Page 28 of Unscripted Love

“I bet his nerves are making it hard for him to eat,” Meredith replied, nodding her head.

“Good thing we picked up his favorite foods from the diner on the way over,” I added.

“Then feed me instead of fucking around like clowns.” Josh grabbed my hand, and I groaned like he weighed a half ton while I helped him to his feet. “You better start working on your strength and stamina for when you and Kyle stop dicking around and really get todickingaround. What do you authors call words that are spelled the same but have multiple meanings?”

“Homonyms,” I said patiently.

“I would’ve guessed versatile,” he paused for effect, “like Kyle.” Josh casually tossed that out there before he walked by us in search of food.

Meredith’s eyes widened in surprise and maybe concern for the direction the conversation turned. I wasn’t sure if Josh was going for shock value or what, but I vowed not to react. Unfortunately, I felt heat creeping up my neck and lower half of my face as I followed him to the kitchen. Obviously, Josh learned that Kyle was versatile through Gabe, and I didn’t like that they discussed Kyle’s sexual preferences. Then it hit me. Gabe didn’ttellJosh that Kyle was versatile, GabeshowedJosh thathewas versatile and Josh connected the dots. Hmmm, I tucked that knowledge into my arsenal to use when the time was right.

We all fell on our food like ravenous animals and several minutes passed before Meredith said, “Let us help you work through some of this, baby. Maybe if you get it off your chest, you can sort it all out and feel better. Normally, we’d let you internalize your feelings until you either work them out on your own or talk to us and let us help, but this is too important for us just to sit back and wait.”

“Really, dude,” I agreed. “Get it all out so you can enjoy your week.”

We started asking Josh questions to figure out exactly what had him tied up in knots. The more questions we asked, the more confused I grew because he seemed to have everything under control. Yes, he was nervous about meeting Gabe’s birth mother and his sisters for the first time, but that wasn’t the source of his stress. He had all the meals planned and rooms ready for their parents’ stay in their new home, so that wasn’t his problem. He told us that everything was on track with the wedding vendors too. So, what the hell was going on?

“Then what is it?” Mere asked, sounding just as confused as me.

“This is going to sound crazy,” Josh said in warning, but instead of being afraid, we placed our elbows on the table and leaned in closer.

“We were born for crazy,” I told him. But neither Mere nor I was prepared for the level of crazy he shared with us. “First, I have to tell you about Emory.”

Earlier in the year, Emory Jackson moved into the house next to the salon. Josh disliked him from the word go and wanted no part of him, which Meredith and I found strange. He had no viable reason for disliking the man; he just did. Things got even stranger when Josh randomly invited the guy to Easter dinner a short time later. Josh was practically spitting nails at Emory one minute and inviting him to our sacred dinners the next. I grew even more suspicious when Emory said he moved to Blissville to write a book. What? Here? Why? Did he just throw a dart at a map? I’d already published my first book by then, even though none of my friends knew it. I struck up a conversation with Emory about writing and publishing, and I quickly learned that he knew nothing about either subject. So, why was he in town? Maybe Josh was right when he didn’t trust the man. I went home that night and googled Emory’s name and what I learned shattered my heart.

Emory and his husband, River, were involved in a single-car accident that claimed his husband’s life. According to the articles I found, Emory came out of his coma with newfound abilities. He began having psychic visions and attributed them to his husband guiding him from beyond the grave to help people. It honestly sounded a little farfetched to me, but I saw the sadness in Emory’s eyes and knew his hurt was genuine. Dozens of police departments across the country publicly said they never would’ve solved the cold cases without his help. He even appeared on a few episodes of a television show that explored psychic investigating. He seemed to be legitimate, but that never answered the question of why he moved to Blissville of all places.

“But apparently, you both already knew that,” Josh said once he finished telling us what he knew about Emory’s background.

“Emory said he wanted to write books, but he knew shockingly little about the process,” I told him. “I got the feeling he was covering something. I quietly did an internet search and read some articles about his past. I didn’t say anything because it was obvious he wasn’t here to hurt anyone, and I didn’t feel right gossiping about him.”

“Same,” Meredith agreed. “He was too vague about some things, and I wondered how he could afford to move here when he obviously wasn’t working and said he hadn’t published a book yet.”

“Gabe would be very proud of your sleuthing skills,” Josh told us.

“What does Emory’s background have to do with you looking like a cat on its eighth-and-three-quarters life?” I asked him. “Oh! He’s had a vision about one of you.”

Mere gasped and sat straight up in her chair then covered her heart as if she was trying to protect it from the truth. “Jazz, is that true?”

“Yes,” Josh admitted. “There’s more to the story.”

We raptly listened as Josh talked about how Emory met them in their driveway when they returned home from Josh’s birthday trip in June with a gloomy prediction that someone from Gabe’s past was out for revenge.June!Josh had known about it for three months and didn’t tell either of us. He then told us about the U.S. Deputy Marshall showing up the night they moved into their new home with news that Gabe’s former partner on the Miami Police Department was on the run and most likely gunning for Gabe, who he blamed for ruining his career. I’d seen the “Wanted” posters hanging up, but I didn’t know what the hell it was all about. Why didn’t Josh tell Mere and me? Didn’t he trust us?

“I just can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen,” Josh said. The strain in his voice and the sadness I saw in his eyes broke me out of my pity party for one.

“Honey, this guy has been on the run for weeks. He would’ve shown up here already,” Meredith said calmly.

“Maybe,” I said. “A guy like him would know how to avoid detection from law enforcement agencies. He’s probably changed his appearance and is using cash he kept squirreled away if this day ever came.” I tipped my head while I thought some more. “Probably even money he’d taken from the evidence locker they’d collected from drug busts, searches, and seizures. I mean, here these cops are eking out a living while that money sits in an evidence locker. Hell, I bet most of it never gets tagged into evidence. I think the temptation to make their lives a little better would be too great to pass. I doubt he’s fled the country and he’ll be looking for revenge.”

Somewhere along the way, my brain veered away from Josh and Gabe’s real circumstances to my fictional world, and I imagined how the story would unfold there. “If he thinks Gabe is responsible for ruining his career then he won’t go down without trying to take Gabe with him,” I said. “Or, if he truly wanted to hurt Gabe he’d kill the one Gabe loves most in the world. He’d turn his attention on Josh when everyone focused on protecting Gabe.”

“Charles Bailey!” Meredith yelled. “What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with you?” She followed up her question with a smack to the back of my head, which forced me back to reality.

“Huh?” I asked. “What did I say?”

“Look what you did to Jazz.” Meredith pointed to Josh, who had tears streaming down his face.

“Fuck! What did I say?” I asked.