“And I want to know what the fuck happened.”
“Well, then I guess you should talk to your sister. She’s a big girl.”
I shoved around him, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me where I was. “Back off,” I hissed.
“I know you didn’t do anything.” His face softened slightly, just enough that I could tell he was actually fucking worried about his sister. “I’m not trying to blame you for whatever happened, but?—”
Cursing under his breath, he released me, shaking his head. “If something happened, I need to know about it. Lizzy is the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet.”
Well, I could think of another woman who was just as damn sweet, but I wasn’t about to mention Josie right now.
“If something happened…”
“Then you’d need to talk to her. I just run the bar,” I answered.
“But you know.” His eyes narrowed on me. The man was more perceptive than he let on.
“Look, whatever happened, if you want to know, talk to your sister.”
Yet, he still didn’t fucking move.
“Is she okay?” he asked after a long minute. “I mean…should I be worried?”
Hell, I really didn’t want to be involved in this. I didn’t do small-town drama or worry about other people’s problems. But I could tell this was eating him up inside.
“She’s doing fine. If she wants you to know, she’ll tell you.”
He gave a slight nod and finally backed off. “Thank you. For…looking out for her.”
I shook my head. “I just run the bar.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, but his tone suggested he didn’t believe me at all.
“Really, I don’t have any part in this.”
“You look out for her.”
I denied it immediately. “You’ve got that wrong. The only thing I do is?—”
“Run the bar,” he said at the same time as me. “Then what the hell are you doing here?”
“Taking a job.”
“No, I mean, what are you doing in this town? If you aren’t here for her or your neighbor or anything else, then whatareyou doing here?”
I wanted to deny it, but I had stuck around because of Lizzy. I’d taken over the bar that night because she was in no position to do anything. And I’d stuck around as her bartender because she shot me that hopeful look that I couldn’t say no to.
But my neighbor?
“Who said anything about my neighbor?”
He smirked at me before walking away. “News travels fast in a small town!”
16
JOSIE
Walking out to my car,I glanced over at JR’s driveway, but it was empty for the fifth morning in a row.
