Jessica slid her lunch into the fridge in the back room at BethAnn’s, then punched in the combination to the safe. Inside, the zippered envelope BethAnn had placed there last night lay on the small plastic shelf. It contained two hundred dollars, the amount of change they always began the day with.
BethAnn had given her a key her first day on the job and the combination to the safe two days later. The show of trust meant everything. Whatever happened and wherever Jessica ended up, she’d never forget BethAnn’s kindness.
She closed the safe and headed to the front carrying the zippered bag. Shane had said goodbye a few minutes earlier, with a promise to return shortly before six. Since he’d lost his job at Driggers, he was back to taking Buttons out at lunchtime and seeing her safely to and from work. Except now he was driving her.
After getting shot Friday night, she’d agreed that she’d be safer driving than walking. And he’d insisted she’d be safer riding with him than driving alone. She hadn’t wanted to inconvenience him. He’d insisted that, now that he was no longer a Driggers employee, he had nothing better to do during those time frames. She’d finally relented.
There hadn’t been any repeat of Sunday’s passionate kiss. That was probably for the best. She’d thought a lot about it over the past two and a half days and had decided she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Shane obviously wasn’t either. Eventually he would finish up this case, just like he had all the others, and be on to his next assignment—a new location, new acquaintances, a new life. The less entanglement she had with him, the less painful that moment would be.
Something else that had occupied a fair share of her thoughts since Sunday was the pastor’s sermon. She was nowhere near ready to take the plunge and get religion, but she now recognized that she had a lot of healing to do. And she had a lot to learn. She wasn’t sure where to find all the answers, but there was a good chance a lot of them waited in that little brick church with the white steeple. For the near future, at least while she was in Harmony Grove, that was where she planned to spend her Sunday mornings. Shane would be thrilled.
After opening the cash drawer, she separated denominations of bills and laid the stacks in the proper slots. Yesterday BethAnn had manned the store by herself while Jessica had made the four-hour drive to Miami, rented a storage unit, packed up her place, then made the four-hour trip back.
Today she was returning the favor—manning the store alone to relieve BethAnn. Since Jessica had no idea how long she’d stay in Harmony Grove, BethAnn had told her she was going to get some appointments out of the way while she had her help.
Jessica placed the last of the bills in the register drawer and pushed it shut. As she set to work arranging the latest sale flyers, the front door swung open and BethAnn stepped in. Jessica eyed her with raised brows.
“I thought you had a dentist appointment this morning.”
“I thought I did too, but it’s not till tomorrow. I somehow wrote down the wrong date when I made the appointment last week.”
She rounded the counter and dropped her purse into the bottom drawer. “How did the move go?”
“Easy. The drive was more harrowing than the move.” Fortunately, she’d rented the apartment furnished, and she wasn’t a pack rat like her sister. Packing and storing her belongings had taken less than an hour.
“And your gun class Monday night?”
“It was fun. I don’t think I’ll ever be a sharpshooter, but I did put a hurting on that paper guy I was shooting at. I figure since I inherited a gun, I might as well learn how to use it.”
She hadn’t told BethAnn her real reasons for enrolling in the class. BethAnn didn’t seem like the type that appreciated a lot of drama. And Jessica wasn’t about to do anything that would jeopardize her job. Besides the fact that she needed to eat, she liked working at BethAnn’s.
BethAnn shook her head. “I’m still having a hard time picturing Priscilla handling a gun. She was always so…prissy.” She grinned. “No pun intended.”
She was right. Prissy wouldn’t have gotten a gun unless she felt she needed it.
Jessica motioned toward the small box next to the cash register. “The credit card machine’s almost out of paper. I ought to change it while you’re here, just in case there’s a trick to it.”
BethAnn checked the drawer under the counter, then straightened. “Let me go get another six-pack from the storage closet.
As BethAnn disappeared into the back of the store, Jessica’s gaze settled on the large window with its draped fabric and highlighted craft projects. According to BethAnn, she changed the display every month. That was one of the tasks they had planned for today. Now that February had arrived, the decor in the window would change to red and pink and white for Valentine’s Day.
Jessica looked forward to the project. Decorating was something she was good at. She’d already sketched out some ideas, which BethAnn had loved, so BethAnn was giving her free rein, only offering a second set of hands.
Beyond the window, two police cars eased into parallel parking spaces across the street, the oft-seen chief’s cruiser with the shared patrol car right behind it. Branch’s lights strobed blue and red, reflecting in the windows of the surrounding shops. Whoever brought up the rear evidently decided to pass on the light show.
Jessica stopped what she was doing to watch. Something was going on, something important enough to require the services of two thirds of the Harmony Grove Police Department. Branch swung open the car door and struggled to his feet, adjusting his belt over his girth as he straightened. His right hand hid an object. He used his left to motion impatiently
