Page 76 of Hidden Fears
“You’re that fancy designer who was involved in frivolous activities in Mrs. Roberts’s front yard.” It wasn’t a question, so she didn’t expect an answer. I’m still going to give it to her.
“Yes, I am that fancy designer. And no, I was not involved in any activities in her front yard.” Then I add with a sweet smile. “It was in his.”
With that, I turn around and head toward the door, knowing well enough this woman won’t be helping me in this life or any other.
“That Benson boy was supposed to meet with my granddaughter that day. We set it up with her mother, but he refuses to see her because you showed up.”
I turn around and find her with puckered lips and fire in her cloudy eyes. Instantly feeling a bit guilty about that, I bite my tongue and bid her farewell. Sometimes I forget that the pond in small towns is not deep, and a third of the population might see me as competition of all kinds.
I walk to the next door. And the next. And the next. And every time it ends the same—the moment they identify me as ‘that fancy designer,’ their machines miraculously disappear.
Almost an hour later, I am ready to strangle the next person who tells me ‘no.’ And then I see the police station. The last place on earth I want to go to, but it happens to be my last resort too. After all, I can guilt-trip him into letting me use his copier.
Fixing my shirt so it hugs my curves just right and wiping the sweat from my face from running through the street, I head into the station. The moment I open the door, a female voice goes silent. A woman with the largest eyes I’ve ever seen widens them even more. She glances at me and then at Kenneth, who’s standing in the doorway to an office about ten feet away from her.
“Hi!” Plastering on a friendly smile, I wave my hand.
“Hey,” the woman, who I suppose is Jennica, says, standing up. “You must be Josie?”
“Yep. That’s me.” I walk toward her and offer her my hand. “The very same one who’s reportedly done some naughty deeds in the front yard of Mrs. Roberts.”
Jennica snorts and gives me a firm shake. “The last I heard it was in front of the church on Sunday morning.”
I click my fingers in the air. “My memory must have been betraying me after all these activities.”
She laughs, glancing between me and Sheriff. “I guess I’m gonna go get me some coffee. Do you want any?”
“No,” Kenneth replies.
She sends him a side-eye. “I wasn’t asking you.” Then she shifts her attention to me. “Do you want some coffee, Josie?”
I blink before I gather my wits, glancing at the equally astonished Kenneth. “No, thank you so much though.”
“Alright, I’m gonna go then.”
“Wait,” I stop her, and she looks at me. “I actually might need your help.” Smiling sheepishly, I shrug my shoulder and tell her my story while Kenneth doesn’t move an inch from his spot.
By the time I’m done, Jennica is laughing hysterically. Even though I don’t find it funny, her laughter is contagious, and I join her.
“See, I need your help.”
She places her hand on her chest, wheezing. “Phew, I was getting so tired of the damn bar fights, and you just brought some fresh entertainment.”
At the mention of a bar fight, I quickly glance at Kenneth. His intense eyes are trained on me. The muscles that bulge from his arms as they sit crossed over his chest make me dizzy, and I think he knows that because the moment he notices me looking at them, he flexes his biceps. The jerk. I roll my eyes and return my attention back to Jennica.
“Give me your paper. I’ll make you ten copies so she can get off your tail.”
Taking the application from me, she goes to the back room, still chuckling, leaving me alone with Kenneth.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I reply, chewing on my lip.
“Are you—” he swallows, “hurting?”
I quirk a brow, ready with a snarky remark, but then I notice his face—he’s truly worried about me. Maybe he thinks he was too rough. Even if he was, I liked it and wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I’m okay. Really. A bit sore from not using it,” I glance down with a smirk, “for a long time, and deciding to break my streak with the biggest dick I’ve ever seen was probably not the smartest idea.”
