I held up a hand to tell him I had this. “I didn’t lie to a single one of you.”
Janice’s brows pulled together. “You lied about your name. About where you’re from. About what you did.”
“I’ve got a legal driver’s license that says my name is Aspen Barlow. Not a lie. I never actually answered a question about where I’m from; I avoided talking about it. Also, not a lie. And unless you were in that house where I was chased with a goddamned knife and stabbed, then I’d back the hell off—also not a lie.”
Janice’s mouth fell open.
Jonesy started a slow clap.
I let out a long breath. “And now, you can leave and never come back.”
Red hit Janice’s cheeks as she sputtered. “You can’t kick me out. You don’t own this coffee shop.”
“No, I don’t. But I am the manager, and Sue has given me permission to ban whomever I see fit. That’s you and the vile bullshit that always comes out of your mouth.”
“Well, I never—”
“Shut it, woman,” Jonesy snapped. “And get your booty movin’ on out of here.”
Janice glared at him. “Your family won’t be welcome in my establishment anymore when they come to visit.”
“They don’t want to stay there anyway. Grae got them a discount to stay at The Peaks. They’re gonna be livin’ in the lap of luxury instead of having to deal with your oversalted eggs.”
“I do not oversalt my eggs,” Janice huffed.
Jonesy shooed her toward the door. “Maybe you’re losing your sense of taste along with your good sense in your old age.”
Janice didn’t even try a comeback for that one, she just stormed out.
Elsie’s gaze jumped from the door to Jonesy to me and back to the door. Her jaw was slack, and her eyes wide. “That was…”
“A buncha bullshit,” Jonesy muttered and turned back to me. “You okay, darlin’？”
I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out.
He made his way back to me. “You’re shakin’。 Why don’t you sit down?”
Elsie leapt to her feet and hurried over to me. “Come on.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sad,” I said quietly. “Not scared.”
Jonesy eyed me carefully. “Then what are ya?”
“I’m pissed,” I muttered.
He barked out a laugh. “Now that I can get behind. That woman is a piece of work.”
“Understatement of the century,” I grumbled.
Elsie’s lips twitched. “You need water or anything?”
“What I need is a shot of whiskey.”
She grinned. “I could get behind that. Maybe we need a night out on the town.”
I sighed, leaning against the counter. “Maybe once things calm down. Sorry about the drama.”
She waved me off. “Please, this is the most excitement I’ve had all week.”
I chuckled. “Well, I hate that I removed your source of entertainment.”
Jonesy snorted. “I can do without that busybody. One of these days, she’s gonna look around and realize she has not one friend in the world.”
Elsie frowned. “That’s sad.”
“It is,” I agreed. “But she’s gotta start to feel those consequences, or she’ll never change.”
Something flashed across Elsie’s eyes. “People rarely feel consequences these days.”
I studied her for a moment. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a hunch that Elsie had been through some things. It was the tiny things she let slip and the shadows in her eyes. But I never pushed. I knew from experience that would only make her bolt.
“You know what we need?” I said.
Jonesy’s bushy gray eyebrows lifted. “What’s that?”
“Double chocolate peanut butter cup muffins on the house.”
He grinned, patting his stomach. “I’d never say no.”
I glanced at Elsie. She forced a smile, clearing those shadows. “I do love chocolate.”
Plating muffins for all of us, I sent them back to their respective tables. We all chatted as I worked on cleaning tables, grabbing bites of my muffin in between. Jonesy told us story after story about his childhood in Cedar Ridge. The time when he and his friends stole a boat and took it for a joyride. When they toilet-papered their principal’s house.
I sent him a chastising look. “I had no idea you were such a troublemaker.”
“It’s how I stay young,” he said with a charming grin.