Baz’s surprise lit up his face and it made JJ relax a bit.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Might as well, right?”
His hesitant “right” said he was still processing her agreement to go. “I’ll … uh … wait for you downstairs.”
JJ turned back around, undocked her laptop, and slid it into her bag. She cleaned up the clutter on her desk then got to her feet.
Taking a deep breath, she resigned herself to enjoying a few hours outdoors.
Good thing she’d gotten so good at faking it.
*
Baz remained silent during the drive into town. It wasn’t much different than their morning drive into work. For the past few days, JJ had been riding with him until she received the insurance settlement for her car, which had been destroyed during the explosion that had leveled JJ’s house.
It wasn’t that Baz minded driving with her. In fact, he liked it more than he probably should. Unfortunately, he wasn’t getting the same vibe from JJ, and he completely understood why. Their relationship had started almost from the first day they met. His attraction to her had led him to asking her out, getting shut down. Being one to never give up, Baz had insinuated himself in her life as her friend. And it probably would’ve remained a friendship if JJ hadn’t been harboring the same attraction for him.
Needless to say, they’d acted on that attraction and their friendship had morphed into more. Or so he’d thought. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been on the same page regarding how much more it was, and he’d gone and screwed things up by pushing for her to meet his parents. JJ had panicked, and hoping to bring her back around, Baz had backed off for a little while, committed to eventually winning her back.
Only Baz had fucked everything up on New Year’s. After JJ had gone off to help her ex-boyfriend, Baz had let the liquor do his thinking for him. That resulted in what should’ve been a one-night stand, and it would have if he hadn’t let his emotions get the best of him. Thanks to his need to block out everything else, he’d done the one thing he’d never done before: had sex without a condom.
Well, technically there had been one, but according to Molly, it had broken and he’d told her it didn’t matter. Since the events of that night were still a bit hazy, Baz had no choice but to believe her.
Problem was, Molly had been claiming she was pregnant since the very next morning. As if that wasn’t enough, she insisted they talk about it every hour of every day. She called him incessantly. To the point he had to turn his phone off at night from time to time to block her out. Considering his job required him to be available at all times, it was a risk, but at the moment, he didn’t really give a shit. The woman was driving him fucking crazy.
“Have you seen the pregnancy test?”
Baz’s gaze snapped over to JJ. “What?”
“Molly. Did she show you the pregnancy test?”
Baz turned his attention back to the road. There was no way he could have this conversation with JJ. Hell, he didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, but certainly not with the woman he loved more than life. Despite what had happened, despite what he’d done, Baz still wanted things to work between him and JJ, and he was hoping one day she could forgive him.
JJ sighed. “Come on, Baz. We’re friends. You can talk to me.”
Baz shook his head.
“It’s not like you can change what happened,” JJ said, her tone soft. “But we can move forward, right? As friends?”
He gripped the steering wheel harder, held his tongue.
His phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with Molly’s name, as though the woman knew they were talking about her. Or rather not talking about her.
Baz exhaled heavily, hit the button to decline the call.
“Probably be easier to park at the high school or the elementary,” JJ said when he began searching for parking spots along Main Street.
He focused on finding a spot, relaxing when he saw someone climbing into their car. A second later, they were pulling out, but before Baz could get close enough, another car pulled in.
“Nice Mustang,” JJ said, glancing at the car as they passed. “What is that? Like a ’69?”
“’65,” Baz corrected, glancing at the car as they passed.
“How can you tell?”
“’69s are bigger.”
“I didn’t realize you were into old cars.”
He was into a lot of things she didn’t know about, but Baz kept that comment to himself.
“My brother bought a ’69 Mustang when he was in high school,” JJ said. “Total piece of shit. He was bound and determined he would restore it to its original glory. He got it runnin’ but that was about it.”
Baz glanced over. JJ never talked about her family and certainly not about her brother. He knew from Brantley that JJ’s brother, Jeremy, had taken his own life, but try as he might, he could never get JJ to open up about it.
“What happened to it?”
JJ glanced out the window. “During one of his dark periods, he sold it. Said it wasn’t worth the time and effort.” JJ pointed. “There’s a spot.”
Baz parked the truck, hating that it not only signified they’d made it to their destination but also that it had ended the one and only conversation he’d ever had with JJ where she’d revealed anything about herself.
Chapter Four
Reese was surprised by how much he enjoyed spending the day at the park.
He hadn’t been thrilled with the idea when he’d suggested it to Brantley after being encouraged by Iris, but he was glad she’d roped him into it. They’d managed to win probably two dozen stuffed animals, all of which were donated to various kids they encountered, including two of Travis’s who’d been catching a nap, snuggled up together in an oversized wagon and draped with blankets.
They’d spent the first half hour greeting people as though they were long-lost friends, when in reality, they’d probably said hello a couple of times during the past week. After all, Coyote Ridge was a small town and people tended to congregate like family.
Several people had asked about their recent case, hearing about it on the news since it had touched so close to home with JJ’s house blowing up. They shared what they could, obviously leaving out the part where they had tied it to the woman responsible for kidnapping Travis’s daughter back in September.
It wasn’t that Reese didn’t think people should be aware, or more accurately keep an eye out, but he knew any and all talk would get back to Travis and his family. Today was about enjoying time outside, together, friends and family. No sense ruining a perfectly good day.
“We’re still goin’ for best outta seven,” Brantley reminded him when the game attendant took a step back.
Oh, yeah. There was no way he was going to forget that bet. And since he only needed to win one more round to be the ultimate champion, Reese figured he needed to focus.
“You ready to lose your ass?” Brantley cajoled.
“I’m always rea—” Reese’s phone rang, interrupting the game. He would’ve ignored the call, but he recognized the ringtone as his brother’s.
He set the toy gun down and took a step back.
Brantley stood tall, watching him closely.