I didn’t much feel like running interference between Leanne and June anymore. “I can’t. I want to edit these so I can start posting them tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay, then.” Leanne shrugged, getting into her pickup truck. “I wish I still lived in town with y’all instead of out in the sticks. Another time?”
Leanne seemed genuinely sad, but Rowan had specifically asked me to protectJuniperfrom the people bugging her. And today, that appeared to be Leanne.
Back at the tiny house, I did some photo editing on my iPad while Gia straightened her hair on her bed.
“Pictures are good?” she asked.
“Yeah, they’re great. I didn’t expect much, especially with that weird vibe between Leanne and Juniper, but the ones of the two of them alone turned out awesome.”
“You noticed that, too?” Gia asked. “What’s the deal with those two?”
I shrugged. “No clue, but I have suspicions. I’m going to talk to June about it when I see her next.”
Gia tapped the window with her hair iron. “She’s right there. Looks like she’s picking herbs.”
I chuckled. It certainly was weird that the people I was thinking about the most lately were literally in my own backyard.
“I’ll go see if she wants to come in,” I said. “Hopefully she doesn’t mind the smell of burned hair.”
Juniper, as expected, didn’t mind singed hair at all and was thrilled to come in for a chat.
“I was just getting some peppermint for my tea in the morning,” June said as she took her shoes off in the little space. “Wow! It looks so awesome here. I haven’t been in since Leanne moved away. Granny Langston sure loved her knotty pine, didn’t she? Oh, LOL, you put up a picture of Chris Pine...this is fromA Wrinkle in Time, right? I always loved the book, but that movie was even better. I don’t know why it wasn’t more popular. I like how you decorated with clothes, too; is that a fashion-designer thing?”
I laughed. “No, it’s because there is literally nowhere else to hang our clothes.”
“Ha! It’s like you’re living in a closet! Reminds me of this book with a portal in a closet, notThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but a newer book...”
It was like June was a completely different person than earlier at the nursery. She sat on a chair and told us all about the portal fantasy book, and then about two more portal fantasy books, before telling us that she wasn’t really a fan of portal fantasy and much preferred urban fantasy lately. “I don’t think you invited me to talk about books, did you?”
I chuckled. “No, actually. We were just wondering: Was everything okay with you today?”
“Yeah, totally fine. Modeling was fun. Was I okay?” She winced. “I didn’t blink and ruin the pictures, did I?”
“No, no, you looked great. I totally want you to model my own stuff at some point. But...” I glanced at Gia.
“You seemed uncomfortable as sin,” Gia said. “Especially around Leanne.”
June froze a few seconds. Then her lip quivered. “You noticed that?”
“It was obvious. To us at least,” I said. “Look, if Leanne has ever done something that upset you...I mean, like Addison did...”
Gia’s eyes shot to me, but it wasn’t my place to tell her what Addison had done to June. I shook my head at Gia.
“No! Of course not!” June said. “Leanne isn’t like Addison!”
“But you don’t like her, right?” Gia asked.
June was uncomfortable. Honestly, this would all have been a lot easier if the girl were better at hiding her feelings, but she was the most unaffected person I’d ever met.
“Is it Leanne’s teasing?” Gia asked. “Is that what’s bothering you? Because even I think she goes too far sometimes.”
June shook her head vigorously. “No. Of course not. Leanne’s fine.” Her voice cracked a bit there.
“Is it because she calls you Junebug?” I asked. “You hate it when people call you Junebug.” Juniper’s expression was pained. I’d hit the nail on the head. “You should ask her to stop,” I said. “I mean, she’s a troublemaker for sure, but she seems respectful for the most part. If you’re not comfortable, I can ask for you, I—”
Juniper sighed and put her face in her hands.
