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“You don’t know me.”
I draw in a deep breath, trying to settle my hormones down. “I know that Estella and Nancy love you, and they respect you. Plus, there’s a lock on my door, and I know how to defend myself.”
One eyebrow quirks, and I bite back a sigh. God, what is wrong with me? I’m getting hot under my collar for some fussy geek.
“Is that a fact?”
“It is,” Estella comments. “She had her brother teach the LOLs self-defense last month.”
Another head-whipping action. How does he not bruise his brain? Just witnessing it makes me dizzy.
“You’ve had self-defense classes?”
Estella nods. “He had some good advice, just in case. I gather that he taught all his sisters. He said Avery was particularly vicious.”
He wasn’t lying, but I’ve never had to use it.
“So, see, I can handle you.”
He looks at me with horror.
“What? Listen, you can stay here with your grandmother, but I’m going to stay at the house. Your choice.”
And with that pronouncement, I dig into my dinner, hoping that I haven’t made the biggest mistake of my life.
ChapterEight
Jon
The following day finds me at the grocery store. I grab a buggy and head off to the produce section. For such a small town, Juniper has a decent grocery store. Granted, it’s the only one, but it seems to keep up with the times even without competition. Being a massive tourist destination might have something to do with it.
I stifle a yawn as I pick out some fruits and veggies. My grandmother warned me that Avery doesn’t have much in the way of food at the house. What I don’t get is how much she seems to know about this woman she met less than two months ago? It’s odd. That’s the only word I can come up with to describe their relationship.
“Jon Howard. How are you doing?”
I glance over my shoulder to find Mrs. Petersen smiling at me. A shiver of dread shoots up my spine as I try to keep my composure. She’s practically the head of the LOLs and doesn’t mind being a busybody. It’s like she wears it as a badge of honor.
“Mrs. Petersen. How are you doing?”
I try my best not to use what my mother calls my ‘leave me alone’ tone. From the look on Mrs. Petersen’s face, I think I might have failed. And if you think she’s angry, you would be wrong. Nope, she looks like Sylvester, who finally caught his Tweety Bird.
“I’m doing fine. The real question is, how are you doing? I heard there was a commotion over at your grandmother’s rental.”
I grind my teeth together before unlocking my jaw to answer. “I’m fine. Just a misunderstanding about my house. Everything is cleared up.”
“Oh?” she asks, genuinely surprised.
“Yes. My grandmother had us over to dinner and cleared everything up.”
I know I’m repeating myself. And, yes, I’m lying a little bit. A lot. But Mrs. Petersen doesn’t need to know about the living arrangements. I figure I can get rid of Avery pretty fast. Living with me is no walk in the park. I hate noise, and I keep what most people think of as atrocious hours. Even my mother, who gets up at about six in the morning daily, thinks I’m insane.
I have a feeling that the squatter will be out of my house in no time.
“I know your grandmother is happy to have you back in town.” Confusion must show on my face because Mrs. Petersen smiles. “She talks about you all the time. She’s so proud of you and Nancy. Well, I have to get some things for the LOL meeting this afternoon. You have a great day, Jon.”
I nod and then shake my head. My grandmother might say she’s proud of Nancy and me, but the truth is we don’t embarrass her like our cousins do.
Knowing that if I don’t get a move on, I’ll be accosted by another LOL. I should have known they would be here at the crack of dawn. I turn down the pasta aisle and find Josh. He seems to be figuring out what kind of pasta to get.
