I sullenly filledthe next order, sighing heavily as JR’s words floated around in my head. I didn’t understand how he could be so callous and completely miss the mark on my feelings toward my mother’s cancer.
Did he really think I was hiding behind this shop?
I snorted to myself, shaking my head. The whole thing was ridiculous. I knew that taking herbal supplements and drinking herbal tea would not cure the world. I wasn’t naive.
“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.
