Page 101 of Average Joe

“Mama,” Trudy pleaded, rolling her eyes.

“Kill me now,” I mumbled under my breath, then turned away, pretending to stare out the window, silently willing an asteroid to fall on the tiny strip mall.

It was then that I saw Harper’s car pull up to the stand across the way, and the tell-all convo faded to background noise. My no-good uncle sat in the passenger seat. Both men exited the Escalade. Larry pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat, scanned the parking lot, then followed Harper inside Dirty Dreamz.

“Ly, I think you’ve got it wrong. I like Joe. Very much. But we can’t be more than friends. You see, he built a coffee stand across the street from mine, and I have it on good authority that he did it to spy on me and my girls. Kinda creepy, don’t you think?”

The drive-up window to Dirty Dreamz slammed shut, and theClosedsign lit up. Strange for eight in the morning.

“Did you hear that, Joe?” Marley spoke louder. “Little creepy, right?”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene across the lot, but I’d heard Marley loud and clear. “I opened Average Joe because you said I couldn’t. I never back down from a challenge. The spying part is just a perk.”

“So youarespying!” Marley’s shout bounced off the walls.

“Wasn’t my original intention,” I said to the window, only slightly sorry for the fib.

“Is that the reason for the second story? Is that your creepy little spy room?”

The second story had been Marco’s idea. On-site office/game room. And yes, Pink Sweets was in full view from the upstairs window. Like I said, a perk. Marley and her girls wouldn’t agree, so I kept my mouth shut.

Ly stopped scrubbing my foot.

Apparently, my silence was confirmation enough.

“Joe!” Marley scolded. “Why the hell would you think it’s okay to spy on us?”

“Harper.”

“Harper?” she shrilled.

“And that creeper in the Prius,” I reminded her.

“What?”

“And the white Z that parks outside your house.”

“Joe!”

I continued ticking off my list. “And that guy who scared the shit outta you the other night.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” she mumbled, losing steam.

“And let’s not forget that someone tried to break into your house, one of your stands mysteriously burned to the ground, and one of them has bullet holes.” Shitty play, drudging up her recent harrowing experiences, but shit, the woman needed to understand where I was coming from.

Larry exited Dirty Dreamz alone and lit a cigarette before leaning against Harper’s SUV. TheClosedsign stayed on.

“That’s just life,” Marley muttered. “Shit happens.”

“Not to my girl.”

“I’m nobody’s girl.”

Her denial pissed me off. I turned to find three sets of eyes aimed my way, but I locked on the one set that mattered. “You’re my girl, and I’ll do whatever I can to protect you from snakes like Harper, and even from yourself.”

Her mouth fell open, her face darkened three shades, and her fury turned ugly. “What are you gonna do, Joe? Kill someone to defendyourgirl?”

Insult was Marley’s go-to defense mechanism, so I took no offense. But I was done.

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