“I make a point of knowing what’s going on in my town.”
“And I assume you want something to keep quiet.”
Quirking an eyebrow at me, I knew there would be a tit for tat. “That depends.”
“On?”
“I might have a problem, and you might be the guy to fix it.”
Fucking perfect. He’d been talking to Archer. “What do you need?”
“Nothing,” he grinned. “I said I might have a problem, not that I did. But now that I know you’ll help out in the future should a problem arise, I think we could have a beautiful friendship.”
“Is that what you’d call this?”
Frowning, he rocked back on his heels. “I’d call it a mutually beneficial relationship, one in which we help each other out when the occasion arises.” Maverick grinned from ear to ear. “I have a feeling this is going to be the beginning of a very beautiful friendship.”
“I have a feeling you’re gonna be a pain in my ass.”
“Well, either way, it should be fun.” He glanced in the store window, nodding at Josie. “Guess this means you can stop following her around. If you want,” he shrugged.
“Then what would the town gossip about?”
“I’m sure they’d find something,” he grinned, tipping his hat at me as he walked away. “Oh, and JR, you might want to find your sister someplace else to stay.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’ll fall between two stools.”
What the hell did that mean? I shook my head just as Josie came out of The Daily Grind, a beautiful smile on her face. The dog raced out beside her, chewing on God knows what.
“Well, I think I came out ahead on that one.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they want a weekly order from me. Apparently, my teas are selling like hot cakes. They’re all the rage right now.”
I didn’t understand how, but I wasn’t going to question it either.
“So, where to next?”
“Um…just Mrs. Bennett’s house.” A small wince pursed her lips as she turned away.
“Okay, and Mrs. Bennett is…”
“Brody’s mother. You know, the man you threatened to kick off the property because he was holding cookies?”
“I can handle Brody,” I muttered.
“Yes, but?—”
“But what?”
“Well, Mrs. Bennett is very set on Brody and me ending up together. I have the feeling that you being there will only make the situation difficult.”
There wasn’t a single part of me that wanted to see Mrs. Bennett, eat her cookies, or have another run-in with Brody. But I also wasn’t exactly ready to leave Josie’s side. Strangely enough, I was enjoying my time with her, even if she did ask a lot of questions.
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I found myself answering.
