Chapter 22 Josie
JOSIE
Tiptoeing around the house had become a new habit of mine over the past few days. It worked great when Scarlet was home alone with me, but if Sawyer was home, he immediately joined me wherever I was, staring me down until I eventually ran away.
Today, he wasn’t making it easy on me. It all started when I was making my tea, minding my own business. I admit, I was distracted by thoughts of JR’s naked back, and that inevitably led to my downfall.
“How long are you gonna stare at those tea leaves?”
I jumped at the sound of his voice, splashing hot tea all over my hand. “Shoot!”
I quickly ran the cold water, shoving my hand under it for instant relief. However, the man—whom I still called my brother—was standing there with a smirk on his face.
“If you keep doing that, people are gonna think you’re a witch.”
Whatever he meant, it went right over my head. I was too flustered with him in my presence.
“Because you look like you’re reading tea leaves,” he added.
“Oh, right.”
I shuffled to the right, but he followed, not letting me pass. So, I moved to the left, but he did the same. Then I feigned right and moved left, but he anticipated my moves and blocked me every step of the way.
“I played football, sis. You’re not getting past me.”
“What do you want?” I asked, huffing out as much irritation into my voice as possible.
“To talk.”
“That’s funny. In the jail, all you did was accuse me.”
“Josie—”
“She sold my car, Sawyer. She didn’t even ask!”
“And I’ve talked to her. She knows it was wrong.”
“She’s twice as old as us. She shouldn’t have to be told it was wrong like a toddler,” I retorted.
“You’re my baby sister,” he grinned. “She just wants you safe.”
I burst out in a bark of laughter. “You know, that would almost be funny if I didn’t already know that pigs can’t fly.”
“Josie,” he sighed, taking my hand.
I really didn’t want to talk to him. All I wanted was to leave, but we were going to have to hash this out at some point.
“Sit. Talk with me.”
“Fine.”
It took everything in me to take a seat without throwing a tantrum, but I wasn’t about to be accused of being just as childish as the woman he was seeing.
“I really love this woman, Josie. Now, I know this is hard on you. For whatever reason, you don’t like her, and you haven’t since she walked into the house.”
“Because she’s twice our age.”
“And that really matters?” he questioned. “If you met a man twice your age, you would call him distinguished and knowledgeable.”
“That’s debatable.”
“You know it’s true. You haven’t even taken the time to get to know her.”
Because I didn’t want to. The idea of seeing this woman every day was nauseating. And I didn’t like what she was doing to my brother. Which, so far, was just making him happy. Very happy.
“Okay, I’ll get to know her.”
“Thank you,” he smiled sincerely.
“But I can’t guarantee I’ll like her.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. All I ask is that you try.”
It really grated on me to even consider talking to the woman. Just the sight of her set my teeth on edge, but for my brother, I could do this. Besides, it was good to see him happy again.
“Thanks, sis.”
“Anything for you. Hey, at least you’re not moping around the house anymore.”
He slugged me in the arm and jumped to his feet. “Alright, I have to get to work for my shift. And you…” he said expectantly.
“I will invite her out to lunch.”
“Perfect.”
I smiled brightly for him, but the dread I felt swirling in my stomach only made things worse. I really didn’t want to disappoint my brother, but I also didn’t see how I would possibly find anything likable about Scarlet.
I dragged my feet getting ready as much as humanly possible, even going so far as to pack a lunch just in case she turned me down. But finally, just as I was about to leave her a note, she opened her door and walked out looking like something out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog.
“Oh, you’re here,” she said, her lips pursing in judgment.
“Yes, well, it is my house, too.”
She muttered something under her breath, but I couldn’t hear it.
“Listen, I was thinking we could get together for lunch.”
“Really,” she scoffed, leaning against the counter as she narrowed her eyes at me. “You were thinking that?”
“Well, Sawyer wants me to get to know you, and I love my brother, so yes, I was thinking that.”
“Fine,” she said after a minute.
“Great. I’ll pick you up at noon.”
“I can’t do noon. I’m getting my hair done.”
“Then one o’clock,” I said, biting back a vicious retort.
“I suppose I could do that. But you’ll have to pick me up at the salon. I won’t have time to get home. Of course, if I had my own car, I wouldn’t have to rely on you to take me where I need to go,” she said pointedly.
“Then perhaps you could spend the morning looking for a job.”
And with that, I grabbed my purse and walked out. Our lunch was already headed in a terrible direction, and it was bound to get worse before it was over. But at least I could say I tried.
I spent the whole morning thinking of all the nice things I could say to her.
I love your hair. Is that your natural color?
Wow, your breasts are so firm and bouncy. Did husband number one or five buy them for you?
Or my personal favorite…
Are your eyes naturally green, or did they change that shade with every dollar you scammed out of your lovers?
I was being a total bitch, and I hated that. I was never mean to anyone. In fact, I went out of my way to put people in a good mood. I was going to have to try harder if I wanted to keep my brother in my life, and that meant sucking it up and putting my petty comments away for the rest of the day.
By the time the clock struck 12:45, I grabbed my things and locked up, turning the sign on the shop to Closed. I was early, but I was dreading this lunch so much that if I waited any longer, I might not go.
I waited outside Hair She Goes for a good ten minutes when I finally gave up and went in search of her. She was in the corner of the salon, hanging out and drinking coffee with Katie, one of the younger stylists.
“Scarlet,” I interrupted, trying to keep my tone even. “Lunch?”
“Oh, right!” she laughed, finishing off her cup. “I’ll be right there. I just have to pay.” She bent down to pick up her purse and clucked her tongue thoughtfully. “Oh, shoot. I forgot to ask Sawyer for money. You wouldn’t mind, would you?”
I did mind. In fact, I minded very much. I was saving up every penny I had for a new vehicle, and I didn’t waste my money on things I couldn’t afford. I had been cutting my own hair for the past two years!
“Sure,” I answered sweetly.
Do not punch her. Do not trip her. Do not yell at her.
It seemed maybe a bad sign that I started with the worst first and progressively got less aggressive with my intentions.
But I pulled out my card, ignoring the burning anger, and swiped it through the card reader.
I even managed to avoid choking to death when Katie told me the total was two hundred fifty-seven dollars.
“For a haircut?”
She blushed furiously, ducking her head. “Um…she got a few other services.”
“Like what? Did she have you personally hand-trim every hair on her body?”
Katie leaned across the counter, keeping her voice low. “She dyed her hair. White roots,” she cringed. “She was doing a pretty good job of hiding it with some touch-up.”
Perfect. So now I was paying not only for lunch, but also for her very expensive hair job. Why couldn’t she just age gracefully like everyone else?
“If you want, I can call Sawyer and see if he can cover it,” she offered.
“No, it’s done. I’ll talk to him later, but thank you.”
“Next time, I’ll call you first.”
Normally, I didn’t appreciate town interference, but on this occasion, I would take it. Maybe it would save me an extra couple of hundred dollars.
“Ready?” I asked as we headed for the door.
“Yes, I’m starving! Sawyer keeps telling me he’ll run to the store, but he hasn’t yet. There’s literally nothing to eat.”
“I just went shopping a few days ago.”
“Right, but that would mean I would have to make something. I’m not a very good cook.”
Of course she wasn’t. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing we’re going to the diner.”
She placed a hand on my arm, trying to hide the disgusted look marring her face. “The diner?”
“Yes.”
“But…isn’t there anyplace nicer to eat?”
“Well, since I just spent two hundred fifty-seven dollars on your hair, I’m afraid that’s all I can afford right now.”
I smiled brightly at her and got in my car. She would eat diner food or she could starve. I didn’t really care either way.
“And the tomatoes were so small,” she continued complaining as soon as we got in the car after eating. “I didn’t realize that when I ordered a salad, I would only get three tomatoes.”
“Well, they know now that you weren’t satisfied.”
“And that dressing was lumpy.”
I sighed, not knowing what to say to her.
Maybe I could drop her off at the mountain rescue and leave her for Sawyer to take care of the rest of the day.
Would that be so awful? Or better yet, I could take her to the humane society.
They could stick her in the back, cleaning up after the animals.
She’d smell like shit when she came home, but at least she would be someone else’s problem.
“Oh my God! Could this woman walk any slower?” She rolled down the window and leaned out. “Hey, lady! Get a—”
I grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the car, hitting the button to roll up the window before she could berate Mrs. Abernathy.
“You don’t have to yell at her. She’s an old woman.”
“Maybe she shouldn’t be walking around at all. I mean, she could get injured like that.”
I was pleasantly surprised to hear her say something so thoughtful, even if the delivery beforehand was rude.
“I don’t think she has anyone to help her out.”
“They really shouldn’t let old people out,” she sighed.