“But it’s also risky business giving one woman too much attention either, C.J.”
C.J. felt his face blush. He knew what his brother was hinting at. Marie. She had been a really cute little brunette who kept getting into little messes and playing it up. She would ask C.J. for rides and for help and say that suspicious men were bothering her at Spencer’s and that she didn’t feel safe going home alone. She turned out to be a liar and a manipulator. Nearly got him in trouble with the sheriff and his brothers, too. Marie was after a good time, and when things went wrong and he told her he couldn’t help her anymore, she threatened to lie and say he forced himself on her. Thank goodness she said it so loudly that people heard. So when she did make the false accusation, those witnesses stepped forward and saved his ass.
“You had to bring up Marie?”
“Hey, I’m just sayin’, that some women have agendas. Whether that be a good time, an easy scam to get into your wallet, or just try to trap you into marriage or something.”
“I think we all learned a lot from that experience. We’ll keep this professional and keep our eyes on Caroline. And Shelby.”
“Shelby is Kenneth, Bender, and Sam’s responsibility.”
C.J. chuckled.
“Not in Shelby’s eyes. She hasn’t even a clue that they’ve been staking a claim on her for months.”
“Because they think she’s hiding something, too, and is fearful. They’ll work it out.”
C.J. felt his chest tighten with concern. He hoped that Caroline wasn’t in danger or in trouble. The thought of her broken arm and cast and how shy and petite she was alerted some inner instinct inside of him. He felt the need to be protective.
“We’ll keep it on the low and see what we find out in getting to know her.”
Let’s just do our jobs. The last thing we need is some bullshit and trouble or another Marie.”
C.J. agreed and they said good-bye and went on their way. He couldn’t help but to look back toward the diner. He would continue to wonder about Caroline. There was nothing he could do about it. She was just that interesting.
* * * *
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Caroline. Shelby told us you were moving here,” Eliza Grace said as Shelby introduced her.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Caroline said.
“This is Missy Ann. She just moved here about a month ago,” Shelby added, introducing her to her friend. The two women joined them at the table in Rita’s.
Both women were very attractive and sort of shy like Caroline.
They talked about the town and some upcoming activities and also about heading to the beach next weekend.
“You mean after you see Cowboy Corruption perform next Saturday night?” Shelby teased.
Eliza Grace leaned closer to Caroline. “Oh, Caroline, you have to see them perform next Saturday. They are so awesome.”
“They’re a country music band?” Caroline asked.
Both Eliza and Missy smiled. “The best one around. Their music is a combination of country and rock. It gets ya moving,” Shelby added.
“And they’re not so bad on the eyes either,” Missy said, blushing as she kept her eyes on her drink of tea. She definitely was very shy.
“We’ll be there,” Shelby said and gave Caroline a wink.
“Fantastic. You’ll love Spencer’s. It’s an amazing place and so much fun. People are friendly and they keep the troublemakers out, so no one can ruin a good time.”
“Sounds like fun,” Caroline said but she wasn’t sure it was going to be fun. She really didn’t want to go anywhere or show her face. She thought it better to remain low-key. Even taking the job at Martha’s was taking somewhat of a chance, but she needed money. She couldn’t live off of Shelby’s income.
The ladies went on to talk about the town and about Ruth’s place. They added stories about some of the upcoming events and even gossiped a little about certain people in town who were troublemakers. Just little things. She especially enjoyed the story about the woman who chased down three young teenagers with a shotgun after they rode over her garden ruining her vegetables. Then they talked about the fair and the food contests and how that same woman competed for the best zucchini bread in town.
It sounded so nice, so peaceful and pleasant. That was hard to digest because she was used to the chaos of the city, the piss-poor attitudes of people on the streets who had their own agendas and didn’t even care about saying hello or smiling. Even when she got to her apartment at night, it wasn’t peaceful. There was always noise and even worse when Cameron came over.