Page 36 of Just in Time
Chapter Nine
“They’re gonna keep ya around for a little while, but then they’re gonna kill you and make it look like you had something to do with one of these killings.”
I noted how Brody refrained from telling him exactlywhichkilling they were gonna frame Indy for.
Regardless, Indy’s face had drained of all color by the time Brody was done talking.
“What is there to do about it, though?” Indy asked. “If that’s what happens. It’s what happens.”
My mind was racing. Because what I wanted to do wasn’t something I could do. Was it?
What I wanted to do, was to grab both of my shifters, and not let go until we touched down in mine and Brody’s present.
We could duke it out later, but at least Indy would be safe.
But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t. I’d fuck everything up somehow.
We arrived back at Indy’s house, the walk was long and sticky and angry, and I felt like crying. The truck was parked in the driveway, which meant that Sally (Jolene) and Arlo (Johnny) were inside.
Oh shit, I hadn’t even thought about them.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I mumbled, hurrying to the door.
We had to do something. We just had to. There was no way Brody and I were leaving this family here to be at the mercy of a merciless pack of shifters.
Because… Jolene had to end up in Dawesbury sometime soon. She had to buy that bar. Put up that sign outside. And hire me. And help Brody. And…
Of fucking course.
I stopped, my hand on the screen door. I let it close with a soft bang and turned back towards Brody and Indy. My gaze leveled on Indy’s. “Come back with us.”
He frowned. “Come where, Lily? Back to the future? I can’t do that. I can’t leave my momma and my brother.”
“Yeah, you can,” I said, nodding furiously. I turned back to Brody, looking for support from him. “Right, Brody? Because, because we know what the future holds…” I tilted my head behind me to include the residents of the home. “We know what happens, don’t we?”
Realization dawned on his face and he nearly jumped up in the air, reaching for Indy’s shoulder. “Yeah! Yeah, you definitely should. We live above this bar…”
“This bar called…” I trailed off, locking eyes with Brody before continuing. “Jolene’s.”
“Jolene’s?” Indy chuckled. “That’s my momma’s name. Her first name. No one calls her that—”
He stopped abruptly, gaze cutting from my face to Brody’s. “Jolene’s. That’s the bar you live above? In Dawesbury? In the future? You live above a bar called ‘Jolene’s’.”
I nodded. “Yep. And this lovely woman, Jolene Martin owns it. I work there, and so does this guy named Johnny. Johnny Martin.”
Indy blinked, looking a little like you could knock him down with a feather.
“Johnny…?” he said softly.
The door opened behind me, the screened frame knocking into my back as Jolene’s voice sounded behind me. “What’re y’all doing on the porch, huh?”
I glanced over at Indy and Brody.
Indy was the one who spoke first. “I came back to say goodbye, Momma.” He leaned in across me to kiss her cheek. “I gotta get out of town in a hurry and they’re gonna help me.”
A look crossed over her face. One of sadness and worry, but one of a mother who knew everything was going to turn out alright in the end. She hugged him close for just a moment, and then Indy ran in to grab a bag of stuff to take with us.
Brody went with him to help him pack. I could hear him instructing on how to take enough that it looked like he skipped town.
