“She’s supposed to come in to help me with something in the back, but just called and said she’s having car trouble,” Corrie said. “She said she could figure something out, but she sounded stressed. Do you think you could swing by and see if you can help her out? Bless her heart, she’s a hard worker but I think sometimes she’s a little oblivious to things.”
Price wanted to point out that the last favor he’d done that day hadn’t exactly gone his way, but Winnie thumped his elbow before he could say it.
“Since he’s in such a giving mood today, he’ll definitely go by and help,” she answered for him. “Won’t you, Dad?”
Price was still nursing a slight hangover and, despite what he said, his jaw was hurting a little. He also needed to mow the lawn, fix the slow drip in the upstairs bathroom and take a look at the rental property he’d begrudgingly inherited before any more rain came in.
But one thing he had been struggling with since he’d held that little baby in his arms for the first time was another unwritten rule he had become trapped by.
We don’t say no to Winnie.
He let out a breath that was mild annoyance and fixed Corrie with an even stare.
“Fine,” he said. “But make sure she knows I’m coming. I don’t want a Josiah Teller round two surprise today.”
Corrie was already pulling out her phone.
“I don’t think you have to worry about JJ,” she said. “I’m pretty sure that girl is as innocent as they come.”
* * *
JJ shot outof the house like the devil was nipping at her heels. She popped the hood of her little Honda and paused as she looked down into the engine bay.
“What can I mess with that will make you not work but not be suspicious?” she asked it out loud. “But also not cost me an arm and a leg to fix?”
She had never been that great at cars. In fact, as far as vehicles went, she only really had a passion for the old motorbike currently hidden in her garage beneath an old sheet and a layer of dust. But there were a few lessons that her godfather had forced her to learn.
JJ mentally scrolled through the reasons she could remember of why a car normally wouldn’t start.
“It can’t be the battery,” she said to herself. “I can’t make the alternator or the ignition switch go bad so quickly. I don’t know enough about spark plugs to do anything.” Her eyes came to a spark plug wire. “Wouldn’t that seem suspicious if I unplugged that? I could break a fuse…”
JJ wanted to yell in frustration. She shouldn’t have used car trouble as an excuse to not go into the café today. Who would have guessed Corrie would arrange for Winnie’s dad to come to the rescue.
“This is ridiculous,” she said, exasperated. “No one is as worried about the world as I am. Let’s just play it simple.”
JJ made the quickest work she could of disconnecting a spark plug wire. Winnie had bragged a few times about her father being capable. He would probably see the problem sooner rather than later then fix it and be on his way. Who was he to be suspicious at all? It wasn’t like most people would see JJ and assume she had sabotaged her own car to cover up a lie.
She nodded at her work, shut the hood and hurried back inside.
The pace wasn’t a fun one.
She only slowed when she was standing in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Her hair was nice and loose, no longer tight against her head in a braid. Her makeup had been reapplied and she had changed her baggy clothes for a nice, flowy sundress. Her feet were still bare but there was a pair of sandals by the front door that was a far cry from the boots she had been sneaking around in hours beforehand.
As for the bruising, she had gotten lucky.
The man who had fought her had only gotten one good hit in.
One had been enough though.
JJ tenderly touched the spot on her side that she knew for a fact was already bruised.
The light contact made her wince.
That was why she had opted for an excuse to not go into work. It wasn’t a normal shift after all. She didn’t think she needed much more than a vague car-related issue.
That had been her mistake. JJ had forgotten that she was back in a small town. For better or worse, residents tended to get into everyone’s business.
JJ heard a car door shut outside. She gave herself another once-over in the mirror and pulled on a bright, cheery smile.
