Chapter 24 Josie
JOSIE
“Hey!” Scarlet preened as she walked out of the bedroom in not much more than a nightie with a silk robe.
Grimacing, I buried my face in my tea and gave a half-hearted hello. God, this was going to kill me. How much more of this could I take?
“Cuddlebug,” Sawyer grinned, walking down the hall toward his finacée. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close as he pecked her with kisses. It was nauseating.
“Gag me,” I muttered under my breath.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite as quiet as I hoped for, and Sawyer pulled his attention from the long column of Scarlet’s neck to look at me. “What’s that?”
“Nothing,” I smiled brightly.
“Hey, Josie,” he waved me toward the living room. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.”
I slid off the stool, carrying my tea with me. I had a feeling this was going to be one of those conversations that required either an entire cup of tea or something to hang onto so I didn’t strangle him.
“What’s up?”
“Uh…” Shoving his hands in his back pockets, he smiled sheepishly at me. “Well, I was looking around town for a new place to stay. You’ve been so great about us living here, but it’s really not feasible.”
“Oh.”
The thought of him leaving was shocking, but I couldn’t deny that it was a good idea if he was going to stay with the cougar. There was no way for the three of us to live amicably together.
“So, I found a place for us, but it’s not really in my price range right now.”
“Sawyer, I would help you out if I could, but I don’t have any extra with the shop—”
“Oh, no! That’s not what I was getting at. Actually, I was thinking since we can’t move yet, maybe you’d be willing to switch rooms with us.”
Yep. I definitely needed something to hang onto. My eyes slowly drifted to the cougar behind the counter, who was batting her eyes at my brother. Underneath that fake love was a woman out for anything she could get.
“Um…Sawyer, I’ve always had that room.”
“I know, and I’ve never minded, but it is the bigger room, and…well, there are two of us.”
“Yes, but like you said, you’ll be looking for somewhere else to go—”
“Josie,” he lowered his voice, the desperation in his eyes clear. “I don’t want to beg. Please don’t make me. She needs this. We’re practically on top of each other in there.”
“I thought that’s the way you liked it.”
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t care, but you have that huge closet—”
“And she didn’t bring that much stuff with her. This shouldn’t be a problem,” I argued.
“Right, well…the rest of her stuff is arriving today,” he winced. “I know I should have told you sooner, but I forgot. I mean…we’ve just been so busy.”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “I know what you’ve been busy doing.”
That quirky grin was back as he rocked back on his heels. “She’s really something.”
“Eww. Please don’t talk about it.”
“What? I can’t help it. Your brother is in love. You’d better get used to it.”
I’d get used to it when he found a woman actually worthy of his love. Until then, I’d never be able to handle all this crap.
“Josie, please. If you don’t, we’re going to be storing boxes in the living room.”
I really didn’t want that. And my closet was only half full, even if I didn’t want to give it up. I loved my room, and there wasn’t a single ounce of me that wanted to move, but that puppy dog look was impossible to refuse.
Rolling my eyes at myself, I knew I would give in as soon as I walked in and saw all the crap piled around the house. “Fine. I’ll switch with you.”
Scooping me up around the waist, he wrapped me in a hug and spun me around. “Thank you so much, sis. I love you, you know that?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just do me a favor and try not to make the switch too chaotic.”
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Setting me down, he stepped back and grinned at me. “I’ll take care of everything. You won’t have to worry about a thing. I have the whole day off.”
Before he could leave, I snatched his arm and gave him my most serious look. “Hey, I want that carpet vacuumed before you move my stuff in. And the windows washed. I don’t want any of your man germs.”
“What germs? You know, I’m offended by that.”
“Don’t think you can fool me. Boys are gross, and you can bet I’m going to give it a white glove inspection before I sleep in that room.”
His boyish dimples popped out, melting me on the spot. God, I really hated how easily he wrapped me around his finger. “You got it, sis. You’ll be completely satisfied.”
I had a terrible feeling I wouldn’t be as happy as he thought, but I kept that to myself to avoid any further confrontation. Our latest was still doing a number on me, and for now, I just wanted us to get along.
Even if Cuddlebug made me want to gag.
“She said yes!” Sawyer shouted as he ran across the living room to Scarlet.
“Boo Bear, that’s so great!”
Scarlet practically jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as she sucked his face.
When things turned heated, I darted for my purse and got the hell out of there before they could start screwing on the kitchen table in front of me.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to eat in there without worrying how many disgusting bodily fluids were on the table right underneath our plates.
Rushing out the door, I was nearly bowled over by Milo as he ran up to me, jumping into my arms.
“Oh, hey there, buddy!” Barely able to hold the dog, I set him down and gave him lots of love and rubs before glancing at JR’s house. “Where’s JR this morning? Is he taking care of you?”
His truck wasn’t in the driveway, and the dish was empty, but the only way to get any food was to go back inside, and after what I just witnessed, there was no way I was entering the premises.
“You know what? I’ll get you some food and be back soon, okay?”
Giving him another rub, I turned for my car, but by the time I got there, Milo was right beside me.
“Do you want to come with me?”
He barked excitedly, his tail wagging playfully as he spun in a circle.
“Alright,” I laughed. “Let’s go.”
Milo jumped in my car and sat in the passenger seat, his muddy paws getting my seats filthy, but I couldn’t be upset. He was just so damn cute. Driving to the general store, I was only going to run in for a quick minute, but Milo followed me.
As soon as I shoved the door open, he bolted inside.
“Hey! You can’t bring that mutt in here!” John Callahan shouted.
“I know! I’m sorry, Mr. Callahan! He just ran in here. I’m just getting him some food and then we’ll be gone.”
I sprinted for the animal food and quickly picked out what I wanted, but the moment I reached for it, Milo whined, putting his paw on a different bag.
“You want that one?”
He let out a yip.
“You can’t possibly know that’s the one you want,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. But when I reached for it, he spun in a circle with his tongue hanging out and drool dripping all over the floor.
Just for kicks, I put the bag back and reached for a different brand. A low growl emanated from his throat the moment my hand touched it.
“Seriously, Milo? The one you want is twice as expensive!”
Again, he barked and spun in a circle.
“You know, if you want the good stuff, you’re going to have to start chipping in on the rent.”
Grabbing the bag, I hauled it over my shoulder, but before I could walk away, he found something else he wanted. It was a clear box with a green lid. Sighing, I walked over and looked at the box.
“Greenies. Dental dog treats.” Giving the dog a pointed look, I held it out to him. “Really?”
He barked again, wagging his tail.
“Fine, but that’s it. I’m not getting anything else.”
He scurried ahead of me, stopping only two more times along the aisle to pick out a dog bone and a frisbee to throw. By the time I got to the counter, Mr. Callahan was pissed.
“It’s not my fault. He kept picking things out!”
John’s eyes went to Milo. “He’s a dog. He doesn’t pick anything out.”
“Really? Watch this.”
Picking up the dog food, I hauled it over my shoulder. “Okay, Milo. I’m going back for the cheap food.”
He sat there, cocking his head at me like he didn’t understand what I was saying.
“This one’s too expensive. I’m not getting it.”
I pretended like I was going to walk away, but he just stared at me. Traitorous dog.
“I swear, when we were in the aisle, he was picking out what he wanted.”
Mr. Callahan shook his head as he started scanning the items. “Damn witch,” he muttered under his breath. “Probably put a hex on the dog.”
I looked down at Milo and sighed. “You’re giving me a bad reputation all over town.”