"I want pizza!" Henry screeched.
I left them to their complaining. My suit suddenly felt constricting, and I needed a drink. I looked out of the large windows of the clubroom over to the spot where Josie's tiny house used to be.
"This sucks," I said to the glass.
The door opened, and one of my brothers walked in. "I'll start dinner in a little bit," I said, not turning around.
"I don't see how," Hunter said, taking my glass away from me. "The chicken's all frozen."
"I need that," I said, halfheartedly fighting him for the glass.
"You need to go find Josie," he countered.
"She almost got Henry kidnapped!" I shouted.
"You're the one who said Anke was to blame. Josie's also a victim. She lost eighty thousand dollars to Anke," Hunter said.
"She showed bad judgment," I snarled.
Hunter sighed and took a sip from the glass. "I know she did, but trust me, from someone who's been in her position, she is very, very sorry."
"I can't—"
"Let me be perfectly blunt with you," Hunter said sharply.
"Aren't you always?" I joked.
"No. Quite often I temper my thoughts because I know your weak little minds can't handle it."
I glared at him.
Hunter ignored me. "Let's look at the facts. You have a weirdly large family, personality quirks that would send most sane women running, and enough money to attract all the crazy ones. You don't date. You don't play the field, yet someone basically perfect just fell in your lap. You think you're going to find someone else just like her but who doesn't have a checkered past? You won't. Never mind the fact that you grew up in a polygamist cult in the middle of the desert."
I scowled.
"Josie is the best you're ever going to do," Hunter said. "In these types of situations, pride is not your friend. If you don't go after her, you will regret it every day of your life. Trust me. And when you find her, get on your knees and beg her to come back."
63
Josie
When I returned to the Svenssons' estate house, my tiny house was already parked out front and hitched up to my truck. Sobbing, I moved my bag and box to the front seat of the old truck.
"I'm so stupid," I whispered to myself. How could I let this happen?
I didn't know where I was going to go. In a daze, I trundled down the driveway. Thunder boomed. It was going to rain soon. I looked up at the hole in the roof of the truck.
"Mace put that hole there," I sobbed.
My phone rang, and I put it on speaker phone. I hoped I didn't get a ticket. "I can't talk long," I said, my voice shaking with emotion.
"Aww, Josie." Marnie's voice came out of the phone.
"Josie, what happened?" Willow asked.
"I screwed up!" I said, choking out another round of sobs. "He fired me and kicked me out."
Marnie said sympathetically, "It seems like an overreaction. The Svenssons were furious. Just give them a bit to calm down. You didn't do anything wrong. You even went to the FBI."
