JR
There wasn’ta sign of anyone following us or even looking at us suspiciously, other than the obvious curious stares I got from nearly everyone in town. And there wouldn’t be. I knew that. I had taken care of Brian and disposed of his body so cleanly that no one would even know he was missing, if they cared at all that he was gone.
But Josie kept entering my thoughts, poking and prodding at the part of my brain that worried that just maybe I had gotten something wrong. And then they’d come after her.
“This is so weird,” Josie hissed. “Everyone’s staring at us!”
“That’s because they’re all nosey.”
The dog yipped and trotted ahead of me like he was leading us down the street. It made it a little hard to keep our presence low, but then again, if he was any good as an attack dog, I could train him to keep an eye on Josie.
“You’re walking like a creeper.”
I glanced over at her, curious as to what she meant. “And what exactly does a creeper walk like?”
“Exactly like you are. Skulking around town, walking in front of me, behind me, and basically on edge.”
I wasn’t surprised by the reaction. Alyssa got the same way with me, but I wouldn’t drop the protectiveness just to appear normal.
“So…Alyssa seems nice.”
“She is.”
“You’ve known her a long time.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a leading statement that she used, intending to draw out more information.
“So, you were in foster care.”
“Alyssa has a big mouth.”
“It wasn’t really a secret, was it?”
I slowed my pace, only because it was difficult to carry on a conversation with her when I was in front of her. That, and I wanted to make it perfectly clear that my life was off-limits to her.
“Look, I have no intention of discussing my childhood with you or sharing my feelings. What happened is in the past, and that’s where it’s going to stay.”
If she was surprised by my declaration, she did a great job of hiding it. “Okay.”
Stepping around me, she kept walking. And Milo followed, nipping at her heels to be her best friend. But that wasn’t why I was staring at her sexy ass in confusion.
Sure I had heard her wrong, I caught up and eyed her warily. “That’s it?”
“I am dying to know what JR stands for. You know, I’m running low on names that suit you.”
“I would say you haven’t come close on any of them.”
“Ah,” she grinned. “So, I need to really think outside the box. Or maybe I’m thinking too much outside the box. Johnny Rogers or Joe Robert. Although I think that one would be just a horrible name,” she laughed, then spun and clasped a hand over hermouth. “Unless that really is your name, in which I feel like an absolute heel for saying such a thing!”
“It’s not.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought I was on the verge of causing World War III.”
“Over a name?”
“Well, stranger things have happened. It could be like the Pig War of 1859!”
“Not sure I heard of that one,” I mused, entertained by her reference.
