“Stupid men,” I muttered as I packed the order into the box and closed the lid.

  The bell rang over the door and I pasted a smile on my face so my customers didn’t think I had suddenly become depressed by using my own advice.

  I shouldn’t have worried. Ellie May strolled through the door with a knowing look.

  “Don’t say it,” I snapped, carrying the box over to my other packaged orders.

  “Someone looks a little down in the dumps.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Me? Oh, I don’t want anything. I mean, I suppose I could take a few of those lavender eye pillows if you have any.”

  “You know I do.” Walking over to the cabinet, I pulled out a few and set them on the counter for her to choose from. “Why are you really here?”

  “Oh, a little birdie told me JR left town,” she mused, picking the pink eye pillow. “I was wondering what you knew about it.”

  “Same as you,” I said, keeping my tone even.

  The last thing I needed was for her to start questioning every emotion I had.

  “I heard he left with Archer.”

  That did surprise me, and dammit, she caught me. Holding back a smile, she pulled out her wallet.

  “So, you didn’t know that part. It seems strange, don’t you think?”

  “What part?”

  “That he knows Archer. Yet, no one in town truly knows Archer. Except the Parkers.”

  “They know everybody.”

  “No, I mean, they really know him.” Leaning in closer, she lowered her voice. “Look, not that it’s my business, because I know how badly rumors fly in this town⁠—”

  “Then why are you saying anything?”

  “Because I have a feeling you know very little about the man you’re sleeping with, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  I let out a comical, “Ha!” Fat chance of that not happening.

  “Look, when I was helping Liam out with his problem with Austin, he was having Archer look after Bailey.”

  “Well, that’s nice.”

  “No, I mean, he was there for protection.”

  Okay, that was confusing. “I mean, I guess he could have just trusted him to look after her.”

  “Right, but he called him home to help him out. Doesn’t it seem odd that a guy who only lived here for six months would be the guy Liam Parker called in a time of crisis? Why him?”

  I had no idea, and thinking about it only made me think of JR and how he just showed up one day. It was a little too coincidental, and I didn’t like musing about town gossip.

  “Honestly, I’m not sure why he showed up, and I don’t think I want to know. We had this huge fight before he left, and I doubt we’ll ever get back to the friendly relationship we had before.”

  “But aren’t you curious about the man you’re sleeping with? And what about Alyssa? It’s weird that she just showed up, too.”

  “I agree, but he’s not exactly telling me his deepest, darkest secrets. Frankly, I don’t want to know.”

  “Not even a little?” she asked in shock.

  “No. I just want to move past all this. I knew all along that I couldn’t be with a man who didn’t want to open up to me. It’s no surprise that he won’t share a thing with me, and that’s fine. But I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m not up for all the secrets.”

  “Wow.” She stepped back, shock plastered all over her face. “You really are walking away.”

  “Basically.”

  “But…what if he’s the guy?”

  “Trust me, he’s not the guy.”

  He so was the guy.

  I desperately wished he would open up to me and let me in, but I wasn’t about to turn into my brother, moping around about a man who would never love me. I couldn’t do that to myself, so I chose to walk away before it devastated me even further.

  “But you haven’t even given him a chance!” she argued when I grabbed the next order and started filling it.

  “I gave him enough chances, but honestly, I wasn’t hoping he would change. I could see damaged scrolled across his forehead from a mile away. He was never going to open up to me.”

  “But he still might!”

  “No, he won’t, Ellie,” I snapped. “Yes, he’s gorgeous and hot and amazing in bed. I like him very much, and I even think if he opened his mouth for an actual conversation that didn’t include snarling at someone, he might be a pretty decent guy. But he doesn’t want to open his mouth. He doesn’t want to converse with me or anyone else. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s content as a hermit, and the only reason he comes up for air is because he needs food and sex to survive.”

  Wow. That was a lot to get off my chest, but it felt fantastic.

  “Alright, I won’t bring it up again.”

  “Thank you,” I smiled. “Look, I get it. You’re the happily-ever-after type. I’ve seen the way you watch a guy with stars in your eyes. But I’m more realistic. I can’t and won’t wait around for Mr. Wrong to figure out that he could be Mr. Right.”

  Huffing, she snatched the eye pillow from the counter. “Fine, I’ll just pay for this and go on my way.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But I really think⁠—”

  I held up my hand to cut her off, but she just pushed through.

  “—you should give the man a chance to be who you need him to be! And maybe he’s not the perfect man, but he’s hot, and he’s obviously got it bad for you. Do you know how many women would kill to have a man look at her the way JR looks at you? You’re killing me, Smalls! You’re killing me!”

  My lips twitched in amusement not only at her rant, but also the classic movie line she tossed in for fun. “Are you done?”

  “For now.” Growling, she pulled out a twenty and tossed it down on the counter. “Keep the change, you filthy animal.”

  And with that, she strode out of the shop.

  I smiled despite the situation, but the energy it took to force myself to be happy just wasn’t worth it. I still had to take all my orders out, and I was waiting on Mrs. Abernathy to show. She usually came in early, and it was beginning to worry me that she hadn’t stopped in for her order yet.

  After waiting another half hour, I decided to pack up her order and take it to her. I locked up the shop and chose to drive over there instead of walking today. I wasn’t even completely sure why, but something told me to get over there as quickly as possible.

  The moment I walked up to the older craftsman-style home, I knew something was wrong. Pounding on the door, I called out to her.

  “Mrs. Abernathy! It’s Josie!”

  When she didn’t answer, I tried the doorknob, surprised when it opened so easily. Shoving inside, I practically rushed into the house, searching for the old woman. Veering off to the right, I looked all around the living room, hoping she was just sleeping in her chair.

  “Mrs. Abernathy! It’s Josie!”

  “Over here!”

  I spun around, rushing into the dining room, gasping when I saw her on the ground in a pool of urine. “Mrs. Abernathy! Are you okay?”

  “Do I look okay, you witch doctor?”

  Well, her temper was fine.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?”

  “Of course I’m hurt. I didn’t just lay on the ground all night for the fun of it. Help me off this floor right now.”

  “But—”

  “You’d think with your hoodoo power, you would have been here sooner.”

  I gripped her under the armpits and tried to lift her. “I’m not a witch,” I grumbled, doing my best to haul her up.

  But it was no use. I was only a small person, and she wasn’t able to lift herself at all. After struggling for a few minutes, and fending off her verbal attacks, I finally conceded that I was not able to do this on my own.

  “Mrs. Abernathy, I need to call the paramedics.”

  “You’ll do no such thing. I don’t need those hippies in my house, telling me I need to go to a nursing home.”

  “They’re not going to tell you that. They just need to help you off the floor and check to make sure you’re okay.”

  “They’ll help me into an early grave,” she hissed. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Helping you!”

  “Bah! You’re just like the rest of them. You just want my money!”

  Sighing, I didn’t know what else to do. “Mrs. Abernathy, I don’t want your money. Would it help if I wrote out a document for you with my signature, promising I’m not here to take your money?”

  She studied me for a moment like she was actually considering it. When she didn’t answer, I turned on my heel toward the door.

  “Alright, have fun trying to get up on your own!” I called over my shoulder.

  “Wait! Fine.”

  I popped my head back in and cupped my ear. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

  “I said fine!”

  Pursing my lips, I walked back into the room. “Fine, what? I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

  The old lady rolled her eyes at me. “Fine, you can call an ambulance.”

  “And?”

  “And what? I gave you the ambulance. Don’t push me.”

  “You’d better watch it, old lady, or I’ll put a spell on you.”

  I bit back a smile as she glared at me. The old woman could give even the most grouchy teenager a run for his money.

  After calling 9-1-1, I waited patiently with Mrs. Abernathy. I did everything possible to make her comfortable for the five minutes we waited together, including putting a pillow under her head, wiping up the urine around her, and even spraying air freshener, though she grumbled she really didn’t need it.

  But when the hot paramedics walked through the door, I knew she was grateful I had cleaned up.

  “Hurry!” she hissed. “Help me up.”

  “That’s what the paramedics are here for,” I whispered.

  The old woman narrowed her eyes at me. “You just want them for yourself. CPR Charlie is mine. Keep your paws to yourself!”

  Gaping, I nearly snorted out a laugh as Charlie walked over, his face as bright as a tomato as he checked over Mrs. Abernathy.

  “How are you feeling, Mrs. Abernathy?”

  “Please, call me Agatha.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth and walked away, ducking into a corner where I could laugh in peace. Robert, the other paramedic, walked over to join me.

  “Something funny?”

  Biting back my laugh, I shook my head. “Not at all.”

  “She’s got names for us all.”

  “What’s yours?”

  He cocked a smile at me. “Bandage Bob.”

  If she had names for the paramedics, I couldn’t wait to hear what names she had for the doctors at the hospital.

  After a good fifteen minutes of fussing over Mrs. Abernathy, they loaded her up on the stretcher to take her to the hospital. I grabbed a bag for her with some of her things and locked the door behind me.

  “Here’s her bag,” I said, handing it over to Bandage Bob. “Don’t let her take advantage of you.”

  He flushed bright red and slammed the back door.

  Pulling my keys out of my purse, I headed back to the car when I felt like someone was watching me. I glanced behind me, and that’s when I saw it. Those heated eyes watching me.

  Despite my anger, I raised my hand in a wave, but he disappeared just seconds later. It was as if I didn’t even exist.

  39

  JR

  I wiped the bar top down for the third time as I stared across the room at Josie, who was sitting with her brother and a group of friends. Laughing and drinking, she was having a great time.

  And me…

  I was in hell.

  Anger at the way we’d left things still hummed under my skin, but there was something deeper than that rooting its way into every fiber of my body.

  Regret.

  “She’s not gonna come over here just because you’re glaring at her,” Archer said, tipping his mug toward me.

  I ignored him and continued with my job.

  “How many times are you gonna clean that exact spot?”

  I stopped and looked down at the pristine bar.

  “Pretty sure even the health inspector would say you’re cleaning too much.”

  “Shut up.”

  Sighing, he set his mug down. “Are we gonna talk about what happened?”

  “Nope.”

  “Because I have a feeling we haven’t seen the end of that job.”

  “Please! That man raped and murdered my wife!”

  I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to drown out the pleas of the man I was supposed to kill.

  Supposed to.

  Never actually did it.

  Why? Because Archer called it. My head wasn’t right. One slice was all it took to make me want to vomit. I held it together, but the moment the man started babbling, all I could think about was how Josie would see me.

  Blood on my hands, taking the life of a man who had done nothing more than defend his family. And for what? Because the man in charge wasn’t too happy about the fact that his rapist brother had been killed.

  “What do you want me to say?” I snapped, not wanting to discuss this.

  “Hey, you know I had your back in there,” he hissed under his breath. “Not that I particularly like having a target on my back, but you said you had things under control!”

  “I know!” When a few heads turned my way, I lowered my voice. “I know what I said.”

  “So, what the fuck happened?”

  I didn’t really have to tell him. He already knew. The inevitable happened, and there was no getting away from it now.

  I’d let my personal feelings get in the way of the job. And that would kill any man in my position.

  “Look, I took care of it. I called off the hit and let him know it was my decision.”

  “And you think that’s the end of it?” he huffed.

  “It’s gonna have to be.”

  “Think again, JR. This was personal to him, and you blew him off.”

  “Because it wasn’t⁠—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” he snapped, keeping his voice low. “Good or bad, he called in a favor because of what happened on the last job. And you don’t walk away from favors. They’re not actually something you can turn down.”

  I knew that. Fuck, I knew that. But when I was in that room, I couldn’t do it. If I had, how the hell would I ever look at Josie again?

  My eyes drifted to her again, and this time, I knew Archer wasn’t going to let it go.

  “Make it count, man. You made the decision not to pull the trigger. Don’t make me regret backing you. I swear to God, if this comes back to bite us and you haven’t made things right with her, I’ll kill you myself.”

  He tossed some money down on the bar and walked out. Just when I got rid of one nuisance, three more appeared at the bar. All three of them pissed, and all three of them were glaring at me.

  “What?”

  Of course, it was Michael who chose to speak up. He hated me the most. “I see you didn’t take my advice.”

  “Wasn’t aware I needed to. Besides, if I left, who would run the bar for your sister?”

  “We’d make it work.”

  “Right,” I laughed, “because the three of you have nothing better to do with your time. Don’t you have someone to arrest?” I asked Michael.

  “I’m looking at him.”

  “Well, then, go ahead. I’ve got nothing better to do than tend bar.” I smirked at him when he made no move to cuff me. “What the hell did I do to piss you off so much?”

  “I don’t trust you, and when I see you hanging out with Archer, I know you’re bad news.”

  I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. “Well, it’s always good to have a guy like Archer when you need assistance,” I said pointedly toward Liam. “He’s not a bad guy to have around when the shit hits the fan.”

  “And you want us to believe you’re like him?”

  “I didn’t say that,” I shrugged.

  “Where did you go?” Liam asked. “You left Lizzy in the lurch for two days.”

  “Had business to take care of.”

  “Your business is here now,” Liam snapped.

  “I’m not your sister’s keeper. I cleared it with her before I left town. Not sure why you’re here with your thumbs up your ass.”

  Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to say to the three men who already looked entirely too pissed off for their own good. But I had never been known for being smart about anything.

  “If Lizzy doesn’t want me here, she’ll get rid of me. But until that time, I’m working, and you’re in my way.”

  I turned my back on them and got to work restocking the bar for tomorrow’s crowd. I only had an hour until closing, and I was counting down the minutes. When I turned back around, only one brother was left at the bar.

  Jeff. The brother who had yet to say a damn thing to me. He was chomping on peanuts and grinning like an idiot, the complete opposite of when his brothers were here.

  “What do you want?”

  “Nothing. Just hanging out.”

  “Are you supposed to stay behind and charm me?”

  Chortling, he tossed a few more peanuts in his mouth. “Can I get a beer?”

  Rolling my eyes, I poured him a beer and slid it across to him. “Anything else?”

  “Yeah.” He shifted in his seat. “So, what’s it like being a total badass?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Well, rumor has it that you’re some kind of ninja assassin or dark lord. Personally, I think Ninja Assassin is pretty cool, but a dark lord?” He blew out a breath. “Dark lord would be fucking incredible.”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Not even close,” he grinned. “So, which is it?”

  “I’m not a ninja.”

  “Ah, so dark lord it is! That’ll really attract the ladies. I mean, if they want their souls sucked dry. I’m assuming that goes with the territory.”

  He stared at me inquisitively, but I said nothing.

  “That’s cool. You don’t have to give up all your secrets in one sitting.” He leaned forward, glancing around quickly. “Although, if you have any tips for catching the eye of a lady who might be interested in the finer aspects of a man such as yourself, feel free to pass those along.”