Page 24 of Justice & Liberty

But there, in the back corner, was Hunter. She was sitting with Timothy...was it father, or was that only for priests, not for...heck, I didn’t even know what he was. Lutheran? Protestant? Was that the same thing? He was wearing all black like he had at Mom’s funeral, but he didn’t look at all like a dour church official. Like the guyhe’d replaced had, always. We’d always called him Father Mason, and he’d constantly looked like someone had pissed in his dinner.

Timothy was smiling at Hunter, and as I watched, he laughed at something she said.

She looked...perfect. As usual. This morning her suit jacket was slung over the back of her chair, revealing a crimson waistcoat, and she wasn’t wearing a tie at all, the buttons at her throat open, revealing inches of smooth golden skin at her neck. When she threw back her head and laughed, it bared even more, her clavicle peeking out of the space the open buttons revealed.

“She’s sin-gle,” came the singsong whisper from behind me—Sabrina. When I turned to look at her, she was holding out a cup in my direction. “And one of the best people in this town. I highly recommend her. Just...be careful. She’s also got a bit of a reputation.”

I lifted a brow at her, and she shrugged.

“You know how it is. She’s gorgeous and smart and dresses well, inSouth Liberty. Plus, you know, bi, so everyone is prey.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, Bree? Prey? Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being bi. Bi women are the best.”

“Not saying there’s anything wrong with it.” She threw up her hands, defensive. I’d given her enough speeches about things like that, she knew when one was incoming. “Just saying, you know, she’s dated like five people since she’s been back in town. Less than two months. I don’t think she’s looking for serious, and serious is your specialty.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. Plus Hunter was sitting with Timothy. Father Timothy? Were they dating? I thought it was just Catholics who weren’t allowed to date, and we didn’t have a Catholic church in South Liberty.

I’d feel weird interrupting a date, even to give her tea, butat the same time, it was the middle of a weekday morning. Who was on a date at that time?

So I took my coffee from Sabrina, and the bag with my pastry, and turned to march over to where they were sitting. Hunter noticed me when I was still halfway across the room, and it was like the rest of the shop fell away. Those ice-blue eyes on me were the whole world, and she was so focused. So intense.

A roguish smirk fell onto her lips, and she lifted her chin to greet me. “Hey Jaycie. How are you this morning?”

“How nice to see you again, Miss Jones,” Timothy said, smiling over at me, but I couldn’t seem to look at him properly. That would have required me to break eye contact with Hunter.

By the time I found my brain again, I was sure it had been too long, too awkward, as per usual. “The tea,” I said, because again, awkward, then cleared my throat. “That is, you said you liked Mom’s willow bark tea, and when I went over to the shop, this was all we had left, so I thought I would pack it up for you.”

I transferred my own pastry bag into the same hand as my coffee, and reached into my purse for the small bag of tea, then held it out to her.

Her smile this time was less smirk and more genuine pleasure. “Thank you so much. This really is the greatest stuff known to man.”

“Don’t I know it?” Timothy said. That was odd. Was being a preacher painful? I supposed it might involve standing a lot. “She made one for inflammation that might actually be saving my life. She dropped off half a pound of it...ah, before. She knows how much it helps me.”

And that, finally, got my attention off Hunter. “The ginger turmeric?” I asked.

“That’s the one,” he agreed. “I know it seems ridiculous,but Doctor Arthur has been able to reduce my medication since I started drinking it every day.”

I blinked, nodding, even though I had no idea what we were talking about, not really. That seemed to be happening to me a lot lately.

Still, if he was seeing September, I trusted that his health was in good hands. “Well then, I’ll make sure we have it available when...when I reopen. I’m not sure if I’ll be the one running the shop, but I’m planning to reopen it. Even if I have to hire someone else to do it.”

His smile was lovely, and I suspected all the girls in town swooned over him. Well, the ones who liked boys.

“I, um, I better get over there. I’m working on getting it all ready for reopening. I just wanted to stop and give you that, since you’d mentioned it,” I said, motioning to Hunter, ducking my head.

She reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. “Thank you, Jaycie. Really, thanks. I appreciate you thinking of me.”

Fuck, the things a confident touch did to my brain.

I just nodded, silent, and slipped out before I made a spectacle by throwing myself bodily at her.

I was almost numb, stunned, as I headed back over to the shop. It wasn’t just that Hunter was unbelievably hot, though that was certainly true. It was Sabrina, pointing me at hot women, like old times. It was maybe-Father Timothy, asking after the tea and the store.

It was belonging here in South Liberty.

Because I really did.

13

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