. Maybe just this once, though I don’t think Stitch is gonna be too happy about you being in his territory.”
“I was called by Sheriff Wynne about collecting Josie.”
“Josie?”
“The woman in the fight.”
“I meant, what is her last name, dear?”
“Hell if I know. She’s my neighbor. And why would you not know? This is the smallest town in Montana. Are you telling me you don’t know a woman named Josie?”
“Not the smallest town,” Sheriff Wynne said, walking out of the back. “She’s just trying to pry information out of you,” he grinned at the older woman. “Bea is my hound dog. She finds out everything around town.”
“Been doing it for forty years. Why stop now? You are bringing donuts tomorrow, right?”
“Have I ever let you down?”
“Well—”
“I meant this year, Bea,” he hurried on. “She’s been bringing up the donut incident of ’22 ever since I forgot her donuts, all because I missed my alarm. I’ll never live it down.”
“I wasn’t aware you could have a donut incident.”
“Trust me,” he said, motioning for me to follow. “In a town this small, everything is an incident.”
“So, what exactly happened?”
“Well, it would seem that Scarlet, the fiancée of your neighbor’s boyfriend, traded in Josie’s car today, making a deal with Frank down at the dealership.”
“She traded in Delilah?”
Maverick turned and grinned at me. “She got to you.”
“What?”