“Sure. That’ll work.”
Like it was the first good news she’d heard in years, Josie’s eyes rounded in unchecked shock. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Seth nodded. “Text me your address and I’ll drive my truck over this weekend to haul the trailer back here. Not a chance yours would be able to do it.” With an extended hand, Seth grasped Josie’s to seal the deal. “You start Monday.”
4
Josie
Josie had half a mind to beat her cast against the solid wood door. She’d knocked three times already and knew full well Marcie was on the other side, ignoring her insistent rapping.
“Marcie!” Peering through the long windows that flanked the front door to the ranch house, Josie scowled when she caught sight of the woman standing in the foyer in plain view. “I know you’re in there. I can see you. We need to talk.”
“No time.” She could hear the muffled response and see her lips move with the words. “You’ll have to come back later.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you open this door, Marcie.” Josie flipped around and slumped against the frame. She raked a frustrated hand through her hair and bit back a groan. “I mean, really! Don’t you think you at least owe me that?”
When the lock turned over, Josie spun fast, her eyes locking in on her landlord as the door edged slowly open. As usual, Marcie was adorned in gaudy costume jewelry and sloppy, winged eyeliner that folded in the creases of her wrinkled eyelids. “I’m busy packing, Josie. Don’t have time for chit-chat.”
“Good, because I’m not here for chit-chat. I’m here to have a very real conversation about the fact that you didn’t tell me the property was being foreclosed.”
Clicking the tips of her overgrown acrylic nails together, Marcie’s eyes narrowed as she studied her hands. “Our financial situation is none of your business.”
“It is when I’m paying you rent!” Josie counted to ten before continuing. She sucked in a massive breath through her nostrils. She would not let her frustration get the better of her here. There was no sense wasting emotion on something this far out of her control. “I expect you to reimburse me the last four month’s rent.”
“That’s not going to—”
“Not going to happen? It absolutely is. In the state of California, it takes one-hundred-twenty days of delinquency before going into foreclosure. Four months. I’ve done my research. You might not have been paying your share these last few months, but I sure as heck have.” Josie clenched her fists so tight she feared her cast would crack under her fingers. She could feel her chest trembling as she expelled a hot breath. “My four rent checks went somewhere. Evidently, that wasn’t the bank. I expect my reimbursement no later than Sunday afternoon. Otherwise, it won’t be me you’ll be dealing with; it’ll be my lawyer.”
“Do you actually have a lawyer?”
Josie popped the top off the amber bottle and passed it to Carly before taking another from the fridge door for herself. She fell into the trailer’s dining booth and pulled her legs onto the cushion, hugging them close to her body as she drew a thirst-quenching swallow from the longneck. She lowered her drink onto the table between them. Her trailer was a postage stamp in size, but it had all the necessary spaces: a place to gather around the table, a place to lay her head, and a place to wash up. It was all she’d ever need.
“No, I don’t actually have a lawyer,” she finally answered her younger sister after relishing the first cool sip of her beverage. “How could I afford a lawyer?”
“Well, for starters, you could’ve taken what was rightfully yours from the drunk who nearly got you killed last month.”
“I broke an arm. I’d hardly call that near death.”
Carly cocked her head. Her fire-red hair swished along her shoulders as she processed that statement. “Your car was totaled, Josie. You’re lucky you walked away from that accident. Most people aren’t so lucky. Someone was looking out for you that day, no question. But just because you made it out relatively unscathed, that doesn’t mean Brian shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions. I don’t understand this misplaced allegiance you have to him.”
“It’s not an allegiance, Carly. I just don’t feel it’s necessary to ruin someone’s life over something that didn’t cost me all that much. Brian’s a good man.”
“It cost you your business, your car, and your left arm!”
“I still have my arm.” Josie hoisted her cast into the air for dramatic effect. “And I have my business, too. It’ll just be a while before either are operating at full capacity.” Josie threw back another guzzle of her wheat beer and shrugged. “And I’ve got Cutter’s truck on loan.”
“Which is on its last leg.”
“Legless now, actually. It gave up the ghost this afternoon. I’m grateful Seth was willing to drive me home, otherwise I would’ve been up a creek without a paddle.”
Carly paused, bottle suspended in front of her lips. “Who is Seth?”
“My future boss. My new landlord, too, I suppose. If we’re being technical.”
“Yeah.” Carly pulled a face. “Still not enough info. You are going to need to elaborate.”
“He’s just a guy that texted me about shoeing some horses he recently acquired.”
“Which you’re not doing yet, right?” There was a motherly warning in Carly’s tone which made Josie laugh because of the three Friar sisters, Carly was the youngest. “You’re not shoeing yet, right?”
“No, I’m not shoeing yet. Don’t worry. I’m following doctor’s orders.”
“But you’re working for this guy?”
“Yes.” Josie was going to need another drink if her sister kept up with the inquisition. “I’m going to break his horses. And I’ll be staying on his property while I do it.”
“Do you think you should be working with animals already? You still have another month until that cast comes off.”
“I can start their training with one good arm. I need to make money, Carly. Plus, I’m starting to go stir crazy. I’m not good at being idle. You know that.”
“I get that. But you just made my point for me. You do need money and Brian owes you for what happened that night. Monetarily. If you would’ve just involved the police instead of handling things on your own…”
Well that certainly wasn’t going to happen. Yes, Josie noticed the way Brian had stumbled from his car, his legs tangling and feet tripping up like his shoes were two sizes too big. The dense smoke billowing from the hood of her crushed-beyond-repair vehicle did little to obscure his inebriation. Of course, he’d been drinking. She could even smell it on his breath as he wailed his apology over and over in a heartbreaking admission of guilt.
Shock hadn’t allowed her to register her own pain at that time. But Brian’s pain was clearly etched in the creases of his tired eyes and in the purple bags slung below them. If Josie had lost her soul mate in the way Brian had just weeks earlier, she figured the bar would’ve been her preferred hideout, too. She knew he’d drained his savings to pay for his fiancé’s funeral, a memorial every citizen of Riverburn had attended. Cancer was an unforgiving evil that had just upended his marriage, his bank account, and his future. Josie was not going to turn the remains of his shattered life on its head. She just couldn’t do it.