Page 10 of Just Like That

“It’s my car ... and my house.” I grinned, suppressing a laugh. “It’s my car and my house. You’ve never seen a skoolie?”

“A what?” He leaned back to take in all thirty-five feet of gloriously renovated steel, painted in a crisp white.

I unlocked and opened the bifold door. Teddy bounded up the stairs. “Hazel turned a junky old school bus intothisplace! Mom said she’s super famous.” Teddy’s grin was proud and innocent.

I swallowed past the gravel in my throat. The way he spoke of Olive was as if she was in the next room, not gone forever. He never seemed burdened with the clawing, aching sadness that consumed my thoughts. Maybe it was just how kids dealt with grief. Maybe I was completely missing the signs. With Teddy, it was hard to tell.

I could feel JP’s eyes on me so I shook my head. “I’m not famous.”

“Don’t lie!” Teddy chided. “Your videos get, like,billionsof views.”

Nerves skittered through me. “Not billions.”

“Videos?” JP asked.

I rolled my lips. “I got bored—started renovating an old school bus and posting about it online. At first I sucked, but I taught myself what I could and got help when I needed it. I documented my progress, and I guess people were excited to follow along. It kind of unexpectedly blew up.”

JP peered inside my skoolie. “And you live here?”

My forehead creased. The roof had been raised nearly eighteen inches, giving the interior plenty of headspace. With warm wood floors, white walls, gleaming cabinets, a functional sink, and even a wood-burning stove, my skoolie was a work of freaking art.

The benches had mismatched pillows in jade green, deep purple, and burgundy. A beaded curtain separated the driver seat from the main living area. Incense burned in the corner, and my prettiest tarot deck was prominently displayed on a handsewn mat. Woven throw blankets added the perfect cozy touch.

Fuck this guy if he couldn’t see how funky and cool it was.

Teddy plopped onto the plush sofa cushion before grabbing a comic book from the end table, and I couldn’t help but smile at how he was settling in.

I shrugged. “Home sweet home.”

“What is that?” JP pointed to the tarot deck and mat.

“Tarot.” I brightened. “Have you ever had a reading?”

His turquoise eyes turned to me with one dark eyebrow lifted. He looked so bitchy I almost laughed out loud, but instead I couldn’t stop staring. With his eyes trained on me with such intensity, even a corpse would feel palpitations.

He was intimidating, with a dangerous edge just peeking out from beneath his buttoned-up exterior.

His only response was a dismissive grunt.

The gruff noise vibrated beside me, and I was suddenly all too aware of our closeness. Our shoulders brushed as we both peered into the bus’s small entrance. On contact, his head snapped around as if my proximity was personally offensive.

With a step back, he smoothed a hand down his suit jacket. “Will you be here if the attorney needs to contact you?”

I swirled a hand in the air. “Around. I am still looking for a campground nearby that will accommodate the bus for prolonged overnight parking. But it’s touristy here, so I’ll find something.”

His hard stare felt like it lasted forever. When he broke eye contact, I could finally breathe. He pulled a card and pen from his jacket and scribbled something across it before handing the card to me.

I stared at his business card:JP King, King Equities.An address was written across it in blocky, precise handwriting.

“You can park there,” he offered.

I studied him. He was a walking contradiction of shitty digs and subtly kind gestures. Hard stares and soft smiles. I couldn’t quite figure him out, and that worried me.

With a nod, he turned his back without saying goodbye.

FOUR

JP

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