Page 25 of Jaxson

Tillie chuckled. “I know and I waved.” She held her hand up. “Didn’t you see the crazy person waving at you?”

He chuckled. “No, I didn’t.”

“It’s all right, you were focused on parking. Have you had a good morning?” she asked.

“It’s been busy. Carl’s been messing with my work once again, so it’s now going to cost more. I swear he does it on purpose just so I can go there and abuse him.”

Tillie laughed. “Abuse him?”

“He’s a pain in the ass, and if I don’t call him on it, he goes into a right grump.”

“That is just so adorable.” She pressed her hands together. “I don’t know why, but I really adore that.” And she laughed. “I think you’re right. I like Carl. He is moody, but he means well.”

“How was your morning?” he asked.

“Busy, actually. I did get quite a lot filmed this morning, however, it is so hot in my sewing room.”

“Do you have an AC in there?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Perhaps it’s time to install one, or something that will help with the heat?”

“You know, I’ve not changed that room since my dad completed it,” she said. “He was always worried it was going to be too cold. He never worried so much about the heating.”

“If you don’t want me to mess with it...”

“No, it’s fine. Of course it’s fine. Would you mind taking a look at it?”

“No problem.” He reached across the table and held her hand, rubbing across her knuckles as he saw the sadness in her eyes.

****

Several days later, Tillie was in the coffee shop, waiting for her order. She glanced down at her cell phone and saw a couple of texts had come through from Jaxson. Over the past couple of days, he had slept over every night. This morning, before he left, he made love to her, making her orgasm, scream his name, and not hold back. Whenever Jaxson touched her, he set her on fire with a need that surprised her.

“I heard he’s screwing Kate now. You know from Kate’s Fabric Shop,” one woman said.

“Please, Jaxson Riggs gets around every woman in town. Those that claim to have taken him are sadly mistaken. I wouldn’t be surprised. Jaxson gives it to everyone,” another said.

She didn’t like that Kate had been mentioned. Tillie knew what they were referring to, and it wasn’t the first time she heard the rumor about Jaxson and Kate.

Before she could say anything, her order was up, and she thanked the cashier and left the coffee shop. It was another hot day, and she lowered Belle to the floor so she could walk.

Most of the shop owners in Higher Ridge didn’t mind that she liked to take her dog everywhere with her. She loved Belle so much, and it helped keep her focused, especially when she lost her parents. That time between getting Belle and losing her parents had been a nightmare.

Tillie took a sip of her iced caramel coffee as she left the shop, and she glanced around, noticing several people staring at her. Rather than linger too long, she made her way across town, heading toward the sheriff’s station, but crossing over the road to Kate’s Fabric Shop. The doors were closed, but the sign in front indicated it was open.

The moment she stepped inside, the doorbell rang, and it was a few moments before Kate appeared. Her dress was a little disheveled as she stepped into the main shop. She ran fingers through her hair, and she smiled toward her.

“Tillie, hi,” she said.

“Hi, Kate, is everything all right?” Tillie asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been wrestling with a fabric order. In fact, would you like to come and see?” Kate asked, coming toward her and flicking the sign on the shop door to ‘Closed,’ and locking it. There were no other customers, and Kate reached down to pick up Belle.

Tillie followed the other woman toward the back of the shop, and sure enough, there was a huge pallet of wrapped fabric.

“This was supposed to be delivered last week.”